Chapter 45

*CRACK!*

The glass cup shatters as it comes into contact with the wall and the room instantly becomes silent as everyone slowly turns to their new leader.

"Well, I know I said that I'd like if everyone would correct me if I should happen to make a mistake, but it seems I'll have to take that back. I didn't realize I was working with a bunch of schoolchildren."

Alexei sighs and shakes his head.

"Since I am, I'll turn this into a lesson I'd like to teach you all. The two that were leaning against the table, clean the glass up."

The man and woman immediately get up from their seats, grabbing a broom and dustpan.

"Mr. La'rine, I believe you should-

"SHUT THE HELL UP AND CLEAN UP THE DAMN MESS!"

The man jumps and quickly walks over to where the woman stood, putting the dustpan down.

"Now, I'd like for everyone to take note into how I'm making these two astounding teammates clean the broken glass. That is exactly what the two CEOs at the top are both doing." Alexei says, pointing at the top of the ceiling.

Some of the team members look over at each other, confused.

"Want to know how? They're not doing it directly by dropping glasses of water and making you clean it up for them; instead they're using a slick tactic in which they throw their hard work down on the gullible and praise you all for doing it, while they both sit back, work on little to no work, look good for the press, and have a couple of laughs. Once the work starts piling up or he's content with his fair share of money, the CEO steps down, but rarely places himself in a position to become a normal employee."

A woman shakes her head.

"But sir, your father wasn't like that, he was very caring; a nice man who understood our concerns."

Alexei nods.

"I'm sure he was, but what about everyone else above you all? You only get rare and understanding bosses like my father every 50 years. What I'm trying to say is that everyone in this room doesn't have to be in this position; miserable, depressed, tired. I want you all to strive for the top; surpass the two CEOs and show them you're more than just a middle-of-the-road office worker. For the ones that want their position, show the board members you're worthy of being in a CEO position."

He watches as the two team members take their seat, before moving on with his message.

"Now, I have three rules set in place. Number 1: you do not speak unless spoken to from myself or only if I give you all permission. If you have a question, please raise two fingers in the air and I'll answer it if I can. Number 2: besides emergencies, all cellular devices are prohibited in this room; I want you all focused on your work, not a ringtone interrupting every five minutes. Finally, number 3: I expect everyone to act in a professional manner. If you believe you cannot do that, the door is a few feet away."

Alexei checks the time on his watch before continuing.

"As your team leader, I want to help you all as much as possible and that's going to come with a lot of discipline, which includes yelling, unfortunately. I just want you to be well-trained so that when you do make it to the top, you'll have the strength to hold yourself up and the knowledge that a great leader has. Do you all understand what I'm trying to say?"

The team smiles and nods.

"Wonderful. I do apologize if our first meeting came off to be a bit shaky, but it just angers me knowing that everyone in this room has more potential than to just be downgraded to a simple thank you or an employee of the year award certificate."

Walking over to a small table, the young man picks up the boxed cake and uncovers it.

"Now, who'd like a slice to celebrate our new beginning? It's a doberge chocolate cake topped with lemon shavings, a personal favorite of mine."

------

The cold night air wraps its arms around Pierre and Kazimir as they made their way back to their vehicles.

"And so that's when- hey! Are you even paying attention?!"

Looking over at his younger partner, Pierre watches as Kazimir sits down on a bench, mindlessly scrolling through his phone.

"AHEM!"

"Chill, man." Kazimir says, giving Pierre an angry look.

"You should get better at listening, man! Why're you even scrolling through your phone? I'm telling a story; that's not nice manners, ya know."

Kazimir groans and turns his phone off.

"You're one to talk about having manners."

Pierre sighs and sits back on the bench, taking a sip of his soda.

"You got something you want to get off your chest?"

"No." Kazimir replies.

"Whatcha need help with, Kazimir? I know, I'm not the best at giving advice, but I'll try."

"I told you I don't have anything I want to say to you."

"Is it a girl?" Pierre asks. "Is she a work crush or something?"

He turns to Kazimir who continued to swipe through his phone.

"Knew it. It's always a chick. What's her name?"

"Her name is none of your-

"It's Nia, isn't it? Don't lie, I've seen the way your temper diminishes around her, Kazimir."

Pierre watches as the young man immediately goes quiet, before sighing.

