Brian hissed under his breath and his face fell as he saw Fiona's expression. He was very embarrassed and he blamed himself for not listening to Leon when he'd asked if he should say it openly. "That's not true," he spat, just to save face, "It's not true at all," he added as he turned to face Fiona who was pretending to be busy with her handbag to avoid the awkward conversation. Leon smirked as he realized the uncomfortable position that he'd just put Brian in because of his stubbornness. "You do know I'm not lying, Brian," Leon replied easily. But he could tell that Brian was too ashamed to admit it, it somehow messed with his manly ego, especially when Fiona who he was attracted to was seated right there. "You are lying through your teeth!" Brian snapped, all the while turning to Fiona to gauge a reaction. Leon looked at him with a brow raised and then asked, "Maybe I should tell you about the__" he began to say but Brian stopped him right there and nodded. "Okay, fine,
The next day came and Fiona spent most of the day looking for the perfect outfit for the cabinet meeting. She was too exhausted to consider shopping - plus she wasn't in the mood. And she had two outfits delivered and ended up not liking any. The afternoon was quickly giving way to night when she heard a knock on the door just as she was tucking Mia in. It was going to be a busy evening and she had to be sure that her baby was safely in bed while she was out there. "You're going to do just as the list says, no late-night food - except warm cocoa drink if she wakes up, make sure she doesn't watch more than one hour of TV for the rest of the night, keep her warm and leave the lights on. Do you understand?" Fiona asked the nanny and she nodded. "I understand, Miss Fiona. You're stressed out already, just leave, I'll take care of Mia like I always have," she replied with a smile. Fiona sighed, the old lady was right. She was just stressed and getting frustrated. The last thing
The conference room of the second compound was so large that Leon had to look above him to make sure he wasn't outside. The bright fluorescent flooded the entire space, giving it the feel of being right under the sun. Men dressed in crisp white shirts and fancy suits strolled about, talking in hushed tones and toasting glasses. Uniform men and ladies went about with platters of wine and spare glasses. As one of the waiters passed them, Fiona grabbed two flutes of champagne and handed him one. "Are you sure this is a good idea? We're here for a mission, we should keep all our senses intact," he warned. Fiona smiled at him and replied, "This is an elite gathering, Leon, you will stand out like a butterfly in a bee's nest if you pass such champagne without grabbing one. Come on, blend in," she said and winked as she left him with a pat on the hand and strolled to the side of the room, gesturing to him to follow. Leon moved slowly to her even as he scanned the room. There were
Fiona hissed as Cassidy walked away, she looked back at Leon with a frown and said, "I guess you're getting very familiar with the guests." Leon could smell the jealousy of her from a few inches and he snorted. "She's someone I know," he replied casually and removed his hands from her hold. "When do we get to use the tunnel?" He asked. Fiona shrugged and liked it at the entrance, her eyes were a little hard and he could tell that she was displeased with him because Cassidy had come to say hello to him. He could never understand women and jealousy, especially when he wasn't even an item with her. "You should be careful, Brian said we shouldn't speak with anyone," she reminded him and gestured at Cassidy with her chin. Cassidy was at the corner of the hall, with a fresh flute of wine but her eyes remained on them boldly - she wasn't even trying to hide her glare towards Fiona. "Please tell me when you're ready to stop the glaring competition and go find Master Xavier," he sn
The tunnel was darker than Leon would have expected. He could not see anything beyond his nose and he could smell Fiona's floral scent as she almost clung to him. "It's so dark in here," he muttered disappointingly, "I guess we didn't factor that in." Fiona sighed and rummaged through her handbag, she retrieved her phone and was about to turn on the flashlight when Leon stopped her. " We're so close to the gallery that someone might see our reflection from within," he whispered and she dropped her phone. Listening closely, they both could hear the light chattering of people as they conversed in the gallery. "What do we do? I'm not so familiar with these tunnels, I've only been here once and I didn't really...well, I guess I didn't notice much," she said vaguely. Leon didn't enquire any further, he had a feeling that whatever brought her to the tunnel was either very personal or very embarrassing and whichever it was, she wasn't ready to divulge. "Follow me, stay close,"
Thankfully, the room was quiet and there was no one else within. Leon quickly went to check the door just to make sure it was locked and that they would be informed if anyone tried to open it - he did not want any distractions. The drapes as usual were pulled shut and very little sunlight permeated the room. The air conditioning unit was regulated very low and the room was almost too hot - especially for a man that was sick and needed as much comfort as he could get. "This place smells like death already," Leon said and moved to the window. As he looked down, he noticed that many more cars had even parked outside joining the already long line of luxury vehicles. It was clear that what Peters had told him about the meeting was not very far from the truth. It did not really make sense that people would be gathered in the name of professor Xavier when he wasn't even in the meeting himself. "I guess the rich are greedier than the poor," he stated plainly and moved away from the wind
