Adrian sat down by the window, watching as the sun rose up. It was an ethereal sight to behold,but his mind was far off the view. In his eyes was a darkness that filled the his being. He closed his eyes,sadness seeping into every fiber of his being.
He couldn't help but feel sad. The room felt like it has just been teleported from the northern hemisphere,Tyrell shivered as he entered the room. 'Oh God,the boss is as scary as hell' he muttered and placed the file on the table beside Adrian.
"I've had him investigated. He's a clean one" he said and placed his hands. Adrian looked up and handled the file,he looked at the first four pages then he dropped the file and stood up to change his clothes.
"Sir,the board of directors have reached a decision. ",Tyrell added.
"So,they really want to go against me?" he muttered and chuckled lowly.
" But boss,do you think that their decision is...." ,Tyrell hinted. Adrian tapped his fingers on the table,spacing out into the wild. No one could guess what was on his mind,it isn't easy having a teenager as your boss even if he was just four years younger than he is. Sometimes Tyrell felt very inferior compared to Adrian,how could he even compete with him? Adrian was ten times faster and always ahead of him. His thoughts were higher than his age,just like they say age is just a number. A light flickered in Adrian's eyes,his gaze sharper than an eagle.
"Tyrell,you have worked with me for four years and you know what I can do" he whispered.
"Sir,the board meeting's conference video is about to start. Is there anything you would like me to do?" he asked.
"Not at all",he said and turned on his laptop. Tyrell stood at the far end of the room, admiring his boss with his heart. 'Oh God,Boss is so cool' he thought.
The video conference call came in,the board of directors had already discussed on what they had to say to him. They felt he was just too young to lead a conglomerate as big as this and it had always been the object of their controversy any time they gathered.
" I hope you all have reached a decision" he said, leaving no space for pleasantries. His face was cold to the point of ice and some of the directors shivered on their seat.
"Yes,we have" a grey haired man spoke out,Adrian looked at him and smirked. Louis Schaumer,he was one of the oldest directors on the table. Coming from an aristocratic family,he believed in being treated as an higher social being and carried all the air of nobility around him. He hated the way Adrian run the company,not for the profit but how could a young lad you watch grow up right from the womb begin to give you certain orders that you have to follow. It wasn't even just an order,he changed the conduct of making a decision.
"Okay,Louis. What do you have to say?" he hinted with an air of arrogance in his voice. If they felt they could provoke him,then he also could play their games after all it takes two to tango.
Louis was enraged by the way Adrian spoke to him,he has had enough of this unruly teenager who should still be suckling his mother's breast. 'How dare him?'
"Even your father wouldn't talk to us in this manner. Who do you think you are?",Louis bellowed. Some of the directors whispered and nodded in agreement while some factions decided to remain neutral.
"Louis,whatever you say. Do not bring my father into this,deal with me directly" His father was his bottom line,he could withstand anything but insults to his father. Tyrell could feel Adrian's wrath rising.'Oh no! Director Schaumer is about to get what's coming to him'
"I'm the CEO of this conglomerate and the heir. Louis Schaumer, don't try to mess with me"
"Is this the way you're going to lead the company? Being so disrespectful to the board of directors and what? Making decisions on your own, without even consulting the board"
"Your decisions are slow, you are going to keep arguing baselessly without reaching a conclusion and I will still have to do it my way. So ,just why will I bother to waste my time consulting you? And what's that you say about leading the company,check the terrifying state this company was in. I came in when it was about to hit the bottom rocks and I brought its profits up within a year and half . When I singlehandedly brought this company out of the grave, were the board of directors blind?" he sneered and they went into absolute silence. His rebuttal was hard to refute and they had to swallow the bitter pill of truth he was offering them.
"But that still doesn't thwart out decision to change the CEO"Louis stated. Adrian let out a low cold laugh,he looked square at each and everyone. Cold sweat broke on the back of the directors,even Louis trembled on the inside. He only kept a stoic face because he had been entrusted with this task of threatening Adrian to do their biddings.
Instead,it felt like they were eating out of their own medicine and everyone knew it was a bad idea to give the company to John Lee, Shawn's younger brother.
"Well,then good luck." left his lips as a whisper. The directors were not having it so fun,as they did not know what to do. They couldn't go through with the voting,cold shivers 2ent down their spine. All they wanted to do was to have Adrian begging at their deets but none of it happened and now they found themselves treading on thin ice.
" You do have so much confidence in yourself but never underestimate the power of the board" , Louis said,a tinge of doubt in his heart. Adrian Lee was a name to be reckoned with,he might just be a teenager but he held in his hands power,so much power that could crumple the nation's economy.
"Well, I do have confidence in myself.",he scoffed. Louis hated it but he had to admit it that Adrian was one of a kind.
"The board might be powerful,no doubt. But it is crystal clear where the power resides. If that's all you have to say,my time is precious" he stated and shut down his laptop. Tyrell walked over, picked the files and Adrian's laptop.
