CHAPTER 3

The only reason why Chairman Bang had asked him out for tea was because he wanted a server that the Biggs owned. It was worth billions of dollars as it contained the information of thousands of citizens at Caryl.

The server was developed by the Biggs and it belonged to them. There's no way he was going to let Chairman Bang have it.

“Mr. Neo, should I decline Chairman Bang’s invitation?” Stephany asked carefully.

Stephany was unsure of how to treat Neo or react to situations relating to him. She only knew he could break you with the snap of his fingers and, his moods were unpredictable and inconsistent according to what she heard from the staff. So she had to walk on eggshells around Neo at all times. Her heart raced whenever she had to talk to Neo, she feared she might say something to incur his wrath.

With a loud clink, Neo set his expensive, customized ceramic cup he was holding down on the desk heavily. He was going to find out how Chairman Bang had planned to get his hands on the server.

He grunted “No, you don't have to do that,”

“ Sure Mr. Neo, I'll make the necessary arrangements,” Stephany said almost immediately as she jotted it down and then continued going through the rest of his schedule with him.

Somewhere in the middle of the session, the old Matriarch of the Biggs family called. Neo knew exactly what the old lady wanted from him as soon as he got the call. With a quick wave of his hand, he sent Stephany out of the room.

As soon as he answered the call, the old lady’s voice sounded from the other end of the line asking him about his love life.

He knew it.

“Neo when are you going to bring your girlfriend back home and let granny take a look at her? I've got one foot in the grave now, and you, you're not getting any younger. Can't you let granny have a look at her granddaughter-in-law before she dies? Let the old woman have a chance to play with her grandchildren”.

A slight frown creased Neo’s smooth brows. He wasn't old, was he? He was only twenty-five. Was that old? He hasn't reached a man’s prime, has he? Isn't that supposed to be thirty?

His grandmother was such an impatient old lady.

“Granny, I'll bring one home, if I find someone I like”

“I've heard that before… you've been using that excuse for a while now. I've not seen you bring home anyone.” the old lady scoffed in mock anger.

“ You're going to bring a lady home by the end of this year; if you don't, I'll get you one myself. That's settled” the old lady said and hung up before Neo could say anything.

Neo was speechless. He tightened his hands around his phone and his expression darkened.

There are plenty of women out there who are willing to go home with him. But he only wanted to go home with the woman he loved.

*****

Meanwhile, in the marketing department, one of the staff who was assigned to help Lucy get settled at her new job was a young woman, two years older than Lucy. Her name was Sharon Talker.

Sharon was on the plump side. She couldn't help the instant spark of envy lightening up inside her when she saw how pretty Lucy was. She must be a witch. Sharon cursed inwardly.

Sharon had a thing for George. “Well, this witch better not try to seduce George or I would tear her into pieces,” Sharon muttered angrily under her breath. She then shoved a pile of drafts at Lucy and instructed her to have them revised and submitted by tomorrow morning. She whirled around and stalked back to her desk.

Lucy eyed the tall stack of paper in her arms, nearly reaching the top of her head. Her vision swam. That was a lot of drafts….there was no way she was going to make it home that night.

What about tomorrow? She needed to look decent at work. It's too early to start creating a negative impression. How could she be seen at work the next day wearing the same clothes she had on her first day of resumption?

She then decided to go home during lunch, pack a few clothing, and rush back to the office. It was the only way to keep her self-esteem in check while she stayed late in the office that night.

These thoughts filled Lucy with motivation. She carried the stack of paper to her desk and started to work on the drafts. After some hours had passed, Lucy felt pressed and needed to use the restroom.

Lucy left the office and headed for the washroom on that level. While she was relieving herself in the restroom, Neo had just finished his meeting and was now heading down to the third floor. He needed to talk to George about LUCID GROUP’s plan for a future expansion in the technology industry.

Lucy was adjusting her dress as she left the restroom, not paying attention to her surroundings. Suddenly, Neo emerged from the elevator and collided with Lucy.

Lucy jerked forward and twisted her ankle and Neo stretched his hand forward to stop her from falling. Her red lipstick stained his white shirt and he pushed her away from his arms.

Stephany gasped sharply. What was wrong with this woman? Was she out of her mind? How could she throw herself at Neo? Is she trying to seduce him?

Neo’s men and Stephany stared stupidly at the sight before them. None of them dared to make a sound.

Everyone was waiting for Neo to say something. The looks on his face were menacing. If it could kill, someone would be dead right now. Everyone shivered at the look of outrage on his face.

Lucy knew she had gotten in trouble again. She cast her face down immediately and froze like a deer caught in headlights. She dared not make any sudden move or any sound at all.

She started praying silently. She couldn't afford to get another job.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Neo,” Lucy said and brought out a tissue from her pocket. She stretched her arms forward reaching for the lipstick stain on his shirt. She didn't really want to upset him or get on his bad side.

Neo misinterpreted her gesture as another attempt to throw herself at him. He pushed her away roughly. With an infuriated look on his face, he marched right into the marketing department with his personal assistants trailing after him like his fearful followers.

