Fifty-five - The Axion deal
"Do you think he might be working with Anderson?"
"It won't be surprising if he is," Nathaniel said to Gabriel.
"What could he possibly be looking for here?" Amir asked.
"Who knows?" Nathaniel answered.
“It is so good to run into each other this way,” Markings excitedly said. “Don’t you feel like the universe is trying to say something?”
“Yeah, to put you in your place,” muttered Amir.
Dramatically, he took a bow. “I apologize for the ruckus we caused last time. But I have to ask…” He resumed a straight stance.
“What do you want exactly Markings?” Nathaniel asked impatiently.
Wood Markings chuckled. “I just wanted to apologize.”
Nathaniel gave a curt nod and said, as he had Chloe’s slender hand in his again, “And you have. You may excuse us now.”
“Actually we’ll excuse you. Let’s go guys.” Amir took the lead, his shoulders not even bothering to hide the rage he had at that moment. Chloe then wondered what his expression will be when he sees the man who is allegedly Tate’s boss.
“You guys know what just happened right?” Gabriel asked as they walked towards the huge building ahead.
“He obviously wanted to check if Chloe has told us about him. But then, that guy is really annoying. I can’t wait to nab him.”
“Okay Amir… Take it easy. We are about to go meet Anderson and I don’t want your anger taking us back to square one,” Gabriel said. Surprisingly, Amir didn’t make any more sound, so in silence, they all kept walking.
Chloe who was walking in accordance with Nathaniel’s strides wondered if Anderson could possibly have a hand in trying to frame the guys. She knew how enemity could grow from a small ball to a huge one that destroys everyone involved.
So, in a corner of her mind, she tossed the possibility in.
Like a strong wind, a loud gasp came, interesting Chloe. As they all walked in through the glass doors, Chloe found the source of the gasp.
It was as though the men were irresistible Greek gods, the way everyone stopped what they were doing to stare shamelessly. All eyes being on them didn’t sway the men who kept their shoulders swinging with swag. They would be used to it anyway.
Chloe stole a look at Lucille. She seemed to be unbothered too. In fact, she had her arm hooked with Amir’s as they all drew closer to the elevator, gaining some looks from some ladies.
But Chloe just couldn’t get used to it. She has always hated attention when in a huge space with a lot of people. Chloe wanted to find somewhere to run to that instant and the closest seemed to be the elevator. But it would seem insane of her to just rush towards it, so she decided to endure it a bit more.
Chloe was about to fist her hands when a familiar warmth covered them. With so many feelings stirring within her, she looked up into his blue eyes which observed her seriously. She noticed others had stopped walking too.
“Are you fine?”
“Uh?” His eyes at that distance looked like the ocean’s blue, she noticed.
“You had stopped walking.” He reached and held her by the shoulder. “Are you feeling unwell?”
“Of course I am fine. Let’s go.” She gave a quick smile and dashed towards the elevator after all. As she waited for the doors to slide open, she let out a small sigh.
Soon, her legs helped her into the space ahead and she was soon joined by others, Nathaniel specifically standing by her side.
Struggling to keep herself sane, Nathaniel had terrible timing and entangled his hand with hers. Her eyes closed and a picture of a naked Nathaniel popped up. Snapping her eyes open instantly, she noticed the doors were open and nothing seemed more appropiate than an escape.
But she had forgotten about his hold and Nathaniel used that to her pull her back.
“Chloe,” his voice was thicker than usual and she felt even more things stirring, especially in her lady part. “Are you trying to ignore me? Don’t do that.”
Chloe asked almost inaudibly, “Why?” Silence was all she got. Almost immediately, her stance shifted and she felt her back meet a hard chest.
His closeness affected her. A lot.
“If you ignore me,” he started. “It will just make me want you more. And when that happens… I will make sure to mark you as mine.”
Unable to move, his words made the heat she was feeling worse.
Nathaniel was not done. “And when I am done, you won’t be able to think of any other man.” As his words sank, her head tilted in his direction. Lips slightly parted as a result of finding words a bit difficult to say, her eyes decided to stay on his. But at that moment, Nathaniel walked out.
Heart pounding even harder, Chloe followed almost immediately.
As she joined the rest, her eyes did not miss the weird layout of the room they were in. Heavily decorated with art made from wood, the office seemed like a kind of shrine especially with the many carved wood that bore resemblance to a human. They were everywhere possible. On the walls, the window sills, even on the polished floor.
“Hello there,” Amir greeted the only employee in that space. “We are here to meet Anderson.”
