Beneath The Servant's Apron

Chp 6

Julian’s face froze for a brief second, but as his eyes registered Lucas sitting comfortably in the CEO’s grand mahogany chair, his stunned silence shattered into a burst of loud, booming laughter. The sound echoed off the glass walls of the executive office, sharp and full of mocking contempt.

He tossed his head back, shaking his shoulders as if he had just witnessed the funniest joke in the world. 

"Look at this pathetic worm!" Julian gasped out, wiping a tear of fake laughter from his eye as he pointed a trembling finger at the desk. "He actually bribed a building cleaner, snuck onto the executive floor while the real Chairman was away, and threw on a tailored suit just to play dress-up!"

Elena’s initial fear transformed into a fiery, venomous rage that turned her face bright red. She took two aggressive steps forward, her high heels clicking loudly against the marble floor, and thrust a manicured finger straight toward Lucas's face.

"You sick, desperate stalker!" Elena screamed at the top of her lungs, her shrill voice vibrating through the spacious room. "You couldn't handle the fact that I divorced you, so you snuck into Sterling Group HQ like a criminal just to ruin my proudest moment!"

She whipped her head around toward Natalie, her eyes wide with frantic indignation. She gestured wildly toward Lucas as if he were a rabid stray dog that had somehow wandered into a fine dining restaurant.

"Secretary Natalie, call the security right this second!" Elena demanded arrogantly, her chest heaving with fury. "Have this trespassing fraud arrested for corporate espionage and dragged off to prison!"

Standing beside the grand mahogany desk, Natalie felt her hands clench into tight, trembling fists. Her blood boiled with rage as she stared at the woman standing before her. She remembered the emergency call from the ICU, the terrifying news that Elena's family had tried to murder Lucas's helpless, bedridden mother by pulling her life support.

Natalie’s jaw set into a fierce line, and she began to rise from her seat. But before she could utter a single command or take a step forward, Lucas slowly raised his right hand in a way Julian and Elena couldn’t see. 

Natalie froze instantly. She swallowed her burning fury, and stylishly sat back down in her chair. 

Lucas sat behind the desk, his expression cold. He looked directly at the two figures standing across from him.

"What are you two doing here?" Lucas asked quietly.

Hearing him speak to them with such casual indifference sent Julian and Elena into a fresh spiral of intense fury.

Elena’s face contorted with hatred, her sharp nails digging into her own palms as she glared at him. She turned her attention away from Lucas for a moment and focused completely on Natalie.

"Secretary Natalie, you must not let this trickster fool you for even one second!" Elena warned loudly, stepping closer to the desk. "The entire city knows how merciful and generous you are, especially toward poor and helpless people."

Elena paused, lifting her chin with an arrogant smirk.

"I even bought a copy of your biography at that exclusive business conference last year," Elena boasted, her voice dripping with artificial sympathy. "I know all about your past as a helpless orphan. I read about how you were abandoned and maltreated by your cruel foster parents, and how your foster father almost forced himself on you before you managed to run away into the streets."

She gestured dramatically toward the room.

"Look at you today! You rose from the gutter to become the great secretary of the richest man alive, the supreme owner of Sterling Group!" Elena exclaimed, shaking her head. "Because of what you suffered, everyone knows you have a soft heart for the poor. But you cannot let a shameless parasite take advantage of your kindness!"

Julian stepped up right beside Elena, puffing out his chest in his tailored Italian suit, nodding aggressively in agreement.

"Miss Elena is absolutely right, Secretary Natalie!" Julian chimed in loudly, placing an authoritative hand on his lapel. "Lucas is nothing more than a silver-tongued fraud who came here to scam you! He has zero skills, zero background, and zero money. He is only here to beg you for financial charity, using his pitiful story to squeeze cash out of your generous hands!"

Julian leaned forward over the edge of the desk, pointing an accusing finger at Lucas, his voice full of stern warning.

"Do not give him a single cent, no matter what lies he tells you!" Julian barked arrogantly. "He is a professional parasite who knows exactly how to manipulate soft-hearted women!"

Elena nodded furiously, her eyes flashing with cruel satisfaction as she added more venom to Julian's words.

"He’s saying the truth!" Elena yelled, pointing at Lucas with total disdain. "I know him better than anyone! I threw him out of my house like a dirty, stray dog after realizing he contributed absolutely nothing to my life for eight long years!"

She took another step closer to Natalie, leaning in with a desperate urgency.

