A Tale Beyond Destiny

Chapter 26: Someone from his Past (Caleb)

Just like what I had expected, the meeting between the team who had encountered a problem took longer than usual. To be a prank, it was still not fully resolved and it needed an immediate solution, which was why I still could not leave the office, even though that was clearly what I had in my mind this whole time.

Even Fabian, who also told me that he wanted a day off, was already getting irritated about the problem. Even though he was clearly always chilled when it came to our work, it seemed as if this problem was enough for him to lose his temper easily. He even shouted at one of the new employees earlier, even though he never intended to do such things, and even though he had never done that in the past.

Even now that we were inside my office as we tried to find a temporary solution for this, while the team that was really appointed for this task would try to find a permanent answer to this problem, I could still see that Fabian would snap any minute from now. That was why I refrained from talking about anything other than the things we needed to do, though I should say that I also badly wanted to take my irritation out of something.

I tried to calm down. I tried to chill out because I already knew that I would act worse than Fabian had acted earlier, and I could not possibly do that because almost all of my employees were already on edge because of what had happened. They were already stressed as it is, and I never intend to live being called tyrant by those people.

Even though my head already ached because we could not seem to do anything about this, I still tried to focus all of my attention on my work and nothing else. That was even if all I wanted to do was to call Caliana so that I could calm down even for just a little while. And again, I could not possibly do that. Not now that I really needed to give all of my attention to the task that we needed to do.

I had just stopped writing and typing on my laptop, when I heard Fabian draw a loud breath that made me look up at him, and I tried my hardest to stop myself from laughing out loud because of the sour look on his face.

“Tell me why did you give this project to that new employee again?” he asked me as he shot me a look that was enough for the employees to tremble, but not me, because I already knew that this kind of thing would happen whenever we faced some difficulties with the project that we hold.

“He had these skills that I think we can use on this project,” I explained, but then again, I let out a sigh as I received another email from the team that made me want to just shut it down and never turn it back on. I typed some reply to it, while I continued to talk to Fabian. “But I think that I was wrong with that.”

“Now that I think of it, I must say that he was just being too ambitious the last time that we had a meeting with him.” I wanted to agree with him, but I refrain myself from doing so because I think that it would be harsh to do something like this towards someone, though I must say that this really tested all my will to not just snap at anyone inside of this building.

I continued to type on my laptop, and I almost just wanted to remove my head because of the other emails that popped out on my notification. I did not have any choice but to reply to the important ones, and those emails that came from that team that messed everything up.

“This is the very first time that something like this has ever happened to us,” he said, which made me agree with him, because this was, indeed, the first time that a mess like this ever happened. It was as if it were being sabotaged, though I did not like to think about it as of that moment because I did not have any concrete proof. “You should have given this project to one of our senior employees so that we can rest assured that everything would go smoothly.”

I did not like to think that Fabian was giving all the blame to me, but I guess that he was just doing that because of the frustrations that he felt. After all, this would be the first time that he would be able to take a break, if ever, because he was always so dedicated to his work that he always refused to take a day off.

“It is too late to have a talk about this,” I told him, still not looking at him while I was typing some reports on my laptop. “I suggest that you should let it go now and focus on finding some temporary solution to this, because I am sure that none of us would be able to turn back the time and reconded everything that we said and done.”

I heard Fabian let out a loud sigh once again, and that made me almost want to shake my head, but I stopped myself from doing so. Instead, I just focused all of my attention on the laptop in front of me as I took note of everything that I think would be the best solution to this problem.

“I hate to say this, but you are right,” Fabian answered, which made me look at him with one of my eyebrows raised, because I doubt that he would just let all of his frustrations go just because I told him to do so. “Though I am still frustrated over everything that happened.” I could not stop the small laugh that left my lips because I have already anticipated that moment.

I could hear how Fabian would drop some things on my table, harder than usual, that is. And I could also feel the irritation and the dark aura that was surrounding him, though I did not point that out any longer because I already knew that it would just end in vain. I just chose to stay silent as I tried all my best to find something that would be an answer to this problem, temporarily.

I did not know how long I had been on my desk, but I did not care about the time any longer, because all I wanted to do was to find something that we could use, but then again, it was not easy to find one because we were just halfway through the solution that we wanted to obtain. Fabian, who was still irritated over everything, was already doing his work, though I guess that it would just take a minute, or maybe, two, before he would throw a tantrum because of all the frustrations that he felt.

I just really wished that no one would get inside of my office because I did not think that they would be able to handle Fabian’s wrath as of that moment. I also wished that the employee who was really at fault here would not decide to make a report right now, because I also did not think that I would be able to handle the things that he would say, which, I assumed, was another problem that he had encountered in the field.

And I guess that fate was on our side because no one had interrupted us for almost an hour now, and we were able to find half of the answer that we wanted, but then again, just like what I noted earlier, it was just a temporary solution because all of us had high hopes that the team leader for this project would be able to find something, anything, that would resolve the issue. After all, we wanted to know if he was professional enough to handle this kind of thing, and if he was not, then I did not think that he would be fit for his position.

He still needed to learn, and I guess that I already have something in my mind that would help him learn more about this field, and that would help him avoid something like this from happening again.

The silence and the constant typing inside of my office has been going on for hours now, and I thought that it would be just that until we would finally resolve the issue, but then again, I was wrong. I heard my phone ring, indicating that someone had called me and I could not help but to let out a loud sigh, so was Fabian, who I think was already on his edge.

“Please do not tell me that there is another work to do for this day,” he pleaded when he saw that I finally took out my phone. “I do not think that I would be able to take another long work. I am really exhausted right now.”