Lucy simply watched them leave.

She heaved a sigh of relief as memories of a distant past flooded her head.

She was sixteen then, young and innocent. She was transferred to another school because her parents relocated. That was when she met Neo whom she liked at first sight. He was seventeen then.

She found him cool on her first day in her new school.He had his hair neatly cut and his uniform was neatly ironed.He was seated upright and seemed to be studying her from afar. she could feel his eyes piercing through her skin. Like an idiot, she stood on the distance and stared at him in awe as the teacher introduced her to the class. Luckily for her, she was assigned to sit next to him. She did not dare to open up to him about her feelings bee fear of being rejected. Even when they got close, she thought the moment she opened up to him, he might find her cheap and distance himself from her. So she kept her feelings and emotions bottled up.

However, when Micheal came to their school newly as an exchange student, she was also attracted to him. But she was in love with Neo. She wondered why Neo never said anything about his feelings for her or maybe he didn't find her sexually attracted. She saw Micheal as an opportunity to make Neo jealous maybe that would make him confess his feelings.

her.

Absentmindedly, Lucy fell in love with Micheal without even realizing it. She found everything Micheal did cute and soon got obsessed with him even when he wasn't paying attention to her. And just like that, the bond between her and Neo wears off.

Lucy pulled herself out of her thoughts and gave herself a light smack on the cheeks. She recalled the hateful look on Neo’s face and it dawned on her that she had already lost her chance with him. She had to pull herself together.

She sneaker back into the office and without seeing any traces of Neo her hear finally set at ease, she returned to her desk and threw herself back to work.

Soon, it was time for lunch.

As everyone headed to the cafeteria she raced downstairs to catch the bus. Lucy got out of the building and headed to the bus stop. Her bus arrived the second she got there. She quickly boarded the bus and paid her fare. She found a seat next to the window and sat there watching the cars outside go by and as the bus drove off.The bus ride back home only took fifteen minutes. It was extremely convenient. She packed a few stuffs into a small convenient bag and dashed back to work.

Oh no! Lucy checked the time on her phone and then at the lengthy line of traffic ahead. It seemed the whole of Caryl was at a standstill.

“Sir, can you tell me how long it will take?” she asked the bus driver.

The man shook his head as if to say he has no idea. Lucy checked the time again, she only had 20 more minutes and the bus isn't moving at all. She took a deep breaths, got off the bus and rushed down the street. She saw the cause of the traffic there was an accident. She decided to run to the next bus stop to catch the next possible bus.

While waiting for the next bus she saw a cat sifted in the middle of the road and a car approaching as if it were about to hit the cat. Without a second thought, she ran towards the cat and got hit by the car.

The driver came out and examined the lady he had run over and saw blood oozing out of the side of her face on the floor. He was scared and on the other of his boss, picked her up and headed for the nearby hospital.

Neo raised his head up away from his phone and looked at the lady his driver had run over. He was shocked to see Lucy. What was she doing out of the company at this time? He had lots of questions he needed an answer to.

*****

Few hours later, Lucy opened her eyes. She looked around feeling disoriented. Then she saw Neo, sitting on the couch next to her holding unto her right hand.

Why I'm i here?

He rushed at her “ Lucy, are you okay? Let me call for the doctor.”

A short while later, Neo let out a breathe of relief as the doctor announced that she is fine and just needed to rest and take her pain reliefs.

“Why were you outside the company? You went on a blind date?” Neo queried.

“No, i only went home to pick a few things as I'd be spending the night at the office today. I have to submit the drafts tomorrow” Lucy said softly.

“I'm sorry i had misunderstood the situation. I'm sorry i had to put you in this position also. My driver will be more careful from now on.” Neo said pathetically

“ No, you don't have to be. I shouldn't have ran into the road to save a stray cat. I should have been more careful.” Lucy said shying away from him

“It's okay. I have to go now. I have a meeting with Chairman Bang. And don't worry, i already called your team leader just make sure to get enough rest. Did you change your phone number already?”

“No, i didn't.” Lucy replied with mixed feelings.

“Okay then, I'll be in touch” Neo said and left.

Lucy pinched her thighs to verify it wasn't a dream.The person who detested the sight of her all of a sudden switched to wanting to hear her voice. She cuddled herself softly under the duvet and giggled softly.

While she was doing her happy dance under the duvet, a call came in. It was George, her team leader. He had called to check up on her and promised to stop by on his way home in the evening.

Neo had food delivered to Lucy in the hospital after making inquiries from doctor on the type of food she could eat at the moment. Lucy was shocked to see the banquet in front of her, she had so many good set up before her and they all looked delicious. She ate as much as her stomach can contain. The waiter who brought the food cleared the table and left. Lucy wondered how beautiful it is for hospital to serve their patient so much food.

Evening came and her team leader alongside a few staff troop into her room. They brought flowers and chocolates wishing her quick recovery. They stayed for a while and then left.