Training the Rookie

Ezekiel and Lucas stared at each other as the room filled with silence and a heavy tension lingered. Ezekiel massaged his temple, concluding that he might be involved with Lucas's new identity.

"Which one is it now? An uncle's son? A friend from high school? A junior from university?"

Lucas looked away, realizing that this might not be Ezekiel's first rodeo with such a problem. He gulped before answering his question, afraid that he might stutter.

"Your fourth cousin."

"My what now?"

Lucas cleared his throat a bit louder this time.

"You're fourth cousin. From now on, I'll be your fourth cousin, Lucas Wang."

Ezekiel felt as if he had seen the light to heaven. 

'Seriously?! How childish can he be?! My goodness, this damn CEO!'

Ezekiel grumbled as he returned back to his seat, looking like a wilted flower in a blooming field. Lucas wanted to ask him if he was okay with it, but something told him it was best not to.

Lucas finished up the desk, and checked if the computer was working while wondering what the first day at his new job would be like. He was busy grumbling things away when Ezekiel suddenly stood up from his seat, eliciting a gasp from the young man.

"I will kill off that bratty CEO later. But first, let me tour you around the building. You will be his personal secretary and it is a part of your job description to at least familiarize yourself with the building's sections."

Lucas nodded as Ezekiel explained the other details pertaining to the job. Apparently, he would also be trained on how to professionally talk to the CEO, ensuring that no friendly remarks went unnoticed.

"If everything is clear to you, stand up and let's start the tour."

"Okay."

Lucas walked behind Ezekiel as the man revealed to him every nook and cranny of the building. He described the importance of each department, from the reception to the maintenance, pinpointing everything that Lucas needed to learn.

The young man jotted everything down in his little notebook to review later after they got back home. He also managed to meet the heads of the security team and the maintenance department when he noticed someone familiar at the end of the hall.

Right there, dressed in a black suit and tie was his friend Jacob. Lucas stopped in his tracks and stared at his friend, who was enthusiastically talking to the clerk at the front desk.

Lucas looked over and noticed that the woman his friend was talking to was none other than his girlfriend. The one that he had met during the New Year's Eve at Jacob's home. Lucas's world started to spin again, shutting off the other noises around him as the fellow wondered whether he should call out his friend or not.

However, his train of thought abruptly stopped when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. He turned away from Jacob's direction and looked behind to find Ezekiel with a frowning expression.

"Are you alright? I have been calling for you."

Lucas could only nod, his mouth agape, yet no words came out of it. Ezekiel looked around the lobby to see what might be the reason for Lucas to act this way when his phone rang.

"Sorry, I need to take this."

With that, Lucas was left alone in the lobby, away from Ezekiel and away from the only anchor that could wake him up from hallucinating that everything was possible. The only person with whom he could be like himself again without needing to put out an effort to perform or act as if everything was perfect like it used to be.

Lucas could only close his eyes, wishing for the ground to swallow him up whole and never return or feel this kind of feeling ever again.

Moments passed by and the silence grew louder in his mind. He then felt a tap on his shoulder and a huffing sound. Lucas looked beside him and noticed Ezekiel's tired and sweaty face.

His eyes were serious and this was the first time Lucas had seen him like this.

"What's wrong?"

Ezekiel heaved a heavy breath before he exhaled loudly.

"How fast can you run?"

Lucas was puzzled by the question. Why would they need to run? Do they need to catch someone?

"Why?"

Ezekiel grabbed Lucas's hand and pulled him back to Rex's office. Instead of using the elevator, Ezekiel led Lucas to the stairs, climbing up to the fifth floor.

"Elevators, Mr. Wang! The building has elevators!"

Ezekiel ignored his words and continued climbing up the stairs, reaching the fifth level in no time. The emergency exit doors slammed open, revealing two male figures, huffing and inhaling deep breaths before running towards the conference room.

"Mr. Lin!"

Ezekiel abruptly stopped in his tracks when the voice came about and looked at Lucas's direction, thus causing the young man to exhale a deep sigh before wiping his sweat away with a handkerchief.

He signaled Lucas to stop before closing his eyes and wished for the ground to swallow him whole or at least for someone to rescue him from this embarrassment.

"Right. Your first assignment as a shadow of my daily routine. Tell that bratty CEO over there that the CEO of the Ming Southside Corporation will be late for the meeting. However, the CEO of Xia Lei Marketing is already waiting in meeting room three. Got it?"

Lucas nodded and approached Rex, who was currently standing while talking to some woman who was familiar to him but couldn't pinpoint exactly who it was.

"Excuse me, Mr. Lin."

Rex looked at Lucas with a sweet smile plastered on his face.

"Yes?"

Lucas heaved a deep sigh before relaying Ezekiel's message to Rex. Anticipating Lucas's news, the CEO briefly forgot about the woman he was just talking to.

"Mr. Wang got a call that the CEO of Ming Southside Corporation would be late for the meeting. However, the CEO of Xia Lei Marketing has already arrived and is currently waiting in meeting room three. Shall we start the meeting with the Xia Lei's or wait for the Ming's to arrive?"

Rex hummed in response, thinking for a minute before giving Lucas an answer. He knew that the latter would wait even a whole day since the Huangs were mostly trained that way.

"Well, a good option. But I think we should wait for Ming's CEO. However, if they still don't show up in fifteen minutes, cancel the deal and proceed to the next meeting."

Lucas nodded and excused himself before enthusiastically going back to Ezekiel and relaying Rex's response.

"Good job. Now…"

Lucas was not expecting an earful. Ezekiel scolded him for the way he acted when he saw the CEO, yelling his name out loud for everyone to hear was not part of his job description.

Meanwhile, Rex watched them from where he stood and chuckled lightly to himself.

"Who was he? Your new toy?"

Rex's thoughts stopped abruptly when the woman beside him spoke. He sighed and turned to her, making serious eye contact with her.

"I don't that is still part of your business, Ms. Chu."

The woman gasped and looked straight into his eyes, looking for any malice or doubt that what he had said might not be true at all. However, she found none.

"Ha, I never knew you would stoop that low, Rex. A man, really?"

Rex shrugged before looking at Ezekiel and Lucas.

"Well, for me, what's more important is that he is better than you."

The woman scoffed as she stared at Lucas with disgust. 

'A new toy, huh. Let's see how far can this go.'