THE ACKERMANS

-Haruka POV-

"I'm getting older, Mr. Auclair. It's about time I leave the company to Levi's father, and Levi will be the next heir too." The chairman's words reminded me of what Louis said last night. Naturally, Levi will be the next heir.

"Stop talking nonsense, grandfather. The meeting is about to start." Levi interjects. He doesn't look very pleased with his grandfather's earlier reply. We entered the meeting room, and the session began.

We managed to finish the meeting right before lunch. That was a bit too long for the meeting this time. It seems the chairman wanted to discuss everything in one board meeting.

"Mr. Auclair, would you like to have lunch together with me, the vice chairman, and Levi?" The chairman suddenly asked when everyone was out of the meeting room. What? Having lunch together and with Levi's father too? I guess I need to refuse this one.

"Pardon me, chairman, am I not going to be in the way of your family having lunch together?" I tried to say it as politely as possible.

"Of course not. You're like a family to me, so don't worry." The chairman replied with a smile. 

"I'm sorry, chairman, but I still have some..." My words were cut off by none other than Levi.

"Just come with us already. It's lunch hour anyway, so the work can wait. It's been a while since we all eat together, by the way." Levi interjects. Now that he mentioned that, it's been a while since I had the meal with the Chairman before.

"Well, I guess I should come with all of you then." I said that politely. Levi knows very well I couldn't refuse anymore. Of course, he's smiling right now. This jerk.

"Well, that's good then. It's been a while since I ate Chinese cuisine. What do you think about having the lunch at the Chinese restaurant, Mr. Auclair?" The Chairman asked my opinion.

"I think that would be nice, sir." Even though I don't really like Chinese food, I should just agree with the Chairman.

"Alright, we'll have Chinese cuisine then."

-Royal Dragon Chinese Cuisine-

Now, here I am with the Ackerman Group's top three highest board members.

"Do you always eat Chinese cuisine, Mr. Auclair?" As soon as we sat at the table in the private dining room, the chairman asked me.

"No, not really, sir." I said that with a smile. It's better to tell the truth, right?

"Well then, I suggest you try this then." The chairman looked at the menu before showing it to me. The one he mentioned is the seafood dish. Of course, this family likes seafood after all.

"Grandfather, Mr. Auclair doesn't really like seafood. So it would be better to recommend him one with a mild flavour." Levi spoke before I could even say anything.

"You sure know a lot about Mr. Auclair." Levi's father suddenly spoke, which I didn't expect.

"Of course. He's my secretary after all." Levi said that with a cold voice. He clearly didn't like his father's sudden remarks. Suddenly, it feels a bit tense.

"Oh, really? You should try this then." The Chairman tried to lighten the atmosphere.

"That would be good. Let's order it then." Again, Levi spoke on my behalf, and we ended up ordering that and other dishes.

"Thank you, sir. Please do enjoy the dessert we prepared while waiting for your order." The waiter bowed and left the room.

"So, how's your grandfather doing nowadays?" The Chairman started the conversation again.

"He's doing well. He's retired already, so he usually just stays at home or reads a book. He does go to the hospital sometimes since my younger sister just started an internship there." Well, that's usually what my grandfather did nowadays.

"Hahaha. It must be nice to be retired already. I'm going to follow your grandfather's steps soon. We're getting older." The Chairman laughed, lightening up the mood.

"Your grandfather's right. We're getting older. Levi, you should be considering marriage soon, as you will be the next heir after me. Levi's father spoke again. He has surely become a bit talkative today. I look at Levi, and he is clearly not in a good mood right now.

"I told you I'm not interested in getting married." Levi said in a cold voice.

Marriage is necessary to have a successor, whether you want it or not. What about you, Mr. Auclair? Don't you plan on getting married too?" Levi's father's sudden question shocked me. I don't know how to answer it.

"I… I think I'm not…"

"Don't involve Mr. Auclair on this matter. You have no right to ask him that." Levi interjects. This is really going to be bad if no one stops.

