Keifer's POV
"I'm sorry, Jay."
Damn it! I couldn't even say it properly to her.
This is Aries' fault. He caught me off guard.
And now, I heard her crying again before the call ended. My fist clenched while holding the phone.
"Sir, Mr. Clyde is waiting for you." One of the employees said.
I slightly turned my head and answered. "Give me a minute."
"Yes, Sir." He said, and I heard his footsteps.
Once I return to the Philippines, Aries will pay for this.
He called me just to tell me not to come back. Is he insane?
Well, the answer is yes. He really is insane.
What I don't understand is how, from him, I ended up talking to Jay-jay. He's probably tricking me.
I hid my secret phone in my coat pocket. After fixing my necktie, I walked back to the conference room.
Clyde was waiting for me while sitting comfortably in his—my swivel chair. I walked up to him and kicked the chair.
"Move. That's my chair."
He glared at me. "I'm still the CEO, Keifer."
"That's my chair." I repeated.
He frowned before standing and moving to another swivel chair. I brushed off the seat for a moment before sitting down.
I looked at Clyde, who was scowling. His face still bore the marks of my punches.
"Enjoying the view of my face?" He asked sarcastically.
"Nothing enjoyable about your face."
He handed me a few sheets of paper—a list of companies in Asia that could either be potential partners or good investment opportunities. I looked for a particular name, but for some reason, Fer Corp wasn't on the list.
"List of companies in Asia. Their portfolio is over there." He pointed his finger at the end of the long table. "Since you are now moving forward to your rightful throne, why don't you start with the responsibility?"
"Fer Corp is not on the list." I said, looking at the list again.
"What?" He asked. "What Fer Corp?"
"Fernandez Corporation. Located in the Philippines."
He raised a brow. "Why does that sound so familiar?"
I put the list down and shook my head.
"Never mind. I'll just add it to the list."
He suddenly frowned and looked at me with a deep grimace.
"Seriously? Don't you dare add a piece of trash to a pile of gold."
Isn't he the trash here?
"It's not on the list because it's not a good company. Simple as that." He added before leaning back and putting his feet up on the table.
I rolled my eyes and reread the list. I recognized a few of the companies. The ones with good profits in the past few years were the first I chose to check out.
"Clyde." I called him, and he looked at me. "Hand over the portfolios. Thanks."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Forgiven. Hand me the portfolios." I gestured toward the end of the long table.
He chuckled in disbelief. "Wow."
It was obvious he had no intention of following my request, so I locked eyes with him.
Clyde really has the Watson traits—from the way he stares at me to the way he moves.
Except he's useless.
"The portfolios." I repeated, and he groaned in defeat.
He stood up to get the portfolios. Since they were thick, he had to go back and forth just to bring them all. Once everything was in front of me, he looked at me while slowly raising his middle finger.
I smiled sweetly and raised my middle finger in response.
"Tsk! Wow, you're a real piece of work." He said sarcastically.
"Whatever." I snorted and grabbed the portfolio I wanted.
He sat back down in his chair, took out his phone, and started playing games. I could even hear the sound effects.
I chose to ignore him and continued reading. I sorted the portfolios based on the company's economic status.
Surprisingly, a lot of potential companies were located in the Philippines. Singapore and Korea had the fastest-growing companies in Asia.
When I finished, I realized Clyde had fallen asleep in his seat. I checked the time on my wristwatch. It's already lunchtime, and I'm still here with my idiot cousin.
I'm hungry.
I looked for the intercom, which was accidentally covered by papers. I asked the receptionist to bring us lunch. Since Clyde was still sleeping, I chose the food.
It took almost half an hour for the food to arrive. I didn't wake him up and just ate alone.
Times like this, I always think about her.
Has she eaten already?
I remembered how she ate. She didn't care where she was when showing her love for food.
I can't recall a single time she refused to eat something. She really has a big appetite. But what amazes me is how her body never changes that much, despite eating so much.
Suddenly, I choked when I imagined the way she glares at me.
"Please tell me you're dying." It was Clyde.
My coughing must have woken him up. He stood up, grabbed a lunch pack, and took a bottled water.
I drank mine to ease the irritation in my throat.
"So you're not dying?" He asked in a flat tone. "Too bad."
