Chaos at Firm 3

Earl glanced at Evelyn's furious face from sideways as he walked beside her, not daring to speak a word at the moment. 

"Take me to the meadows." He heard her say. He nodded to her and rode the carriage into the woods where the meadows existed. 

Whole journey was deadly silent. He had never seen Evelyn this furious. He wanted to calm down her rage by speaking to her on a random topic and distracting her but was scared to do so. He prefered to be with her rather than leaving her alone with this heated version of her. 

Carriage stopped at the entrance of the forest. Evelyn walked ahead of Earl. She still appeared to be unsettled from the way she stormed into the forest. 

Reaching the meadows, she sat down on the soft grass and exhaled the air in relief and said, "That was tough. Did I do well?" She looked at Earl who was baffled by her question. 

"You said not to be lenient. So, was that okay?" She asked. 

"Huh? Was that...were you acting?" He asked, widening his eyes. 

"Of course," 

"Eve, you scared me with your acting skills. I was so frightened to speak with you," he said, still unable to comprehend the truth.  

"I guess Madame Oliver's acting class was worth paying for. I could be a good actor," she said, swaying her hair back dramatically. 

"Yeah yeah," he replied and laid back on the grass. 

Silence surrounded them. Evelyn closed her eyes, drowning in the atmosphere. 

"You weren't acting. Ain't you?" She heard Earl asking her. 

Opening her eyes, she sighed deeply and murmured, "It is named after my mother. Seeing them fight like this wrenched my heart. I don't want the firm name to be smeared."

"Everything will be fine, Eve," he said, smiling ruefully at her. 

"Hope so," she said and looked at the sky. "Council exam is two weeks away. I hope everything gets settled before that or else I will have to close the firm forever." She sighed. 

"Did you plan something?" He asked, curiously. 

"Haven't thought of anything yet. Shall wait for them to take a step." She took a small pause and continued, "I don't want them to work together for namesake in the firm. It might create a problem again when I am not around, affecting the work yield. It needs a permanent solution which is possible only if they two agree to work together genuinely." 

"I hope they understand that it's not only about them. The employees who were working under them are going to suffer as a result of their meaningless ego," he said. 

They both sat there for a while and went back to the palace, finding no reasonable solution to the matter. Journey was again silent but this time, their mind was occupied to get a way out. 

Reaching the palace, Evelyn hopped out of the carriage and entered the palace while Earl went to park the carriage at its usual place. 

She saw her father and uncle Admiral discuss something, sitting on the couch. They held a stern expression implying the matter was serious. She wondered if it was a council matter. 

As soon as she came into their view, she saw their facial expressions change drastically. His father held a gentle smile but the slight line on his forehead was enough for one to know that he was faking it.

"Is something serious father? Uncle Admiral?" She asked, glancing at them. 

"Nothing much. Just a trivial matter of the council," her uncle replied. 

She smiled and thought it's not good to stress upon the matter as if they want her to know they will inform her. 

"I heard what happened in the firm." She heard her father say. "Are you still willing to continue it? You can leave it any time Eve. You don't have to take responsibility for everyone. They can find their way of survival," he added. 

"Yes, father. But I will try my best before giving up on it completely," she said determinedly. 

"That's my niece," Admiral said, encouraging her. She returned a smile to him and strolled towards her room. 

Whole night she thought about an appropriate solution but failed to find one. Engrossed in thinking, she didn't notice that the wooden logs had burnt out completely in the fireplace. 

Goosebumps raised on her hands as she started shivering from the cold. She quickly went towards the fireplace burning the logs which were stockpiled in the rack beside it. 

Fire drove away the chillness from the atmosphere making the room cosy. Looking at the fire she thought about the poor workers who had no proper earnings to protect themselves from the cold weather. 

"Winter is coming. I need to find a solution before they suffer more," she murmured. 

She stood up and strolled around her room. In front of her was an enormous rack with a huge collection of books that her father bought for her. She strolled towards it, expecting to get a solution. Her eyes twinkled looking at a thin book. 

"Looks like this is the only way," she mumbled. Each word held a mysterious feeling. She smiled broadly as she thought about her plan. 

At last, finding the solution, she hopped into her bed to get some good sleep, before plotting the execution of her brilliant plan.