5 The Falks
Elian wondered why he was sleeping on the couch when there were a lot of empty rooms in the house and more importantly why did it bother him. He looked for a quilt and carefully covered the boy sleeping on the couch without waking him up and left.
Elian went on to look for Irene, the housemaid to talk to her about the boy.
Irene was hired by Elian's mother after he was born, to babysit the two brothers while their she was working. Elian and his brother grew up under Irene's care. Since childhood, Elian treated Irene like his mother. But after the tragic accident in which his mother passed away, Irene's bond with the two became even stronger. She cared about Elian like he was her own child.
Learning about the conversation she had with the boy last night, Elian wondered for a moment why Kian refused her offer. Elian asked her to take care of him while he's here and quickly left for the meeting he had to attend.
Irene wondered whether Elian felt responsible for the boy which amazed her considering that the alpha had quite a reckless attitude towards other people, in general. She wondered if he liked that boy. Knowing the emotionally troubled childhood that Elian had, and how it had caused him to shut off completely to things like love, she couldn't help but look for hope in such little incidents. She really hoped that one day he could fall in love and experience that happiness.
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The bright sun rays were entering the living room through the window panes and falling on Kian's face. It made Kian's eyes squint as he woke up. He found himself snuggled inside a soft blanket. He quickly shot up , remembering he is not in his apartment. He looked at the quilt confusingly and looked around the room only to notice a male servant dusting the shelves.
He got up and looked around for the woman he met last night. He went outside and found her chatting to a man with a lawnmower next to him. After a while, the woman turned around to look at him. "Ohh dear you're awake!", she lightly shrieked. "Yes, sorry I had to look for you. I'm not used to being around such huge mansions all by myself", Kian replied politely. "Oh, I completely understand. I have been with young master's family ever since he was born but even now I'm not used to these giant houses. They're too scary sometimes", she laughed.
She took Kian inside and showed her the bathroom and arranged some clothes for him to change into. As Kian took a shower, he decided to visit his apartment to bring some essentials with him. He wanted to use as few amenities as possible while staying there.
As soon as he came downstairs, Irene forced Kian to have breakfast with her. They introduced themselves to each other and started talking. Kian was a friendly guy and had always been a great talker. "This is the best eggs benedict I have ever had", Kian exclaimed as he took a bite from his plate. "I know, this is young master's favorite breakfast food. I've been making this for him ever since he was a kid. But these days he rarely eats at home. He leaves early and always comes late. Poor child".
Kian didn't respond to her. He liked Irene but he didn't like her mentioning Elian in every other conversation. He tried to change the topic. "I'm going to go home and get some of my stuff". "Speaking of that, the master told me that he doesn't want you sleeping on the couch. He ordered me to fix a room for you.", she said, in her sweet voice. Kian rolled his eyes, at the mention of word 'ordered'. He didn't like how Irene referred to him as if he was some kind of prince.
"Why? Does he have a problem with me sleeping on the couch? If anything, I thought he'd appreciate it", he said, taking another bite of his breakfast
"Don't think like that sweetie. He isn't so rude to make his guests sleep on the couch. He cares about your well being!", she stated.
Kian laughed. "Only a fool would believe something like that. No offense but your dear 'master' is a self centered, heartless jerk".
"That's not true. Everybody has a heart. But sometimes people are too scared to open theirs". She said with such certainty that it made Kian wonder whether it also applied to him.
Was he also one of those people who used shutting off their emotions as defense mechanism, because they couldn't recover from the trauma of their past? Is that the reason why he had never found love? The only answer that occurred to him was, probably not. His life was tough and mostly busy, maybe he just doesn't have enough time to fall in love. He shook off his thoughts wondering why he even was thinking about love out of nowhere. "I'll ask him myself. Not sleeping on the couch wasn't part of that stupid deal he made", Kian replied, annoyedly, pouting like a child, .
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In a giant room, a group of administrators sat around the conference table. And one of them was, Elian.
The Falk association was one of the largest companies in the world and it was largely run by family members of the Falk clan. Although some outsiders were also shareholders, the major company assets were owned by the members who had a direct relationship with the family.
Elian could easily spot some of his cousins and uncles sitting at the table. There was a time when Elian's father, Damien used to be the CEO, but after his mother's death, he had resigned and left the responsibility to his younger brother, Raymond.
Eight years after the incident his older brother, Erik graduated and worked hard to earn his spot in the company. He put all his energy into the welfare of the organization and the results were positive. Two years ago he was declared as the CEO of Falk association, succeeding his uncle at the young age of twenty-nine.
After two long hours, the meeting finally came to an end and everybody was dismissed. Elian got up off his chair to leave for his office. As he walked out of the conference room, someone's hand landed on his shoulder. "Yo, dude I saw you on the news last night!", Elian turned his head to see his cousin, Ruben, "Man, you just keep getting popular every day!! You should give me some tips too on how to be an attention grabber", he said with a smug grin on his face.
"Trust me I wasn't trying this time either", Elian replied coldly and continued walking. "Are you sure? Cuz if not, maybe you should try being a model. You'd probably be better at that". Elian stopped in his tracks, "Well at least I have that option", he answered, mocking his cousin.
"Cut it you two", Elian heard his brother's voice and turned around to see him. "Ruben go back to your department and you, come to my office", Erik said sternly and Ruben followed the instruction without saying a word.
Elian followed his brother to his office. Erik sat on his chair and threw a folder on the table. "Do you know what that is El?". Elian picked the folder and opened it, "It's a monthly report….of my department", he replied, hesitantly.
"And how much profit does it say your department made?", Erik asked again. "Minus 100 million", Elian said with his voice so low it could barely be heard. "That's correct". Erik sighed looking at his younger brother who was staring at the floor. He got up and came to sit next to him.
"Hey, I know this is hard for you. It was hard for me too. But don't lose your spirit okay? We have to do this for mom you know that right?", Elian nodded listening to his brother. "By the way, I too saw the news. Were you drinking yesterday?", Erik asked. "I was drunk but I wasn't driving. It was Deck. But I had to take the responsibility", he clarified.
"Why? Can Declan not pay small compensations now?", Erik asked, scoffing. "It was my car so people misunderstood, and Tristan said I can use this to turn my image around, you know...". Erik turned to pick up the newspaper from the shelves next to him and threw him in Elian's lap.
"Well, people are not talking about your break-up now so I guess he's right", Erik chuckled.
"Can I go now?", Elian asked, exhausted. "No! I haven't even given you the good news yet", Elian sensed some enthusiasm in his brother's tone.
"What good news?", Elian asked, confused. "I have found someone to help you out", Erik replied, smiling.
"What? To help me with what?", Elian irked.
"Hey don't get mad. You'd love her. She is your age, has four years of experience in general management, and was rewarded employee of the year last month. She will turn around your image around."
Elian kept angrily staring at his brother, without saying a word.
"Look I know you hate working with other people but just try this once. I'm only doing this to help you El. I'm worried about you", Erik said as he tried to convince his brother.
Since he was Elian's only family that he had, it was hard saying no to him sometimes. He understood very well that he was his only well wisher so he was used to following his every instruction. "Alright", Elian answered unenthusiastically.
