Chapter 6
1116 Words
Halle took another glance at the golden boy in front of her. He had what seemed like a permanently imprinted smile as their gaze locked. “Hmmn. If you say so. I was looking for the nanny. Elijah has refused to make our learning processes smooth and continuous. I thought Paula could be of help.”
“Thankfully, you have me. Eli is a sweet boy. I believe he just needs time. And attention.” He replied in a concerned manner. “Lachlan should do better,” Jake murmured again.
“Good. I’ll appreciate any help I get. Shall we proceed? I am lost by the way.”
“Nice of you to admit it. We are just going by the right corner, that’s all.”
Entering Elijah's room, they met him coming out of the study with a bunch of books in hand. A very devoted scholar. As he sighting Jake, he threw the books and screamed, flying into Jake's arms.
“Eli, my man!”
“Where have you been? You promised me a gift for every time you travel for long.”
Jake pressed the little boy close to himself and Eli held clung tightly unto him. That brief moment, Halle sensed the vulnerability and innocence of a child. She could see through his weakness and loneliness. She wanted so bad to make him smile, to make him live as a bubbly little kid. Halle forced a little smile when Eli caught her staring. Surprisingly, he smiled back.
****
Lachlan’s flight was about to take off. The storm lasted for 3 days and he couldn’t leave the hotel. Laura had called earlier to inform him his driver would be waiting at the airport to take him to the Glock Company. The company was owned by a particular rival of his. Personally, Lachlan had no business getting into little fights with people in the name of competition. Unfortunately, he attended a bidding party where all proceeds would go to charity. Antonio Severus of the Glock Company was present. He had engaged Lachlan in a brief discussion before the party started.
“Lachlan! Good to see you are here. How about we discuss merging?”
Lachlan was taken aback by Antonio's bluntness. The man had sent emails and his representatives to Lachlan previously but never physically. “Good evening Antonio. I am not interested in merging. I’ve always made this known to you and your associates.”
“Think about this. We would web our influence through the whole industry, crushing beneath us every other company and dominate.”
“I believe in growing along with others. I’ll have no business crushing others. Enjoy the party.”
Stating his intentions clearly, Lachlan had declined the offer and this led to lots of altercations between the two individuals and their businesses. Antonio made it his everyday duty to frustrate Lachlan and choke his business.. Lachlan had first ignored the whole thing but when the damages became too detrimental and unbearable, he discussed with his associates and decided to strike a bargain with Antonio.
When Lachlan arrived at his office, he could see Antonio sitting patiently at the reception.
“Top of the morning, Lachlan. How was London?”
“Fine, Antonio. How do you do?” Lachlan led Antonio into his office and signaled to Laura to stay put. “Do you need anything? Tea? Coffee? Water?”
“I’ll like to go straight to why we are meeting. I know you’ve refused but I'll like to push it to you one more time. Let’s merge. You get 40% of my shares and I get 40% of yours. What do you say?”
“Antonio. You never stop trying, do you? I do not trust your ways of business. Believe me when I say I don’t appreciate you sabotaging me.”
“ I wouldn’t call that sabotaging. We’ll call it strategizing. At least it got you to meet with me.” Antonio chuckled .
“Hmmm. I can only offer you a deal. I’ll be developing a new software, my developers are on it. I’ll send the structure and other details to you. To satisfy your want, proceeds will be shared equally.”
“Your company develops the best software throughout my experience in this industry. Your record breaking stats are top notch. I’m interested. How about I get a 60% and you get the rest. I’ll be funding the software, of course.”
“Since you would be funding. Sounds fair to me. If that’s all, I’ll like to proceed with my other plans.”
“Isn’t it funny that our conversation was quite easy, Lachlan Gray?”
The way Antonio called out Lachlan's name caused a chill to run down Lachlan's spine. He dismissed the thought and engaged Antonio in a staring contest.
“I want no more attacks. Trust me, I can bite and when I do, I bite hard.”
Still shaken from the meeting, he headed home abruptly. He intended to head for his study and find ways to tackle Antonio and his underlining threat. He wondered if he made the right choice by striking that deal with his enemy. He wasn’t looking when he collided with a figure. Without checking twice, he raised his voice.
“Want is wrong with you?!!!”
“Excuse me? That was an honest mistake. Maybe you should look at where you are going,” a sweet but angry voice replied.
Lachlan stared at the lady struggling to stand up before offering his arm to her and helped her up. Those familiar brown eyes looked up at him as if expecting an apology.
“Who are you? The second godfather?” She asked angrily.
“Lachlan Gray. You would be the new home teacher, Ms. Halle. What a poetic way to meet with you.”
“Oh. Wow. Good afternoon sir. I wasn’t expecting you. I-“ She ran out of words.
“All good. How are you coming up with Eli? Quite a handful, that one.” Lachlan raised a brow.
“Well, little progress. I thought you would hold the interview.”
“As you can see, I’m a very busy man.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that stopped you from meeting with whoever you would leave in charge of your son,” Halle retorted.
“And I’m thinking you would know how best I deal with affairs relating to my child. You might as well tutor me too.”
“What about his mother?”
Lachlan instantly boiled with anger and his face turned red before he turned on his heels and made for his study, leaving a shocked Halle behind.
- Writer