Brian was shocked, he skipped to the bed quickly and sat right beside his elder brother. He hadn't seen him in such an okay state for a very long time. "This is a miracle!" He yelled out and tried to hug Xavier but Xavier pulled away. "What's wrong?" He asked, Xavier shook his head and looked at Brian oddly. "Brother, don't you remember me?" He asked worriedly and then turned to Leon with a curious state, "Does he have amnesia? Could he have lost his memories because of this?" He asked. Leon shook his head and tried walking close to the master, he hadn't detected anything like a memory loss when he tried to heal him. If that was part of his problem then the ring should have shown it to him too. "No, he hasn't lost his memory," he replied. "Well, then why is he acting strange? Why is he avoiding me?" Brian asked and looked at Leon like he knew something and wasn't telling him. "Master Xavier hasn't lost his memory," Fiona cut in and reminded all of them how he'd said he
All the men in the room bowed And knelt before Xavier. Gideon knelt briefly and then hurried to him. "Master, is that you?" He asked and went to the bed to sit right beside him. Xavier turned to him and nodded mutely, his neck tilted to the side and his eyes a little distant. Gideon turned to Leon and snapped, "I thought you said you've healed him, why can't he speak?!" "That's because his organs are still very weak, they will take some time to fully recover," he explained. Gideon sneered at him and then looked at the master for a while. "Can he hear us? See us? What organs are you talking about?" He asked. Leon didn't know how to frame his lie so he simply agreed that the master wasn't feeling well or hearing well either. "So he can't see anyone in this room?" Gideon asked, for some reason, he sounded almost hopeful like he was eager to hear that the master truly didn't see. Leon thought it was because he still wanted to have them punished for trespassing and breaking
Leon stepped out of the party with Tracy right behind him. He hadn't been in the same place with such elite people in such a long time and he had mixed feelings. Tracy was so proud of what she had done. She wanted to create a new name for herself. No more was she willing to be the daddy's girl that did everything that her parents wanted even when it had nothing to do with her own career goals and aspirations. "Tracy!" A voice called to her from behind and she turned to look at her mother who was really dressed and coming to her with a fierce frown. "How could you do this!" She snapped. Tracy looked at her sternly, she didn't look remorseful at all. "What did you expect mum? If you really think that I would go ahead and marry that man that had nothing to do with my destiny?" She asked with a scowl on her pretty face. "Even if you're disrespecting your father, do you have to do it in such a crass manner? I know that I raised you better than this. I raised you to be more
Leon and Tracy arrived at the party in a short while. They both stepped out of the Maserati and heads turned in their direction. Tracy's dress turned out to be the most lovely and unique in the entire place and this made the ladies stare in envy and the men in lust. "I'm glad that you came with me tonight, I would not have been able to fend off all these men on my own," she said and shook her head. At the door of the party, the bouncer did not even have to ask who Tracy you was because she was the only daughter of Sylvester Caden. But apart from coming as her date, most people in the club already knew Leon and he would not have had a hard time gaining access anyways. "Welcome Miss Tracy. Your mother has been looking for you all evening, kindly take the front seat please," one of the many ushers at the event said and let Tracy to her seat very close to the podium. Settled down and with a table and several bottles of expensive wine before them, Tracy and Leon could not help
Stepping out of the car, Leon came face-to-face with a very nicely dressed Tracy. She looked magnificent in her black dress and curled hair. The bags framed her face beautifully and he had to admit that she was really pretty. "Hello, Leon, it's been forever since I last saw you," she said and walked up to him to give him a hug. Leon bit her and then pulled away just as she looked like she was melting right in his arms. "It's just been a few days, Tracy, I'm sorry I haven't called, I've been busy," he said. Tracy looked at him and chuckled. "I should be the one apologizing for not being able to meet you or even give a call. I apologize but I've been very busy and I have good news," she said all in one breath. Leon was glad to hear that she had good news. So far all he seemed to be hearing in his life was one bleak story or the other. It felt great to await something good for a change. "I'm all ears, what news do you bring?" He asked. Tracy smirked proudly and walked back
Leaving the premises, Leon couldn't help but feel like a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders. He no longer had to worry about XLT and the mess that Hopkins and his cohort had made of it. "Fucking corrupt bastards!" Leon sneered from the backseat of the car as it rolled down the street. He didn't think it could be so easy to actually steal from the company, but clearly he'd been very wrong. Both the accountant, the clerical officer and Lily, his secretary had a lot to answer to. "Sir, where to?" Hector asked as they moved out of the place. He was glancing at him through the rearview mirror. "I don't know, Hector, just drive away from here," he urged with a glare. The driver nodded and sped off, out of the neighborhood completely. It was going to be a very long and tiring procedure to fish out everyone that was involved in the embezzlement but Leon was ready for it. There was no way he was going to allow them to take what belonged to the company and go scot free.
