Chapter 527 - The Unwanted Guest

At 5 PM, both of them arrived at the Schneider family mansion's yard, welcomed by Aleksis who had just been experimenting with baking.

"Hey... good afternoon. You came on time. I just made brownies," Aleksis commented as she saw Nicolae's car entering the yard. She waited for the man to get out of the car before hugging him.

"I have a gift for you," Nicolae came out with a large bunch of lavender in his hand. "I managed to find a few left in the field. Autumn is almost here, so it's hard to find wild lavenders like these."

Lavender was Aleksis' favorite flower, so she was really delighted to see Nicolae bring a big bunch for her.

"Thank you. I'll put it in a vase. You should sit down..." Aleksis kissed Nicolae on the cheek and took the lavenders from his hand. A moment later, she was back with a large flower vase with the lavenders in it.

She was happy to see her older brother, Terry, who was super busy and they spent that evening talking over a bottle of wine.

***

Alaric never cared about the gossip circulating about him. For the past four years, he had always focused on his work and his goal of world domination. Other things besides those were insignificant to him.

So when all the entertainment news re-linked him with the famous superstar ballerina Elien Mikhailova, he didn't take any action to deny nor confirm.

Since EIien became a Virconnect ambassador three years ago and had always been present wherever there was an event sponsored by Splitz, people thought it happened because the ballet superstar had a special relationship with Elios Linden.

Elien's management was very pleased with all the publicity she gained because of the gossip, while Splitz's management thought this was good for the image of their boss, who was often seen by the public as a cold man who disliked people.

Since the leaking of several documents last year about various Rhionen-Meier Industries (RMI) programs that significantly reduced employment for humans and made it difficult for humans to compete with AI systems, various movements around the world had begun to protest the presence of Rhionen-Meier Industries in their countries.

Every day, there were demonstrations in front of the RMI representative offices demanding that they cancel the latest automation system, which was almost a common sight. Alaric never cared.

This week, he was in New York dealing with various RMI projects in America. When his car entered the entrance to the RMI parking lot in the basement, he saw several hundred people protesting in front of the building carrying various banners and boards containing their protest statements.

"What's this demo again?" he asked Aleksis.

"Hmm... This is from the largest supermarket chain company in America. They've reduced their workforce by eighty percent because our automation program has helped them save very much by making it more efficient. The union organized protested to all of our branches in America."

"Hmmm... What fools," Alaric muttered softly. The guilty party was the supermarket chain company that had fired many of its employees without providing adequate compensation, but instead, they blamed RMI for providing an automation system that made them lose their jobs.

The guilty ones, according to Alaric, were those lowly employees who didn't have any other useful skills, which could have given them better occupations, those which machines wouldn't be able to replace.

The guilty ones were parents who had children without being able to guarantee that their education and skills would provide for their livelihood.

The guilty ones were societies that allowed humans to breed without being able to take responsibility for their lives on this planet.

And so on.

"Good morning, Sir. You have a guest this morning," the receptionist on the fiftieth floor informed when he saw Alaric coming out of the elevator. His face looked radiant as if he felt that he was the bearer of good news that would surely make Alaric happy.

"Guest?" Alaric frowned. He wasn't expecting anyone. "Who?"

"She said it was a surprise." The receptionist opened the door into Alaric's room and stood up with a wide smile, hoping for praise. Alaric rarely came to the office in New York, so he was hoping he could to make a good impression on his boss.

"Good morning." A crisp voice greeted Alaric from inside his room. A moment later, a gorgeous lady rose from the sofa. "I heard you were in this city, so I decided to stop by..."

Alaric looked at Elien, who was standing with her best look, gazing radiantly at him.

The receptionist had closed the door, giving the big boss and the girl who was rumored to be his girlfriend time to be alone together. In his heart, he felt very happy to be the bearer of good news. The boss's lover was waiting for him inside to surprise him.

"What's wrong?" Alaric asked, putting his phone on his desk.

"Sir, would you like some coffee? I can prepare it for you," Elien moved to the coffee table and began to fetch a cup and pour coffee for Alaric. She deftly delivered the coffee and handed it to Alaric.

Alaric took it and put it on the table.

"I'm sorry I came without notice. I just wanted to surprise you because I heard that you were in New York." Elien stood in front of Alaric, very close to him. Her face was very bright and happy. "I wanted to say thank you."

Alaric said nothing, he waited for Eline to finish her words. The girl looked a little disappointed because Alaric did not respond to her words, but the smile on her beautiful face didn't change.

"Thank you for allowing my career to rise to such heights. Thank you for all the support and trust you've given me to be a part of history, to be a Virconnect ambassador."

Alaric nodded. "Okay."

Elien looked at Alaric with a complicated look, "Uhm... I don't know how I can repay you."

"There's no need. I think the world needs to see beauty, and the beauty of your dance makes this world a better place," Alaric answered. He was indeed a man of high artistic taste, and when he first saw Elien's appearance at the Ritz Gala, he considered the girl talented enough to be supported and be the face of Virconnect.

Elien beamed at Alaric's words which she regarded as a compliment.

"Th... Thank you..." Unknowingly, because she was overly ecstatic, she approached Alaric and held his arm, "You're incredibly kind. I'm honored."

Her face instantly blushed.

"Elien..." Alaric took his cellphone and typed something. "You may go now."

Elien looked flustered. She nodded hastily, "Yes, I know you're busy. Sorry for disturbing you this early."

She pulled a card out of her bag and placed it on Alaric's desk. "Later, when you're free... I'll be honored to be able to show my gratitude to you."

She then walked out and smiled as she bowed once more before disappearing behind the door.

Alaric glanced at the card on his desk and sighed. It was an access card to the Presidential Suite at one of the luxury hotels in New York. He nonchalantly swept the card with his hand until it fell into the trash can.

"She's gone too far this time," Aleksis commented from Alaric's watch. "She's getting bolder over the years. She even openly tempted you to sleep with her. Who does she think she is??"

Alaric ignored Aleksis's words. He sat in his chair and began to read some of the reports that came from his staff, which were to be brought to a meeting with the US president over lunch.

"You always leave gossip about you and Elien out there, so she's getting bolder."

"Aleksis, I must concentrate on reading this report."

"Ugh..." Aleksis still complained incessantly, but Alaric ignored her.