It was not because of Sophia or his beseeching that I was unable to comprehend what Frenchester had to say; rather, it was because of his other companion and his plain name.
"George Winster."
"Scarlett, are you saying something?" I almost forgot that I was attending Raven's celebration following Mr. Kinicki's approval of the project.
I forced a grin on my face, but inside I wanted to throw up because it didn't seem like the right thing to do, especially when I had an appointment with Lusia later on.
"Raven, what about speaking with the other investors? It appears like they are merely anticipating your arrival." I take a few drinks of my wine, toast it to him, and then I hear him sneer.
A smirk crossed my face as he said, "You talk as if you wanted me away right now, don't worry, I will be away for a few days for some business deals so you should enjoy those while you can." Then, I felt warm from the coat he offered me.
I watched as he faded from my view, saying, "But you should be reminded that the coat I have wouldn't be free." He then left like a breeze and spoke to the others.
I look at the wine glass and see my face. I was taken aback to see someone I had parted ways with a few years prior.
"Again, you're alone? I assume. A deep, ominous voice caught my attention from behind me. As I turned to face the stranger, I noticed that he was sitting in Raven's seat and laughing.
He extended his hand and I took it, saying, "I guess what I just said is right. Nice to meet you again, Lady Scarlett Velmont." He took my hand and put it on his lips, but I assumed he was trying to shake ours.
I laughed. I'm always up for games if this man wants to play, but he can't expect to win since I won't let him to.
"You can just call me Scarlett, and the last time you introduced me, you didn't even say your full name," I said. I caught him giggling.
He takes one of the wine glasses from the table and twirls it, saying, "Forgive me La—Scarlett, I guess it's just fate that led us both together again so that I can tell you my name."
He sipped after a few seconds and met my eyes with his eyes.
Then he put down the wine glass and grinned.
"Scarlett, this is George Winster, but you can also call me George."
He's one of those men, I suppose, that you shouldn't mess with.
***
I keep looking at my watch, and 10:00 p.m. has already passed. I bit the inside of my lower lip. That Lusia forgot to text me is not possible. I've already arrived at my condo, but when I checked my phone, there were no texts or even calls from the server.
I'm getting concerned now.
When I had to call someone later, my phone rang and a message appeared, almost making me panic that it had been hacked.
I wanted to toss my phone away earlier, but I sighed with relief.
[To see the information, press 1; to read it later, press 2]
I hit the button.
My phone abruptly went off a little while later.
"How in the world?" If my phone hadn't been smashed earlier, I would have yelled, but when it opened, the data wasn't just any old data.
[After reading this for an hour, it will be automatically erased.]
I observed the screen flipping. I can't even press the keys to access the material I'm reading in Word format at the moment.
"Lusia is aware of her actions, huh?" I was able to whisper since I was comfortable when she messaged me.
[At the very least, he had undergone experimentation, and in a fictitious occurrence, he temporarily lost all of his memories. One recommendation from me Don't ever let revenge get the better of you, Jasmine; as of right now, I know you still don't know whom to put your confidence in. If so, you should first listen to your gut. farewell...]
My attention was drawn to the last paragraph, so I looked up how many minutes had gone. I've been reading for thirty minutes now, and in a few hours, it will end.
After writing everything I could for almost an hour, the message was eventually removed.
This was the first time I had learned so much, and out of all the knowledge I had acquired, I had only been able to grasp one thing.
However, Lusia no longer even enjoys calling me by name in the first instance. I'm not sure why, but she liked to call me by the name of a young, naive woman. Then again, this is not possible.
"Raven is deceiving me."
***
"Sigald, you've returned!" I said with pleasure, and he sighed and bowed.
"Yes, Ma'am Scarlett, I'm back after taking a few days off due to personal issues. Ma'am Scarlett, if you are searching for Sir Raven, he is now in Fresna on a business trip. You can return a week later.
My laughter caused Raven's ever-serious secretary to broaden his eyes.
"I'm not here to see him, silly. I was aware before entering this place. I heard from Raven. All I'm doing here is giving back the coat that he gave me last night. In addition, after retrieving the notes that I left at his office, I will return."
"Ma'am Scarlett, when Sir Raven returns, it would be best if you claimed your notes." As he gasped and stepped away, covering his mouth, I pointed my finger at his lips.
I laughed once more.
"Don't worry, Sigald. Nobody would find out if it wasn't discussed, right?" I said, making my way to Raven's office and dropping his secretary off outside. I then succeeded in locking it.
I could almost feel my heart thudding as I moved slowly into Raven's desk. I quickly leaned over to sit in his chair after dropping the paper bag containing his coat on the opposite table.
In an attempt to save time, I proceeded to look through his desk for anything that might have anything to do with my case or Lucas' case during those five years.
However, I spent a minute looking for nothing and found none.
I reclined a little by resting my back on the seat. However, I was completely unaware that when I applied pressure to the handle, the window cover closed and a hidden drawer materialized in front of me.
There was a brown envelope inside. Without hesitation, I made my claim and perused a few items before widening my eyes. My heart began to race as my hands began to shake.
There was information about me as a young orphan and, conversely, there was information about Lucas.
When I opened the other packet, I found a tonne of paperwork detailing events from thirty years ago. It tells the story of three families getting together when their yacht caught fire. Only one child made it out of the fire alive; everyone else perished.
That's what I discovered. I wasn't sure why Raven had these things at first, but I didn't care once I took pictures of them all, despite my hands still shaking.
The material I retrieved from his office wasn't merely random data to be ignored. It was related to both Sophia and us. How could Raven have prepared something for the three of us?
Lucas had just his grandma to care for him after his parents divorced, so I've been an orphan for as long as I can remember.
Although the public was aware of Sophia's family history, she had never really disclosed it, so I'm not sure if there would be anything new to learn.
If not for Lusia, perhaps there were secrets that I would never have discovered.
"Thank you, Sigald. If you tell your boss that I did nothing but put the coat he wanted me to return to, I'll treat you later."
I laughed my way out of the company, feeling rejuvenated.
*Ring* I discovered Anne's message as I looked through my phone in my bag.
[Madam Scarlett, there is a guest who has been waiting for you; please come by the company at 3:00 pm]
[Anne, I thought I mentioned that I'm taking today off?]
[Yes, Madam, but your grandfather sent this person; he appeared to wait patiently even after I told him you couldn't attend at this time.]
I exhaled.
Now what?
Shaking my head, I got into my car. I couldn't stop the images of what had happened earlier from replaying in my head as I drove away.
I was parking and I had no idea that I would run into someone's car.
"Scarlett, get a hold of yourself!"
Then I heard someone knock on the window of my automobile. When I turned to look at it, we both widened our eyes to see a familiar face.
"Lucas?"
"Scarlett?"
"First of all, ladies first"
"You know I just parked because it's my company?"
"Yes, however, the secretary informed me that you are on vacation. I was unaware of that."
"Are you the person I'm meant to meet, wait?"
"Oh no. It's my friend; I simply went with him earlier since I wanted to visit you. Furthermore, I must share with you some very essential information regarding Raven."
"Wait, you're here with your friend and you said important information?"