Alex led the way, with Sharon and Lance behind him as they walked toward the office on the top executive floor. He was back to his previous sharp look, with less cold gloom on his face now, though, not yet with his usual smile back.
Behind him, Sharon held her clipboard tight, her gait radiating less confident sharpness than the previous day as the back before her hooked the greater part of her attention. Beside her, Lance walked listlessly, looking like a wounded puppy.
The depressive cloud around him seemed to thicken at each one of his steps, until he finally couldn't help but look up from his slouched position at Alex, and let out the pain in his chest:
"Why can you stop that hug with a simple look while I can't get it even when I beg for it?"
Alex glanced back from the corner of his eye, his disdain on full display, as he replied flatly:
"Go get a sister of your own. Your father is still young enough to make that dream come true for you."
Alex had stopped Jenny's sweaty hug with a simple look, but when he had gone forward, arms open, to take his place, all he had gotten had been a sharp arrow to his heart before the little gremlin had run away to take her shower, an arrow not unlike the disdain Alex was showing now.
His wound spreading wider, Lance lowered his head to mope in silence. With the world so much against him, he really considered Alex's proposal, but thinking deeper about the seemingly bright idea…
'Oh, please…'
Lance didn't voice out those words, but his exaggerated eye roll said it all, loud and clear. Yes, his father was young enough to make it happen, but his mother was a different matter altogether. Even though she was younger than Alex's mother, she was well past her menopause already, at the beginning of her fifties.
Should he ever bring that matter up, he would be signing his own death warrant at home, to be witnessed by his father, relaxed in the sofa, with a smile on his lips and a cup of coffee in his hand, and executed by his mother, with no hesitation at all, despite being the only child of the family, the only possible heir.
So, yeah, there was no way in hell he would be that stup–
Lance paused, then looked up at Alex with his eyes wide open:
"You–"
As the look of shock that transitioned into one of betrayal and disbelief, Alex pushed open the door of his office and glanced at Sharon:
"Where is that planning I have to review?"
The blonde blinked out of her slight daze and hurried to open her clipboard and hand it over:
"Here."
Lance was forced to swallow his words. Alex barely skimmed through the elements Sharon had ordered before he took the pen attached to the side and started crossing some of them and making annotations beside some. By the time he reached his seat and sat down, he returned the clipboard to its owner, and turned to his monitor.
His fingers flew over the keyboard, pulling out a dark interface that started filling up with writings in white. Alex observed the lines after lines of details, before he turned to look at Sharon who was still in front of her, having just finished processing his modifications to the planning.
When she looked up again, her lips moved, but the words at the top of her tongue didn't come out, causing to prompt her:
"What?"
She hesitated for a moment, then remarked:
"You pushed the meetings and the appointments to director Marten and director Sigurd."
Alex raised an eyebrow:
"So?"
"Isn't the chairman the one supposed to attend those? And you have more power to your uncles just earlier. Shouldn't you cultivate your own loyal following? Your uncles must already have theirs, while you are new here, in the Group, despite occupying the seat of the chairman."
Alex looked at Lance, but the latter kept a calm face. He seemed to know the underlying reasons for Alex's action. The latter glanced at the dark interface on his monitor, before he returned his brown eyes to the blonde, and questioning:
"Who do you think is more leisurely, between the landowner and the farmer?"
Sharon paused, unable to see the relevance of the question, but she replied after just a little thought:
"The landowner."
Alex nodded:
"That is obvious. Without considering anything else, the farmer works, while the landowner only has to wait for the rent. Now, tell me, what kind of reputation do I have?"
Muffled laughter came in soft ripples from the side.
"Pfft!"
Alex glanced at Lance who turned away, pretending nothing happened, before returning his eyes to Sharon. The blonde hesitated. The words that had been easy to say before, with a touch of disdain to boot, were now like a mark of ignorance. Still, she let them out after a moment:
"A playboy."
"Ahem…"
Alex sent another glance Lance's way, but couldn't be bothered with him. He nodded at Sharon, and finally explained:
"Most of those I have to meet with are old fellows of the previous generation. They will think themselves disrespected if I go, and they will think themselves respected if my uncles go."
Sharon opened her mouth, but he continued, seemingly aware of what she was about to say:
"Of course, they may think that the older generation is seeing me as incapable and is helping me keep things from falling apart, or that I am seeing myself as incapable. I should make myself known as the new chairman by taking advantage of those meetings and appointments, shouldn't I?"
Sharon could only pause, then nod. But Alex uncaringly waved her concern away:
"I can't be bothered to micromanage things. I'm the landowner, and I just have to ensure that the farmers are working, that they are following the rules, and they are paying the rent. Beyond that, I only need to make sure my land remains fertile, and the gears of the machines are turning as they should. That is the advantage of a big Group full of talents. As for loyalty? Heh…"
Alex leaned back and smiled.