3. Secret Mission

Lucas looked puzzled. He had just arrived at the office and entered the workspace when he found some of his colleagues looking grimaced as if something had happened to them.

In fact, Lucas didn't need to question this sight. Every end of the month, when they were chased by deadlines or perhaps when they didn't perform up to their superiors' expectations, their faces would always be 'crushed' like this.

"What's going on? Why do you all look so disheveled? Like you're being chased by debt collectors or something."

Andro, the man wearing a blue shirt, immediately glanced at Della, Starla, and Riko, their other colleagues. He signaled to one of them to explain what had happened earlier.

"What's up?" Lucas asked again, getting more curious. After all, what was so difficult about explaining the situation? Out of the four of them, surely someone would dare or be willing to tell him?

"Well, Luc, Our queen just got angry," Riko finally explained, glancing left and right as if afraid someone might hear what he just said.

Lucas knew exactly who they meant by The Queen. That nickname and title were specially given by the finance division employees to none other than Deasy Winterborne.

Known for being tough, strict, and disliking being contradicted, everyone agreed that Deasy was the most fearsome manager, holding the highest authority in almost all divisions, even surpassing Daniel Knigt, who clearly held a higher position than Deasy.

Every task she assigned had to be 100% perfect. If even the slightest defect or mistake was found, be prepared for a week-long scolding. Just like what was happening now.

"Why is Miss Deasy angry again?" Lucas then sat down, observing carefully as his friend began to tell the story.

"Well, Luc, it's about the soft launch of the mall in South Kensington. Someone from the marketing division mistakenly wrote the wrong date on the banner and flyers. So, they need to revise it and request additional funds from the cashiers. Miss Deasy found out about this and got furious. Even though we didn't know anything about it, we got scolded too. Just now, as soon as she arrived, we were given a lengthy lecture and sermon until our ears felt numb."

Lucas nodded in understanding. Of course, Deasy would be angry and scold them. The seemingly trivial mistake, when broken down and analyzed, could have severe consequences.

"Well, no wonder she's angry. Isn't the soft opening event scheduled to run for three days? And now they made a mistake and want to reprint everything at their whim. It's going to take time," said Andro.

"Just one day to reprint, Luc, that's the estimate," added Riko.

"Yeah, it's just one day for the reprint. But when will they distribute and share it with the public? Tomorrow, right? Not to mention reprinting the banners and flyers, which are quite numerous, will undoubtedly require extra costs. They should take responsibility for their mistake and use personal funds for the reprint. Instead, they're requesting additional funds for printing," Lucas vented at length, gradually becoming frustrated himself.

"But, Luc. Regardless of the marketing team's mistake, our division didn't do anything wrong. Why are we also getting scolded?" Starla interjected. It was getting annoying for her to hear Deasy's reprimands almost every day. "Could it be that Deasy is acting this way because she's hurt that Mr. Daniel left her at the altar?"

"Well, that might be true," Della chimed in, joining the conversation. "From the beginning, it was clear that Deasy was head over heels in love with Mr. Daniel. They looked so in love. We all thought they were going to get married. They were always together, looking affectionate. I suspect that Mr. Daniel and Deasy were secretly intimate. That's probably why Deasy is heartbroken because he left her at the wedding."

"Huh? Secretly intimate, what does that mean?"

Lucas furrowed his brows. He had no idea what kind of slang Della had just used.

"Don't you know?"

This time Lucas shook his head. "You guys are too hip for me."

"Come on, secretly intimate means they've made out, Luc. They've slept together. From their behavior while dating, it was obvious they were very passionate about each other."

"Hush!" Lucas grimaced. How could his friends assume so far-fetched? He was the one who took Deasy's virginity that night.

"But, it could be true," Riko added, not wanting to miss out on the gossip. "I mean, I was shipping their relationship to last forever. But then Mr. Daniel suddenly sent out wedding invitations to Arindi. It's so heartbreaking," he said, pointing at his heart.

"And according to people, it's like, this is karma for meddling in someone else's relationship. Whomever you date, you end up marrying. This must be the reason why Deasy has been so emotional lately. It's surely related to Mr. Daniel."

"But Deasy is beautiful. What's so difficult about finding a replacement for Mr. Daniel? Besides, Mr. Daniel is not handsome, he's not at the same level as Deasy. If it were me, I'd even suspect that our boss had been charmed."

Andro joined in to complete the story. Instead of talking about work, the four staff members were now busy gossiping like a group of housewives meeting for a chat.

"Hey! What are you all doing, gossiping like this? We should start the morning with work, not irrelevant gossip like this," Lucas rebuked, puzzled. Instead of taking Deasy's reprimand seriously, his colleagues were busy talking about something else.

But if Lucas thought about it carefully, there might be some truth in what his four colleagues said. He had witnessed how heartbroken Deasy looked yesterday when Mr. Daniel left her at the altar. She was so frustrated that she got drunk and did things beyond her limits.

"Well, what can we do, Luc? This gossip might actually be helpful. We can find a solution to prevent Deasy from getting angry like this in the future," Riko defended their topic of conversation.

"What if we find a new partner for Deasy?" Andro suggested seriously. He thought that if they could find a new partner for their boss, her heart would be happy again, and her mood would stabilize like before. A happy person tends to behave kindly and spread positive vibes to those around them.

"Sure, but who would be the candidate?" Riko asked, his face showing signs of deep thought.

"Just suggest Lucas. He's single. Besides, he's always the one who manages to calm Deasy down whenever she's angry about work," Andro said, supporting Lucas.

