-DYNAMITE BAR-
This is the 8th shot of whisky Levi has drunk. He's been drinking for an hour, with Chloe accompanying him.
Chloe Boucher is Levi's best friend. Levi, Chloe, and Edward have been friends since middle school, and you could say the three of them are best friends who always have each other's backs. Chloe is a scientist at his family's research lab, which is called the Boucher Association of France Research Centers. It is one of the biggest research labs that supplies biological, chemical, and even medical supplies, and they also run many experiments and research there.
"Levi, you've been drinking a lot. Why don't you tell me what happened?" Chloe inquired, concerned about his friend, who had been drinking without saying anything since she arrived.
Levi looks at Chloe. His head feels dizzy, showing that he's been drinking too much.
"Say, four eyes, am I not good enough to ask someone to go out with me?" Levi asked Chloe while trying to finish his whiskey.
"Huh? Why did you suddenly ask me that? As far as I know, you always ask someone to go out or play around with you. And you drink enough already, so stop drinking." Chloe answered Levi while stopping him from drinking more.
"Tch. I'm not asking you that one. I'm asking you about the serious one." Levi said, shoving Chloe's hand away from him and protesting that he wanted to drink more.
"Wait, if you said the serious one, did you ask Haruka Charles Auclair to go out with you then?" Chloe asked, shocked. She's the only one who knows about Levi's feelings towards Haruka.
"Well, something like that." He was too lazy to tell Chloe the details, he just answered her like that.
"So, what did he say?" From what I can tell, you were rejected, of course, but why?" She knows Levi wouldn't like that, but she just asked.
"He didn't believe me because I've been sleeping with different people every week. What kind of excuse is that?" Levi put his glass on the table roughly, feeling irritated, remembering the answer that Haruka Charles Auclair had given him before.
"Well, Levi, you cannot blame him. If I were him, I'd reject you if you confessed to me like that after sleeping with so many people just the week before, lol. So, listen, Levi, the problem here is you. Why don't you change yourself first and ask him out again with a better you?" As always, Chloe will be the one to provide advice if it comes to relationships or about life.
"But he said he would not go out with me even if I did change." Levi said, his head landing on his left palm.
Chloe smiles, looking at his best friend. "We don't know until you try, Levi. So do your best, and if anything happens, I have your back." Chloe said, encouraging his best friend but at the same time feeling irritated because Levi is drunk right now and she's the one that needs to take care of him.
-THE NEXT DAY-
Haruka Charles Auclair arrived a bit late the next day, and it was chaotic at the office, making him wonder. Something happened.
"I heard the vice chairman come to meet the executive director this morning." Haruka heard one of the staff members say this, and he was confused. No one informed him that the vice chairman was coming this morning. Karl Ackerman is the vice chairman and president of Ackerman Group Company.
Haruka accelerates his steps towards his office, and when he arrives in front of Levi's secretary's office door,
"I heard the vice chairman slap the vice president right after I was outside Mr. Ackerman's office."
-Haruka POV-
"I heard the vice chairman slap the Director right after I was outside Mr. Ackerman's office."
I heard one of the secretaries' voices say, and I was shocked. What did the LevinAckerman do this time? I arrived in front of my office door, and there were the other two secretaries there. They were shocked while looking at me.
"Mr. Auclair, I'm sorry, but the Director said you cannot enter your office for now." Sophia, the secretary from yesterday, was trying to block me from entering my office.
"Move, Sophia." I said, trying to control my tone.
"But Mr. Auclair..."
"I said, move!" I raised my voice a bit and glared at her. Slowly, they move from the office door, and I step inside.
Looking back at them, "I'm sorry." Feeling a bit guilty, I apologised to them. Without looking at them, I closed the door, making my steps towards Mr. Ackerman's office.
"I told you not to touch the Auclair! I don't care who you want to play and sleep around with, but not Mr. Auclair!" I heard the vice chairman's voice. The vice chairman is currently angry with Levi because of me, but why? Because of me, but why?
I couldn't listen to Levi's voice from here. I guess he was scared to speak, or maybe he just speaks slowly.
"You're lucky to have your grandfather on your side, Levi, and I admire the way you run our family business, but don't touch Mr. Auclair again, you know we need him in our company." This time, he's not yelling, but I could hear him clearly. Well, of course they need me in this company.
"I understand, father." Now, I can hear Levi's voice as well. This might be the time to enter the room since they might have finished their conversation.
Slowly, I brought my hand up and knocked on the door. I opened the door and entered the room with a smile, looking at the vice chairman. I could see that Levi was shocked to see me there.
"Good morning, vice chairman. I don't know that you are coming this early in the morning, sir. I'll prepare the coffee." I said, still smiling at the vice chairman, pretending that I hadn't heard anything about what they had said before. I make my way towards the Director in the meantime.
"Oh, good morning, Mr. Auclair. It's okay you don't have to. I'm done talking to my son, and I will leave for now." He said this while smiling, as if he had never done anything wrong before. I stopped him in his tracks as he made his way towards the door with his secretary.
"I'm sorry if I sounded a bit rude, sir, but I believe the director didn't do anything wrong, so you shouldn't treat your son that way." I said, not looking at him, because I knew he also didn't look at me at this moment. I'm not afraid of being rude because I know they can't fire me.
"I appreciate your advice, Mr. Auclair, but I have my own ways to teach my children." With that, he just left Mr. Ackerman's office.
With the president leaving, I look at Levi Ackerman in front of me. I can see a small scratch on his lips. How strong the vice chairjman's slap is until it can break down his lips like that.
"Mr. Auclair, you can go to your office now, and please clear my schedule for this morning." He said it softly, or, should I say, hurtfully, as he tried to get up from the couch and move towards his table, but I stopped him.
"Mr. Auclair, I said you can go to your office now." He looked at me for a split second before looking down. Wow, I never saw Levi Ackerman so vulnerable like this.
"Let me treat your wound first, at least. You were hurt because of me." I said, and he looked at me in surprise. However, I could sense his guilt. For what exactly?
"So you heard what my father said earlier?" He said it in a guilty tone and was still not facing me.
"Yeah, I did, and I don't mind that. Every company wanted a person like me to work for them, so I kind of understand why your father said that. But he doesn't need to go so far as to slap you. In fact, I felt a little bad when he was slapped because of me. I took the first-aid kit out of the drawer.
"Do you remember the first day of your work?" Looking at me, he said. A faint smile formed on his lips for a while.
"Which one of the many things that happened on my first day are you referring to?" While we were talking, I put the antiseptic on the cotton bud to clean the wound first.
"That time when you need to sign the contract." He said this, and I suddenly remembered that scene as well.
TO BE CONTINUED...