Thoughts and Recollection

Lucas arrived at the garden with a puzzled expression on his face. Ezekiel hadn't entirely explained to him why Rex wanted him there, but he had come anyway.

He soon spotted Rex standing at the edge of the building, a cigarette in hand, gazing out at the distant horizon. 

Lucas walked towards him, and took a deep breath, making sure that he was still a bit distant from the CEO since he disliked the smell of cigarettes.

"Mr. Lin? You called for me."

Rex exhaled the last puff of the smoke before dropping the cigarette butt and crushed it under his shoe.

"Lucas."

Lucas bowed at the sight of the CEO, noticing a slight smile on Rex's face as he stared at him. It was a sight that Lucas hadn't seen during their earlier meeting.

"Can you give me a smile, pretty?"

Lucas blushed at the unexpected endearment the CEO gave him. He lowered his head for a moment before clearing his throat and meeting the CEO's gaze with a serious expression instead.

"I don't think I understand, Mr. Lin."

Rex chuckled at the response, his smile never faltering, making Lucas wish for it to never leave his face.

"Your jokes land way better than Lilian's."

Lucas laughed at that. He snickered as he covered his mouth with his palm, watching as Rex's smile grew even wider. 

"Should I say thank you?"

Rex heaved a light sigh, lifted one of his brows and chuckled lightly.

"You can if you want."

Lucas shook his head and sat down on one of the tubes on the rooftop.

"So, what do you need me for, Mr. Lin? I'm pretty sure it's not just for entertainment while you curse out everyone in your cartel list."

Rex laughed at Lucas's choice of words, though they weren't entirely off the mark. Before Lucas arrived, he had indeed been cursing the correspondents from before.

He wasn't sure whether it was because they were unprepared or it was simply that they were bad at their jobs, but he was even more pissed off since Ming Xin hadn't shown up to give him details on the sudden spike in the production of the whitening cream.

"Cartel? Am I a mafia boss now?"

Lucas scoffed at the response and shook his head, his eyes staring at this captivating CEO before him.

"Well, you kind of were earlier during the meeting with Xia Lei and Ming. Your eyebrows were furrowed together and your eyes were sharp. If looks could kill, those correspondents earlier would've already been pronounced dead."

Rex laughed at that before dismissing the comment with a shrug. He did care about his reputation and he was still upholding his peers.

A brief silence fell over the rooftop as Lucas remembered the earlier fiasco.

"Oh right, Mr. Lin-"

"Rex."

Rex intervened, causing the latter to pause and look at him in confusion.

"What?"

Rex cleared his throat with a smile on his face as he leaned back against the railing, looking straight into Lucas's eyes.

"Call me Rex when we're alone. Mr. Lin is too formal."

Lucas chuckled at the suggestion but nodded.

"As you wish."

Rex nodded, gesturing for Lucas to continue.

"As I was saying, Mister...Rex, who was that woman earlier?"

Rex looked puzzled as he tried to figure out whom Lucas was referring to.

"I am not sure I am following."

Lucas sighed as he folded his arms and looked at Rex straight in the eyes.

"You know, the one with the Dora the Explorer wig. Which by the way, looks awful on her. Is that even her real hair? I am not sure who is feeding her with lies and saying that the hair suits her, but geez, she needs a new stylist, fast."

Rex burst into a loud heartily laughter upon hearing Lucas's comment. Now, he understood whom he meant.

The CEO had to take a deep sigh to stop himself from laughing before answering.

"Lilian, her name is Lilian Chu. She is the daughter of a wealthy socialite from Canton Province."

Lucas's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Rex, his expression shocked. He had never expected that Lilian truly came from a rich family.

"Wow. So, she wasn't lying when she said she's from a prominent family."

Lucas nodded at his conclusion before asking Rex about their relationship.

"Relationship? Who? Me and Lilian?"

Lucas nodded again, prompting Rex to pause and think for a second before answering.

He wanted to make sure that he could filter out some of the unnecessary details and provide Lucas with only the information that was actually needed.

"Well, there isn't much to talk about our relationship. We are business partners, to say the least."

Lucas hummed in response, pretty sure that Rex had filtered some of the details out and deliberately kept his explanation brief.

"Business partners? That's it?"

Curious about Lilian's intentions and what happened to them for her to act the way she did back in the meeting room, Lucas pressed further.

"Well, our family was close and they still are, but not as much as before. It's just that her father had asked my father to get us married once I got a high position in the company. But it was all vague when my father relayed the message to me.

"At first, I was all okay with it. At least I would be marrying someone I knew. But that changed when I found out the real reason why her father proposed the idea."

"Apparently, she asked for it because she had a huge crush on me and wanted to marry me rather than date anyone else. She also stalked me for a while and even sent death threats to other women who got too close to me because she was that possessive."

Lucas shivered as he listened to Rex.

'That short bitch. I will skin her alive the next time I see her.'

"I'm sorry," Lucas said.

Rex shook his head and looked up to the blue sky, taking a deep breath.

"No, don't be. I canceled the wedding after I found that out. I hate the idea of marrying a stalker. My father was against the cancellation at first, but Ezekiel gave him the idea as to why."

"Now, my father has gradually distanced himself from their family after what had happened."

Lucas nodded, noticing a hint of sadness in Rex's eyes, probably due to what Lilian had done just to get his attention.

"Glad you dodged that bullet. You'd probably be cheating by now if you ever had married her."

Rex laughed at the comment. 

"Well, you are not wrong. Unfortunately, I hate the idea of cheating. So, it's either a loveless marriage or nothing at all."

It was Lucas's turn to laugh at Rex's comment.

He would have agreed to that if it weren't for the fact that he was gay.

"Sorry, can't relate. But if I were in your situation, I would definitely prefer the latter."

Rex gave him a small smile before standing straight, fixing his suit and tie as he walked an inch towards Lucas.

"But if it's with someone I love and care for, I would prefer a childless marriage rather than nothing at all."

Rex finished his statement with a wink, causing Lucas to blush and wonder what he meant by that. 

'What the hell? Does he have an idea of my true self? I am pretty sure that my father would never mention the reason why they kicked me out.'