You did that on purpose

A week passed by uneventfully other than Ben’s short fuse, which kept making life hell for people working closely with him.

“Lisa, where the hell is the report from the advertising division?” Ben’s stroppy voice came over the intercom.

Lisa picked up the phone and replied politely “CEO, Terence will bring the report at 11 am. He has requested an extension and you previously approved it.”

“Don’t be long winded. Tell Terence to pack and head to the HR section and give the job to someone who can do it.”

“CEO…”

“What? If it’s difficult, you can head to the HR section yourself….I am surrounded by incompetence.” Ben snarled before slamming the phone.

“Hurry up and get on with your stuff or you can roll. CEO is in a bad mood!” Lisa sighed as she rushed the giggling young secretaries back to their desks. Well, they were younger than her. They had come out of the secretarial office as they heard the CEO’s thunder over the intercom and wanted to watch the show. Ben rarely lost his temper and was the most charming boss to work under. What on earth would make him bellow? Everyone thought in their heads but no one wanted to be the victim of lighting crackers holding the fuse in their hands.

Lisa called Terence and asked him to hurry up with the report. She decided to call reinforcements to deal with Ben’s short fuse.

“Frank, are you busy?” Lisa asked politely over the phone.

“Yes and no, what is it?”

“Wondering if you would have time to drop by the office to see Ben?”

“I will come around lunch time.”

“Any chance you can make sooner??” Lisa paused anxiously before adding “like now?”

“What happened?” He didn’t take the call seriously before but Lisa’s anxiousness made him alert.

“No … nothing major. It’s just” Lisa bit her lips anxiously and confessed “he’s just on a short fuse the whole week. I have no idea why. Shadow is nowhere to be seen and he wants to fire people” she hesitated and added bravely, “unreasonably. Can you come? I don’t think anyone else can reason with him, please?”

“Ha… ha…ha… so you want a martyr? How can you be heartless, Lisa? You know I have a wife I haven’t finished cherishing and kids who need me?”

“Please”

“Considering you are begging, I will be there shortly but I have something that I can’t reschedule now. I will come over as soon as I finish.”

Lisa hung up happily after getting Frank’s assurance.

Everyone knew that although Ben had a charming and easy-going façade, he was ruthless and would eat people without spitting bones. This was why no one offended him. It had nothing to do with his charm. An easy-going charmer couldn’t have lifted the Adalase enterprises to the top five status in the world, holding the economic lifeline of the country. Especially since the Adalase lifeline was on the verge of bankruptcy when he took over after his father’s death. He was a talent in the business world that was both revered and feared. Although Frank had a more amiable personality and was more approachable, they were peas in a pod.

Lisa sat like she was sitting on pins and needles staring at the lifts. Half an hour later-

“Ding”

She rushed over as the elevator door opened. “Oh Frank…. You’ve finally arrived.”

Frank stepped back to avoid Lisa’s passionate welcome and joked “Glad Sarah wasn’t here, or I’ll be sleeping on the couch for a month as a penalty for your enthusiasm.”

“Em… em…em” Lisa covered her embarrassment, clearing her throat “Frank, you have no idea.”

“What? Even your charm was ineffective?" Frank teased, even though he knew that the known secret that Lisa was one of Ben’s friends with benefits was a farce.

Lisa smiled shyly and lowered her head and whispered “He’s barely notices me these days.”

“Then I can only sacrifice myself as a human shield” Frank chuckled.

Lisa had her head lowered, Ben never ignored her even when he had his on and off affairs. ‘What was going on? Is there someone she needs to be wary of?’ a despondent glint flashed past the depths of her eyes but Frank didn’t notice as she had her head lowered.

“What do you think is going on?” She asked Frank cautiously.

Frank smiled charmingly as he walked forward, flipping the blame “I’ll go see how you’ve tortured my good friend”.

“Tortured your friend?” Lisa rolled her eyes. “My office has been scorched with the flames he’s been breathing all week.”

Frank entered the office sloppily and sat on the couch. “What’s gotten you in knots?”

“Why are you so free?” Ben looked at Frank in irritation.

“My presence has been specially requested,” Frank snorted.

“Looks like my staff are too free”. Ben narrowed his eyes with a sinister expression.

The two stared at each other in silence. Neither wanted to give in. Frank got bored in a few minutes and he needed to get back soon, so he decided to break the stalemate. “Come, let’s have tea.”

