Fallout

When the group left the hospital, Anna and Veronica both headed home, but Roland went back to the office. With the CEO going AWOL for a day, there were bound to be some matters to deal with.

When he arrived at the company building, it was past closing time; the day staff had gone home, and the skeleton night crew were on. He quickly passed through reception and headed up to the top floor.

'It's weird coming into the building when it's so empty. I often stay late, so I've seen the building when it's empty before. However, it feels very weird to enter when it's empty. It's like coming into school really late after everyone else has gone home, kind of spooky.'

As the elevator arrived at his floor, Roland promptly strolled out. It was surprising, to Roland, that Barov was still there.

"Barov, why haven't you gone home yet?"

"Ah, I wanted to see how you all were, but I didn't want to crowd the hospital. I figured you would come to the office when everything was sorted out, so I waited here."

Roland smiled. This guy was middle-aged and looked relatively grumpy, but he had a heart of gold. In all the years that Roland had known Barov, he'd never met anyone as thoughtful as him.

"Well thank you. You'll be pleased to know that everyone is just swell. Anna's a little banged up, but nothing serious. She was saved by someone, a man named Carter Lannis. Actually, tomorrow, I'd like you to run some background checks on him; I'm thinking of hiring him."

"That is good news. And of course, I'll get that done," replied Barov.

"Great. Now then, did anything requiring my attention happen while I was at the hospital?"

Barov harrumphed. "Are you serious? You ran off the stage in a huff! Of course there are problems."

A frown appeared on Roland's face. "That's irritating; I can't even visit someone at the hospital without something happening. Perhaps… was it your speech? Was it not good enough?"

"What? No, that's not the issue. You ran off without giving a reason. I did the speech as expected. At the end, the questions weren't about the product; they were about you.

"Reporters wanted to know what was going on. They know your father's been ill ever since the death of your mother; they're speculating about that.

"Other rumors online suggest that you yourself are the one who is currently ill. Some are even saying you have a secret partner who was in an emergency.

"I'm only passing on the sane or plausible rumors; there are some rumors which are truly ludicrous.

"This speculation is bad for the company. If people think the head of the business is ill or distracted, they won't invest. They all saw your troubled expression as you ran off the stage; if you look unsteady, the company looks unsteady.

"Sir, it's fine to yearn for someone, but it can't come in the way of the business. You've worked too hard to build this company into what it is today, don't let it go to waste."

Barov's rant woke Roland up. Recently, he'd been so concerned with Anna—just a crush—that he'd been shirking his responsibilities. Although her trip to the hospital had been alarming, he could've sent someone to find out the details first.

The business came first. After all, it's not like they were dating.