Chapter 184 - I will resign from work

After all the guests left, Finland and her small family stayed in the large dining room. Caspar tried to lighten the atmosphere by inviting Aleksis to play. He did not want Finland to be constantly worried. They only had 10 days left.

"You are the most beautiful princess in the world... You know that, right?" Caspar asked, kissing his daughter's hair. Aleksis smiled broadly and nodded. Caspar turned to Finland, who was staring at the father and daughter duo in amazement, and smiled thinly, "Do you still have to work? I can take care of Aleksis."

Finland suddenly remembered that the report she was working on had yet to be completed and sent to her office in San Francisco. It was 3 pm in Germany, which meant that it would soon be office hours in America. Tony must be waiting for the report she was writing.

"Uhm... I still have some work to do. Don't you need to work?" Finland returned the question.

"I just work for fun, like I always say, the company can go on without me, especially if there is someone like Stanis who oversees everything. Right now, what makes me happy is spending my time with the both of you. I don't need to work..." Caspar replied while shrugging.

Finland remembered how Caspar used to love work and never left his laptop, even when they were together. The only time she could remember when he did not touch his laptop was when they were on their honeymoon in Spain. She never expected him to change like this...

"You've changed..." Finland said with a smile. "Now you are no longer jealous, no longer a workaholic, and you have become more understanding..."

"Hey... our three-year separation taught me that there is nothing more important than family. I will not exchange you for anything..." Caspar said in his defense. "If you prefer me to be a workaholic like I used to be, I can go back to work."

"Ahahaha... no, please don't... I like you this way. I will send my report and take care of all my responsibilities in LTX. After our business is settled, I will resign from LTX." Finland hurriedly approached Caspar and kissed him. "You're right, right now there is nothing more important to me than you and Aleksis..."

"And our other children in the future," Caspar added, smiling mischievously. Finland laughed at that. Caspar looked at her with relief. He managed to make this girl laugh again, after several tense days.

"Alright... I'll work first. What are you going to do with Aleksis?" Finland asked him.

"I'll bring her canoeing on the lake. I think it would be fun to go to the lake. In these months there are still many swans playing in there. We can go and feed them."

"Oh... that sounds really fun..." Finland pursed her lips with envy. She had to work while Caspar and Aleksis could have fun. But she had no choice. She must complete her responsibilities to LTX before she could resign.

After Finland disappeared into the study, Caspar took Aleksis' hand and guided her to the lake behind the castle. The yellow and red leaves that filled the path interested Aleksis very much, so she stopped occasionally to collect the beautiful leaves. Caspar patiently waited for her and explained about the different types of leaves one by one.

"Uhm... Daddy don't know that type of mushroom," he said when Aleksis pulled a mushroom from the ground and held it up to Caspar, "Laurier is a great botanist. Later when he comes here, you can ask him."

Next Aleksis pulled out a worm from the ground and brandished it, making Caspar laugh.

"Jeez... aren't you disgusted at seeing worms? What a strange child..." He ruffled Aleksis's hair. "This must have been Lauriel's influence on your upbringing."

Their journey to the lake took a very long time because Aleksis often stopped to ask about this and that. Caspar could not believe how patient he was to this little human. He was not a naturally patient person, but it seemed that to the little girl, his well of patience had no bottom.

They finally arrived at the lake and both happily entered the boat and drifted on the lake. They spent hours singing and feeding the hundreds of swans swimming and lazing in the lake.

Caspar felt truly grateful that he could be reunited with his family, even though they were still facing some serious problems due to Katia's actions. He was very happy to know that Aleksis was his child. He no longer needed to be jealous of Jean nor Lauriel, because Finland was his own, and they had a child together.

He imagined that if all these problems were solved, they would retreat to a beautiful place and live happily together. He would then suggest to Finland to have more children, who would fill their homes with silly questions about leaves, fungi, worms, and various other animals. Maybe they would also raise some dogs and rabbits.

They would travel around the world together and explore various countries. He couldn't wait to show Finland his favorite places on earth. Seven more years, when Aldebar returns, Finland would get her immortality potion and they could live happily ever after. Those beautiful thoughts brought a genuine smile on his face.

***

In Caspar's study, Finland was preparing a conference call with her team in the Market Research department. She had sent her report and they would hold a one-hour long-distance meeting to discuss the progress of their project and coordinate on the next project.