“My office, do I need your invitation?” Although he retorted rudely, he stood up and walked to his cabinet behind the cupboard neatly packed with books and took out a bottle of Glenfiddich. People who knew their whisky will know that this was a rare collection of a 50-year-old Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

“I need more than tea- are you game?” He held it up for Frank.

“That bad, huh?” Frank sighed before retorting “Why wouldn’t I?”

They sat opposite each other nosing their drink.

“Why are you so disturbed? I have never seen you like this… perhaps once when dad passed away”. Frank decided to address the elephant in the room.

Ben kept staring at his drink in silence.

Frank sighed as he took a sip. He couldn’t figure out what was going on and unless Ben decided to enlighten him, he would be at a loss.

After downing half of his drink, Ben grunted “Not sure”

“What do you mean not sure? Did someone offend you?”

“Who do you think is game enough to offend me? You think I can’t handle it?” Ben asked, but his voice didn’t have its usual arrogance nor edge.

Frank waited for Ben to continue. He knew Ben was ready to talk, considering he opened his mouth. Time passed in silence. Frank finished his drink and put his whiskey tumbler on the tea table. Ben asked him if he wanted a top up while topping his tumbler.

“I have to get back to work” Frank refused with a hand gesture and accompanied Ben.

“She really didn’t have any schemes.” Ben nosed his drink. “I haven’t seen her since.”

Although the comment was abrupt, Frank understood who he was talking about.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“I… I want to see her even if it was a scheme” he hesitated for a while; Frank could see the struggle in his eyes and waited for him to finish.

After struggling for a while, he finally opened his mouth “I miss the taste of her lips even if it was only once.” He looked at Frank with a dead-set expression and said in a low tone, “I want to do much more with her.”

Frank looked shocked. This was information overload. Ben never said such frivolous thoughts. He had known him all his life. Although he was not a saint and did not have any abstinence towards the fairer sex, he was never enchanted. He had one almost serious relationship in the past, on and off affairs that highlighted gossip pages and friends with benefits, but never heard him express himself like this before.

Taking in Frank's expression, Ben laughed in self-mockery “Am I too old for this? I know, but I can’t stop thinking. I feel stuffy in here”. He pounded his chest twice.

“I don’t know if there is an age for this sort of thing.” Frank responded seriously. “But what’s stopping you?”

“I don’t know. I …what if …” Ben looked baffled.

“When has that ever stopped you?” Frank raised his eyebrows.

“I … ern….I...”

This was priceless. Ben confused and stuttering. Frank was seriously tempted to pull his phone and record the video ‘Ah! The price you pay for friendship’ he sighed inwardly.

“You barely know her… other than her name, you know nothing about her.” Frank tried to reason.

“I know. I tried to reason with myself and found myself saying, it doesn’t matter even if she’s an adulterer.” Ben had a dejected smile on his face.

Frank stared at Ben with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, his lips curled upwards. He was Ben’s best mate. He knew adultery was one of Ben’s bottom lines. After digesting this newly found horizon, he cheered Ben “If you are that serious, then why are you hesitating?”

“I ...” Ben deliberated “Let’s wait for Shadow.”

“We’re on your side. Do whatever you want. Let us know if you need us to do anything.” Frank reiterated his support and volunteered Sarah’s assistance without a second thought.

Ben nodded “I’ll hold you to that”.

“Come, I’ll take you home. You’re too drunk to be here.” Frank pointed at the bottle he had emptied.

Ben was not in a state to argue and let Frank lead him out.

The next day was much more promising for Ben. Shadow had called early in the morning to report that he had completed his assignment and was on his way back to the office with an ETA of 9am. Frank decided he didn’t want to miss out on the fun and decided to accompany Ben when he heard the news.

Ben and Frank walked out of the elevator together.

“Cancel all my morning appointments and meetings. No interruptions till I say so.” Ben walked past Lisa after throwing the orders for the morning.

Lisa looked at Frank for insight only to see him shrugging.

When they entered, Shadow was lying on the couch with his eyes closed.

“Didn’t you say 9 am?” Ben raised his eyebrows as he threw his suitcase on the desk, heading towards the sofa.

“I am early by an hour… sue me or let me close my eyes for rest” Shadow grumbled. He had travelled non-stop to reach his boss in the fastest possible time and this is the thanks he gets. ‘Forget love, is there even camaraderie?’ he thought as he turned to face the couch, only to be kicked off by Ben.

“Where do you want me to sit?” Ben faked innocence as he looked at irritation writ all over Shadow’s face.