He was clearly out of it, saying whatever came to his mind. I almost forgot—he doesn't have a brain, so nothing filters his words before he speaks.
He started eating, so I just let him be. He finished right after I did. He grabbed some of the lists and portfolios.
"Visit them. Do your thing." He said before throwing the papers at me. "Check their offers, whatever."
I took the papers and arranged them properly. I was about to scold him for his actions when I noticed he was already snoring.
He fell asleep that fast. Why does he look so exhausted?
My secret phone suddenly vibrated. I briefly glanced at Clyde before taking it out of my pocket.
It was from the last person I expected to receive a message from.
From: Demon
Message: Schnee would like to meet you.
What does that guy want from me?
Then it suddenly came to mind. Oh right, he's one of the people giving me my initiation task.
I replied to Angelo to ask where we were meeting, but he didn't respond.
Minutes passed, and another message came from an unknown number.
It was an address—probably our meeting place.
I didn't waste any time. I got ready and left Clyde, who was still sleeping soundly. I left the papers with his secretary.
As soon as I stepped out of the building, my car was already waiting. I told the driver my destination.
It wasn't that far, but because of the heavy traffic, it still took us almost one hour to get there.
Before stepping out of the car, I checked my surroundings first.
Coast is clear.
I got out of the car and entered the restaurant. My eyebrow raised when I noticed that there were no other people inside. It's a restaurant, for freaking sake, it's supposed to have customers. But I think I already know the reason why the place is empty.
Ervin Schnee was silently enjoying his food. I walked toward him, and he immediately smiled upon seeing me. It was a very playful smile.
"Watson… Have a seat," he said, using his knife to point at the chair across from him.
"What happened to this place?" I asked while pulling out the chair to sit.
"I rented the whole place. I don't like noise while having nosh," he said and swallowed his food.
My nose crinkled in disgust. He eats like a pig. Renting the whole place was a good move—people wouldn't like watching him eat either.
"What do you want from me?" I asked, getting straight to the point.
"See that jewelry store across the road?" He used his knife again, this time pointing at the store outside.
Thanks to the restaurant's big glass window, I could see everything outside. It was a vintage-style jewelry store, but there was nothing in the display window except for empty boxes.
"I think it's out of business," I said to Schnee before glancing back at him.
He took out his phone and showed me a picture of a ring—a large diamond in the center with two smaller ones on either side.
"The store owner doesn't want to sell that ring. He said something about feelings," he explained before taking his phone back.
Okay, I know what he's up to.
"You want me to buy it for you?"
He grinned like a child. "Yes, please."
I rolled my eyes. If this is part of the task, this is too easy. So, Angelo was telling the truth. Their group would definitely take advantage of new recruits. They would make me do things just because they knew I badly wanted to belong.
"Okay. Wait here."
I left him and walked straight to the jewelry store. The bell made a sound as I opened the wooden door. I almost raised an eyebrow as I scanned the entire place.
It's empty.
There was nothing in the cupboard displays.
Just empty jewelry boxes.
Did they get robbed? Or go bankrupt?
"Leave." An old voice spoke. "I saw you talking to that idiot guy across the road. I won't let him get the ring."
I turned to look at the speaker—an old man with a single-lens eyeglass. He was busy looking at something on his table behind the counter. I slowly walked toward him.
"Did you get robbed?" I asked while pointing at the empty cupboards.
He laughed at my question. He shook his head while removing the eyeglass lens from his left eye and placing it inside his chest pocket.
"You're not from here? So tell—" He stopped when he had the chance to stare at me.
"Do I have something on my face?" I asked, making him look down.
"I beg your pardon. I thought you were someone I knew." He arranged a few papers on top of his table. "You're a Watson?"
"Yes, I am."
He nodded briefly. "That makes sense."
My forehead creased. He obviously knows someone from my family that I resemble.
"Do you know someone from my family? I would guess it's my grandfather since people say I look like him."
He let out a short laugh. "Certainly." He finally stopped what he was doing. "So, how can I help you? I bet you're not here for my 'robbed' jewelry."
He was clearly making fun of my question. I scratched my eyebrow—I didn't mean to phrase it like that.
I noticed how he looked at my bandaged arm. I raised it to show that it was alright and that I could use it normally.
"It's nothing."
"If you say so."
