The next day, Axel ordered an emergency meeting with the upper management of starlight industries. Though most of them were older than him, they could not help but feel intimidated when they saw Axel. And now he had ordered them to gather in the conference room where the atmosphere was tense as they awaited Axel's arrival.
Amidst the tension and murmurs in the conference room, Axel walked in and the noise died down. All of them subconsciously turned their heads to where that strong presence was.
Axel stood tall at the door of the conference room, his face cold and devoid of any emotion. He was completely different from the man who played with a child in the garden yesterday.
Behind him was Camden who had the same expressionless face.
Axel's eyes scanned the room and stopped when he found Luke. He flashed the older man, his uncle, a small smile, and Luke shivered.
Yep, Axel's smile had that effect.
When Luke saw that smile, goosebumps rose all over his body. From the time he heard about the sudden meeting, he knew it somehow had something to do with him, and after seeing that smile of Axel's, he couldn't be more convinced.
Axel never smiles at anyone, not even Luke, his uncle. Axel barely even looks at him even if Luke was standing right in front of him. Back then, Luke would crave Axel's attention, just a slight nod to show that Axel knew that he still exists, but now, he didn't want any of that attention. If he could, he would disappear from the conference room. He would literally turn into anything, a pebble, a bird or even a withered plant just to be ignored by Axel.
But unfortunately, Axel was still looking at him, that cold smile never leaving his lips. That smile on his face reminds Luke of a movie he watched when he was a child. It has been so long since he watched that movie but Axel's smile managed to bring back old memories. In that movie, Hades was standing at the gate of hell with an evil smile on his face– just like the one Axel adorned– as he awaited the arrival of sinners. Back then, he was so scared that he couldn't sleep for a week and the fear he felt that day was no different from what he was feeling now.
Axel walked to his seat at the head of the table, oozing with pride and elegance that made men envy him and women drool over him. He sat with one leg crossed over the other wonder the table while his elegant fingers tapped slowly on the table, sending his domineering presence across the room.
For a while, the only sound that was heard was the tap of Axel's fingers on the table and the awfully loud heartbeat of someone, probably Luke.
When Axel was sure that he had their undivided attention, his fingers stopped tapping on the table suddenly and a deafening silence fell over the place. Everyone had their hearts in their hands as they waited for Axel to speak.
His eyes roamed about the nervous faces in the room and he snickered inwardly. They had no reason to worry as he wasn't here for them– at least not yet– but he wouldn't tell them that. A part of him enjoys seeing the nervousness on their and the loud pounding of their hearts was music to his ears.
After a little exchange of greetings with them, the room was silent once more and he knew that it was time to speak.
"From now onwards, Luke Miller has been relieved of all his duties as the general manager of starlight industries". Axel stated with authority and audible gasps were heard in the room. Subconsciously, they turned their heads at the same time to Luke whose face was already as white as a plain sheet of paper.
Seeing that no one was speaking as they were all still in a state of shock, Axel leaned forward, his fingers now intertwined and his chin resting on them. "Any objections?" Suddenly hearing Axel's voice, all heads turned in his direction at once like they were being controlled; like they were robots.
The shock on their faces was unsurprising to Axel. Luke was good at what he does and his position as the general manager suited him well. The only offense he committed was being hated by Axel and the only reason he was the general manager was because of Axel's grandfather.
Axel had done all he could to send his uncle away, even throwing problems at him deliberately but Luke just managed to get through everything. Axel had even tried to taint his record; he did everything, he tried everything, but nothing worked.
At one point, Axel began to think that some angels were protecting Luke from him but Hannah's presence managed to scare those angels off. After seeing the maddening look in her eyes yesterday, Axel knew, without anyone telling him, that Luke was going to die the next time Hannah saw him.
In the end, this wasn't just about sending Luke away, it was also about saving his life.
Being called back home for a funeral service was the last thing Axel wanted right now.
As though he was just woken up from a trance, Luke stood up abruptly, his face still pale, but he was angry nonetheless. He slammed his hand angrily on the table making everyone turn to him in surprise, wondering if Luke had a death wish. They all had pity in their eyes for Luke.
"Why am I being relieved of my duties?! Luke inquired angrily and everyone turned back to Axel as if waiting for answers.
On the side, by Axel's right, Camden watched the comical expressions and actions of the upper management and he had to bite the inside of his cheeks to stop himself from laughing. If Axel speaks, their heads turn to him and if Luke makes a sound, their heads turn to him at the same time. What made it funnier was that Axel was sitting at the head of the table while Luke was sitting at the far end of the table. So it looked like they were just whipping their heads from side to side like they were being controlled by a remote.
As an answer to Luke's question, Axel spoke, "You harassed my secretary and even lured her to your office. She is new so she doesn't understand the rules yet, but you, Manager Miller, know and understand the rules, yet you called her into your office. Why?"
The heads rolled back in Luke's direction and he was starting to feel pressured by the pairs of questioning eyes on him.
"She was rude to me so I called her to my office to teach her a lesson!" Luke explained while shouting and he didn't notice the dark expression that now graced Axel's face.