"What? I'm just asking. It's normal to ask this question to people around your age. You should…"

"Enough, both of you. This is not the right place to talk about that. Karl, you're being too insensitive towards Mr. Auclair. And I told you to let Levi choose his own partner." Nice save, Chairman.

"I'm sorry, father." Wow. This is the first time I see the vice chairman saying sorry to anyone. I guess even Levi's father cannot defy the Chairman.

"You should apologise to Mr. Auclair, not me." The Chairman said it firmly.

"But father…"

"I'm sorry on behalf of my father, Mr. Auclair." Levi spoke, cutting off his father.

"Huu. I can't blame you, because I'm the one who raised you that way, right? Well, the food is here. Let's just eat, shall we?" The Chairman said, and we just followed what he said, and everyone began to eat.

//SKIP//

Now, here I am arriving at the company after having lunch with the Ackermans. Since I went there with Levi, Levi is the one who sent me back here.

"I'm sorry again about what my father said earlier. Don't take it to heart." Levi said as soon as we arrived.

"Don't worry about that. I know your father too well already, thanks to you." Without realizing it, I gave him a faint smile.

"Well, that's good then. I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow, then, Mr. Auclair. Thanks to my secretary, I have a full schedule today." He said, smirking.

"And who's the one who told me to do that?" I glared at him, and he just laughed.

"Right, right. I was the one who told you to do it. Well, that's the best since I have a lot of things to handle tomorrow. Then, I'll take my leave. See you tomorrow, Mr. Auclair." He winked at me and then left. That jerk.

But seriously, what does he have to do tomorrow? He didn't even tell me a thing about that. Now then, who am I to know everything he does? It's his business anyway.

//SKIP TO NEXT DAY//

I arrived at the office a bit early again today, and strangely, I felt it's a bit more quiet than the other day. Well, that's none of my business anyway. Maybe I should go get a cup of coffee or hot chocolate at the cafe since it's still early. Ugh, I need to go back down then. I arrived at the lobby floor, where the cafe is.

"Ah, Mr. Auclair. Good morning." A voice spoke behind me, and I turned my back to see the Chairman and Levi in front of me right now. What is the Chairman doing here today?

"Chairman. What are you doing here early in the morning, sir? As I remember, no important meeting will be held today." I said that politely.

"Ah, it's nothing. I just have something to do here today. Right, I met your grandfather, too." The Chairman said it made me confused.

"My grandfather? Where did you meet him?" I asked.

"Of course, I met him he…"

"Right, I heard you went to the hospital yesterday, right?" Levi interrupts, making me more suspicious, but who cares?

"Yeah, that's right. I'm getting older, so I just went to the hospital for a check-up since I was already outside. I met your grandfather yesterday." The Chairman said. Well, since Hanabi's doing her internship now, grandfather might be going there sometimes.

"Oh, I see. Btw, Director, what are you doing here? Didn't you say you're not coming to the office today because you have something you need to take care of? I asked Levi. I don't know why, but I feel like I should ask.

"Yeah, you're right. I forgot the documents, so I came to take them." He said it, his eyes avoiding mine. He's lying. He is.

"Well then, I'm going to buy coffee. Would you like it too, sir?" I asked, pointing at the cafe.

"It's okay, Mr. Auclair. We're just going on ahead first." The Chairman said.

"Okay, sir. I'll take my leave first." I bowed and made my steps towards the cafe.

//SKIP//

It's lunch hour now, but I didn't feel like eating. It's been very quiet. I didn't even see Sophia and David today. A day without Levi Ackerman calling me to his room does feel a little bit off, I think. Maybe that's because I'm used to it already. Talking about Levi, he didn't even contact me today. Suddenly my phone vibrates. Talking about the devil. It's Levi Ackerman.

'Mr. Auclair, can you bring the document on my table to the main meeting room ASAP? I have an urgent meeting right now.' That's what the message said.

What? Urgent meeting? No matter how urgent the meeting is, I should be the one who knows about that first. I went to his room and took the document he mentioned and made my way towards the meeting room as fast as possible. I knocked on the door and opened it.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!"

TO BE CONTINUED!!!