Being a CEO

3 PM, Clockwork Heights, Beaumont's Manor

"Victoria, your room is on the left, while Charlotte's is further down the corridor," Lucas directed his daughters as they arrived at their new living quarters. Nodding in acknowledgement, Victoria and Charlotte entered their respective rooms, unpacking their belongings from the briefcases they carried.

Lucas, on the other hand, headed to his study and sat down to think about what lay ahead of him in this future. Stressed couldn't even begin to describe how he's feeling at the moment.

He didn't even know where to begin as he tried to arrange his thoughts. There were too many things to think about and he barely made it through the day without breaking out of character. He's actually thankful for that foot injury he got earlier this morning because it gave him an excuse to not go to work for the time being.

At his current state, he doubted that he'd be able to act like how the original Montague would at work. 'In such a high-pressure, cutthroat job, I would've been exposed as a fraud halfway through the shift'

Just looking at the high stack of letters his table caused a sinking sensation in his stomach. They're mostly invitations to certain social gatherings and almost all of them came from important and high-ranking people. However, since he had browsed through most of Montague's memories, he knew that these 'gatherings' are where most important business deals happen and get decided.

Had he not delved into Montague's memories, Lucas would've probably naively chosen to accept every single one of them out of basic courtesy. After all. they all take place on different days, so attending all of them wouldn't be a problem. However, that's a rookie mistake!

Fortunately, Montague always kept a 'work journal' with him, where he'd detail his meticulous observations and shrewd deductions. In it, he had made a specific note in his journal saying that these are 'faction' invitations. It's not explicitly said in these letters, but it was clear that choosing to attend one event meant aligning oneself with that particular faction and Lucas knew that he could only choose one.

However, if he chose to, they wouldn't forbid Lucas from attending all of them. It's not like they can deny him entry, especially when he'd received a formal invitation, but it would undoubtedly label Montague Beaumont as someone incapable of discerning the hidden implications.

"And then they would perceive me as a fool who fails to read between the lines," read Lucas. "They would likely cut off any further contact and cease extending future invitations. It's not like I have the option of staying neutral either"

The moment he showed that he's capable of buying a manor in Clockwork Heights, a label had already been put in his head. Only the upper-class people with sufficient influence can get in this district. Usually, property here is obtained through connections because the actual listed prices are astronomical, to the point of being unreasonable. Furthermore, few properties in this elite district ever became publicly available for sale.

Montague chose to brute force his way into Eldoria's upper society by actually paying the unreasonable price in full. Normally, such an act is seen as ostentatious and uncouth by the established elites of Eldoria, and would lead to him being ostracized from high society.

However, being a foreigner from a different city, Montague Beaumont was granted some leniency. Instead, his status as an immensely wealthy foreigner without established connections made him an intriguing prospect, garnering interest and attention from Eldoria's elite circles.

"And to think the original owner of this body was able to decipher all of this within such a brief period of time in this city," Lucas mused to himself.

Every realization and understanding that Lucas had formed thus far stemmed from the insights and deductions chronicled in the original Montague's journal. Whether it be the subtle social cues, the underlying effect of his actions, or the complex politics of Eldoria's high society, he had figured it out despite being a foreigner with no prior knowledge to the culture of this city.

'This is the mind of a seasoned businessman' Lucas acknowledged with a tinge of self-awareness.

Had it been him, he wouldn't have even pondered about a tenth of the things that the original had carefully considered. He would've most likely been the ostentatious nouveau riche that the Eldoria upper class looked down upon.

'Knowing me, once I found out that I've transmigrated to the body of a rich and handsome person, I would be rushing to get rid of the 'virgin' title that always hung above my head. I would've flaunted my wealth, trying to bed as much women as possible'

His self-derision got worse as he was once again reminded of the difference between the ability of the original Montague Beaumont and himself.

"Aren't transmigration stories supposed to be about an expert finding themselves in the body of the 'trash' or the one with the crippled body? If this was a cultivation world, then he'd surprise everyone with the miraculous transformation of the 'trash disciple' suddenly becoming a heaven-defying genius!" a self deprecating laugh escaped Lucas's lips.

"In my case, it's the 'trash' that suddenly finds himself in the body of the genius."

Lucas found himself glancing at the clock, and saw that it's almost 5 in the afternoon. He had actually spent 2 hours, achieving nothing and just recalling things that he already knew. He facepalmed at his own inefficiency, and glanced at the picture frame standing on his table.

In it is the picture of a beautiful woman. She seemed to be on her thirties and had the same lustrous brown hair as his daughter, Charlotte, except that hers extended all the way down her back. She had a bright smile and looked to be extremely jovial, a contrast to the serious and rather gloomy Montague. Lucas knew from the original's memories that this is the love of Montague Beaumont's life – his wife, Arabella Beaumont.

