Chapter 36 News & Nostalgia

• Arriving at the Evangelista group felt really weird to Lucas. From the moment he stepped down from his car he was greeted with pitiful eyes and sorry faces.
• He couldn’t lay a finger on why everyone in the company bashed their eyes on him as he trod inside the building.
• At some point, he began glancing down at himself to see if he wore the back of his clothes or something.
• Unable to endure the blazing gazes, Lucas rushed into one of the staff's restrooms to glimpse at the mirror and that made people more shocked.
• “The CEO just went to the staff restroom? Oh, that’s the height of his problems.”
• “Maybe it affected his senses too.”
• “That's so bad.” The staffs began gossiping.
• While inside the restroom, Lucas studied himself properly in the mirror and he couldn’t figure out what the problem was. His suit is in good shape likewise his face and hair.
• “What happened that I’m earning sheepish glares from people? Not like any shit happened to my face.” He nagged.
• He trod out of the restroom and advanced to the elevator. The Evangelista group is a famous company but the organization is poor compared to the Monson group and it has few staffs.
• When Lucas entered the elevator alongside the staffs, his phone thrummed inside his pocket.
• “Mr. Evangelista. Since you’re still having issues with your company I’m going to sell my shares too. I need money at the moment.”
• Hearing that made color drain from Lucas’s face. He shook his head precipitately and said, “no Mr. Wright, you can’t sell your shares like that. Listen I’ve a new solution in hand and soon all the issues with the company's finance will be sorted out. So please Mr. Wright don’t sell your shares.”
• “No, Mr. Evangelista. Your words are like pouring water on a rock. You've been making these promises ever since the company’s finance began having issues and ever since nothing has been done. Look, Mr. Evangelista, I’ve a problem that needs urgent attention and with the recognition, I’ll get from selling my shares I could raise money.” Mr. Wright paused and sighed.
• “Maybe I’ll come back when you right things in your company, Mr. Evangelista.”
• Lucas wanted to explain further but the man didn’t give him any chance to and hung up the call.
• Lucas’s mouth was ajar. Words bereft him at the moment and he became more frustrated. His heart became a hurricane threatening to break from the wall of his chest.
• The employees that overheard his call started mumbling among themselves, pitying Lucas. Lucas treats his employees right so despite all, they still accord him some respect.
• When the elevator dinge to a stop on the CEO’s floor, Lucas shuffled to his office all the while earning glares from the staff.
• When he made an entrée into his office, he sank on the chair behind his desk. Swiveling it around as his mind traveled places.
• He hasn’t heard the news that some of the shareholders sold their shares that’s why he’s still befuddled about the call he received from Mr. Wright.
• What pains him the most is that Mr. Wright is his most trusted partner and now that he’s gone, drawing him back will be a hard knot to crack especially when his plans of working with the Monson group aren’t a success yet.
• As his mind drifted away in thoughts the door of his office budged and Lucas was oblivious to that until Grey called out to him.
• “CEO!”
• Lucas jerked from his seat. Swiveling around, he locked eyes with Grey who was panicking.
• “Jesus Grey, you scared shits out of me.” He said, cradling his hand over his chest.
• “I’m so sorry sir…” Grey apologized but his panic was still evident.
• “What’s wrong? Why the hell did you barge in here like that?” Lucas cocked his brow and asked.
• ‘Oh, the CEO hasn’t heard the news yet.’ Grey thought. He became tight-lipped knowing that Lucas isn’t aware of the ongoing and that it'll affect him deeply.
• “What the hell is it, Grey?” Lucas urged.
• “CEO…there’s something happening in the company now.” Grey's words came out in a stutter. He could feel his heart beating erratically.
• “Fuck Grey… could you go straight to the point? I have something reeling in my head now, please.” Lucas hissed, peeved by Grey’s unwillingness to clue him in.
• “Some of the shareholders sold their shares to anonymous!” Grey gushed quickly, hoping Lucas didn’t hear that seep from his lips.
• Grey’s words slowly burrowed deep into Lucas’s mind.
• “What the hell did you just say?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at Grey.
• “It’s true Mr. CEO. The anonymous sent a message to our company’s social media account.” Grey divulged. Feeling antsier to speak further especially about what the message said.
• “What did they send?” Anxious, Lucas asked.
• “It read, ‘Your days are numbered Mr. CEO,’ I’m so sorry sir.”
• Grey’s voice was barely above a whisper when he said this. He could feel his breath stuttering and heart tremoring.
• A bitter chuckle left Lucas’s lips upon hearing this. He angled his head downwards and twisted it. His heartbeat tempo increased.
• Looking up at Grey with narrow eyes he asked, “My days are numbered?”
