Chapter 52

*knock**knock*

"[Come in!]" Amelie said as she adjusted her glasses.

Dennis came in with a grim face.Amelie sighed.

"[They pulled out too?]"

Dennis only nodded.

"[It's okay,we'll get the other one.]"Amelie comforted him.

"[It's just that Alpha keeps taking OUR projects!This isn't normal!They are obviously targeting only us!]"

Amelie was silent,she had also noticed that pattern. That's why she wanted to do some research on them now, but they couldn't afford to slack off.Amelie was supervising each project big or small herself and stayed up late at night working,but one thing she was sure of,this company had a strong backing.

***

The next day.

Dennis entered the office in a rush without knocking, making Amelie jump from her seat.

"[You scared me!Why suddenly barge in like that?]"

"[This is really important!]"Dennis had an anxious look,different from his usual."[One of the congressmen wants to meet you!]"

"[What!]" Amelie exclaimed."[Why?]"

"[His secretary called and said that he wants to discuss business with you.Alone.]"

Amelie groaned as she rubbed her face with her palms"[Ugh,what do they want!]"The last thing she wanted to do was get involved in her country's politics.If she wanted to she would've just become a jugde or a persecutor or something.

After some silence she asked."[Which party is it?]"

"[The current one in power.]"

"[Just because I voted for them doesn't mean I want to get involved with them!Why,God?Why do I have such bad luck?]"Amelie looked at the skies and asked.

"[What should we do?]"

Amelie sighed."[Of course we should accept!Like we have another choice!It would be suicide especially in the situation we are in!]"

Dennis hesitated as he said.

"[You aren't in much debt anyway and you can also try again even if you declare bankruptcy.]"

Amelie was quiet.The politics in their country was really tricky and for honest and hardworking people like them,staying as far away was the best choice.For a small country you could say they had a lot of international drama.

Their government and the opposition, like all politicians, were corrupted,it was only about voting the lesser evil and the folk had already lost hope of getting rid of these century old hyenas.

Who was involved with politicians had success and would get rich easily,but they also had to live in the constant fear of going down.Why?If in other countries the politicians were puppets of the mafia then in their country,their politicians were the mafia.If you decided to accept their offer then your job was to clean up and hide their mess. You want to pull away from them?The best that could happen was having your business destroyed or stolen with no way of recovering.The worse?Probably 'accidentally' ending up in a river with a bullet hole in your head.

Thankfully, the one in power now didn't resort to the last method,but that didn't make it any better.

Everyone who thought a bit knew that once you crossed that bridge,there was no way of crossing it back.

"[...I'll try to reject them in a way they won't be ofended.]"

"[We'll go together.]"Dennis said, determined.

Amelie smiled and accepted with gratitude.

Meanwhile, Aiden was dealing with his own work in his new,bigger office.

The design didn't change much with his previous one,but the big space and the new position with an even bigger floor to ceiling window changed the whole vibe of the place.

*knock**knock*

Aiden said,'Come in' without raising his head.

"Here are the documents of our deal with T."

Dominick said as he put the documents on his desk.

Aiden took the file and skimped through it.It seemed okay,but he would read it more carefully later.

"What about the sudden malfunctions?Did you manage to fix them?"

"We did and we also made a statement to tbe public.They are still a bit outraged,but we are expecting a positive feedback again in a few days."

"Very good."Aiden praised and looked at the document in front of him.

"Is there anything else,sir?"

"Yes."Aiden left his pen and looked at Dominick with a slight smile."How is our new IT company doing?"

Dominick paused for a while and reported.

"Everything is going well, sir.Our clients seem to trust us very well and didn't hesitate to proceed with us."

"Excellent!And how are our rivals doing?"

"They are trying their best to take as much work as they can...We are still in the beginning of the process so I give them 5 months."

Aiden lowered his head and asked.

"Can't it happen sooner?"

"It would if their CEO wasn't so stubborn."

Aiden's eyes flashed.

"Do you want me to try anything else,sir?"

"No.We'll let them struggle and fail for good." Aiden said as he took his pen and proceeded his work."You can leave."

"...Are you sure you want to keep doing this?"

Aiden paused for a moment,but continued his actions again without saying anything.

Dominick got his answer and sighed.Then he got out of the office.

Melanie watched him leave and went inside to give Aiden a cup of coffee.

"Here you go sir!"Melanie said with a soft smile.

"I didn't order anything."Aiden said as he frowned at the coffee cup.

Melanie smiled and continued."I thought a warm cup of coffee would be helpful during these stressful days.You've been working especially hard."

Aiden looked at her and then at the coffee.

"...Take it back.I don't need it."

"If you don't like it I can get you something else?"Melanie said as she slid a lock of hair behind her ear.

Aiden didn't say anything.The silence spoke itself.

Melanie didn't insist anymore and took the cup, just as she was about to open the door she heard the man's cold voice from behind.

"Next time don't bother giving me things I didn't ask for.Is that clear?"

"...Yes,sir."Melanie said and closed the door.

***

Amelie and Dennis walked in the glass elevator that was only usable for the restaurant.

As the doors opened a tall and buff man stopped them.He was wearing a suit and a black earpiece. They could tell he was a bodyguard.

"[Only miss Amelie can enter.]" the man said.

"[I don't make my decisions without consulting him.He is my business partner.]"Amelie told the man.

"[Sorry,but these are the rules.]"The man didn't budge.

Dennis pulled Amelie's arm and whispered.

"[Let's find an excuse to leave!This situation smells of danger!]"

"[It will be danger even if we leave.The moment they had their eye on us is the moment we were in risk]"

Dennis tried to convince her again,but he also knew that there was nothing they could do so he finally let her go.

Amelie turned to the man."[I will be entering myself.]"

"[Please!This way!]" One of the other men said as he guided her.