Walking out of XlT with his head held high, he couldn't help but notice all the stares that different members of staff were giving him. He was done trying to please everyone, he was done trying to make them all agree with him being the boss. Power had to be taken and Leon was damn rich to grab it with both hands. Leon was outside the premises, all the other staff were still lurking in the lobby, trying to get a better view of what was going to happen outside without being outrightly lookers. "Sir, you have to reconsider, we can't let all the members of the board go," Lily said, running after him, her high heels clicking on the tiled floor.Turning to her with a sharp gaze, he asked, "Which would you rather prefer, a team of old men who will revolt at the slightest chance or no one at all on the board?" He asked. Lily knew that was a tricky question to answer. For as long as she had been working for XLT, there was always a board of directors, Leon dissolving it all in one day as well
Hector sat in the car, glancing at Leon through the rearview mirror. He has doubts about his master's readiness to face the big sharks at XLT again - especially so soon after all that he'd faced. But Leon wasn't acting like he wasn't ready for them, he seemed to be ready for anything at all. Right from when he woke up from the hospital bed, he'd gone straight down to help Fiona and it seemed he wasn't getting any good sleep in-between. "Master, are you ready to go in?" Hector asked and he didn't even miss a breath when he added. "I could call the secretary immediately to have the entire meeting rescheduled, if you're not up for it," he said. Leon chuckled at the speed with which he quickly said he wouldn't mind rescheduling. "It seems you're hoping that I'm not ready for the meeting so that you could quickly reschedule," he stated. Hector sighed, "If I may speak freely, sir, this has been one of the hardest weeks for you. I don't know how you've been able to fire through the
Fiona was shaking as the cops took Elsa out of the building, kicking and screaming and she said that she didn't do anything. At the bar, as she picked up her purse and was walking out the front door. Her other two friends walked up to her and asked what had just happened. "What happened there? Why is Elsa being taken away?" One of them asked. "I don't understand. One minute you were in the bathroom and she offered to bring you a glass of wine and the next thing the cops are taking her out?" The second one inquired. . Leon shook his head at Fiona, telling her that she shouldn't say anything unless the investigations are over. "I know.that you still have your reservations because you know my powers and you dont think I'm very certain of what I saw. I don't want you to ruin your friend's name and reputation on my account. Although I'm certain of what I saw, I'm willing to wait until the cops are done investigating," he stated slowly, just for her hearing. The rest of the friend
Fiona was shaking as the cops took Elsa out of the building, kicking and screaming and she said that she didn't do anything. At the bar, as she picked up her purse and was walking out the front door. Her other two friends walked up to her and asked what had just happened. "What happened there? Why is Elsa being taken away?" One of them asked. "I don't understand. One minute you were in the bathroom and she offered to bring you a glass of wine and the next thing the cops are taking her out?" The second one inquired. . Leon shook his head at Fiona, telling her that she shouldn't say anything unless the investigations are over. "I know.that you still have your reservations because you know my powers and you dont think I'm very certain of what I saw. I don't want you to ruin your friend's name and reputation on my account. Although I'm certain of what I saw, I'm willing to wait until the cops are done investigating," he stated slowly, just for her hearing. The rest of the friend
Fiona stared in awe as she recalled that Leon had insisted on coming to the party even after turning her down the first time. It was quite unlike him to come to any party, especially one that he was sure would be filled up with ladies and music and as it actually turned out - strippers. She didn't understand why he had suddenly changed his mind. "Leon, it's true that you didn't want to come to the party in the first place, you're right," Fiona said and looked at him worriedly. Elsa was still defensive and tried to convince her friend that the man was lying and she would never want to hurt her for any reason. "Fiona, how could you believe this man over me? You left you at the party and went elsewhere, isn't it clear that he's trying to ruin your good time?" She asked, trying to play the emotional trick on her. "Leon, talk to me, why did you show up at that party? Why did you change your mind?" Fiona asked him, this time her eyes were fiercely on him, she believed that there was