"What a weirdo," Derek clicked his tongue as he shook his head. "I’d better talk to the manager about this."
"It’s a small matter," Caullen raised his brows. "Is it really worth it to meddle with someone’s way of living just because you found him a weirdo?"
Derek snickered. "So what if I do?" He tilted his head to the side. "If someone values their way of living so much, they should do a better job."
Caullen frowned, about to speak again, when the door opened without warning. He and Travis gazed at the person walking in, but Derek and Justin didn’t bother.
"At least he’s quick," Justin remarked, and Derek smirked.
"By the way, I forgot to say that the tea I prefer is..." The rest of Derek’s words rolled back into his throat and almost choked him to death.
There, walking in, wasn’t the man wearing an ugly fish mask, but a few men. One of them was Allen.
Without a second thought, Derek jumped from his seat and quickly changed his cocky smile into a polite one. His reaction made Justin rise to his feet as well, followed by Travis and Caullen.
They didn’t know Allen, but they had seen him earlier in the lobby.
And recalling how Allen had gotten their attention, they knew this man was someone important. Walking behind Allen was Harvey, and that told them more than any words could say.
"I’m sorry we’re late," Harvey stepped in beside Allen, while the latter offered them a smile.
Harvey lowered his head slightly as he started the introduction. "Sir Allen, these are the representatives of the NL Group, with Sir Derek as the lead of the project and..." He trailed off and shifted his eyes to Justin. He didn’t recognize the man, but he did recognize the other two.
"This is Director Travis Lancaster, a Director of NL Group, and then Sir Caullen Lancaster, the Operations Manager of LanceTech," he introduced politely, making Justin secretly frown. But under such circumstances, Justin wasn’t surprised, since this wasn’t the first time this had happened.
In the Lancaster family, Travis and Caullen were better known than others.
"Gentlemen, this is Sir Allen King," Harvey added. "He’s Summit Partners’ Managing Director who oversees all contracts and projects of the company."
Managing Director?
Derek secretly smirked, knowing Allen was not just a managing director. Even so, he was quick to step in and politely offered his hand.
"It’s an honor, Director."
Allen studied Derek for a moment before he smiled at them. Taking the man’s hand, he said,
"The pleasure is mine." He then released Derek’s hand and faced Travis and Caullen, who approached him with their hands outstretched.
Allen shook their hands out of formality, even Justin’s, who didn’t seem like he should be there. Once the short formality was over, he raised his head and smiled widely.
"Shall we start then?"
"Of course!" Derek quickly and enthusiastically answered before anyone else.
With that, all the men sat down, with Allen taking a different seat instead of the main one. Seeing this, Travis and Caullen quickly noticed Allen’s behavior. No matter where they were in the world, there were plenty of quiet rules in the business world—that included seating arrangements.
Seats often symbolized the importance of the person.
So, none of them had sat down in the main seat because they knew the person who should sit there. But Allen didn’t take it; rather, he took the opposite side. Despite that, they didn’t say anything because Harvey stood next to Allen as Derek slid the revised proposal plan forward.
"We’ve already sent the first proposal to Mr. Harvey, but he pointed out some things that might need to be revised," said Derek politely while Allen quietly picked it up to read.
As they got down to business, Derek explained the revised proposal plan eloquently. Neither Allen nor Harvey said a word, following Derek’s explanation along with the handouts. As for the rest, they were just quiet and read along, following Derek as the man led the meeting.
Unbeknownst to them, as the meeting was going smoothly with Derek’s lead, Allen’s thoughts were starting to drift away.
I’m so glad Sir Atlas isn’t interested in this proposal, Allen thought. If he’s the one reading this revised proposal, he’ll get up and walk to the shredder.
His face twisted as he thought of how his boss would casually shred some papers even after just seeing the first page. Perhaps he would shred the person who did it too!
This is terrible. Even I am not impressed by this project, he added in his mind. But, well, the needed amount for this project isn’t even a fraction of the company’s budget.
Which was why it was called a charity project. They were investing not because they wanted or needed this project—they weren’t even interested in it. However, for the Lancasters, it was something that could push their company and family into a higher level of the social ladder.
"That’s all," Derek cleared his throat and straightened his back, assuming the silence was because Allen was listening intently. And when one was listening, it explained a lot of things, including interest.
Allen snapped out of his daze and nodded, smiling. "It’s not bad!" He then glanced at Harvey, and the latter nodded.
Derek’s face brightened up, casting Travis and Caullen a brief smirk.
See? I don’t need you two!
But just before Derek could boast, Allen closed the proposal plan he had barely read and straightened his back.
"But before we proceed with the legal papers in the following days, I have a small request," Allen remarked.
"Anything, Director!" Derek enthusiastically moved forward, listening to him intently. "Are there any changes you’d like to add to this proposal?"
Personally, I’d say I’d like you to change everything or just come up with a new one.
Allen kept his thoughts to himself and smiled. "We’d like Director Travis to be included in this project," he then shot Travis a look.
"What?" Derek blurted out in disbelief, his smile quickly fading away. At the same time, Travis offered Allen a smile while Caullen secretly smirked.
"Of course, Director." Travis rose to his feet just like Allen, offering his hand. "I’m looking forward to working with you."
Allen shook his hand. "The feeling is mutual."
Derek stared at the shaking hands before him before anger fueled his heart once more. He should be the one shaking Allen’s hands before Travis, but the bastard beat him to it again!
*****
Meanwhile, in Function Hall Three, where the audition was ongoing...
Lola watched the artist act out a scene from the script with a deadpan expression. It only took her less than five minutes before she realized it was truly a bad idea to attend this casting.
Waste of time!
A shallow breath escaped her, her eyes intuitively falling on the twins. Unlike her, the twins seemed to enjoy watching everyone.
Lola smiled subtly as her eyes softened at the two. She was about to reach for them and ruffle their hair when she noticed her wristwatch.
It’s... It’s ten minutes before six.
She pressed her lips into a thin line as sadness flickered in her eyes.
In ten minutes, I’d have to return them to their father.