Transfer

Having settled the matter of the meals for the next day, the group of four returned to the Rosea office.

All the paperwork had already been prepared and were waiting for them in a neat stack on Solis's desk. Solis quickly handed one copy to CEO Alex while he and Noir pored over the other one.

CEO Alex and Boss Gaia quickly read through the amendatory letter agreement and nodded their approval.

Solis, too, found that the draft was all right and exactly as he had instructed.

Noir, on the other hand, was stunned. "This is a collaboration between Rosea and Nerium," he told Solis. "Why are you having the 30% transferred to me instead of Rosea?"

Solis smiled at him. "You, me, Rosea – isn't it all the same?" he said softly. "The paperwork for transferring half of Rosea to you has already been submitted last week – but these things take time on the side of the government and the statutory market regulators. It will take at least a few weeks – and may be even a few months – for you to become an equal owner of Rosea with me. That's why I want this 30% transferred to you directly for now."

Noir was even more shocked now. "Wait, what?! You're transferring half of Rosea to me?! What for?!" he cried.

Solis frowned. "Well, naturally because you're my partner – not just in life, but also at work. You do as much work for Rosea as I do, and Rosea couldn't have achieved half the things it did in the last few months without your help," he said. "Unofficially, you control Rosea as much as I do – so what is wrong in making it official?"

Noir stared at him, his mouth hanging open.

Solis furrowed his brows. "You signed the transfer papers yourself – didn't you look at them?" he asked.

Noir blinked. "Of course not," he said, as if it was a perfectly normal thing to do. "Why would I bother to look at them if you were the one giving them to me and asking me to sign them?" he asked innocently.

It was Solis's turn to be stunned into silence. His expression became rather funny, because he was caught between wanting to grab hold of Noir and kiss him thoroughly, and scold him for being so naively trusting. But then, he was also delighted and filled with pride at the thought that Noir unconditionally and unflinchingly trusted him so much! It made his heart leap in joy and perform a victory dance!

CEO Alex and Boss Gaia, who had been watching them silently until now, burst out laughing.

"Well said, young Noir, well said!" CEO Alex guffawed.

"Boss Solis, you really are fortunate to somehow win over this precious child's affections!" Boss Gaia told Solis. "You'd better cherish him well for the rest of your life!" She turned to Noir. "And you, young Noir, you can come to Auntie Gaia anytime Boss Solis bullies you, and Auntie Gaia will help you take revenge!"

Solis chuckled and shook his head. "Thank you, Boss Gaia, but I have absolutely no intention of letting Noir go anywhere," he said wryly.

Noir flashed a smile at Boss Gaia and thanked her cheerfully. He even called her 'Auntie Gaia" in a sweet voice, acquiring a powerful and self-proclaimed godmother for himself!

Solis cleared his throat and pulled Noir closer to himself. "Shall we sign the papers now?" he asked, clearly trying to move everyone attention away from their relationship.

CEO Alex and Boss Gaia shared an amused glance and nodded.

Signatures were quickly affixed on both sets of documents, and then Solis sent them back to the legal team for registration and other procedural matters, which would take about twenty four hours to complete.

"I'll pick up Nerium's copy tomorrow when I come to pick up Gaia from your office," CEO Alex said to Solis and Noir.

Boss Gaia raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be in Rosea office? I'll go back to Dragon's Breath after we're done with our negotiations at the construction site," she said.

"Don't!" CEO Alex said anxiously. "You know I'm planning to confront the instigators of this mess at Nerium in tomorrow's meeting. It is highly likely that they will go looking for you right after!"

Boss Gaia shot her fiancé a displeased look.

"If that's the case, then it makes sense for Boss Gaia to come back with us to Rosea. Depending on how our talks with the immigrants go tomorrow morning, we will have to discuss further steps and strategise accordingly anyway," Solis spoke up before Boss Gaia could raise any objections. "As for the members of Dragon's Breath – since they will be working closely with my Chaos Demon for some time, it makes sense for them to shift to our base for a while, too."

CEO Alex shot Solis a look full of gratitude.

Noir, too, tapped his chin thoughtfully. "That does make sense, Auntie Gaia," he said in a persuasive voice. "Solis's logic is sound, and we should stick together until we have managed to deal with this issue completely."

Boss Gaia sighed. "I do understand," she said quietly. "But I'm worried about Alex. I don't want him to face that pack of hyenas on his own!"

"I have a team of bodyguards, my dear," CEO Alex said to Boss Gaia.

Boss Gaia bit her lip anxiously. "Who knows how reliable your guards are? How do we know that one or more of them haven't sold themselves to someone else in Nerium, who's looking to take over your mantle? It's not just one person eyeing your position in the company!" She spoke in a rush, betraying her concern for her fiancé.

CEO Alex sighed.

Solis sighed as well. After all, betrayal from a bodyguard who was supposed to protect him…could anyone know about it better than Solis himself? Wasn't this exactly what had happened when Noir had appeared in his life for the first time? If it hadn't been for Noir…wouldn't Solis have been dead at the hands of his own bodyguard that day…?