I wanted to tell him that he was not the only one, but I was stopped when I saw the unfamiliar phone number, and it did not have any name in it. I frowned as I whispered to myself, “This contact number is not saved on my phone.”

Fabian stopped rambling and looked at me with a worried expression on his face. It seemed as if he also knew who that person was, but he shook his head because he did not like the idea that he was ever the one who was calling me.

“Is it him?” he asked me, warily, and he even took out his phone as if he was ready to call someone for help. “He was the only person that would do something like this to you, right?” It did not escape from my ears how his voice trembled because of worry.

“I do not want to think of that way,” I answered him as I contemplated if I should answer the call or not. “But I think that it was indeed him who was calling me.” Though, in the end, I decided that I should just answer the call because I already knew that he would not just call me out of the blue.

Fabian immediately stood up. It was as if he had already prepared himself for the worse, but I just gave him a look to tell him that I could handle this and I would not act the same way as before. It seemed like he already got what I wanted to imply because he let out a defeated sigh and just sat on his chair once again, but I could clearly hear when he said that he would not hesitate to call him if ever everything would go south.

I just nodded my head at him as I waited for the other line to talk, and I did not wait that long anymore when I heard an enthusiastic, “It has been a while, my nephew!” I could not stop myself from gritting my teeth out of anger that I felt towards him.

After all these years, when my life became normal again, he had decided to just go out of his way and call me. I also knew that it was not just a simple phone call, but one that would make me irritated, and even more so, angry at him. I instantly knew that he had a goal in his mind, just like what had happened years ago when he took everything away from me.

“What do you want?” I asked him, as I did not bother to hide the venom in my voice. All the hatred, anger, and the pain that I have been having all these years resurfaced just because I heard that irritating voice of his.

“Is it really him?” I heard Fabian ask me, clearly worried about me, but I did not bother to answer him any longer, and he did not pry anymore because I knew that he already knew that I did not like to talk to anyone as of that moment.

I heard an irritating laugh on the other line that made me want to strangle him, if ever he was right in front of me. “Come on now!” he said, as if he had done nothing wrong to me in the past. “I just wanted to check on you, Caleb.” I almost puke because of the sweetness on his voice, which I knew that he has been faking.

“Wanted to check on me?” I asked him as if I could not believe that I heard that from him, because really, I already knew that this was not like those sweet interactions between a nephew and his uncle. I already knew that because he also did that in the past. “You wanted to check on someone you literally destroyed before? You wanted to check if I was still alive? For what? For the wealth that I managed to have after that incident?”

I could not stop myself any longer. I just suddenly burst and I wanted to thank Fabian because he instantly got what had been happening and what my uncle was saying to me, because he stopped me from hurting myself or making a mess inside of my own office. He restrained me, and I was thankful enough that he did, because I knew that I would really do something that I might regret sooner or later.

“What if that was really the case?” he asked me, which made me feel even more angry at him. I gritted my teeth as I clenched my fist so tight that it almost drew out blood from me. “What if that was really my intention, that was why I called you today?” His voice had gone called. The irritating sweetness in his tone earlier was suddenly gone, and somehow, this new voice of his was more than enough for me to want and punch him in his face.

“Do you really think that I will give my company up that easily?” I asked him in disbelief, then suddenly, my eyes showed rage that it almost made Fabian hide away from me. “Do you really think that I would act like a fo*l who will follow you again?” I gritted my teeth even more that it was almost enough to make me feel the pain, but I did not, because the anger inside of me was too strong for me to feel any other thing on myself. “I am not like the same Caleb before. I assure you that I will fight back this time.”

I thought that was enough for him to feel threatened, but then again, it seems like I was wrong because I heard him laugh out loud as if he had heard something so absurd, and it was more than enough for me to kill him, but I stopped myself from doing so.

“Really?” he asked me as if he had humored what I just said to him. “Even if I have your woman? Even if I have that person who saved you from the darkness?” My eyes widened in shock because of what he said. My heart suddenly beat so fast, and I could not shake off the thought that he had kidn*pped Caliana, even though it was really impossible for him to do so.

I wanted to open my mouth to speak and tell him that I did not believe him, but then again, I heard someone shouting as if they had hurt her, and I instantly recognized that voice which made my heart sink.

“Caliana.” I could not hide the trembling in my voice. I could not hide the sudden fear that I felt for her. I could not hide the sudden emotion that burst inside of me.

“Yes, I have her.” He laughed once again, then suddenly, he told me that if I wanted her back, I should just go to the address and the time that he told me. He even said that if I ever tried to contact the police or if I did not go there all alone, he would not hesitate to kill her and I would not be able to see her again. “Goodbye, Caleb,” he said, that made me want to shout at him, but I stopped myself from doing so. “I will anticipate the day that the two of us will meet again.” Then, suddenly, the line ended and I was left with the same fear inside of my chest.

I could hear Fabian asking me some questions, but I did not bother to look at him and entertain him by answering those worried questions of his. Instead, I held my phone once again as I started to dial a number that I knew would help me with this one.

Just like what I had said earlier, I was not like the f*ol I was before. I would not repeat the same things twice anymore. I would not act too dumb and make him do whatever he wanted to do to me. No, I am a better person right now. I am sharper, and I have already made a vow to myself that I would never let him control me again.

I clenched my fist, determined to save Caliana from the nasty hands of my uncle, before I finally dialed his number. I heard it ring, though I did not wait that long because I had already heard that he picked up the phone. I held my fist even tighter as I greeted him, “Connor.”