Chapter 22: 911

"Miss Jansen, I did not recall summoning you to my office. Go back to work." Xavier angrily said which shocked Zarah.

'What's wrong with you?', she wanted to ask him but decided not to. After all, he was right. She should not be there since she was not summoned.

She excused herself politely and walked out of the door. Chris also followed Zarah out.

"What are you doing?" Xavier coldly asked Dylan.

"I could ask the same question to you, Xavier. What are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be in your meeting?"

Xavier had to pause the meeting to stop his cousin.

"I know what you're trying to do, Dylan. If you can not shut your mouth, stay away from her!"

"Relax! What are you so afraid of, Xavier? Dude, I just want to know her."

"Know her? I know what you mean by it, Dylan. You wanted to get under her pants. That's what you mean by it." Xavier said.

"Well, if she's not like the other girls, she won't agree to it, right? But seriously bro, I don't mean any harm. I'm all you've got here. I might help you convince grandpa in the future." Dylan explained.

Xavier frowned as he did not believe him. Dylan was against the idea a few hours ago. And now, he was telling him that he had a change of heart, now? That's impossible.

"Dylan. If you're plotting something, I'm warning you. Stay away from her!" He repeated his warning.

"Why are you so afraid? She knows you, right? And if you love her, she better know." Dylan asked him.

"Yes she must but it's not up to you, Dylan."

"Oh my gosh, don't tell me she doesn't know about it. Are you sure that what you told me the last time was not a part of your imagination? You hit your head pretty hard, Xavier. You even went into a coma." Dylan started doubting Xavier's story.

Based on what he had observed, Zarah showed not much reaction when she saw him. She was distant to him. They were not close.

"Do you think I'm making it all up?" Xavier scoffed in disbelief.

"That's what I think. You always have that creative imagination back when we were young Xavier. How will I know that you're not living in your fantasy? Maybe this is your coping mechanism and you still can not accept Auntie's death."

"I'm already over that phase Dylan. Zarah did not know because she could not remember."

"What?"

"She had selective amnesia and had forgotten about me. All she remembered was her feelings for that sc*mbag."

That did make sense for Dylan, "That could explain it. But Xavier, she's in a relationship."

"You did not bring that up earlier, Dylan. Is this your new tactic now?" Xavier asked him.

"No. I just remembered about it now."

"As I've said, I won't let anyone get in the way between me and Zarah. She might be dating that guy but not for long."

"Are you plotting something? Do you plan to assassinate him?"

"I don't have to. I'll let nature take its course, Dylan."

"I don't know if I'll cheer you on this or beg you to stop. Honestly, I don't see any good result from this, Xavier. But if this would make you happy, then, I'm on your side, man."

Xavier heaved a sigh of relief as that was what he wanted to hear from him.

"So, when are you going to introduce me to her, formally?"

"Not for now but I'll make sure soon. Before that time comes, you have to stay away from her."

"Why?"

"Because I don't trust your blabbering mouth and your Casanova personality, Dylan. You might want to keep her to yourself."

Dylan laughed hysterically in response to what he said. After all, he was right. Zarah's beauty got his attention and it made him change his mind a little about Zarah.

"Well, I was thinking that if you're no longer interested in her, maybe I could have her." He teasingly said and this did not go well with Xavier.

"Zarah is not a damn toy, Dylan." He groaned in response.

"I know! I know! I'm just teasing you. My goodness. Ever since Auntie died, this is the first time that I've seen you react this much. And it's all thanks to her. Maybe I should thank her for making you feel human again." Dylan meant well but Xavier would still not allow him.

"Stay away from her."

"Fine! I will stay away."

After convincing Dylan, Xavier went back to the meeting as if nothing happened.

In the meeting, the Department Heads faced his wrath as he questioned their performances over the past year.

The Finance Department received the worst because Xavier found out, through Zarah's comparative report, that there were questionable and untraceable transactions made by them.

The Director of the Finance Department, the CFO, had no other choice but to confess and pointed his fingers at the former CEO, Nikolai Stevens.

He did this after the meeting was over.

"Mr. CEO, I was left with no choice. If I did not help him, he threatened to hurt my family." He explained.

"Did you know that he could use you as the scapegoat for his crime? What you did is a crime because you're his accomplice."

Nikolai had stolen almost five hundred million dollars. It might not be that big given the fact that Stevens Group was worth a hundred billion, the money stolen could still affect the company.

Also, this must be hidden from the public or this might cause their stocks to plummet.

Xavier also discovered the anomaly in the budgets given to every department and they pointed to the same person.

So, Xavier formed a committee to conduct the investigation and made sure that the culprits would face legal charges.

At the agreed time, Zarah, Rupert, and he left the company to attend this lunch meeting.

Zarah was sitting on the back as she was still pissed off with what he did to her the last time. He played on her like a fool.

After thirty minutes, they arrived at the meeting place.

The other party had not arrived so as the host for this meeting, they ordered food for the guests.

Rupert had already gathered the intel about what they liked to please them. Zarah on the other hand was informed at the last minute about the identities of the client.

She thought that their names were familiar.