"I know this man better than anyone on this planet, Secretary Natalie," Elena insisted, her shrill voice echoing off the walls. "He has a very sweet mouth and knows how to spin smooth, tragic stories to make people feel sorry for him. But you must not fall for his lies!"

Elena turned her head and glared at Lucas, her nose curling in intense disgust as her eyes swept over his appearance.

"Just look at him!" Elena spat out, her voice rising in outrage. "Even if you care so much for broke paupers like my discarded ex-husband, you shouldn't allow him to be this familiar with you! Look at those shabby, cheap clothes he is wearing! How dare a worthless house-husband have the audacity to sit in the Chairman's executive CEO chair?!"

Natalie sat silently behind her desk. Her eyes darted over to Lucas, watching his calm, unreadable face, before she turned her cold gaze back onto Julian and Elena.

She let out a slow, deliberate breath, leaning forward slightly.

"What exactly are you here for?" Natalie asked calmly, her sharp eyes fixing directly onto Julian. "And Julian... as a General Manager of this company, what are you doing right here, badmouthing this gentleman?"

Julian’s face flushed slightly, but he quickly puffed out his chest, waving his hand dismissively.

"Secretary Natalie, I am only trying to protect you and the reputation of Sterling Group!" Julian claimed arrogantly, straightening his tie. "I am simply accompanying Miss Elena, the brilliant CEO of Elena Corporation"

While Julian was speaking, Lucas slowly pushed back the chair. He stood up, his tall frame casting a long shadow across the desk. His body was stiff, and his bandaged leg caused him to pause for a brief moment as he took a step forward.

He stopped right beside the edge of the mahogany desk.

Elena watched him move, a cruel, triumphant sneer spread across her painted lips.

"Oh, look at you!" Elena mocked, letting out a sharp, nasty laugh. "It's good to see that you finally know what pays you! You know you've been exposed, don't you? You're just looking for a clever way to run away before Secretary Natalie calls security to throw your broken body out!"

Lucas turned his head slightly toward her, a faint, unbothered smile touching his lips.

"I am not running away, Elena," Lucas said softly, his voice perfectly relaxed. "I simply stood up to get my medicine."

Elena hissed loudly, rolling her eyes in pure disgust as she crossed her arms tightly over her chest.

"You are so lucky you didn't rot and die on that hospital bed yesterday!" Elena snapped viciously, her eyes burning with malice. "Instead of leaving this city and doing something useful with your pathetic, miserable life, you came straight here with your cheap tricks and sweet words, trying to make Secretary Natalie fall for your disgusting lies!"

Natalie let out a long, weary sigh.

Hearing the sigh, Elena instantly snapped her head back toward Natalie, quickly forcing a polite, apologetic smile onto her face.

"I am so sorry for creating a minor scene in your office, Secretary Natalie," Elena said smoothly, adjusting her designer jacket. "I just get extremely passionate when I see my useless ex-husband trying to scam good people."

Natalie looked at her with cold, unblinking eyes, her tone completely devoid of warmth.

"What do you want, Miss Elena?" Natalie asked flatly.

Elena’s face lit up with overwhelming pride and arrogance. She lifted her head high, clutching her document folder tightly against her chest.

"I am here to sign and finalize the two-billion-dollar contract deal between my business, Elena Corporation, and Sterling Group!" Elena announced boastfully, her voice full of triumph.

Natalie’s eyebrows twitched slightly. 

"Do you not know that the contract has already been—" Natalie began.

Before Natalie could finish her sentence, Lucas cut her off,  stepping forward. His cold eyes locked directly onto Elena's face.

"If you came here for that contract," Lucas said firmly, "you will not get it."

Elena whipped her head toward him, letting out a loud, harsh hiss of anger.

"Shut your mouth, you penniless loser!" Elena barked furiously. "You have no say!"

Ignoring Lucas completely, Elena turned back to Natalie and proudly raised the contract documents toward her desk.

"Secretary Natalie, here are the official execution copies for our deal," Elena said with a bright smile.

Before Natalie's hands could even touch the paper, Lucas reached out immediately, snatching the documents right out of Elena’s hands.

Elena gasped in shock, her eyes widening as her hands were left empty in mid-air. Right in front of her stunned face, Lucas gripped the two-billion-dollar contract with both hands and tore the paper right down the middle.

He looked down at the ruined pages in his hands and tossed them carelessly on the desk.

"These documents are no longer of any use," Lucas said coldly, his voice echoing with authority. "They are completely useless."