"Tyrell",Adrian called. He lost his black card some weeks back,he couldn't remember how he did it. 'Gosh,that card has all the money I have been saving for Adrianna's birthday' he bit his lips in frustration when he couldn't find it.
"Yes Boss" he said, glancing at Adrian's face. Now he looked like a real teenage that he is and his face was much better to look at.
"Did you find it?" he asked, sounding so unsure of the outcome but he prayed that it had been found.
" No boss. It hasn't been in use and the guards are searching for it. I guess it has been found by someone but I'm looking for when it will be in use" he explained.
"Never mind. You can go" he said and turned to the window. Tyrell left the room quietly and Jason came in, walking with his hand in his pocket.
"Good morning Adrian" he greeted with a smile. Adrian looked at him with no emotions in his eyes.
"Morning",he muttered.
"I hope you're feeling better. Let's get you checked up and see to it" he said and got his stethoscope to check his heartbeat. Adrian stopped him with his hands and held him.
"What do you want from my sister?" he asked, sounding very demanding. Jason felt amused by Adrian's actions he had to give it to him for catching his hands in the cookie jar.
"You caught me there,I like you sister....."he said but Adrian squinted his eyes...."no,I don't mean like like that. It's just a mutual feeling,some kind of connection"
"Connection?"
"Never mind, I am not a bad guy if that's what you're scared of" he muttered, sitting down on the bed.
"Scared of what? You?"
"okay,fine. I know you're not scared"
"I just want you to know,if you ever make her shed just a tear. I will find you and skin you alive" he leveled his gaze to match Jason's and scoffed. Goosebumps covered his arms, and a trembling feeling erupted him.'God please save me was the song on his lips as he attended to him
"You're ready. Just take some rest and don't stress yourself too much"
"Can I go now?" he asked ,even though he never wanted to stay for a moment.
" Yes sure,you can leave" he said. Jason was about to leave when he turned back and asked Adrian,"are you driving? or is there someone coming to drive you home?"
"My secretary" he said and walked over to pick his bag.Tyrell came back into the room and picked his bag. Jason walked them to the parking lot and waited till the car drove off.
In the car,Tyrell was humming, tapping his hands on the steering wheel as he drove.Hw glanced to look at the mirror where he saw Adrian glaring at him
'Geez,boss you scared the hell out of me' he muttered. Just then they drove past a street and Adrian ordered him to park the car,Tyrell grumbled and parked the car waiting for Adrian to get down or for someone to knock on the window but nothing of such happened in the next minutes they spent.
Adrian stated out the window,just then a young girl walked to the window. She was apparently checking herself out in the reflection,she seemed so happy and started braiding her hair in pigtails. Her smile was so infectious,that Adrian felt enlightened by it.
She twirled twice and checked herself out, pouting her lips. Her actions were so amusing to Adrian. She posed in different styles ,not knowing that there was someone in the car
"God, I'm so pretty " she said and twirled again. Just then she heard a sneer from behind her,she turned back to see who it was - Enya Song
"If it is not our country bumpkin's friend we have here" she said , applauding Aeritha's performance. The smile on Aeritha's face vanished almost immediately.
"And what does that make her? " one of her friends asked.
"A bumpkin as well" one of them replied.
" A bumpkin is better,this one is a poor unsheltered orphan"
"Do you knowwhere she lives?I thought someonee would ask me" she said.
"Okay,just get over it and tell us where?"they asked in unison.
"Alright,she lives in the sty. What a pig!" she said and covered her nose. They started laughing at her. Aeritha tried as much to keep herself from tearing up.
"Ya! Poor thing, where's Anitha Han? I thought she was your shield,the strong one" they started crowding her, pushing her from one person to another. They were saying all sorts of things to her, insulting her and making her feel bad. She started crying,Adrian watched from the car. He knew it wasn't his business but he couldn't turn a blind eye. He questioned himself but his heart was tugging at every year she shed. He didn't know why he felt that way towards her.
"I really hate you. How dare you hang around someone I hate? Are you trying to make me mad ?" she yelled, pulling her hair.
"But I have done nothing wrong to you" Aeritha said amidst her sobs,her scalp was hurting badly and she could tell that some of her hair had been ripped.
"I don't know,I just hate your existence." she shouted on top of her voice.
"Please just let go of my hair. I beg you" Aeritha cried. Anyone seeing her begging would think she couldn't fight but Aeritha knew better than to wrong this people. She didn't know where to go,how could she hide from them?
"I will, but I don't want to see you with Anitha Han",she warned.
"if I don't go to her,she will come to look for me" Aeritha said.
"Then stay away from her" she said and pushed Aeritha with all her might. Due to how she was being pushed around,she fell straight. She was expecting to hit her head on the floor but she felt an arm around her,hitting her head on something fleshy. She opened her eyes and saw a familiar gaze on her.