"That was a spectacular flop" Andrea commented with a helpless smile as they started out of the conference room. Even Aika had left and now they had to show themselves out.
"I have a solution" Gabriel replied airily, his complex expressions washing away to reveal ease as he strode down the hallway relaxedly.
Andrea couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. While he had to limit himself to fit in with the likes of them, he was still Gabriel; someone far more intelligent than Adam, who was, for the duration of his short lifetime, known as the most intelligent man in history.
Meanwhile, outside Zina Innovations, on the walkway, Zina strode up to a black sedan parked by the side of the road, pedestrians involuntarily turning their heads as they walked past to take in her full view. Her graceful steps and striking beauty made it difficult for anyone to ignore her.
"Zina, hold up!" A figure rushed over and positioned himself in front of the car door.
Zina drew in a deep breath and took a step back to put some distance between them. Holding her hands in front of her, she spoke curtly, "Mr Oswald".
"Zina, come on, how long are you going to resent me for something that had nothing to do with me?" Miles asked as he shifted on his feet and rolled his eyes around exaggeratedly.
"Had nothing to do with you?" Zina squinted and took another half-step backwards.
Miles opened his lips to speak, but Zina raised her palm, signalling him to stop.
"Miles you were my best friend. Going into my marriage with Adam, I told you I had no feelings for him. I also told you how frustrated I was that he never made time for me. Then he did, and what did you do?"
"Zina, come on." Miles' shoulders dropped, and he reached to touch her shoulder, but she sprang backwards, almost colliding with a pedestrian.
"Miles you slapped him with a lawsuit to bring down everything he had ever built, right after you stole the core of Extra Technologies, his life's work. Adam may have been a brilliant innovator but he was a horrible judge of character. And just when I got my husband back, you made sure we could never spend five minutes together without interrupting us with a threat to ruin everything that ever mattered to him." After saying all of that in one breath, she paused and took a long, deep breath as her gaze fixed on Miles.
"This war you started, I will finish. Killing my husband was not enough, now you want every shred of his existence wiped. I will not allow that. Mr Oswald, I hope your war chest is full, because I will do to you, exactly as you did to Adam, and unlike you, I will do it without hypocrisy"
Turning around, she took a step but stopped and half turned to Miles, "and for free," she added before walking away, leaving Miles standing in front of the sedan in a daze.
How did things get this far? This wasn't the plan.
"I just have to make sure you see things clearly" Miles reassured himself before walking back into the complex.
The next day, all receptionists and security employees were fired. Although this was just a startup, it had the Lynch family name attached to it. Zina's display of power raised a series of discussions in the city for a long time. After all, no one member of the Lynch family has ever wielded such authority or displayed it on a whim.
"Andrea, I have to do this" in a black sedan in front of Zina Innovations, Gabriel was gently reassuring the worried Andrea.
"You will be there alone with her" Andrea protested.
"If you want, you can watch and listen in," Gabriel directed his gaze towards the tablet in her hand.
Her face fell and she raised her brows at him.
"I don't mind" Gabriel added.
"Just be careful," Andrea finally relented without commenting on his suggestion; obviously, she was ignoring it.
Gabriel nodded then opened the door and stepped out. Taking a moment to adjust his suit, he drew in a deep breath for the psychological effect and confidently started forward.
This time, Aika led Gabriel straight to Zina's office.
"Mr Auralis, I was surprised when you called to schedule this meeting" Zina rose from her seat as Gabriel walked in behind Aika.
"I never called" Gabriel replied as he took a quick glance around the office.
Zina had opened her mouth to speak, but her mouth hung open as she frowned and tilted her head.
She turned to look at Aika who shrugged and made a face back at her.
"But you're here," she said with a frown as Gabriel stared at her. His gaze was so intense that she felt like crawling under her desk.
"Yes. I have a proposition for you"
Stepping out from behind her desk, she pointed gracefully at the couch in the left corner of the office. As Gabriel opened his jacket button and lowered himself into it, she sat across from him, her hands intertwined on her knees.
"Thank you" Gabriel muttered as he accepted a cup of tea from Aika.
"As you know, Extra Technologies has been trying to get involved with the Z359 chip, and I know you might be hoping that their product is different, but it's not," Gabriel started, going straight to the point.
Zina's expression slowly turned grave. Every time she heard about Z359, her anger boiled. How one of her husband's core innovations got out into the world was a mystery to her. Especially into the hands of Extra Technologies.
"How do I know you are not working with them? From an outside perspective, it looks like Aura and Extra Technologies are desperately trying to get a bite of my husband's legacy"
Hearing her speak of her husband so freely and intimately, Gabriel couldn't help asking. "Mrs Freeman, let's be blunt. Your marriage was a business arrangement at best and quite fragile at the end. I have seen some of your press conferences, and you did not support his work. Why would you want to continue his legacy? Like me, this is business for you, all about profits, so let's talk about that"
Zina's eyes widened and she recoiled at the accusation. She wanted to refute but she could find no ground to stand on. Of course, she could use offense as a cover, but she looked down on anything so shallow.
She knew everyone was thinking this; there had been many tabloids about her intentions, from claims that she was responsible for the death of Adam Freeman to conspiracies involving even the Lynch family. What she never prepared for or even expected was for someone to throw such an accusation right at her face.
And yet, there was a powerful feeling of familiarity when she looked at Gabriel's expression that was free of all malice.
Taking a deep breath, she crossed her legs and tightened her lips.
"Mr Auralis"
"Gabriel"
Zina drew in another breath and paused for a moment.
"Gabriel" she started, tilting her head as she called his name, her brows raising.
"Don't you think that was a little insensitive?" She asked.
Gabriel squinted a little, and Zina frowned as she noticed a subtle blue glow in his eyes, but it was gone just as quickly as it appeared.
"Am I wrong? Do you really care about he legacy of Adam Freeman? I never met the man, but from the little I know of him, he never cared about leaving behind a legacy. Why do you?"
Once again Zina found herself speechless.
"Let's discuss your proposal." Her face bloomed into a professional smile.
"Great, I booked a table at Brave's"
"You booked a table?" Zina asked as she rose from her seat.
"That's presumptuous"
"It would have been," Gabriel replied, also rising from his seat. He put his hands in his pockets as he watched Zina lean down to type something on her desktop.
"Now it's just confident"
"Is it? Don't even get me started on the location, Brave's?"
Gone was the tension between them as if it never was. So was the happening of the business world, there were no friends or enemies, only profit or loss.