Bab 7: Meeting with Johnathan

Author's note: This is from Johnathan's point of view

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"CEO Thompson, Miss Mezzanotte is here", my secretary's voice came from the intercom.

"Let her in", I stood up with my hands behind my back and looked at the door. I hoped that Serina won't notice how nervous I am.

My mood visibly dropped when I saw Drago Orsini attached to Seraphina's hand. Why is he here?

I mean, I know they are dating and stuff, but this is business, and it was supposed to be only me and Seraphina, damnit!

Two more youngsters came in and Seraphina introduced them.

"John, I believe that you know Mr. Orsini, and these are my assistants, Zoe and Luca."

"Assistants?" I heard that she has assistants, but I didn't expect they would be this young. "You didn't disclose the agenda, so I was not sure how to prepare. Should I call my assistant to join us?"

"Only if you trust him."

Seraphina's response gave me more questions than answers.

"Let's start in this setup, and if needed, I will call him.", I said and gestured toward the sitting area. "Please, take a seat."

Seraphina sat on the sofa, and Drago was quick to sit so close to her that their hips connected. Youngsters stood behind the sofa; their straight postures reminded me more of guards than assistants.

I hated to admit, but the sight of those four people was like from a magazine cover. Does Seraphina attract beautiful individuals?

Can I sign in?

Do I qualify?

Or maybe it's Seraphina. She is so gorgeous that people around her become more attractive.

I offered them drinks and food.

Seraphina asked for water, and Drago was more than happy to open the wine. He poured for Seraphina and for himself before keeping the bottle back. He was making himself at home, like I'm not there. Scoundrel.

I did my best to maintain my façade and not show how much Drago annoyed me when he started eating the snacks I prepared for Seraphina. She refused when he offered her, but the youngsters took a few each.

I was planning to take it slow and extend her stay in my office as long as possible, maybe even until dinner. I already made reservations in an exclusive restaurant with a majestic view, just in case. But with Drago here, I was eager to get to business.

"How can I help you, Seraphina?", I asked.

"Actually, I came to help you.", she said with a charming smile and extended her hand, palm up, above her shoulder.

The assistant named Zoe placed a folder in Seraphina's hand, and she passed it to me.

I thought that it might be a proposition for partnership, or maybe for a new product, but when I saw photos of my director of construction, Christopher Bell, in compromising poses with young women who were barely dressed, I swallowed a mouthful of air.

Just what is this? I flipped through photos and started reading information in files.

Offshore accounts. Director Bell was reporting issues on construction sites, and requesting new equipment, but some of that money ended up on his accounts. Embezzlement. Director Bell's assistant and some of his subordinates are involved.

Unbelievable!

Mr. Bell was working with my father from before Giantshade Industries made a name for itself. He always had lollipops around and would give me one whenever I visited my father at work.

This was difficult to swallow.

"How did you get this? Are you sure this is not fake?", I asked.

Seraphina cocked an eyebrow at me. "Are you doubting me?"

"No, no!", I denied it right away. "I'm just curious. That's it."

She nodded and glanced at Drago whose cheeks were full of super-expensive snacks that I bought to woo Seraphina. Bastard!

I didn't miss the detail that Drago never let go of Serina's hand.

I had a feeling Drago was egging me on purpose, but I refused to blow up in front of the woman I'm trying to impress.

We all waited for Drago to finish chewing and he washed it down with a big gulp of luxurious wine before speaking, "Mr. Bell is my client. I'm managing his finances. Not long ago, Mr. Bell made a strange request that some portion of his income goes to an offshore account."

"Should you disclose information related to your clients?", I asked with disapproval.

"I didn't disclose that to anyone before coming here.", Drago said smugly. "But that made me remember a recent article how Giantshade Industries had to replace several parts on a nearly new crane, so it got me curious."

I snorted. "And you expect me to believe that you wasted resources in digging up the dirt on my director?"

Drago smirked annoyingly before saying, "I never claimed that I spent any resources, John. I just said that I was curious. But a few days ago, another of my clients came, saying that he will have a big load of money soon to invest. I will not tell you his name, for privacy reasons, but I will tell you that he is in publishing. Over coffee, I asked him how can he be certain that the money is coming, because I don't want to allocate my people without any guarantee, and he said that his investigative reporters got a big scoop. He is my client for a long time, and he gave me some of their material that will be published soon."

Drago gestured with his chin toward the folder that was in front of me. "Those are copies, and that's not all of it."

I watched him as he continued eating snacks, and he offered one to Seraphina persistently until she caved in and opened her mouth.

"Should I thank you for coming here and giving me these?", I asked Drago sarcastically.

He waved his index finger. "Not me. I shared this with Serina over dinner, and it was her idea to meet with you and show you these. I'm not a Samaritan."

Oh, so it was Seraphina!

"I'm not sure how to thank you.", I said. "Maybe I can treat you to dinner?"