The young lady who wore a large smile that complemented her styled ponytail hairdo asked, “And who do I say is asking for him sir?”
"Just tell him the NAG brothers are here.”
“The… NAG? Oh.” Realization befell the woman and she hurriedly dialed a number.
After a few seconds communication, she ushered them all in. But she made sure to point out that the man was not in a good mood.
“Don’t worry darling, we are here to cheer him up.” Gabriel flashed her a smile and Chloe noted how much redness overcame her cheeks before she slumped into her chair dreamily.
A few more collective steps and they were all soon staring at a long arraign of evenly partitioned tainted glasses. Chloe heard Amir give a small sigh before his hand went forward to push open the door.
It was a sophisticated office - exquisite furniture, a desktop computer, a nice view of the city. The only extra thing was the dining set that was placed to the far left side from the entrance.
“And to what do I owe this sudden meeting…?” The leather chair backing them twirled and a mischevious smile greeted them. Arms spread mid air, the man let out a chuckle and continued, “The NAG brothers, my very good rivals are in my office.”
His twinkling dark eyes noticed Chloe and Lucille. “With two, very beautiful ladies.”
“Keep your eyes to yourself Anderson or I’ll pluck them out and feed them to your dog,” Nathaniel said monotonously as he left to find a seat for himself opposite Anderson.
The man being warned let out another chuckle. “I see Nathaniel is still as dangerous as ever. Gabriel…” His eyes suddenly went to the man whose name he said. "Nice to see you again.”
“What do you mean by that?” Gabriel gruffly asked.
“Nothing.” His grin was superficial. “I am just glad to see you again. So… are you going to tell me why you are here?”
The other men found seats and after, Chloe and Lucille went to the dining setup.
“We are looking for one of your men,” Amir started. “We believe he works for you.”
Leaning onto his glass desk , Anderson asked, “Why would you be looking for my man?”
“We need to ask him some questions.”
“Hmm. Who is it?”
Gabriel butted in. “I believe he goes by the name Macknicoff.”
Sitting back, Anderson’s face wore another smile. “What do I get if I tell you where you can get him?”
“Why would you ask for something you-” Amir’s approaching outburst remained caged as Gabriel drew him back.
“Let’s give him what he wants,” said Gabriel.
“What? This bastard deserves nothing. How can you say we should give him something in return?”
“Isn’t that how business works? It’s a give and take world. So… if we want to get any information from someone like him, we have to give something in return.” A debating look on his face, Amir faced Nathaniel who was still silent.
“Nathaniel what do you think?” No response came and Amir swore as he resumed his earlier sitting position. “How do we even trust this guy?"
Gabriel snickered. “He knows better than trying nonsense with us.” Chloe saw how darkened Gabriel’s eyes became as he faced Anderson. “Isn’t that right Mr. Anderson?”
“Of course not…” came Anderson’s chuckle again. “I am a man of my words.”
“So…” Amir seemed to have accepted fate. “What do you want exactly?”
As the man pondered on the question, Lucille motioned to Chloe to move closer to her. “Doesn’t it feel like we are watching a movie?” Chloe’s eyes went to the seated men and she just had to agree with a nod. “That Anderson guy is creepy.”
“Especially his smile,” Chloe said and Lucille immediately wore a frown. “What?” Her line of sight followed Lucille’s. “ Lucille?”
“Uh?” The woman shook her head slightly. “Sorry, I thought I saw something.” Chloe nodded and soon their movie continued.
“I have thought about it. And I think I want-”
“We will give you the Axion deal.” Nathaniel's words didn’t delight the others and it shocked Anderson.
“The Axion deal?” Amir looked shocked. “But we worked so hard to secure it.”
Without a word, Nathaniel got up.
“Nathaniel, think this through… that deal is very important,” Gabriel seemed to be pleading. “We can give him anything else.”
“I know.” Nathaniel locked eyes with Anderson. “But I want the Axion deal to be exchanged for information on Macknicoff. I know you guys think I am crazy, but when this is all over… you will understand.”
“But-”
“Anderson, prepare a detailed information on the man and tomorrow, I will visit you with the details for the deal.” Even Anderson was having a hard time processing what was going on. It was evident on his face. “That will be all.”
“You can’t do this Nathaniel,” Amir said.
“Meet me at home. Chloe?” Her eyes met his. “Let’s go.”
As Nathaniel who was still wearing a grim look grabbed her hand, she had to wonder what was going in his head that would make him act against his friend’s wishes.