"But Lucas is nerdy. Not to mention he wears thick glasses. Could Deasy really be attracted to him?"

"He's willing to date Mr. Daniel, right?" Andro defended Lucas.

"Mr. Daniel is rich. I mean, they're at the same level, right? But Lucas? He's just too plain for someone like Deasy, who's so glamorous."

Lucas grumbled in annoyance. His friends were so rude to casually matchmake and insult his appearance and finances.

"Lucas, Miss Deasy's calling!"

From the direction of the door, Ariana, Deasy's secretary, suddenly appeared. She asked Lucas to meet their boss right away.

Lucas nodded in agreement, got up, and hurried to Deasy's office. If he was late, she would scold him again.

"Good morning, Ma'am," greeted Lucas after knocking on Deasy's office door. Through his glasses, he saw the room's owner engrossed in some work on her desk.

"Come in."

"Is there something I can help you with, Ma'am?"

Deasy looked up and handed him a green folder to review.

"Double-check the financial report that Mr. Adri just handed in. I think something is not right."

Lucas nodded and reached for the folder. But not wanting to miss the chance, he quickly brought up another matter to Deasy.

"Ma'am, shouldn't we also review Mr. Daniel's financial report?" Lucas suggested. He had always been curious to examine the flow of funds in and out of Mr. Daniel's accounts. He had secretly investigated all other division heads and some top executives, except for Daniel and Deasy, as Deasy held the master file for their finances.

"Why do you want to check Mr. Daniel's financial report?" Deasy narrowed her eyes, her face showing a big question mark.

"I don't mean to suspect anything, Ma'am. But, who knows if Mr. Daniel has been secretly using company funds for personal expenses. He seems to live a hedonistic life."

"But Daniel is wealthy, Luc. Besides, I have already checked his financial report up until last August, and everything was clean."

Lucas nodded. His hopes of investigating directly were crushed. If Deasy gave permission, he could have access to the financial reports of the four remaining individuals, including Daniel and herself.

"But if you want to check it again, you can. I'll give you a copy of the file."

Lucas smiled inwardly, feeling happy that what he hoped for would soon come true.

"Then, I'll wait for it, Ma'am. So I can work on it as soon as possible. Once I have the results, I'll share them with you."

Deasy simply nodded, waving her hand in the air as a signal for Lucas to leave the room as there was nothing more to discuss.

"And ... about last night, Ma'am," Lucas whispered softly before fully leaving Deasy's office. "I-I hope, you ---"

"Lucas, stop!" Deasy interrupted, shaking her head. She put her index finger on her lips. "Never mention that incident again. I won't report you to the police. But please, I hope you forget what happened between us. Don't ever bring it up again."

"Don't you want me to take responsibility?"

Deasy laughed sardonically. Lucas's words were ticklish to her ears.

"Don't be naive, Luc. Nowadays, it's very common for two strangers to meet and have a one-night stand. So, why bother with responsibility? As I said before, I have no interest in marrying you."

"Why?" Lucas asked innocently. "Is it because I'm just an ordinary staff who's not on the same level as you? Or because you're worried you won't be satisfied with someone older like me? Just take a good look; I'm not small."

Deasy glared at him, her face turning red. How could Lucas say that so casually in front of her?

"Enough, Lucas Orion. Whatever happened between us, I don't need your responsibility. Now get out of my office before I get even more emotional with your rambling!"

***

At exactly six in the evening, Lucas had just finished his work. After tidying up his desk, he hurried to the basement.

Humming to himself, Lucas walked towards his car. Just as he was about to get in, a tall man suddenly appeared and approached him, startling Lucas to the point of wanting to curse.

"Goodness, Felix! What are you doing, appearing out of nowhere like a ghost? You scared me!"

"I'm sorry, Sir. I apologize once again," the tall man said remorsefully.

"Besides, why did you follow me to the office? I've told you not to come near the office. What if someone sees us? What then?"

Felix looked down, feeling conflicted about what he had done. There must be a compelling reason for him to risk approaching Lucas at his workplace.

"I've tried calling Mr. Lucas's cellphone multiple times, but it's not active. There's something very important that I need to tell you."

Lucas didn't respond immediately. He chose to get into the car first and asked Felix to follow.

"What important matter do you want to discuss?" Lucas inquired.

"I received a message from Miss Laura that Miss Devina will be coming to England tomorrow to meet you. I believe she wants to discuss the progress of the wedding plans."

Lucas let out a long sigh. He almost forgot that he was already engaged to someone through an arranged marriage set up by his parents.

Despite being born into a wealthy family with multiple business ventures, Lucas's life wasn't all smooth sailing. Since he was young, he was accustomed to working hard and striving to achieve his goals, including leading a large company.

In order to ascend to the throne, Lucas was given a task by his father to investigate a case of alleged fund embezzlement that occurred in one of the branch companies, which had remained unsolved until now. If Lucas succeeded in solving the case, his father promised to hand over the entire leadership of the company to him. That's why Lucas had to work hard, even disguising himself and blending in for the past year to investigate what had been happening in his current workplace.

"What time will Devina arrive in England?" Lucas asked.

"Around 10 in the morning, Sir."

"Alright, just schedule a dinner with her at our usual place. Make sure she doesn't disturb my work."

Felix nodded. Since there was nothing else to convey, he hurriedly left, allowing Lucas to go about his way. Unbeknownst to Lucas, someone had been observing them from afar the whole time.