Chapter 9 - Blooming Conflict
2001 Words
Lowell scanned through the piece of paper on his hand. Lines formed in between his eyebrows when he reached the work experience section of Wednesday’s CV.
“Three part-time jobs during her last year of University. How dedicated.” He mumbled and flipped it to look at the next page.
“Sir.”
The young CEO tilted his head up and threw a glare at his panting assistant. Seeing his reaction, Alexiel gulped.
“There’s an urgent matter but if you don’t want to be disturbed, I could - “
He heaved a sigh to stop him from talking. “Go ahead. What is it this time?”
The tall man adjusted his eyeglasses. “It’s about your half-brother Orion, sir.”
The hesitation in Alexiel’s visage made him put the papers down. His brows were knitted together, confused at his reaction. “What about that punk?”
“He’s making a scene at the lobby earlier, so I decided to calm him down in one of our meeting rooms. He wants to talk to you.”
Lowell pulled his head back and stared at the ceiling for a brief moment. “This will be a long day, huh.”
“I think he’s here because we rejected his business proposal.” His assistant added in a worried tone.
“Don’t tell the old hag about this.” He warned and stood up.
“But isn’t it much better to let her know? That way she can deal with them properly. Last time it was Henry who thoughtlessly barged in here.” Alexiel insisted.
Lowell was used to his assistant going against his decisions any chance he gets, but he could tell that Alexiel was clearly distressed about this situation. He can’t blame him though, as this wasn’t the first time this has happened.
“Let me handle this, Alex.” He assured him as he put on a coat from the wall-mounted rack. “What room was he in?”
“Meeting room 301. Do you need me to accompany you?”
He shook his head as a smirk traced his lips. “Just stay outside, it’ll get messy.”
His tracks stopped in front of the said meeting room. From there, he could feel the glances of the employees stationed near the spot he was standing. He tapped his forehead and turned to Alexiel, who’s anxiously standing behind him.
He gave him a look while tilting his head to the direction of the flocking employees. His assistant easily guessed what he meant and nodded. He waited until Alexiel stepped away before pushing the door open.
Orion sat there with his legs crossed above the meeting table. Lowell sneered while closing the door behind him. He scanned him from head to toe and pressed his temple. Dressed in a bright pink suit, the young CEO almost shut his eyes in embarrassment that this was in fact - his brother.
He sat at the other end of the table and placed his hands together. “What pleasure do I owe the Vice Chairman of JYBC Broadcasting Station to pay me an unannounced visit?”
Orion snorted and mouthed a forceful laugh. “You gotta be kidding me. I’m sure you heard the news.”
“News? What news?” The corner of his mouth raised. He let his chin rest on his palm and blinked.
“You - “ His half-brother pursed his lips in an attempt to not lose temper. He put down his legs and sat properly.
He leaned closer as he whispered, “You know I got demoted because you refused to cooperate, right?”
“You got demoted?” Lowell chuckled and clapped in the air. “The old hag finally got tired of covering up her son’s incompetency, I see.”
Orion slammed his palms above the table and threw a sharp look at his direction. His eyes were shaking in anger, but it only made the young CEO of SMU Publishing more amused.
“Did you help Henry? That jerk suddenly got better projects and now he’s up for promotion as Vice.”
He shrugged at his accusation. “Why would I? I don’t even know why you had to update me with your work. I’m not even part of JYBC anymore.”
“Stop with the innocent act, Lowell. I know Henry went here.” The eldest of his three half-brothers finally erupted. His voice almost sounded like he was yelling yet Lowell can’t help but burst into loud laughter.
From the corner of his eyes, he could see Alexiel peeking through the glass door. He ran a hand through his scalp and sighed. This situation cannot be dragged any longer or there’ll be unnecessary gossip around the office.
“Do I look like the kind of person you can visit unannounced, Orion?”
With his change of tone, the man in pink sat straight and adjusted his necktie. He averted his gaze to hide his intimidation.
“What I mean is..” Orion cleared his throat. “You could’ve just helped me a bit by signing my proposal. I-I’m your brother after all.”
Lowell was baffled that even forcing a sarcastic laugh wasn’t possible. He touched his cheek, moved to his chin, and took a deep breath. Brother. He’s not really sure how to react to the ridiculous remark he’d just heard.
“You see, my dear brother.” He paused as their gaze met. A condescending smile spreads through his lips. “Unlike you, I don’t fight losing battles.”
“What?”
“You think your proposal is any better than Henry’s?” He asked and tapped his fingers on the table to induce tension. “Newsflash, both of you suck. But at the very least, Henry’s proposal wasn’t a ballant display of greediness unlike yours.”
“So you admit that you’ve helped him?”
Lowell snorted. “No, why would I agree to an obvious loss of profit? Unlike you, I have no intention of bringing all my hard work into ruin.”
“I’d like to rip your rude-ass mouth someday,” Orion exclaimed while clenching his fists in front of him. “Just know how lucky you are that we’re on your territory.”
“But I did give him a word of advice, being a good brother that I am.” He continued despite his obvious display of rage.
“You gave him a lead, didn’t you?” Orion scoffed in disbelief and shuffled his hair. “Knowing your sadistic personality, you must’ve planned this to turn us against each other. How was it? Are you enjoying yourself?”