They decided to use the Zoom platform, and at the appointed time everyone came online. Finland had not attended a meeting like this in a month, because when she was in the Amazon and in France, her communication with her office friends was limited to only e-mail when she got an internet connection. She had not had the chance to contact them at all while in Singapore.

"Heyy... Finland!! How are you? You haven't been in the office in more than 2 months! How long are you planning to work part time?" Lucia asked as her face appeared on the screen. "We already miss you."

"Only two more weeks to go, and after that I will return to San Francisco..." Finland said. She paused for a moment before delivering the bad news. She would quit working. "I don't think I can work at LTX anymore... After I return, I will tender my resignation."

"Gosh... are you serious? Is it because you are going to marry Jean?" Anne asked quickly. "We've read the news, it turns out he's your friend, huh? Why didn't you ever tell us that you have such a famous friend? You can't imagine the excitement in the office when Lucia showed the news about you in Singapore... Uh, is that gossip true, that the two of you are dating? Is Aleksis his daughter?"

Finland shook her head. She did not expect that her office friends were very into such gossip and that they were excited about her relationship with Jean.

"Boss Tony is also his friend... We all went to the same university together. You can ask him yourself." Finland avoided their question. Tony, who was in the meeting room in San Francisco and was drinking his tea, almost burst his tea when he heard that. He waved his hand not wanting to get involved.

"I don't know him well, especially since the attempted murder a few years ago. Jean lost his memory, right?" said Tony. "But does he remember you now? Are you really going to get married? Why do you have to stop working?"

Finland shook her head, "No, this is due to personal matters. Jean has nothing to do with this decision. I will make sure that my work is taken care of before I resign, Boss. Don't worry."

Tony looked rather sullen. He had been relying heavily on Finland in managing market research in Indonesia, and was rather reluctant to find a replacement.

"You have to train your successor before you can stop working," he said finally. "I will start advertising for new employees, but when we find your replacement, you have to train the person well. I don't have time for that..."

Finland had no other choice but to say yes. She still felt indebted to Tony because he agreed to place her in America and offered her a job so she could start a new life with Aleksis.

She was relieved that she managed to tell her boss about her intention to stop working. This was not an easy thing to do because, after all, her friends in the San Francisco office were very kind to her, as was Tony. Now she just wanted to spend time with Caspar and Aleksis.

They continued the meeting and discussed the reports, project progress and subsequent project planning. Finland really liked working, but this time she agreed with Caspar. Her family was more important and more enjoyable than her job.

[How are you?] Finland received a text from Jean after the conference call was over.

[I am doing fine. I still feel a bit jet-lagged, but other than that it's fine. What are you doing?] Replied Finland.

[Still working on the filming for 'Normandy'. Next week, as soon as I finish filming, I'll go straight to Paris. I will go to Scotland from there. I have received an invitation from Ned. Please thank Caspar for taking care of this. I can't wait to meet all the other Alchemists...]

[Of course. You are now part of them, you should know who your new extended family is.]

[You always say 'them' when talking about Alchemists, not 'us', aren't you also part of the Alchemists?]

Jean's sudden question stunned Finland. She did not know what to answer. She did not want Jean to know that the immortality potion he took was initially intended for Finland and she was now forced to wait another seven years for Aldebar to return before she could obtain her own potion.

[I used the wrong word. I meant to say 'us'.] Finally, she chose to lie. Jean did not need to know this. She did not want Jean to feel guilty for her because the potion that was not that important.

[Hmm... alright. Is Aleksis doing fine?]

[All good. You do not need to worry. I have also decided to quit working after all these problems are resolved and live with Caspar.]

[Won't you be bored? You're such a workaholic.] Jean commented, making Finland smile a little. She realized that she was almost as workaholic as Caspar, but now she had changed too.

[I can find other things to keep me busy. After I quit working, and if you're not busy, come to our home often for a visit so I won't be bored.]

[Certainly.]

Finland was very happy to know that Jean was now part of the Alchemists. A few years ago, she was so upset because she had to leave Jean and disappear from his life because she could not tell him about the life of the Alchemists.

Now everything seemed to be going on the right track. She had her family and friends by her side. Really, she did not need anything else.

Now all that remained was obtain the antidote for Aleksis. They still hadn't received any news from Lauriel, and that worried her. Should they treat no news as good news? Had Lauriel succeeded in making the poison he planned? She could only hope.