26. Friend or foe

"Hello, Zack. Long time no see."

Mr. Walker, a man in his early sixties, looking immaculate in his striped suit, his grey-tinged hair stylishly pushed back, walked in, then looked around at the tiny storage that was supposed to be Zack's office.

"As if finding you wasn't hard enough, I come to this," Mr. Walker said, looking at Zack.

"What do I say? Welcome to my humble office," Zack said plainly.

"Humble would be a compliment," Mr. Walker grimaced. "Even though you are starting from scratch, I must say that this place is kind of far-fetched. Does someone have a grudge against you or something?"

"Please state your business here. As you can see, I have a lot going on for me right now."

"Ouch!" Mr. Walker faked offense. "Given our history, you must not be happy to see me here. But as someone who has been your mentor for years and only wishes the best for you, I must say that this is an embarrassment. But I guess you can't be lucky twice."

"I doubt. You must be happy to see me like this."

"Come on, Zack. We were almost family."

"And you made sure that didn't happen," Zack said bitterly.

"I am sorry things happened that way. But I can only wish the best for Madeline. Aren't you going to ask about her?"

"I don't see no need, since I don't have anything tying me to her."

"Madeline is fine. Doing her PhD at the moment. She is currently in Thailand on a project and will be back soon. I'm sure she will be happy to know that you are back. But that aside. I just came to tell you that I am rooting for you. And good luck at the meeting," Mr. Walker said before leaving.

Zack let out a sigh, relieved that he no longer had to share the same space with the man. And to think that Mr. Walker was someone he looked up to and admired for a long time.

Zack checked the time on his wristwatch. It was 9:10am, which left him only about forty minutes to go through the synopsis and less than ten minutes to get there on time.

Even though it was something Zack was good at once, he couldn't help but feel helpless to be suddenly reintroduced back to that kind of work again, but steadily, started to get the hang of it.

*

Zack arrived at the meeting area right on time when everyone was getting settled.

The meeting included the executives, high position holders and major shareholders.

When he entered the office, Zack was met with silence as everyone's eyes went towards him.

Zack's eyes swept the entire room as he went to his seat and sat down. No one talked to him or tried to acknowledge him, which was so much different from how things used to be.

Back when he was believed to be the heir, everyone would rush to introduce themselves and talk to him, trying to get on his good side. But now, for those who knew him, no one wanted to waste their time when he had nothing to offer.

And for those who didn't know him, seeing the confident aura he exuded walking in, they turned to those beside them, asking for information only to be told he was no one important.

Zack locked eyes with Mr. Porter, who quickly looked away. The man in his early forties who had always flattered and brown-nosed him, now ignored his entire presence.

Just then, the doors opened and everyone looked towards it and right then, Chris walked in and the entire mood in the hall changed as everyone tried to get acknowledged by Chris.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen," Chris said charmingly. "Sorry I'm late, something held me up."

"Good morning Mr. Vaughn."

"Morning Mr. Vaughn."

"How are you doing?"

"I knew something was up," Mr. Porter laughed, clapping his hands. "Something was wrong with my watch. I came too early, apparently."

"Oh, come on Porter," Chris walked over to him, clapping the man on the back. "I know you will always have my back," Chris added, and Mr. Porter looked pleased with himself.

"You work too hard for this company," Mr. Sicily commented.

"At this rate, you will start growing some gray hair sooner rather than later. You should think about settling down," Mrs. Hartley, an executive joked, making Chris laugh.

"Come on Vanessa, I am still in my prime," Chris replied.

"You really should consider getting yourself a partner. I am sure a lot of girls will line up just to have a chance," Mr. Sicily stated.

"But our Chris isn't going to date just anyone. It has to be someone of his class," Mrs. Hartley stated.

"Oh come on, you guys flatter me," Chris waved his hand to himself. Just then, his gaze fell on Zack, who was busy flipping through the file, still trying to get the hang of it.

"Oh my god Zack!" Chris said almost excitedly. "You are here. I wasn't sure you were going to make it. I almost thought you would change your mind at the last minute and go back to your job at the restaurant," Chris smiled, walking over to Zack and standing beside his chair, putting his hand around Zack's chair.

"You don't have to worry about me. Because I have already made up my mind," Zack said firmly.

"That's too bad. I'm sure Mr. Alfred will miss you."

"He would do just fine without me."

"Then," Chris scrunched down so that his head was at level with Zack's, and then he said in a whispered tone. "Did you like your office this morning? I thought nothing would do you more good than a reality check."

Zack put up a smile, surprising Chris. "And it did me a lot of good. It reminded me how much harder I needed to work. All thanks to you."

"I am glad you liked it, Cous," Chris grimaced, before quickly masking it with a grin as he looked up at the rest of the people who were pretending not to observe them.

"Everyone, have you met my cousin? This is Zack. I am not sure if anyone of you know him. He is sort of the Cinderella of our family," Chris boasted. Under the table, Zack clenched his fists, trying not to give Chris the satisfaction of reacting the way he wanted.

"He is your cousin? No wonder he does look familiar," someone stated.

"He is good-looking too."

"He must be new here. I didn't know you had a cousin."

"He must be a distant cousin then."

"Actually," Chris said in a lower tone this time. "My cousin used to work here before me. But due to some personal crisis, he decided to have a taste of ordinary life, but rest assured, after five years, Zack is finally back with us."

"No wonder we didn't know him."

"Even though Zack is barely a manager at the moment, I humbly appeal to all of you, to please treat him kindly," Chris said, putting his hands over his heart for emphasis.

"Oh come on Chris, you are too kind," Mr. Porter stated, wiping away fake tears. "Certainly we can do that much for him."

"I am sure that your cousin is here," a voice spoke out, while looking straight into Zack's eyes, and it was none other than Mr. Weston, a strict man and someone Zack knew. "Can prove himself worthy of what you are asking."

Chris was about to reply when the door opened and Mrs. Vaughn, the chairman of the Vaughn enterprises walked in, with Mr. Walker, the vice chairman right beside her.

Chris quickly went back to his seat and sat down.

"Morning everyone," Mrs. Vaughn greeted her, walking towards her seat. Mr. Walker pulled her seat for her, and after she sat down with a gentle 'thank you', Mr. Walker went to take his own seat. Mrs. Vaughn, her stern gaze turned towards everyone who had sat upright in their seats out of respect. "Sorry for coming a bit late. I wanted you all to familiarize yourselves with my grandson. Zack?"