The Kaplan Tower

I have no intention to stay outside in the cold any longer. With Cisca beside me, who is over a head shorter than I am, we walk through the self sliding glass door.

There it is again, the smell of artificial air. I look around in the lobby and realize that this might be the very last time I see it. The floor made completely of polished marble reflects every streak of light. Organic yet modern shapes protrude out of the pure white walls stretching dozens of feet high, with enough room to fit a full-sized house under the ceiling.

Directly across the lobby from me is the reception desk, behind which stand a man and a woman in formal black suits, both of whom give me a slight nod as I enter.

A waterfall encased in glass covers almost the entire wall behind the receptionists, filling the otherwise silent lobby with the constant flowing of water, a distraction for some, but not me, and that's all I took into consideration when I ordered its installation.

On either of the symmetrical sides are leather couch sets taking up the rest of the floor. A handful of people scantily spread out among the seats and were sipping coffee while working away on their laptops, mixing the subtle clicks and clacks of their keyboards into the ambient waterfall.

One of them, a brown-haired woman around the same age as Cisca, notices my presence with her amber eyes and stands up from her seat. She walks toward me while clutching a tablet to her chest.

"Mr. Kaplan," she greets me and pauses for a second when she lands her eyes on the scientist beside me, "Consultant Cisca."

Cisca looks off into the distance to avoid eye contact and says, "Hey, Sophia. Fancy meeting you here."

I put aside whatever tension is currently between them and ask, "You are not usually in the lobby, Sophia. Do you need anything?"

"Yes. Um…." She brushes her hair out of her face and glances behind her shoulder at the man who sat beside her, "I have someone who wishes to speak with you." Her voice is timid, more so than what I am used to.

I look over to the man she is talking about. He is sitting with his back facing me, so I can't see his face, but from the luster coming off the top of his head, I can tell he is past his youth.

"Who is he?" I ask.

Sophia looks at the ground and gulps before answering, "A, um…, former associate of your father."

"Oh boy," I hear Cisca mutter beside me.

Why are they acting like I just got myself into a terrible scandal and here comes a man to expose me?

"What's wrong with that?" I ask.

"Well… you know…. you haven't exactly given your father's business partners…"

"The best treatment," Cisca helps Sophia find the term she struggled to look for.

"Right, yes."

It has been a while since I've seen Cisca and Sophia agree on something.

"What? No. What I give them is the correct treatment," I say and dismiss the doubtful eyes of the two, "Whatever. What does he want with me?"

Sophia fumbles with the tablet as she brings up a document and says, "He is Mr. Fulton from F&S Electronics. They were the battery manufacturer for our electric automobile division when your father was in charge, until you… purged all of your father's partnerships when you took over."

F&S Electronics? Doesn't ring a bell in my head. Well, it was almost a decade ago. I don't expect to remember everything from back then, or anything at all, to be honest.

"Alright. Let me take care of it," I say and walk toward the man on the couch. As I am leaving, I hear Cisca whisper behind me, "Go easy on him, please."

The man looks up and sees me standing in front of him. He closes his laptop and stands up to offer me a handshake.

"Hi, Mr. Fulton," I greet him as I take his hand.

Most of the hair on Mr. Fulton's head is gone, and his body is starting to take the shape of a pear, but his apparel made up for it. His well-fitted business suit looks to be very high class. It also pairs nicely with the gold watch on his wrist.

A wide smile appears on his face. "Kris! It's been so long. Look how much you've grown!" He says while gripping my hand tightly.

There it is again, the fake smile in his eyes. I am so tired of seeing that in everyone around me for as long as I have been alive, except for Cisca. She is the only one with whom I can see a glimmer of authenticity in her eyes when she smiles.

"It has been a while, indeed. What brings you here, Mr. Fulton?" I ask and put up the same fake smile I dread with my life.

"I came here to negotiate a new deal, Kris," he says.

"Mr. Kaplan, please. Not a lot of people call me Kris. I am not used to it."

"Sorry, can't do. I already know a Mr. Kaplan."

Well, that isn't the first time I have heard that from my father's former business associates.

"Alright then," I say, "We don't have any connections between our companies. I don't believe there are any deals that can be made."

"You see, that's the thing. F&S Electronics had worked so well with Kaplan Corp. We don't understand what the reason was for Kaplan Corp to break their ties with us nine years ago. We have sent many delegates to help you rethink the decision, but all of them returned empty-handed, so I felt the need to show up in person," he says.

There might have been some mentions of delegates from other companies by Sophia, but I have long told her to reject all of them without consideration if they used to work with my father. I guess F&S was one of them.

"So," I ask, "What deal do you propose?"

His smile gets bigger as he says, "Not much. We just want to begin reestablishing our partners-"

"No."

His eyes widen and the grin on his face vanishes as if it was never there in the first place.

"I am sorry?" He asks like he doesn't understand what I just said.

"No. We have a great relationship with IonWorks right now. I don't see the need to rebuild a partnership from years ago."

"I know that, but-"

"No means no. I don't understand how having your delegates being repeatedly rejected doesn't hint you to the fact that maybe we don't want you. Please leave, your visit has been a waste of time for the both of us," I tell him sternly and wipe off my own smile.

I hear Cisca sigh and say to Sophia, "There he goes again."