20 Reckless

Ethan was still lost in thought when I arrived by his side. I might have walked quietly or maybe he was still distracted. Either way, it pricked my curiosity but I didn't act on it as I didn't want to pry.

"Let's go?" I prodded when he still didn't notice that I was already there

We spent the car ride quietly doing our own thing though I threw him a measuring look from time to time as he was uncharacteristically subdued.

We were in the elevator when my patience wore thin and I couldn't rein in the urge to ask anymore. The urge to know more about him.

"Who was that?" I suddenly asked, sounding random because of the weird timing.

Ethan looked at me blankly, "Who?"

"That old man you were talking to in the parking lot," I reminded him.

"Old man?"

I stared at him meaningfully just waiting for the memory to come back to him.

"Ohhh. It was no one important, he was just asking for directions," he shrugged uncaringly after realizing who I was talking about.

"Is that so? You've been distracted ever since then," I raised one eyebrow at him.

"Are you worried about me?" He tilted his head in my direction, looking highly interested in my answer.

My steps faltered at the question. Those black hooded eyes wanted to corner me and I became uncomfortable immediately.

I really didn't want to answer that question when I, myself, don't even know the answer.

My gaze unconsciously avoided him and caught someone laughing with Heather in the reception.

I exclaimed loudly, a tad too excited, "Uncle!"

"Miranda! My dear, how are you?" He opened his arms and I naturally hugged him warmly.

We broke apart and I examined the smiling face that made the creases on the corner of his eyes surfaced. Looking as dashing as ever in a formal suit despite getting high up in the age ladder was Alan Sanders. He was my Dad's best friend and someone who I was close with since I was a kid. The only one that I recognized and called as my uncle, unlike the other self-declared people in the company.

"I'm doing fine as always. How was your vacation in the tropics?" I replied, genuinely smiling.

"It was relaxing unlike the usual stress here. Anyways, I've heard about what happened. You've been busy," he replied in a gentle chiding tone.

I immediately knew what he was talking about. In the shareholders, he had the second highest amount of company shares. He couldn't have come because he was out on vacation at that time though he was still informed. He was one of the people my dad and I absolutely trusted no matter what. He also made sure that the handover of the company to me was smooth after my dad died. He didn't mention it even once but I know that he did a lot behind the scenes to support me.

"Did you cut your vacation time because of that? Before that, let's go to the office so we can talk comfortably." Casting him a worried glance before herding him to the office, avoiding Ethan successfully.

We both sat down at the sofa set and Heather soon entered with cups of coffee for the both of us.

He waved his hand in denial, "I didn't cut my trip at all because of the company since I knew you could handle it. Your aunt had to go home early because of some event in her club. Speaking of clubs, are you still there on that Book Club thingy?"

"Yes, I still am," I nodded with a chuckle.

"Your aunt has been pestering me to get you to join her club. She said you can meet a lot of people that's good for your business there. Full of Influential people," he relayed, rolling his eyes while putting air quotes on his words.

"Please tell aunt I appreciate the thought but I've been close friends at the club now because I've been there for years," I refused again, looking troubled.

I've been fending off her invites for a while now and it's terribly troublesome that I would have accepted just to get it off my back. However, the club forbids membership to other clubs for the sake of exclusivity. My aunt meant well but it's mostly because The Book Club might be big but it still managed to be lowkey. Most people outside of it don't care much about it because of the impression it gives. Looking like a leisure spot that was teeming with ladies, most old-fashioned people think it's useless to be affiliated with it.

I had always thought the club would have improved its reputation with marketing but I always had a sneaking suspicion that the founders who no one knew preferred it that way, maybe even helped foster it. We still get applications so it's not really an issue but most of them were referrals from other members.

"I will," he grinned, picking up his coffee.

I sipped mine as well in silence while I waited for him to talk about his real reason for coming here. He put down his cup after a while.

Here it comes, I thought inside.

He sighed, "You shouldn't have been in a rush to fire him, child. You should have taken the time to slowly take away his influence in the company and then convert it to yours."

My back stiffened at his words, "Are you asking me to tolerate filth in my company, Uncle?"

He shook his head and then gently said, "No, I'm not asking you that but being more prudent regarding this would have benefited you more in the long run. You know how precarious your position is."

"Even so, I will not condone his actions. What would have happened if there were accidents in the factories? That would've created more problems for me. Pocketing the money of the company for his own good. He was Dad's good friend but he was backstabbing him for years," I shot back in disgust.

I knew that he meant well but this was something I would not budge on.

"Was what happened to Parker&Co you're doing as well?" He asked, abandoning his earlier point after gauging my reaction.

I stayed silent, neither denying nor admitting to it.

Parker&Co was over. It wasn't officially spread out that they covered up the affair but a lot of people know that they do external audits for our company. With the embezzling issue that came to light, it served to fuel the fire that was already burning.

The issue was quietly talked about in the business circle. Most don't know the whole story but even if the industry didn't know the whole thing they still got a rough idea from the information available to the public. Parker&Co lost a lot of their clients because of this. Combined with being blacklisted, it was only a matter of time before they declared bankruptcy.

My lips tilted slightly in satisfaction at the thought and Uncle Alan didn't fail to notice it, his eyes narrowed.

"Miranda, aren't you being reckless?" His whole demeanor was exasperated upon speaking.

"Whenever someone targets me, I always make sure to make them pay a thousandfold. They deserved what happened to them," I muttered, indifference on my face.

"Well, what's done is done so we can't do anything about it now," he sighed heavily again, already giving up on convincing me.

I felt a tinge of guilt so I said, "Don't think about it anymore, Uncle. I'll make sure to be more lowkey next time."

I promised easily. The matter this time was handled with a lot of noise because I had no other choice. I'd always preferred for matters to be dealt with quietly most of the time anyway.

He narrowed his eyes at my quick concession, "I know you well enough so don't make promises you can keep. Let's talk about something else instead."

I went motionless, the coffee that I was supposed to drink was stuck midair. I'd have thought the company issue was his main agenda but it turned out that it wasn't.

This time, I was really clueless.

"I heard about the breakup with that Remington brat. What's wrong with him?" he said, his voice outraged like he was the one who got dumped instead of me.

I blinked in shock at his reaction. My mind wasn't prepared at all for this topic.

I haven't answered yet but he was already speaking again, quite animated in fact, "He obviously doesn't know what's good for him. How about meeting with my son instead?"