Lowell stood up and gave his brother a stern look. “Everything must be bright and sunny inside your bubble, brother. To always put the blame on me when your plans go wrong, how convenient.”
He turned to the direction of the door. “Come back if you have a better proposal. Who knows? You might snatch your old position back before Henry steps up the ladder.”
Before he could take another step, a forceful hand grabs his shoulder. It was followed by a punch that made his back crash against the wall. He could tell that Alexiel was about to rush inside the room, so he raised his palm mid-air to assure him he’s alright.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and turned to look at Orion, who’s now flexing his fists in from him. The man must’ve thought he could intimidate the mighty Lowell Sebastian by acting tough.
“You know I could sue you for this, don’t you?” He titled his head towards the CCTV camera at the corner of the meeting room. When he stepped closer, his brother’s eyes wavered and pulled further away.
“Or better yet, I’ll just have it uploaded on the internet. Since you’re so fixated by your assumption that I’m helping Henry - might as well do that and help him step up as President.”
“You piece of shit.” Orion paused amidst throwing his fist in the air once again when he saw Lowell’s gaze turned grim.
“Try laying a finger on me again and I’ll forget that you're my mother’s stepson. I could send you to jail right here, right now.” Those words were mouthed in a very low tone, but it oozed with angst and authority.
“Know how lucky you were that your father scammed my mother into marrying him. Otherwise, I won’t have any business dealing with the likes of you.”
He marched out of the room with Alexiel quietly trailing behind him. Curious eyes of the employees followed as he walked past them. The bruise on his lips mixed with his darkened expression was a contrast to his usual nonchalant appearance.
“Do I have any schedule over lunch?” Lowell broke the silence when they reached his office.
Alexiel hurriedly opened the tablet PC and combed through his schedule. “So far, your lunch is free. You have a site inspection scheduled this afternoon at one of our library cafes.”
“Move it up to lunch, let them know I’m dropping by.” He announced while his assistant was busy typing things down. His eyes stopped at Wednesday’s CV scattered over his desk. “And bring these papers, I have to make some calls while we’re on our way.”
Alexiel nodded and looked up to meet his gaze. “How about eating lunch, sir?”
“I’m not in a mood to eat, Alex. Eat yours while I’m doing the site inspection later.”
Unlike the usual, he did not hear any complaint coming from his cheeky right-hand man. Even after they boarded the car, Alexiel remained vigilant of his actions. His constant peeking through the rearview mirror only irks him more.
“What?”
“Why don’t we fix up your bruise first, sir?”
His brows furrowed at his question and scanned his reflection on his cellphone’s screen. “Why? It’s not that obvious.”
He saw hesitation crossed Alexiel’s eyes while scratching his cheek lightly. “It’s just that… I don’t think the cafe employees will be comfortable seeing you in such grim - “
“You mean to say I look scary, right?” Lowell asked straight-up which made the driver flinch. Alexiel nodded slowly.
“Fine, let’s drop by a clinic first.”
The car made a turn in the intersection to drive back. He looked outside the window in hopes of calming his mind. As they were caught at a red light, he found himself looking at a Japanese restaurant decorated by a few artificial bamboos and a small pond near the entrance.
His eyes narrowed upon spotting a familiar face that can be seen through the glass window of the restaurant.
“Can you pull over?”
Alexiel and the driver exchanged glances due to his sudden command. When the car pulled over, Lowell became certain of it. Seated inside that restaurant with a sullen face was Wednesday Curtis.
He immediately felt intrigued at her sharp gaze that he unknowingly pushed the button to lower the car’s window, hoping to get a better view. The woman raised a fork and poked something above the table numerous times.
The sight almost made him chuckle. Out of sheer curiosity, his attention shifted to the man seated across the lady.
“Isn’t that - “
“Messi Mortel. President of Mortel Malls Inc., sir.” Alexiel noted, also looking at the direction of the two.
Sydney’s brother. He thought while pulling out his phone from his pocket. His fingers started typing a phone number read from Wednesday’s CV resting on his other hand.
“I’ll greet her outside.” His assistant exclaimed and came down the car. Lowell was about to mouth a protest but he heard the call connecting. When he looked again, she was already facing towards the wooden door, as if about to leave.
"Hello?" Her voice sounded vexed. By her tone alone, he could tell that she didn’t check his caller ID and just took the call out of frustration.
"Are you enjoying your date, Ms. Curtis?"
The other end of the line went dead silent after those words. All he could hear was her heavy breathing and faint mellow music probably coming from the speakers installed in the place.
"Are you surprised? I told you I'll be the one to call right?" He grinned as he heard her gasp.
"But how did you - "
"Look outside."
Wednesday did what he said. He watched confusion paint across her face and gave off a mischievous smile as a response. But more than that, what caught his attention was Messi Mortel staring right back at him too. From the looks of it, he might’ve recognized him as he did.
"I didn't know you're acquainted with such influential people."
"Influential? What do you mean?"
"Isn't that Messi Mortel? President of Mortel Malls Inc.?"
Her surprised reaction gave away the fact that she doesn’t know the identity of the man she’s dining with. Lowell’s brows furrowed at that idea.
- Writer
