16th Floor, President's office.
Jeremy Dyson leaned against the black-leathered seat in the president's office, his youthful face stern as he rested his long legs on top of the mahogany table.
"So, about what happened yesterday…"
He started in between his munches, a hand cradling the paper bag like a precious baby while the other dove in to grab a handful of fries to his mouth.
"... what happened?"
Ruby, who was comfortably sitting cross-legged on the three-man-sofa whilst gobbling down her two burgers, choked.
She hurried to gulp down her upgraded-size zero-calorie cola, before coughing violently and shooting him an incredulous look.
'Is this guy being serious?'
"Sir," Ruby cleared her throat, carefully asking so as to not reveal her disdain, "Don't tell me you truly got yourself drunk last night?"
"What? Of course not!"
Jeremy jumped out of his seat, the slander so unacceptable that he abandoned his precious fast foods even.
"I am merely faking it, of course, to get a better look at the situation and avoid exposing myself."
Jeremy coughed and explained.
"Oh? So what is it that you see from your point of view?"
Ruby provocatively asked.
"It's… a bit too chaotic. I was shoved here and there, you know, the crowd…. And the next thing I know, everything turns black."
Jeremy mumbled with uncertainty, not noticing how much Ruby's face had darkened by the end of his excuse.
"Sir, that was because you've got yourself entirely wasted at that time!"
Ruby patted her chest, practicing her patience. She hadn't even mentioned his absence in the most critical moment.
"That shouldn't be it… I didn't drink much at the party. With my tolerance for alcohol… being hit in the head is more probable than getting drunk itself…"
Jeremy reasoned, eyes squinting hard as he tried to recollect the broken memories from last night.
"In fact, this whole ongoing thing about the mission is in itself strange."
He suddenly straightened in his seat. Ruby took another huge bite of her burger with a nonchalant face, signaling for him to continue.
"First, about the dead informant. I initially thought that the assailant either didn't have enough time to search his body for the chip, or never had the intention to in the first place, therefore allowing Orchid to retrieve it without failure."
Jeremy solemnly listed, lifting a finger.
"However, I've checked the chip myself and found it empty, obviously tampered beforehand. As per the request of our client, I couldn't possibly tell him that I had gone against the contract and checked the item myself, so I feigned my ignorance and handed them the tampered chip."
"Here's the strange thing." Jeremy knocked a finger against the table, "The client hadn't said anything and handed the rest of the payment without protest, deeming the mission completed. It was as if, what's inside the chip never mattered to them."
"Second, the sudden appearance of Julien Sterling."
Jeremy now raised two of his fingers.
"I've double-checked the guest list before. He was never meant to be there in the first place. What was the reason behind his sudden appearance and how did his enemy know about his whereabouts, even going as far as plugging in assassins in an area heavily-guarded by our Dyson Security?"
"Further investigations revealed the dead informant to be the right-hand man of the Ministry of Defense. In other words, he's a whistleblower working against the Fourth Prince's Faction."
"In fact, Julien might be there to catch the rat himself."
Jeremy suddenly added.
"With their informant's cover blown, it was understandable to eradicate the roots to clear all evidence however, if that's their plan from the very start, why leave a fake chip for us to retrieve? Why hire the Dyson's personnel for nothing? Why arrange assassins to target the prince at the same time?"
"The answer was obvious." Ruby heavily stated, her expression turning grave. "They're trying to pin us against the Fourth Prince's faction."
"Yes," Jeremy nodded, laughing mockingly as another clue clicked in his mind. "One of the drinks must have been spiked, then."
"We've been completely schemed against. The mission never mattered, after all. What mattered was suggesting the involvement of us, the Dysons, in the assassination attempt on the Fourth Prince."
Ruby rubbed the sweat gathering in her hands, sighing. "Fortunately, the assassination wasn't successful last night. If not–"
She didn't dare to continue.
"Even if it turns out to be successful, what can he possibly do to us?"
Jeremy coldly scoffed, his voice full of disdain. He then turned to confront Ruby, his expression turning vile.
"You shouldn't have interfered. That bastard… you should've left him to fend on his own. Him dying would be for the best."
With the way he looked, grinding his teeth together with reddened eyes, Jeremy looked just like a vengeful ghost out for some bloody revenge.
"Heck!" He suddenly banged the table hard, "I wouldn't even mind if you give him a kick or two in the moment of chaos! And yet! Instead! You saved him!"
Ruby was frightened to the point of stammering.
"S-Sir, the Fourth Prince wasn't in the list of our target enemy. Neither was he the target of our mission."
She weakly defended herself.
"So what? I'm telling you, that bastard himself is a bad omen! That thankless Sterling bastard, even after all that you did for him last night, he's still digging for flaws to drag us down the mud!"
He really did that?
Ruby's gaze hardened.
"Sir, what should we do then? If the royal court were to demand for us–"
"Don't worry." Jeremy assured, his voice now as still and reliable as a mountain despite the hint of anger it still contained.
"If that bastard dared to do something excessive, at worst, I'll ask my two brothers for help. Penguin, once we're done with tonight's mission, I'll arrange for your leave in the next two days."
"About your request…" Jeremy let out a sigh, feeling slightly regretful, "Forget it. I'll arrange a suitable position for you."
"Thank you, Jeremy." Ruby's expression softened.
Those heartfelt words weren't addressed just to her boss, the high and mighty third young master of the Dysons, but more specifically to her good friend Jeremy who had shouldered her past burdens together.
After these past few years of companionship, Ruby had long seen Jeremy more than a good friend. He was family, and she knew he shared the same thought as her.
"Haha, what's with the sudden pleasantries." Jeremy fanned himself to stir off the heat climbing to his face.
"If you do really want to thank me, the next time you see that bastard in trouble, remember to deliver him a kick when he's down. Well–you should bring me along as well. Although I myself might not have much fighting power, I can at least throw him some stones to liven up the moment…"
As Jeremy continued to chatter away, Ruby quickly made an excuse to slip out of the office.
Still, she couldn't bring herself to understand his strong resentment towards Julien.
Perhaps, was there some sort of a secret relationship between them that she didn't know?