She didn't come from a rich family, but neither did the original Montague. She knew him before he got rich and the two became happily married early on into their lives. However, she died when she was 33 and Montague had never remarried or even dated anyone since.

He could vaguely remember the original saying that he found it a shame that none of his daughters inherited his wife's beautiful hazel eyes.

Lucas couldn't help but ask whether or not he had actually hit the jackpot with this transmigration. He looked at the woman in the picture who had a great set of tits and a juicy looking ass. Her face was beautiful, just about as you would expect from the woman who held Montague's heart for over a decade. It was no surprise that she gave birth to two stunning daughters, Victoria and Charlotte.

"Like she's so fine, but of course, she just had to be dead by the time I transmigrated..." he grumbled under his breath. What a goddamn shitty luck to miss out on her sweet pussy. "Oh, the things that I would do if she was still alive." Lucas wondered how Montague could've lived with that fine piece of ass and not want to fuck her senseless day in and day out.

But then again, if she was alive, someone like her who knew Montague from the bottom of her heart, would probably notice that something had changed with her husband. "Haa… What do I do… what do I do… I still have to decide on which one of these invitations I have to accept"

Since he didn't have Montague's business sense, experiences, or sharp intuition, Lucas couldn't trust his own judgment when it came to making these kinds of big, important decisions. 'Depending on which faction I align myself with, the trajectory of my business, my future prospects, and the social circle I'll be interacting with gets decided!'

With that much weight placed on a seemingly harmless and simple invitation, he decided to browse through each individual letter again.

'The gathering that will happen the soonest is on the 16th of August, 3 days from now. By then I should've made up my mind. I'll be at work tomorrow, I'm not sure if I'll have time to do it there.'

Lucas let out a weary sigh as he reached for the drawer, retrieving a stack of reports that his diligent butler, Mikael, had compiled nearly a week ago. This is the suspected backers and factions associated behind each of the invitations that Montague had received. The original Montague had already gone through it once, but Lucas felt like he needed to go through it again 'just to make sure'. Because, if there's one thing Lucas is confident on himself, it's his ability to study and analyze information.

Otherwise he wouldn't have the habit of always only studying the night before a big exam, and have the confidence of getting an A+ every single time. With his bad procrastination habits, there's no way he could maintain his status as a 'kinda-in-the-top student' if he didn't know how to pull off these miraculous all nighters when it mattered most.

'It's literally the only thing I'm good at,' Lucas laughed with a bit of self-derision

"Let's see, there's 15 of them in total." As Lucas slowly got into his 'study mode', he fixed the stack of papers in his hands and made sure they were aligned properly, before taking out the first report.

House Baskerville… House Rainsworth… House Nightray…

Lucas saw that a couple of Eldoria's most prominent families have sent their respective invitations. These are the people descended from the actual noble families that once ruled over Eldoria before it descended into anarchy and violence. They've been in power for as long as this city had existed and have the most history behind them.

'They're easily the most influential, and probably the most powerful, out of all the people that have sent invitations. Their offers are extremely tempting. Hmm, the Baskerville family's 3rd daughter is debuting in high society and the ball is set in the 8th of September… That's quite some time from now.'

The other two families didn't have any big celebrations coming up. They just said that they're interested in meeting up with him for some tea and invited Beaumont to their respective estates.

Lucas still wasn't sure if he should accept any of their invitations, but he knew one thing for sure – he couldn't afford to offend any of them! If he were to reject their offers, he should at least send a formal letter back and a gift, just out of courtesy.

"La Familia… Tianyi Shixiong… The Crows… Blackthorn..."

The next batch of names, could be said to be a step down from the illustrious families mentioned earlier. They're mostly the top gangs in Eldoria that have since become syndicates operating on organized crime. They dabble on many illegal markets, and are involved in a wide variety of criminal activity: including drug trafficking, money laundering, prostitution, fraud, extortion, human trafficking and gambling.

Of course, they're at a level where you can't just label them as 'large gangs' anymore, although most of them originated as such. They've established themselves in Eldoria's underworld and hold considerable influence, even in the surface, and they cannot be uprooted so easily. They're much more comparable to the Earth's Italian mafia, Mexican cartels, the Chinese Triads, and the Yakuza.

Just as Lucas is about to go through the next names on the list, he heard a knock on the door. Not expecting such an interruption, he quickly snapped out of his reverie and composed himself. He though of how the original Montague would usually act and replied in a voice without any hint of warmth or affection. "Who is it?"

After a brief pause, a female voice answered him from behind the door, "Father, it's me, Victoria."