I swear that Drago growled at me. What is his problem?

Seraphina's smile threw me into a daze.

"Instead of thinking how to thank me, you should think how to salvage the situation, John. I am aware that you are putting an effort into improving the image of Giantshade Industries, and these will cause damage."

I realized that she was right. Sharp and business oriented. Really, Serina is full of admirable qualities.

I nodded in agreement. "I will need to see what to do about this. Thank you."

Seraphina hummed ambiguously. "My advice for you is to suspend director Bell and start an internal investigation as soon as possible. Call authorities and ask them to freeze his accounts. In that way, when those are published, you will have proof that your company was handling the situation. It would be bad if the news breaks out and you seem ignorant. Don't let him drag you down. Depending on how Mr. Bell spins the story, he might implicate you as well…"

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Author's note: This is from Duke's point of view

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I watched as the buffoon (aka Johnathan) ate Seraphina's every word.

She was selling him the story of how all this is for his own good, and she did it wonderfully. She even slipped Sebastian's name expertly and Johnathan confirmed that he will remember Sebastian if it turns out that director Bell loses his job.

I love when Serina talks business. If there is anything more alluring than a beautiful woman, that's a beautiful woman with a sharp mind and sleek tongue. And Serina can do magic with her tongue.

At the thought of Serina's tongue, I gave her hand a squeeze.

Was she aware that I was half-hard? Ugh! Six more days.

John was grateful that Serina warned him about this, and the hearts in his eyes told me that he would believe no matter what she said.

Well, most of his directors are corrupted to some degree. It was all because Johnathan's father, Richard, was focused only on profits and didn't care about the employees.

Most of the upper management belonged to smaller companies that Richard acquired over the years, and when they rose to power suddenly, it got into their heads. They are all involved in shady activities outside office hours, but we picked on the director of construction because that was our goal in order to get closer to Enitan Keita and keep an eye on Magda.

Nearly everything we told him was the truth, but it happened in different order. We hired investigators to dig out the dirt on Christopher Bell, and compiled this so-called reporter's evidence, and we sent a copy to Stephen Dyson, the reporter of the London's Beat.

I met Stephen during Magda's birthday party a few months back, and since then, I'm feeding the guy with information about my business rivals occasionally. He gets the glory of publishing smashing articles while wiping my competition. Everyone wins (except for my competition).

Stephen will publish dirt on Christopher Bell in several waves, the first one will be released tomorrow.

This will put pressure on John to replace director Bell as soon as possible, and since director Bell's assistant and subordinates are involved in shady activities, Johnathan will probably not have a suitable internal candidate. That's where Sebastian will come into play.

Right in front of us, Johnathan called his assistant and told him to put director Bell on suspension and to start necessary investigations. The fluency of how they handled this told me that this was not the first time for John to deal with this kind of a mess. Well, considering how many times he cleaned after Magda, he should be a pro at damage control.

"I don't know how to thank you for this.", John said to Serina when he finished with his calls, and I rolled my eyes.

I swear, if he brings up the dinner again, I will feed him my fist.

"You know that I'm doing my best to clean up the company.", Johnathan continued while his eyes didn't leave Serina. "Your image is impeccable, and it reflects on Notte Pharmaceuticals. I hope that one day I can reach that level."

"I admire that.", Serina said with a smile, and Johnathan beamed.

Why did he look like a puppy that just got praised for doing a silly trick? I really wanted to punch him, but the change in Serina's mood got my attention. What happened?

"When one cleans his image, it's best to start with the ones close to him.", Serina continued, and I noticed that her smile was frozen in place. Yup. Something was off.

We were supposed to give Johnathan the so-called evidence from the journalist and suggest Sebastian as a replacement and that's it.

But it seems that Johnathan's words about cleaning up his image triggered something unexpected.

Ah, ever since Serina started craving blood, her mood is unpredictable, and she easily gets fired up; Not in a good way.

Serina's hold on my hand tightened for a moment and she closed her eyes. A second later she opened her eyes and her shoulders relaxed. Whatever it was, it passed.

John looked at Serina with a myriad of emotions showing on his face, one flashing after another until it all settled into resolve.

"I apologize, Seraphina. I know that my family caused you inconveniences, and you have every right to hate me, yet you came and brought me this. You have my gratitude. If you need anything, anytime, reach out to me and I will make it happen."

"Anything?" Serina's lips lifted into a smirk, like she just waited for this.

John nodded firmly.

"Then, I want you to call Sebastian and discuss with him the position that Mr. Bell will leave vacant. I'm not asking you to hire him. I only expect you to look at him objectively and see if he is suitable for the role."

"Is that all?"

"For now.", Serina said and stood up and I was right by her side. "We have some other things to attend to, and I'm sure that you will have your hands full for a while…"

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Author's note: check the comments for photos of characters!

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