Chapter 329 - Usefulness

[This chapter is dedicated to Shine_Ramirez. Thank you for showering our story with your power stones. Your support is greatly appreciated.]

---

Men wearing black suits and gloomy expressions were gathered in a boardroom identical to what Noah was. If they weren't in a boardroom, people would think that they were attending a funeral with how solemn the atmosphere was. 

They all had their eyes lowered, shifting to the sides whenever someone in the room moved as if they were waiting for something to happen. But nothing was happening. They have been in the room for more than an hour now and the person they are waiting for hasn't arrived. 

The room's silence was broken when a shrill ringtone erupted in the room. All of the eyes were strained to the man who was sitting on a chair at the corner of the room. 

"Sorry, sorry," Sparrow said to all the men in the oval table, grinning as he stood up to answer his phone call. "Hold on to your twisted underwear, my father will arrive soon." 

His tone of voice didn't sit well with the men at the oval table as they all watched him step out of the boardroom. Yet, none of them speak to reprimand his haughty attitude despite all of them being way older than him. 

Sparrow knew that the men in the room hated him but he didn't give a single care. His own father hated him, why would their anger and disdain over him matter? He thought to himself, looking left and right. 

He glanced at the camera mounted above the fire exit door. The camera has no blinking red light on it for all the cameras on this floor weren't working. Their technician made sure of it but he was being paranoid that he didn't step further away from the back of the door to make sure that the camera couldn't get a clearer video of him. 

"Why are you calling? Did you miss me?" He leaned against the cold steel door. 

"Your ass! I just want to know what was happening over there. I heard that the shareholders meeting was already done." 

"Nicole, the meeting was just money talks…" He said, fumbling in his pocket for his cigarettes. "I do not concern you since you already divorced Noah and you'll only be getting a morsel if it involves your daughter." He didn't try to hide the sarcasm in his voice. 

She gritted her teeth in anger. "That damn old Tiefenbacher made sure of that! If it was just Noah, I would still get my alimony!" 

Sparrow choked on his cigarette smoke as he threw his head in laughter. "It was because you're a whore. You couldn't wait to get your slice of cake and have your own cake eaten by that loser!" 

Nicole scoffed. There was no hint of anger in her voice when she replied. "Huh?! All of you are still waiting for that slice of cake but your father is now withered and old and he still couldn't get his hands on the company!" She said, taunting. 

"Shut up, Nicole! Be careful of your words. You may get the work that you're working on right now on your own but don't forget that the birds are everywhere. Don't ever think that just because you're out of the nest, we no longer own you!" 

"You never give me a chance to forget." She said with a sneer. 

Nicole was trying to portray a strong persona to Sparrow but the reason why she called even though she wasn't directly involved with what's happening was because just like what he said, she can't afford to be complacent especially with the matter of her security among other things. 

The group allowed her to be out of the nest, as Sparrow put it because she's more useful to them outside. She still works for the group even if she was working away with them. And also because she has something that she keeps close to her that the group needs. 

She learned early on that you are only useful to some people if you bring something to the table. Once you stop being useful, they can easily replace you. Basically, you're only irreplaceable depending on your usefulness. Thus, she makes sure that she's useful to the group until the time that she has her own wings to fly away from the bird's shadow. 

"I only look out for your safety," his voice suddenly softened. The usual sneer was gone, replaced by a tone of voice akin to fondness. 

Nicole took advantage of the situation and also lowered her voice, coyly. "Do you really?" She let a seep of helplessness escape her voice. She already perfected the way to deal with him. Men are easy, especially Sparrow who has strong daddy issues. He always seeks approval from people that he likes. 

Sparrow sighed. He's weak when it comes to her. He followed everything his father asked him to do, except for things that would put Nicole in direct danger. "You know that I care for you," he whispered. 

He threw his cigarette butt on the floor and let the heel of his leather shoes crush it. "But, I wonder if just like what you did to your ex-husband, you only use my affection for you to your advantage." 

She sighed. "In the world that we are living in, you know how being useful is important…" She whispered softly. "But then, we can't survive on our own. There are a lot of people I could ask for help in the group but I seek your protection." 

Nicole knew that lying to be effective, has to have some ring of truth in it. Sparrow is someone that she could not truly rely on but he was the one that was too eager to be relied on. And she makes sure to use that to her advantage. Not because he can protect her, because, between the two of them, she's more useful to the group than him. It just happened that he's closer to the nest. She needs him to give her information that she can't easily obtain. 

"Stefan," she called him in her throaty voice; the one that she uses in bed with him.