Morning came with sunlight that spilled through the gym's glass walls. The storm from days ago had vanished without a trace.
Lucas looked at his watch as he stepped down from the treadmill. It was 8:30 a.m., and he lingered for a moment before he headed to take a shower.
It was a cold shower. He wished he'd taken a warm bath, but there wasn't time. Today was too important to waste time.
Lucas hated lateness the way some people hated blood, because it meant someone else had control of the day.
He stepped out of the shower and quickly got ready. He wore a dark suit, the kind that absorbed light instead of chasing it. Tailored, not tight. The fabric moved smoothly when he walked, fine wool with just enough weight to fall perfectly back into place, no creases, no shine. This was a suit made to last years, not seasons.
He stepped into the elevator, which brought him to the garage. He was met by his personal assistant, Nigel, and his driver, Coleman.
"Good morning, sir." Nigel greeted him as he opened the door.
He looked at Nigel and scanned him. "Your tie is crooked. Fix it."
Small flaws spread. Lucas had learned that early. His gaze didn't soften as Nigel hurried to adjust it.
People moved through their routines; coffee carts were busy, suits rushed past, no trace of last night's outrage.
Lucas took one last look at the headlines; the image of the protest lingered longer than it should have. He turned off the screen, irritated that it bothered him at all.
It wasn't the noise that annoyed him. It was the idea that strangers could decide what his name meant.
In no time, they were at the office. He could see Daniel already waiting for him at the entrance. He looked tense. He didn't wait for Lucas to reach him. He moved toward him with nervous urgency.
"Hope you slept well, because it's about to be a really long day," he said in a panic.
Lucas stopped and looked at him.
"You look like you are about to have a heart attack. Are you fine?" Lucas asked with an expression that almost looked sincere.
Daniel looked at him with disbelief, but before they could say anything, Lucas signaled for them to enter his office.
The office sat on the top floor of the skyscraper, private, quieter than the floors below. Floor-to-ceiling glass revealed the city stretching endlessly below, sunlight catching on steel and river alike.
They entered his office, and he looked at Daniel, who looked ready to burst, holding back whatever he had come to say.
"Speak," Lucas said.
"Our stock dipped 1.8%. Investors are asking questions. I heard Vincent and Mr Cho had a meeting yesterday. No one knows the content of the meeting," he said, visibly tense and out of breath. They didn't hold meetings in secret unless they were discussing how to move pieces on the board.
He then noticed how calm Lucas was. "How are you this calm with everything I just said?"
"The board meeting starts in thirty minutes, right?" Lucas asked.
Daniel nodded.
"Alright," Lucas said, no expression, just an aura of confidence that gave nothing away
****
The tension in the boardroom could be cut with a knife. No one touched the bottled water. Tablets lay face-down like weapons. Even the air-conditioning sounded too loud.
Lucas entered, taking his place at the head of the table. A few members greeted him; others remained impassive.
Lucas scanned the room with an unreadable expression; his eyes stopped on the empty seat.
Just as the discussion was about to start, Vincent came in. His face wore an excited expression that was completely out of place.
Janet, head of PR, tapped her tablet and cleared her throat. "The protest went viral. Social media coverage is exploding," she said, diving straight into the issue.
"Janet, we are not blind; we can all see the headlines. We need solutions, not a recap," Vincent said, undermining what she had just said.
He didn't even wait for her to react before he turned to Lucas.
"And where were you when this whole disaster happened, or are you no longer competent enough?" he ended with a snarky tone.
Lucas looked at his cousin for a second before scanning the others in the room, completely ignoring Vincent. He wasn't ready to banter words with him.
"Oh shut up, Vincent, you wouldn't know competency even if it slapped you in your face," Daniel retaliated, feeling more angry than tense.
"Gentlemen, we are here to solve problems, not create more," Clara, general counsel, cut in. "Legally, I will suggest we are very careful about comments we make to the public. We have a lot of class-action suits coming our way. I advise we settle as they come. We do not want a trial; that would be long and messy. We want to settle this as fast and as clean as possible," she finished.
"Clara, your opinions are valid, but speaking from a PR stance, that is the worst thing we could do as a company. It is easy to pay a bunch of money, but it is difficult to win back the public's trust." Janet wrapped up her lecture with a soft-spoken voice.
"What do you suggest we do, because investors are pulling back. We are losing funds with every minute we sit here doing nothing," said Mr Cho, who had been quiet; he had both palms folded together, barely moving, visibly irritated. He really doesn't like to lose money.
Janet looked happy to pitch whatever she had in mind.
Lucas watched her as she took her tablet. He adjusted his cufflinks before paying attention to her again.
"What we're going to do is called Project ReNew Westbridge," Janet said, smiling like she knew she had brought up a genius idea and only she understood.
"A cleaner river. A brighter future."
Everyone kept looking at her to give an explanation.
"As of now, we are known as the company responsible for causing damage to the environment, so how do we solve this?"
"We show the public that we stand for the complete opposite. We run a branded river cleanup and monitoring program, filtration booms, water testing stations, and monthly community clean-up events."
"A launch event, press coverage, local leaders on stage," Janet added. "We don't just do good; we make sure people see it."
Clara's eyes narrowed slightly. "And compensation?"
Janet's smile didn't move. "That's a separate conversation. Right now we need to stabilize public perception."
"There is also something else we need," she continued as she projected the footage onto the screen.
The young woman with the megaphone led the protest, her voice carried across the city in every viral video.
Lucas' eyes narrowed slightly, a subtle tightening at the corner of his jaw. He tapped a finger against the table, a faint crease forming between his brows.
"Who the hell is this?" His voice was calm but carried a sharp edge, a single question that cut through the room like a knife.
The clip wasn't dangerous because it was loud. It was dangerous because her voice sounded certain, like she'd already decided what kind of man he was.
The board members shifted uncomfortably, glancing at each other.
Daniel's hand tightened on the table, sensing the undercurrent of irritation radiating from the CEO.
Vincent smirked, sensing an opening, but Lucas' gaze swept over the room, freezing the moment before it could grow.
He leaned back slightly, folding his hands neatly in front of him, masking any trace of further emotion. Janet swallowed, steadied herself, and continued.
"Sir, this is the protest leader. She's… gaining traction. "If we involve her in Project ReNew Westbridge, it could give us legitimacy and sway public perception in our favor."
Lucas' eyes lingered on the screen for a beat longer, then he exhaled softly, the tension in his shoulders tightening just slightly before releasing. He didn't speak again, letting the suggestion hang in the air while his presence filled the room.
Lucas said nothing. The silence did the work for him. Around the table, people shifted the way they did when a storm paused overhead, waiting to see where it would land.
Daniel looked around before speaking up, "All opposed?"
The room went silent for a full minute; everyone just stared at each other before Clara raised her hand, followed by Vincent.
Then Daniel took note and continued, "All in favor?"
Immediately, Janet raised her hand, followed by Daniel.
They were greeted with silence once again before Mr Cho reluctantly raised his hand, and finally, a junior board member ended the vote.
It was clear what route they would go.
Lucas looked at his watch and left the boardroom without saying a word to the others.
He didn't need the vote to tell him what came next. If the woman on that screen wanted to paint him as a villain, he'd meet her in person, and take back the narrative.