All too soon, ten AM rolled in and it was already time to kickstart the conference. After making sure that all the security guards and other personnel were in their proper positions, Luke assumed his place at the door in preparation to welcome all his esteemed guests.Five minutes to the door-opening ceremony when the hall would be properly unveiled and opened to all the guests, Fiona came over and stood beside Luke, her lips pulled in a wide smile.Luke, however, was not in the mood for her shenanigans today.“What the hell are you doing here, Fiona?” He asked, annoyance clearly written on his features.Fiona’s smile did not falter.“What do you mean? I’m here to welcome the guests by your side, of course. You obviously need a woman by your side for this one and Yvette thinks I’m the best woman for the job.”Luke stared at her for a moment, anger and retribution boiling deep within him. He wanted to snap at her but a devious plan crawled into his brain and he held himself just in tim
Finally, the doors were opened and all the guests were ushered in with a handshake or a pat on the back, depending on who it was.From the expensive, luxury cars parked in the garage to the custom made Armani suits and blinking diamond studded Rolexes, one could tell that this was a gathering of the extremely wealthy.Everything and everyone screamed wealth and class.Luke and Nina got to know a bit of what to expect from the business men from most of their behaviours. While some were warm and kind, others were cold and stiff. Luke’s guts twisted at the thought that Antoine was right. Not everyone liked it that the business conference was being hosted by one of the freshest faces in the industry. To some of the men here, Luke’s age and achievements was an insult to them.Finally, the last guest walked into the hall. Luke turned to greet him as expected and froze when he saw who it was.Often called the tech demon of the business world, Chinese businessman, Mùchén Bowen, was one of th
Luke stared at Nina for a split second, unable to believe his ears.“Wh-what?” He asked, his voice dripping with disbelief.The entire hall fell silent as everyone stared on, shock written all over their faces.“Luke? Any problems?” His grandfather asked as he made his way to the stage.Luke turned to him immediately and shook his head.“No, grandpa. None at all.” He said quickly. “We’ve just encountered a tiny glitch in the system controls of the car, our engineers are currently dealing with it.”Luke’s grandfather gave him a sceptical look.“Are you sure? You don’t seem fine, Luke. Talk to me.”Just then, one of the engineers climbed atop the stage and called out to him.“Sir, we’ve found the car. We’ve also found the fingerprints of the person who took it.”
“What did you say?” Luke asked in disbelief.“The car was found and has been returned to its position, your lordship. Our engineers have checked it and nothing seems to be wrong.”“Is this some kind of sick joke? What the hell is going on here?”The engineer shook his head.“Yes, sir. I actually do believe someone is trying to play games.”“Where were the guards when the car was taken? Where was it found?”“Er… Luke?” Nina called, her lips pulled in an uneasy smile.“Yes?”“You’re still on stage.”Appalled, Luke turned to see nearly half of the audience looking at him like he’d gone psycho. His ears heated in embarrassment but he was saved when the MC climbed atop the stage and said;“Your lordship, you’ve got barely fifteen minutes to showcase your invention. The judges are waiting.”That statement immediately propelled Luke into action.“Yes, yes, of course.” He regained control of the microphone and addressed the crowd.“I’m deeply sorry that you all had to witness that but we see
Luke was on the very edge of losing his mind. This morning had started off perfectly. Now in the space of a few hours, his car was stolen, returned and the controls were no longer working?“Mr. Luke George, what, pray tell, is the delay up there?” One of the judges asked.Completely oblivious of how to handle the situation but still struggling to keep his cool, Luke turned to the panel of judges;“I sincerely apologise for the delay, ladies and gentlemen.”“This is the third time you’re apologising for a delay, Mr. Luke.” The first judge sneered. “If you’re not ready for the competition, I suggest you come back next year.”Appalled, Luke turned towards his engineers who equally looked helpless.“What the fuck did you say is going on here?”“Sir, none of the controls are working. The only way we can demonstrate the Super Mobile’s strengths is if those controls are working. So far, all of them seemed to be broken when the car was found.”Luke shut his eyes for a few seconds, his shoulde
All the guests watched on in shock, some even whipped out their phones to record the embarrassing situation. Luke, however, did not care. He was hell bent on proving that Andrei was a complete cheat.“Mr. Luke, is this because you’ve already gotten information that you bagged the worst project award for the competition?”Luke’s eyes narrowed.“What?”The MC shrugged.“You heard me, sir. The judges believed that of all the projects presented here thus far, yours was the worst. Not only did you waste a lot of our time, you ended up not being able to prove that your acclaimed Super Power Mobile could perform any of the functions which you said it could. Hence, the judges came to a unanimous decision that you and your project deserve the loser award.”Whispers rippled through the crowd as everyone waited patiently for Luke’s next course of action.“My project did not work out because it was hijacked!” Luke bellowed. “My car was stolen, tampered with and returned with one hundred percent d
Luke took in the scene unfolding before him with a satisfied grin playing out on his lips. The conference had been brought to a premature end because of the entire Antoine debacle but he couldn’t care less because his grandfather was currently being congratulated and praised over Luke’s ability to discover Antoine’s crimes and bring him to justice.Prominent news and radio channels in London had covered the entirety of this evening’s happenings. Luke was certain that by tomorrow, news of Antoine's arrest will probably reach every nook and cranny of the earth… including his home country, France.However, just when happiness was within reach, the ugly hands of fate struck yet again.With a furrowed expression, Luke watched his grandfather excuse himself from the crowd to take a phone call. He noticed that Lord George’s expression soured immediately he looked down at the screen and discovered who the caller was.Call it a gut feeling but something told him to follow behind and find out
The air in the room was stiff and cackling with tension. Luke could feel his grandfather’s burning stare as he thought of ways to avoid the questions he knew were coming.“Luke? Is that true? Did Fiona set up the hall for the conference today?”Luke's gaze clashed with his grandfather’s icy ones, his heart clenching when he saw the confusion and disbelief in the older man’s eyes.After a moment’s hesitation, completely ashamed, he lowered his gaze and nodded. “Yes, grandfather. She’s right.”“What?!” Lord George bellowed. “How the hell is that even possible? You told me that you had everything under control.”Luke shook his head, his guts tightening with rage when he saw Fiona’s smug expression.“After the event centre got burnt down, it was a real struggle to find another suitable place…”“Why didn’t you come to me for help, then?” Lord George cut in. “You were in a fix and instead of coming to your family for help, you decided to receive assistance from a stranger? And not just any