Luca's P.O.V
I walked straight to Jane's office.
"Jane, why does Mr Guan need a lawyer" I asked, barging into her office, interrupting her from whatever she was doing on her desktop.
"I have no idea, Mr. Luca, Good day"
She said standing up, and greeted with a slight bow.
"Hello, Jane," I said waving her off and walking out of her office.
I didn't know what to feel at the moment. I was sad, curious, disappointed, and everything in between.
As I walked towards my office, all I could think of was how I could make things right again.
My dad was disappointed in me and probably didn't want to have anything to do with me, at the moment.
As my hand reached for the door handle, my phone beeped.
And it was a text from Alan.
"I know you wouldn't consider this invitation, holding that you ditched me the last time. But I'll be really happy if we could meet one last time before I leave the country for good."
I sighed, he probably just wanted to say his last goodbyes, nothing attached.
I texted him a location and time. Besides this is a good way of clearing my head.
****
After a short twenty-minute drive, I was sitting in the VIP lounge of the Italian restaurant I chose, waiting patiently for Alan to show up.
I was scrolling through my phone, I don't have my dad's personal lawyer's contact. But probably my lawyer would have it.
And after the third dial, he picked up.
"Good day sir"
"Good day, Ray." I greeted back.
"How are you doing, and how's everything going?"
"All good. I need your help with something"
I said going straight to the point.
"And what is it, sir?"
"Do you by chance have Mr Guan's personal lawyer's contact?"
"Oh, yes I should. I'll search for it, and forward it to you."
"Thanks a lot, Ray,I'll be waiting, " I said in appreciation as I ended the call.
"You seem bothered "Alan's voice taking over the whole room.
"I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, let's get this over with".
He ignored me and sat down on the sofa, opposite mine.
"I didn't force you to be here," he said with a shrug.
He was right, I chose to honor his invitation. So I shouldn't act all pissed.
"Am sorry" I said relaxing my nerves.
"How are you doing ", he asked ignoring my apology.
"Am fine " I said with no trace of facial expression.
"You don't seem fine, but I won't bother," he said causally.
"I'll be leaving Italy for good" he added. As he went through the menu.
"Seems someone wants to get serious with his life," I said casually, searching his face for any sort of emotion.
But he didn't seem upset or hurt by what I said, and that somehow caught me off guard.
"I'm over you Luca." He said, calling the waiter over.
"I'll have Vitello and white wine," he said to the waiter, who scribbled down what he requested on a notepad.
The waiter turned to me.
"French fries and tomato sauce," I said waving her off.
I turned back to Alan, somehow I was happy, he was over me, but a part of me still wanted that obsession.
"Well that's a good thing, for both of us actually," I said in response to what he said earlier.
"Yeah, right. I'll be heading to Spain in the next two hours."
I looked at him dumbfounded. I wasn't expecting him to leave so soon.
And I guess he could sense that.
"That's more good news right?" He asked with a sad smile.
"Not really, I wasn't expecting you to leave so soon," I said honestly.
"Well, just like you I have family businesses to take care of." He said with a smile.
The waiter came with our orders.
And we ate our food in silence. So many thoughts running through our minds. But every man keeping to himself.
"Something is going on in my family," I said interrupting the silence.
And he raised his head, looking all confused.
"You wanna talk about it?" He asked.
I don't know if telling Alan would be a mistake, but at this point, I need someone to talk to and get the weight off my chest.
"My sister was kidnapped, still with her abductors at the moment," I said with a sigh. Suddenly losing appetite.
"What the f***, you mean Lin" he silently yelled, dropping his fork.
"Yeah, and I knew her location before anyone could find out" I added.
He was looking lost."You mean, you were aware of her location and you didn't do anything?" he asked.
"Yeah, man. I thought I could rescue her on my own, that's why I didn't tell anyone ".
He stared blankly at me for a minute. "And you weren't able to rescue her, were you?"
"I wasn't able to, right now, they have changed her location, and my parents are also aware that I knew her whereabouts from the beginning," I said with a sigh.
"Wait Lu, was that your only reason, to save her on your own?" he asked looking at me with concern all over his face.
Damm, I forgot Alan, knows more about me than I do myself.
Well, I guess I just have to tell him the truth, I have already started to spill everything. There's no going back now.
"No, that wasn't my only reason. I was suspecting there's something more to the story, so I wanted to figure out what it was before I rescue Lin"
I said, in a regret-filled voice.
"And your suspicions.. ??" He asked
"I still don't know, I haven't figured anything out yet. But I do know there's something my parents are hiding. I'm sure of that." I said confidently.
"Well, I'll suggest you lay low, while doing your investigations because if your parents are hiding something and they figure out you're prying into their business, that would mean more trouble and complications for you."
He said glancing at his watch. Well, I guess it's time for him to go.
"Am glad you opened up to me. It meant a lot."
"If you need anything, I'll be just a phone call away. " He signaled to the waiter to come over.
"No, I'll be paying the bills," I said when I realized what he was about to do.
" No, let me do this, it would mean a lot," he said.
"Aww, such a sweet couple" the waiter chipped in.
And we both gave her a stern glare. Recoiling "Oh my bad," she said, collecting Alan's card.
After Alan paid the bills. We both walked out of the restaurant.
"Please be careful Luca, and whatever it is you find out. Don't let it change you" Alan said when we got to the car park.
I looked at him, trying to comprehend what he said when I suddenly felt his lips on mine.
Before I could react or make sense of what happened, he pulled out and walked to his car.
He then looked back and waved at me.
And in the next minute, he was driving past me. Leaving me dumbfounded and confused.
What just happened?