“Fine! Who asked me to follow you?” Shadow sneered as he pretended to pat the dust of his trousers and suit.

Outside, Lisa was still wondering which wind blew the CEO and Frank early in the morning and made her cancel all the appointments? This was a contradiction to the workaholic CEO she had known for the last 15 odd years. He would never cancel a meeting or appointment, even if he was in hospital. While she was still pondering-

“Have I missed anything? Did they arrive?” Ed walked in with his majestic aura. It would be more accurate to say rushed in!

“Eh? Major General?” Lisa stood up in attention without blinking due to infatuation in the presence of this man.

“At ease! You are not my subordinate. You don’t have the honor to stand at attention in my presence” Ed threw a sarcastic remark before repeating himself “Are they here?”

Lisa blinked still staring at Ed. Although she liked Ben and had on and off affairs with him, this man, who stood at an unattainable height, would often make her tongue tied. Ed hated women like her. He normally would not come to Ben’s place as he hated her undisguised ogling which would give him the creeps. He had even advised Ben to keep his distance, but Ben usually laughed him off, saying they were taking what they each wanted, a transaction that never had any meaning to either of them. Today was an exception. He wanted to be here, to hear what Shadow had to report. He didn’t want to hear second-hand reports as usual.

“Woman, don’t make me repeat myself again” Ed frowned as he threatened.

“Ah… yes... they just went in a few minutes ago.” Lisa bit her lips as she lowered her head. Her heart was beating senseless and she felt that her legs would give way if she didn’t hold her desk tightly.

“Shall I …” Lisa was about to ask if she could announce his presence but Ed ignored her and arrogantly pushed his way into the CEO’s office.

Ben and Frank smiled as they saw Ed.

“Major General! You…” Shadow looked at Ed in surprise. Frank, he could understand, but the major general was not gossipy and a very principled man.

“Why? I can’t be here to see my brother make a fool of himself?” Ed laughed as he took the seat to Ben’s right.

Ben pursed his lips, while Frank smirked.

Shadow hit the back of his head. ‘Why did he forget that they were the triad?’

“Don’t hit yourself silly… you still have your uses.”

Shadow rolled his eyes at Ben, pulled a chair now that Ed had taken his spot and sat down. He bent down to get a folder from his satchel.

“This is …”

Ed lifted his hand to stop Shadow. He spoke into his radio “My location; 50 sqm. Circumference”

“Done! Major General” a voice came over the radio.

“Continue”

This time all three looked at Ed.

“I just don’t like your noisy secretary. I saw her sitting on pins and needles as I came in. Since we are intruding on someone’s privacy and she is important to you, let it stay between these doors.”

Ben looked gratefully at Ed. Ed ignored him and looked at Shadow. “Are you going to start or shall we get Ben to book lunch?”

Shadow didn’t understand what Ed did and looked curiously at Ben. Noise interrupting frequency radio waves would only interrupt listening devices, but no one would be game enough to plant one in the CEO’s office. Noticing Shadow’s curiosity, Ed explained indifferently “A new tech developed my team. It’s able to create a vacuum around a certain area and sound waves won’t be transmitted outside.

“Really?” Frank’s eyes lit up.

He asked the rest to continue talking about anything nonsensical and walked closer to the door. He could see their mouths moving and the laughter on their faces, but could not hear a word.

He walked back with a face full of wonder. “Wow…. Is this … wow!”

“Ha…ha… you should have been named Thomas” Ed laughed.

“I have taken the liberty to upgrade your watches as well.” Ed added with a nonchalant expression “The only glitch at this stage is, you can’t activate this function on your own. It has to be done at the base”.

Both Frank and Ben wore the watch that was given to them by Ed. It wasn’t flashy, but it had the latest tech, other than time, it showed them each other’s vital stats, transmitted vibrations to the other paired watches- allowing them to communicate in a code language similar to Morse code, record conversation and so on. Don’t get Ed wrong; giving these to Ben and Frank, he had not broken any military law as these were all developed by the tech department funded by his personal finances. The bonus was that the military benefitted from these as well.

“When do I get one of these?” Shadow looked at their watches with a tint of jealousy.

“Why didn’t I know that you'd learned the art of holding onto a watch?” Ed sneered.