He suddenly placed a red cloth on the counter. One by one, he put colorful rings on top of it. I spotted the ring that Schnee wanted me to buy.
There was something different about these rings. Yes, they shone like other expensive jewelry, but I felt something while staring at them.
"I don't use expensive materials. Diamonds need to be ordered first before I make a ring. If that doesn't answer your question—no, my store was not robbed. I don't put them on display because someone like your idiot friend across the road would buy them and waste them," he explained.
Now it makes sense. That's why the jewelry boxes were empty—because he custom-made them for specific clients.
For my Jasper Jean.
"Can you make one for me?" I asked, feeling joy in my chest.
He stared at me for a while. "It depends. Can you describe the receiver of the ring?"
It wasn't really my intention to buy her a ring. But for some reason, I saw her teary-eyed smile while I was putting a ring on her finger. I couldn't help but smile.
"Well, she's really different."
"All women are different," he said, giving me a playful look. "In the eyes of their men."
I let out a short laugh. "I don't think there's a right word to describe her. But I will still try," I said, and he nodded. "She loves food, and she's not ashamed of it. She doesn't care what other people think of her. She does what she believes is right. Friendship and family are important to her. She's also one of the boys. Would you believe if I told you that she punched me?"
He laughed at my question. "Now, describe her the way you see her."
"I see her as the queen of my empire," I said without hesitation.
"And you are her king?"
"Yes, but…" I said, making him look confused. "I am willing to leave my throne as long as she's sitting there for me. I can do that to protect her."
It took me a long time to realize it. She doesn't need a king to sit by her side. She needs a man to protect her. I will shine my sword but not my armor, so I can fight with honor, not for show.
"That's a very dangerous feeling you have there, young man," he said, and I noticed he was writing in a notebook.
He's taking notes of what I'm saying? Does he really need to do that?
"When is her birthday?" he asked.
"May 29."
"Oh dear. That's in two months."
"I understand if you can't—"
He shook his head. "Don't challenge me. I have never failed to meet a deadline."
I couldn't stop smiling. My first gift for her birthday.
We finished the transaction, and I made the payment. He asked for my details so he could contact me when it was ready.
Then, I looked back at the ring that Schnee desperately wanted. At first, the old man refused to sell it, but in the end, I convinced him—under the condition that I would take it back if that guy wasted it.
I also found out that it was originally meant for one of his customers, but eventually, he broke up with his girlfriend and never came back to get the ring. I paid double so he could return the money to that guy.
I walked out with a strange smile. I can't wait to have that ring and give it to Jay. I went back to the restaurant and handed over the ring.
"Wow, you did it."
"Make sure to take care of it."
He smiled wickedly. "Of course. Same way I treated my other jewelry collection."
Collection?
"This is for your collection?"
"Yes." He said and started to walk out of the restaurant. "I'll send the money later."
How unusual. I've never heard of a guy collecting jewelry. As far as I know, it's a woman thing.
Jeez. They're all weird.
I glanced outside and noticed the driver stepping out of the car. He was talking to someone over the phone. I walked out of the restaurant and stopped in front of him.
"Sir Keigan said your flight is tonight."
I nodded at him and got inside the car. We headed straight to the hotel. As soon as we arrived, I walked quickly to the elevator.
Keigan and I still haven't talked about the incident. I tried to start the conversation, but he quickly changed the topic, obviously avoiding it.
I can't help but think about his situation. The scary part is that Keiren saw this before. He experienced the changes in his older brother. I just hope he won't notice that his brother has a problem now.
I walked fast as soon as the elevator opened. I went straight to our suite, where I found Keigan on the phone.
He turned to me. "…Yes. He's here." He ended the call and put his phone down. "It was Clyde. He said you should start getting to know the companies on the list. I booked your flight tonight—."
"You're coming with me."
"What?" He looked confused.
"I need an assistant. Honey is obviously of no use since she's too busy with her textmate."
I had no plans of leaving him here, especially now that I know his situation.
"I don't think I can help you—."
"You already helped me. You planned everything for me, remember?"
He nodded shortly.
"Then help me again. This time, as my assistant."
I saw his lips form into a smile. "O-okay. I'll get everything ready."
He went straight to his room, and I did the same. I prepared everything I needed to bring.
But this isn't just a trip back to Asia.
I'll make sure to see her. To see my future queen.