Ten minutes later, the other party arrived, and two men came. One was around the age of fifty while his companion was around the age of thirty. Following behind them were their assistants and secretaries.

The secretaries went to the table where Zarah and Rupert sat. They then exchanged greetings and names and went on with lunch.

The parties exchanged pleasantries and it was Xavier who did the talking. Their tables were close so they could hear what they were talking about.

After an hour the lunch ended and the two parties shook hands. Xavier then said, "My assistant will visit your office in Chatswood City to discuss the contents of the contract, Mr. Kim."

"That would be amazing, Mr. Lockhart. Before we came here, we were skeptical about attending this meeting knowing that we heard rumors about the company. But after knowing that you're now running this company, we're positive that we made a good choice." The senior man told Xavier.

"I genuinely appreciate your trust, Mr. Kim. Of course! You're one of my other company's first clients, I won't fail your trust. We're expecting a fruitful partnership."

After the meeting, Zarah, Rupert, and Xavier drove back to the company.

While they were in the car, Zarah finally recalled where she heard their names.

They were the clients that Josh was trying to pursue for months.

She was wondering if this was the same project or another project.

Irving Corp owned the second largest textile company in the country. They had also recently ventured into advertising and had also ventured out in creating their clothing lines.

But Josh's ultimate dream was to penetrate the jewelry industry. He wanted to create one successful line for their debut. This was his personal project.

While Mr. Kim was the number one exporter of diamonds and precious stones in Country H. While the young man was a famous jewelry designer in country H.

Was it possible that Josh wanted Mr. Kim as the main supplier of his diamonds and precious stones?

When they returned to the company Zarah excused herself as she wanted to use the restroom while Rupert and Xavier went to his office.

While she was in the bathroom, her pager beeped and she saw the number 911 on her pager.

She received the manual which she had flipped through earlier and she understood the meaning.

The first thing she had in mind was to find a telephone and call the PR department which temporarily managed the messages received from their relatives in case of emergency.

"This is Miss Jansen, I received a page with 911 on it."

"Yes. Someone from St. George Hospital tried calling you but since all phones must be silent while you're inside the company, you've missed it."

While the operator was telling her about the emergency, Zarah grabbed her phone and checked it.

"They said your father Mr. Stevens is awake. Wait, is your father related to Chairman Stevens?" The operator curiously asked but Zarah did not answer as she was very happy with the news.

Awake! He's awake! Zarah was over the moon. After the bad things that had happened to her last week, this was the best news ever!

"Thank you for informing me. I'll call them now." She happily said.

"No problem?" The operator was unsure of how to respond and was disappointed when Zarah did not answer the question.

The first person that Zarah thought of was Xavier. She had to inform him.

Zarah rushed to the CEO's office and when she arrived, she told Xavier the news.

"Old Man Isaiah is awake!" She was very happy to announce the news to him. However, her happiness disappeared when she saw him disinterested.

"..."

"Aren't you going to say anything? He's still your father."

"As I've told you back then, I lost him the day mom died." He coldly said.

Then, he thought of how important this could be for Zarah, so he said, "You may go to the hospital. I'll only give you an hour to check on him. Should you not return, after an hour, this will reflect in your performance."

Zarah felt infuriated with what he said. How could he be so cold? However, for Xavier, he was doing Zarah a huge favor.

Zarah left the company in a hurry not minding that she was back in heels.

An hour? Could she make it? St. George Hospital was quite far from the company. It would take her thirty minutes of travel time even without traffic as they had to maintain a certain speed limit.

It's not too late for her to apply to another company for an internship, right?

This thought crossed her mind but when she thought of Isaiah's sad face, she erased that thought away.

Zarah emailed Elliott the reason why she needed to take a leave for half a day. Now that Isaiah was awake, he needed her by his side.

Good thing Elliott was on his computer and so he saw the email notification. Since he was working directly for Isaiah and not for Xavier, he left the company as soon as he heard the news.

He had to be there on his boss' side to greet him back.

Xavier could not stop him from leaving and so Elliott was able to leave.

Zarah arrived at the hospital and she was informed by the information desk that they had moved him to his VIP room.

Zarah rushed to Isaiah's VIP room to finally see him. Her hands were trembling when she opened the door.

She saw two doctors talking to Isaiah. She recognized the other one but the other doctor was unfamiliar to her.

When Isaiah saw Zarah by the door, his exhausted eyes lit up.

"Za-rah! Come he-re!"

Zarah rushed to his side as soon as she heard him calling her name.

"Old Man! You're awake!" She exclaimed in relief as tears of joy started streaming down her face.

"Yes, sweetheart. However, I'm afraid the days that I have left to spend with you are numbered." He said weakly and the joy and excitement that she felt were suddenly washed away and were replaced with panic and worry.

"Mr. Stevens, I suggest that you minimize talking to conserve your energy." His doctor, Dr. Smith, reminded him.

"No! Don't say that, Old Man! We will still celebrate your hundredth birthday, remember? That's ten-plus more years." Zarah said however Isaiah only smiled weakly.

"Zarah, I'm already very old. You know that. I want you to listen to me, please?"

***