“Forget it!” Shadow waved his hands to hide his embarrassment. He had followed as Ben’s Shadow since the age of 17. He had undergone various training to make himself stronger, to be able to be the Shadow of today. No one insisted or requested, it was his own initiative. The only thing he couldn’t train himself to do was not loose stuff. Over the years, Ben had presented him with numerous watches which he would always manage to lose in a week. Actually, it wasn’t just watches, rings, caps, anything that was not screwed to him or kept in his satchel would be lost. Sadly, his first fiancé broke their engagement as he lost their engagement ring three times in a row! Ed’s prototype couldn’t fall into the hands of outsiders and hence they never gave Shadow one.

Ben, Frank and Ed guffawed.

Shadow glanced around the room with his lips pulled into a tight line. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall “Tell me when you all grow up!”

The room quietened although mockery without a hint of malice was written over all three faces.

“Alright… I don’t want that stupid watch” Shadow gritted his teeth.

“Let’s start” Frank urged. This got everyone back on topic.

Shadow passed each of them a set of information he had complied “Born and lived in country I till for 25 years. Moved to U country after marriage. Lived there till she moved here 8 months ago.”

“Married???” Ben exclaimed…. This was not something he predicted.

“I haven’t finished” Shadow reminded impatiently.

Ben waved his hand to continue although he had a dark expression. ‘Married? Why was she entangling him? Was she really an adulterer? Did it matter?’ Several mud horses raced through his mind.

“She got divorced just before she moved here” Shadow continued with a smirk after pausing for Ben to recover from his shock. ‘Who told them to make fun of him before?’

“Divorced?”

“Reason”

“You did that on purpose”

Ben, Ed and Frank retorted their thoughts in unison. He looked at Frank and shrugged with his lips curled upwards and then responded seriously to Ben and Ed.

“The marriage was not a happy one from the information gathered from friends in U country. But they stayed married perhaps for the child.”

“Child” Ben looked at Shadow in a daze.

Ignoring his Boss, Shadow continued “The child passed away last year in an accident. The husband was arguing with someone in the shopping centre while the boy was crossing the carpark and got hit by a car. Later, he hooked up with someone much younger and she got pregnant and came to their doorstep and begged Dana to leave them.

She asked him when he came later and filed for divorce after hearing his affirmation. After the divorce proceedings were finalized, she moved here. The original destination was the state of Parksville but she later decided to come to the State of Dorsen as she wanted to start anew. Currently single, only close friends are Lara who is a model, and Therese who works in the sales department of the same company. Devoted Christian even drags Lara to the masses on Sunday. This is the information in a nutshell. The description and details of events collected from friends and colleagues are detailed in these sheets”.

This was a lot of information. The room filled with a gloomy aura of silence. After a while, Frank looked at Ben’s troubled face and decided to be the first to dispel this aura.

“This is not as bad as being a spy or adulterer… is it?”

Ben shook his head.

“Then why the long face? At least she’s single and free!”

Ben nodded.

“Having been there, done that… divorce due to a trauma is not an easy baggage to get through” Ed spoke in a strained voice. He knew how tortuous that experience was… even though his good brothers accompanied him, unless you experience yourself, it was not possible to estimate the extent of injury. He continued in a low voice “You might never see the results you want!”

“What have I got to lose?” Ben shrugged.

“What do you plan to do?” Ed questioned further.

“Don’t know.”

“That brings me to the second set of sheets in your hand” Shadow intervened. This document lists Dana’s routine. She is very set in her lifestyle. Coffee at 7am at Eddie’s lane coffee shop ‘Art of Coffee’. Later, drives to work, and reaches around 8:30. Leaves office at 4:30. Sometimes, she visits Holy Cross orphanage and other times visits Appleton Manor, leaves at around 5:30 to 6pm and goes straight back home. Sometimes it is a place at 56 Pete’s drive and other times it's unit 1305 in Peach blossom garden apartments. During the weekend, she engages in various charity events.” 

“Who stays at Peach blossom garden apartments?” Ed asked.

“From what I have gathered, this is a property jointly purchased by Lara and Dana 4 months ago.”

“Eh?” Frank looked confused. ‘Why would the two buy a property together?’

“Don’t know”

Ben looked at the information in hand with a dark expression.

“What have you decided?” Ed knew Ben was decisive and no one could make him change his mind. The only way was to wait for him to give up by himself.

“Let me think. I really feel like …” he paused and looked at his good brothers “it feels stuffy here” he pounded his chest lightly.

“Let me know if you need anything” Ed patted his shoulder.

“Same here” Frank stood up as stretched.