Cunning

Time was ticking, news was flying around. A reporter caught sight of Grandpa James being wheeled out of the building. Grandpa James' pictures, were all over the internet. People speculated that grandpa James was on his deathbed. This news spread widely, more than the original news that was released.

The shareholders of the company were going into an uproar. They didn't care about grandpa James but profits. They knew that grandpa James didn't have an heir, to take over the company. They thought that it was their chance. The shareholders quickly got to the hospital, to see grandpa James.

They could easily coax grandpa James to give up the company, to one of them. The one with the sweetest mouth would win. Lucas, grandpa James' assistant, had caught on to the shareholders' plans. But, he could not divulge that grandpa James had an heir, he hadn't seen, clearly, before.

Lucas arrived at the hospital earlier, he could see a few reporters lurking around the hospital grounds. Some of the reporters had been thrown out, because of the tight security. But these had been able to sneak in, they weren't armed with cameras. Lucas was sure they had pinhole cameras.

Lucas looked around the hospital lobby, he did not see the bodyguard he had seen earlier, with grandpa James' granddaughter. Lucas would have caught sight of Lucia there, with her mask. But he didn't see her in the lobby. He walked to the receptionist's stand, wanting to inquire about grandpa James.

"Hello." Lucas greeted the receptionist. The female receptionist nodded with a smile on her face. "I am here to see a patient, he was wheeled in two hours ago." Lucas said, and the receptionist's smile faltered. "The patient's name?" She asked, she guessed who he was looking for.

"James Burton." Lucas said. A frown formed on the receptionist's face, "Are you a reporter?" She asked, she had enough reporters coming to the front desk, to ask about the CEO of Alix's ward number. She didn't allow Lucas to answer her question. "I can't disclose information about him."

The receptionist turned away from Lucas, as she finished her sentence. Lucas was a bit taken aback by the receptionist's attitude. But he understood that she was irked by the reporters that had been lurking around. He also understood that she couldn't give out information, it was a top-rated hospital.

The hospital would have to identify and verify a visitor before giving any information. The receptionist didn't even try to identify Lucas. Lucas sighed, and he decided to sit in the waiting area, he didn't even know how to get to grandpa James or the bodyguard.

Lucas sat in the waiting area, betting on his luck that he would see the bodyguard or the Faceless girl. After a few minutes, Lucas noticed a slight disturbance at the reception. He smirked slightly, seeing it was the greedy shareholders. They could not get any useful information, and they started to cause an uproar.

He wondered how they planned to acquire the 70% shares that grandpa James held. "Isn't that a little too farfetched?" Lucas asked himself, shaking his head. He continued to watch, not approaching the shareholders. Until one they spotted Lucas, and he walked to Lucas, hoping he could get some information.

Lucas put on a fake smile, as the shareholder approached him. Working with grandpa James for two years had taught him a lot of things. One of them is being able to hide what he thinks or knows behind a smile. Lucas stood up and greeted the shareholder. "Hello, Mr. Edward."

Lucas stretched forth his right hand and shook Mr. Edward firmly. Looking him in the eyes, he said, "What brings you here?" Lucas feigned ignorance. Mr. Edward gave a subtle smile and said, "Where is the CEO? We've come to give our greetings." Lucas raised his brows and snorted quietly.

Lucas still had a smile on his face, "The hospital has refused to give information about the CEO." Lucas said straightforwardly. He also did not want Mr. Edward to continue pestering him about grandpa James, "I don't have any information about him." Lucas added. Mr. Edward's smile dropped and he snorted.

"Oh is that so? After all, you're just an assistant." Mr. Edward said, trying to irk Lucas, he wanted information in any possible way. Lucas' smile widened and he said, "Of course, I am an assistant." A proud look could be seen on Lucas' face. He knew what Mr. Edward wanted.

"We need to see the CEO. Our profits are involved here, our competitors are plotting to hit back at us. Now that the CEO is almost dead." Mr. Edward said, finally dropping all his pretentious acts. He was convinced that grandpa James just had a few minutes or days to live.

When grandpa James is finally gone, the assistant wouldn't be able to rattle him out. That was what Mr. Edward thought. Lucas' smile dimmed, and his face turned serious. "Our competitors are plotting? Yes. It's no big deal, we are always ahead of them." Lucas said, his words filled with confidence.

"Be rest assured that your profits and investments are safe. Alix Enterprise is not in trouble." Lucas said, finally noticing that other shareholders had joined them. They held cunning looks, and Lucas was starting to have a headache seeing them. "Be rest assured, that the CEO has everything planned out."

The shareholders still did not look convinced, one bold shareholder said, "Who will take over the company when the old man is gone? You say our interests are safe?" Everyone else nodded their heads when they heard the shareholder speak their minds. Everyone wanted a big chunk of Alix Enterprise.

Lucas did not know what else to tell them, he was tongue-tied. He wonder how grandpa James had been able to deal with the cunning folks. He wasn't sure about grandpa James' health, and he couldn't say anything about that. He also wasn't sure how the company would fare on.

He knew grandpa James had a granddaughter, which was the girl with the mask. But grandpa James had never spoken a word about her. From what Lucas knew, he was sure she did not even have a share in the company. Lucas could only sigh and repeat his earlier words.

"Be rest assured that the CEO has everything planned out." Lucas said. The shareholders snorted at his words, but they couldn't continue to pester Lucas, as he was just an assistant to the CEO. The receptionist noticed the way there were gathered and she couldn't help but notify the security.

The receptionist also wasn't sure now, whether they were reporters or what they claimed to be. The security quickly appeared and instructed the shareholders and Lucas to maintain decorum or leave the hospital premises quietly. The hospital had been too rowdy today, because of the recent news about grandpa James.

__

Lucia paced up and down at the entrance of the ICU, grandpa James had been transferred there, after emergency surgery was done on him. She stopped and gazed at her grandpa James, she chastised herself for not noticing her grandpa James' illness. She wasn't ready to see him gone.

Lucia had heard from the attending doctor, that grandpa James had stage 1 lung cancer. It was curable at stage 1, and Lucia had quickly taken the risk to sign for his surgery. Though the odds were low, due to his old age. Lucia stopped gazing when Hugh tapped her.

"You need to rest now." Hugh said worriedly, and Lucia nodded. "But I can not leave grandpa here." Lucia explained. Hugh shook his head, and said, "There is a ward provided for you to rest." And she nodded. Hugh led her to the ward but she stopped suddenly, remembering something important.

"Are you okay?" Hugh asked. "The company." She muttered and Hugh could understand her concern. "News about grandpa would have leaked out. I'm sure the shareholders and employees, would be in an uproar." Lucia explained. "Please, can you get grandpa's assistant?" Lucia asked, pleadingly. Hugh nodded and led her in.

Lucia was glad for his help, she knows he was her bodyguard, not her messenger or assistant. Her wild and romantic thoughts had momentarily flown out of her head. She settled into the ward, like a mini-suite. It was a VIP ward. "You can take off your mask."

Hugh instructed and Lucia immediately took it off. Her face felt free. "You're safe here. I'll contact the assistant. I'll be back. I'll get something for you to eat." Hugh said finally. When Lucia nodded in understanding, Hugh walked out of the door. He made sure to lock the door.

Lucia did not know that Hugh had locked the door. Even if she was aware, she knew it was for her safety. She rested her back, on the bed. She felt a little comfort. Lucia wanted to search for the news, about grandpa James. But she noticed she didn't have her phone.