When Grace arrived, when Grace spoke, when Grace left, her gender did not matter. Her presence commanded silence, whether respectful or oppressive. And at that moment, as the air from the corridor rolled in as a quiet draft, the silence seemed to carry another meaning, a deeper, pride-crushing meaning.
Without any change in his expression, Marten ignored the smiling eyes of his younger brother across from him, stood up, pushing his chair back with the movement. Expressionlessly, he strapped his suit shut and buttoned it. Without lingering, he turned around, and walked away, leaving the quiet room through the door Leyna had left open behind her.
Not long later, the restrained clack of the door closing sounded as Marten leaned back in the backseat of his Bentley. The same sound soon came from the front as the driver took his seat behind the steering wheel. A soft, barely perceptible tremor ran through the vehicle. The Bentley took off and smoothly glided away, joining the traffic after a hundred meters, and going away, leaving the tall headquarters of the Group behind.
Throughout all of that, Marten never spoke, never reacted, never opened his eyes.
*Beep– Beep*
As the journey continued in a silence paradoxically different from the noisy activity outside, looking ready to continue that way until the car reached its destination, the sound of a notification coming from Marten's pocket created a short but piercing ripple.
With a light breath, the vice-chairman of Arland Group opened his eyes. He plunged his hand into the inner pocket of his suit and brought his phone to look at the lit up screen. Then, his breath stagnated, but for barely a second, as his face, without displaying any kind of surprise, returned to its rippleless state, and he put his phone away.
He leaned back, and the quiet returned, though he could not help but have the notification that came down from the chairwoman's office swirl in his mind. Translated, that meant:
"Now that the aggressive pursuit of higher performance has caused the Group to suffer a setback in one of the key nodes of its strategy, I will have to trouble everyone to come up with a solution. And the sooner, the better."
Though phrased politely amidst the firmness, that woman on the seat that should have been rightfully his might as well have called him out and pointed straight at his nose before speaking.
Taking a deep breath, Marten closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the barest hint of emotion was no more.
The Bentley stopped before a villa, modern, tasteful, and of course, with the fitting neighborhood. Leaving the car, Marten went straight inside the house, and let the heavy entrance door close behind him.
A housekeeper was already waiting for him inside. She helped him take off his suit, and while she hung it, he walked straight to a door at the side. Inside the study, he put his phone down on the table, then let the weight of his torso push the backrest back, trying to find a hint of soothing comfort. He tried, but he failed.
Even in the quiet intimacy of his private study at home, the storm of frustration swirling behind his calm façade found no path to calm down. The sun continued on the last leg of its course, soon hiding behind the curtain of the skyline, making the room finally depend only on the soft lights to keep the shadows at bay, and barely restrain the growing gloomy oppressiveness.
In that atmosphere, Marten remained alone for what felt like hours, silent, eyes closed, but not sleeping. Until the sound of the entrance door rang again, muffled and distant, and sounds of voices came, followed by the sound of high heels walking over.
*Clack*
Marten opened his eyes and looked sideways, meeting his wife's gaze as she opened the door. At some point, the lights of the study had brightened to take over the job the sun had gone to do upon other lands.
Julene, dressed classily, her ginger hair gathered in fashionable but casual bun, paused when she saw the look in the metallic-blue eyes, then walked in and closed the door behind herself. She walked over to her husband while sweeping her eyes over the untouched state of the study. As she arrived behind him, she raised her fingers to his temples and started massaging him while casually remarking:
"I heard that you came back more than an hour ago."
"Hm."
Marten replied with a simple grunt, but when he closed his eyes again, it was with relaxed features, the tension having snuck into his stern expression melting away under the gentle ministrations.
"Something happened at the board meeting today?"
"Hm."
He didn't elaborate, but Julene's fingers didn't pause in their movements, and she didn't ask for further details either. She simply let out a calm smile as she focused on the massage. After a moment of silence, she spoke again:
"Are you feeling better?"
"Hm, thanks to you."
Julene's smile deepened:
"That's good."
A moment of quiet companionship later, Julene broke the silence again:
"I was with Esther today."
Marten didn't reply, but Julene knew that he was listening, so she continued, her tone calm, with soothing confidence:
"I will have an answer soon, and we will get what we want."
The air in the room seemed to stagnate at that announcement, and it only resumed flowing when Marten took a deep breath. He still did not say anything, but already, the air in the room felt lighter, and the atmosphere brighter.
"You were born second, just a few years after your elder brother Garland, but you have worked just as hard as him, if not more, especially after what happened twenty-five years ago. You deserve the seat more than anyone, more than your… nephew. So, don't worry, you will get it. You did not have it handed to you on a silver platter, but we are about to create the opportunity for it, and we will get it. The path there is almost ready. I think chairman Marten Lenner has a nice ring to it."
"Maybe."
Finally, Marten spoke, his voice flat, but a small smile at the corner of his lips. Looking closely, even his face seemed to have warmed up ever so slightly.
A happy glow came to settle on Julene's face. She stopped massaging Marten's temples, and held onto his shoulders to lean down and kiss him on the cheek.
"Come, let's go have dinner. I didn't eat with Esther. I called to have your favorite foods prepared before I came back, and by now, everything must be ready already."