Chương 11: CHAPTER ELEVEN
Laurent hadn't been lying. Well, not completely anyway. They did have a presentation scheduled for the day, but he didn't really need to be there. His fingers drummed on his steering wheel as he made his way to the office. Staying away would have raised questions, and while he was comfortable acting lovey-dovey around the Boss' daughter, it would only make him more of a curiosity among his colleagues. They already questioned his motivations when he found himself doing more than necessary on every work he was given, but his blank face gave him a privacy he couldn't underestimate. Bringing in feelings would make him look more human to them, encouraging 'conversation'.
Once at the office, he put his game face on - not literally of course, and acknowledged the few people who said a word of greeting to him. Then he walked into his office and shut his door. His aim that day was really simple - find incentive. Because of the incriminating evidence he'd uncovered, Blackwell industries was ripe for the taking, but he needed something else to convince the man that giving him the company was his best approach. And for that to happen, he needed to know the man. So far from his meager interactions, the only thing he knew was that the man cared for his daughter, but if possible, he wanted to achieve his goal without having to threaten her.
Locking his door behind him, he pulled out the flash drive and opened the files again. Based on what he knew about the man, it was a little confusing that the company was in that amount of debt, but he wouldn't bite the hands that were feeding him.
He sat at his desk, his mind racing through possible scenarios. He'd always prided himself on his ability to read people, to find their weaknesses and exploit them. But the old man wasn't going to be much of an easy nut to crack. The man's public persona was that of a shrewd businessman with a heart of gold - donating to charities, supporting local initiatives, and always wearing that infuriatingly genuine smile in photos. But Laurent knew better. No one got to where Blackwell was without getting their hands dirty. He had the evidence in his pockets.
And far apart from his public persona was the one he had with his daughter. His only heir, the few interactions he'd witnessed between the two of them had shown what looked like true love. Which was part of what hurt him. His brother had died, and the cause of it didn't even have the decency to be cruel to everyone, he adored his daughter. Maybe using Rose would actually be in the cards.
His phone rang out, and he picked it up and checked the caller. Max. He definitely wasn't disappointed when it wasn't Rose, of course he wasn't. He swiped the answer button.
"Yeah? What's up?"
"Laurent!!!" He had to push the phone away from his ear from the force of his friend's shout. He checked his watch, 9:30 am.
"Max, man, are you drunk?"
His friend just laughed. He messaged his forehead. Why was it that of all the people that he'd eventually chosen as friends, he'd picked one as unhelpful as Max. Though picked wasn't the right phrase. More like he'd lost the fight.
"What is it?"
There was a silence from the other end of the phone, before he answered in an out of character serious tone of voice. "Hey, what are you doing?"
He sat down and rested his back, "I'm at work, like you should be. Why aren't you at work anyway?"
His friend ignored that, "Can you come pick me up?"
He sighed, this didn't happen often, maybe twice a year or something, but it was one of two things. For all his redeeming qualities, Max didn't always drink for fun, he drank to forget. He'd spent the majority of his earnings looking for his mother, a woman he claimed was kicked out by his father, and he only drank like this when he either found her, and realized she wasn't the one, or when he didn't find her.
"Fine. Where are you?"
"Faded"
Shit. That was a club that was known for violence and their shitty safety. Their motto was "at your own risk" for Jesus' sake. Before he was even aware he was doing it, he'd picked away from his chair, put the drive back in his pockets and was outside his office.
"Max, stay there okay? I'm on my way"
When there was no response, he looked at the phone and realized the call had been dropped. He took the door at a run, almost smacking into Julia, his assistant.
"Mr. Ricco '' she exclaimed as she came to a halt, not two pages from him.
"What is it, Julia?" He asked impatiently. If he had his way, he'd have removed her from his employ, but alas, he wasn't the boss. Yet, his brain reminded him.
Her gaze glanced between his office door and the door she came in through, "Are you going out, Sir?"
"Obviously", he bit out.
"Oh"
"What is it?" He repeated again.
"You have a meeting scheduled for 12:00 Sir"
He started at her until she stopped her own eyes, "I don't remember fixing any meetings, Julia"
She muttered something under her breath.
"Speak out" he snapped, and she met his eyes one more time, fire sharing in her gaze.
"I said I didn't have a choice Sir. I was ordered by higher parties"
Fuck, he didn't have time for this. He glanced at his watch.
"I'll be back, we'll talk when I'm back"
She nodded, and he took the stairs on a run. He couldn't rush there being a queue at the elevator.
With only the slightest hitch in his breathing, he left the last stairs of the four-story building behind him and jogged to his car. He tried Max's phone as he started driving, but the call wasn't answered. He stepped on the accelerator.
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