"We were at an upscale party and she had an errand to run afterwards. I told her I'd go with her, but I couldn't. And now she's not even picking up."

Pierre chuckles, shaking the ice in his cup.

"It's simple, she's with another man. It's always like that. She isn't your girl, Kazimir. You need to remember the "y" is silent in "your" when it comes to having girlfriends."

Kazimir rolls his eyes in disappointment.

"You dumbass, we're not even dating! She's a friend of mine and I'm worried about her. What if she's actually in danger?"

"Well, damn. What the hell was the errand?"

Getting up from the bench, the young detective stuffs his phone into his coat pocket.

"I gotta go. I'll see you, tomorrow."

"Peace out, then." Pierre says. "Just remember what I told you."

Driving through the city, the young detective frantically searches for the address of where Nia was supposed to be at.

Abruptly braking, he gets out of the car and jogs through the dark neighborhood, before stopping in front of a suburban-like house.

"This is the address." Kazimir mutters, making his way into the backyard.

"Detective Cizetto!"

The young man turns around and quickly runs behind a large, green bush, squatting down next to Mihajl.

"I've been listening and Nia is almost done negotiating with Lyndall Forest. She's pretty good at negotiating, you're lucky to have her as a co-worker."

Kazimir watches as the man moves closer to the young woman, who quickly moved away by reaching for her glass of water.

"How long has he been trying to get her into the hot tub?"

"For about five minutes." Mihajl replies. "Fortunately, Nia kept him outside as to where I could make sure she was safe."

The two men watch as Lyndall hands Nia a business card and Kazimir sighs in relief.

"Thank you, Mr. Forest. Um, I'll give you a call tomorrow morning about meeting up for dinner."

The older male laughs and moves in closer to the young woman.

"Why don't you just stay the night? You don't even have to be so formal with me, beautiful. I prefer Lyndall."

He touches a part of Nia's hair and she nervously laughs, backing away from the lustful man.

"You know, that's nice and all, but I'm not comfortable spending the night-

"Excuse me? Are you Mr. Lyndall Forest?"

The two turn as Mihajl gives them both a warm smile.

"And you?" Lyndall asks.

"I'm an author working on a book that features some well known names around Claiza City. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions on how you came to be one of Claiza City's most richest men." Mihajl replies, taking a pencil from behind his ear.

The older man smiles and laughs.

"Well then, right this way! I'll fix us both a cup of coffee!"

Mihajl looks down at Nia and points her into the direction of where Kazimir was.

"But what about you?!" Nia asks. "He's already told me about how he can make people go missing whenever he pleases!"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. This'll only take around, let's say, ten minutes."

Mihajl reassuringly pats the young woman's shoulder, before following the man into his house.

Nia sighs and turns, walking onto the sidewalk where Kazimir stood, grabbing his hand out of fear.

"I hope he'll be okay. I'd feel terrible if he'd lost his life over me."

"He'll be fine." Kazimir says. "Remember, he's a runner for Merderaé. Someone that's been working with that devilish group for that long couldn't possibly let a man like Lyndall figure him out."

The young woman nods.

"Goodness, I forgot about that! I'm sorry, it's just that I get so worried when others put themselves in situations for me. I mean, you all are my friends, I don't want to see any of you get hurt."

She shivers a bit and Kazimir gives her his suit coat to wear.

"We can wait in my car until Mihajl is finished."

Nia nods and follows the young man to his car.

"I applaud you for taking this case by yourself, Nia." Kazimir says, turning the heat up. "You must be-

The young man looks over and lightly smiles as she laid her head against the car's window.

"Tired."

Looking forward, Kazimir steps out of the car to talk to Mihajl who currently made his way from the treasurer's house.

"Mr. Hatmanu. I'd like to thank you for watching Nia for me while I was busy."

"You're quite welcome, she's a wonderful woman to be around." Mihajl says, with a smile as he rips out a piece of paper from his notepad. "Oh, please give this to her. It's my phone number and address. We both share a love of books and I told her she was welcome to stop by anytime to borrow whatever she may like."

Kazimir takes the paper and nods.

"I'll do so. I'll see you around."

"Yes, goodbye for now."

The detective watches as Mihajl made his way back over to his car, before looking back down at the paper.

"Number and address, huh?"