• “I’m so sorry Mr. CEO…”
• Grey swallowed back his words when he heard Lucas slam his fist on the table as he stood up from the seat.
• “So that’s the fucking reason all the employees were ogling at me like a moron? Shit!!” He hissed, anger spiced his words. Beads of sweat coated his face as his mind reeled with those words Grey spewed.
• “Please, pardon me, sir. I really thought you’d heard about the news and I didn’t know how to say this to you. I’m deeply sorry, Mr. CEO.”
• Grey fell to his knees while sending screeches of apologies to Lucas.
• Lucas leaned forward on his desk and perched his balled fist on it, bashing his eyes at Grey.
• “I need you and your team to find out who that fucking anonymous is.”
• Standing to his feet, Grey nodded, “Yes sir.”
• Grey agreed out of fear despite knowing that they have raked to find out who the anonymous is but nothing came up. As he made to exit the office Lucas threw a question at him which made his sway to a halt.
• “Any news about our proposal to the Monson group?” Lucas asked, staring at Grey’s back.
• Turning around, Grey responded, “nothing yet sir.”
• “You can go,” Lucas said with a wave of his hand and Grey exited the office in a hurry.
• Consequent to the news Lucas received, his mind reeled in thought endlessly, making his day a complete mess.
• He couldn’t work on anything or think of something else except his company that’s falling apart.
• Lucas never believed that his father’s legacy will derail during his time. He knows his father struggled beyond words to build the company and as the son, it’s excepted of him to elevate its status not the other way round.
• He wonders if his father will be proud of him wherever he is now.
• “Sincerely speaking, if I’m my father I won’t be proud of my son. I’m definitely going to be so ashamed of him. And I know that’s what you’re feeling wherever you are dad. I know you’re fucking embarrassed at my weakness…” He sighs, twisting his head in utter disappointment.
• “I'll try to make things right even if it means giving up my happiness. Evangelista’s name must stand in its glory again.”
• He poured the vodka into his glass, fiercely he gripped the glass, and gulped the liquor which fizzes down his throat. He belched, eyes feasting outside the window to the blackness that shrouded the city.
• “7:30 p.m.” He hummed after taking a glimpse at his wristwatch. He locked himself up in the office downing liquor while trying to put two and two together, and proffer a solution to this current problem but honestly speaking, his mind is empty.
• There’s no way he could act or stop the shareholders to cease selling their shares if he doesn’t figure out who the ‘anonymous’ is.
• Groggily, Lucas tugged his legs from the ottoman facing the sofa his on, which pulled backward with a scraping sound against the hardwood floor. He erected from the sofa, his white shirt rumpled and peeled from the confines of his pants he tucked them in.
• He grasped his phone and suit and headed for the door. He wants to go somewhere else for more distraction.
• Lucas opted for a club in his mind but countered when he remembered where Sia used to take him six years back to revel.
• A park!
• When Lucas reached the parking lot, he clenched into his car and drove to the nearest park, one of the smallest in the city.
• When he got there he saw a few people some were reading while others were basically wrestling with their phone buttons. Unlike other days, the park was mainly filled with young people.
• Lucas sat on empty bleachers, close to the sidewalk where the breeze howled in his ears and caressed his skin.
• Feeling the softness of the breeze on his body, a whisper of his memories with Sia flickered in his mind.
• “You know why I so much love spending time in the park?” Sia asked, looking at the side of his face.
• “Uh-uh.” He crooned, looking forward.
• Sia stretched her legs and crossed them at the ankle before leaning her head on his shoulder.
• “I started visiting parks when I was little. After my brother’s death, I had no more playmates nor friends. My life became so boring and annoying. Then I resorted to looking for places to relax my mind from the piercing worries of my life.” She heaved a sigh. Lucas placed his hand on her kneecap, kneading it as he listens to her story.
• “I even quit going to school after that because my mother couldn’t afford any fees again, not like she did before though, but Nicole’s death took a toll on her which halted her from indulging in menial jobs she raises money from. It felt as though her soul left her body and she was just an empty vessel walking around the surface of the earth. During those mourning days when my mother couldn’t talk to me, I loitered around in search of a reveling place until I came across a park one night. I saw how old couples basked in the comfort of the weather and others reading, some meditating.”
• Sia’s lips peeled in a smile, “I decided to spend some time here and see if my mind can ward off a few sorrow. Lucky me, I was with a favorite book there, a novel by Coleen Hoover. I’ve read it before but I read it again, sucking every word and characters of the book.”
• “You know what?” She asked.
• “No, what’s it?” Lucas replied, looking down at her.
• “My laden heart felt light. The softness of the air lessened the weight of my grief. Since that day, I began visiting the park whenever sadness hovers in my heart.”
• Lucas’s eyes blinked rapidly as the memories flicked in his mind.