Yours, Until Needed
Chapter 47: Nap

Chapter 47: Nap

It had been too late to bother the Chairman, so they decided to do so before tomorrow’s meeting.

"Would you be free to come with us tomorrow?"

Ideally, no, because no one’s really free these days. But I’ll forcefully free it up because this is an emergency. I can cram like it’s no one’s business anyway.

"I’ll come with you. Let’s prepare our evidence for tomorrow." We can’t present these randomly, so we used up tonight to prepare our case.

I don’t remember what time my body decided to quit, but by the time I woke up, I found myself sleeping on the floor, my head on Lucian’s lap and my back against a sleeping Chester.

I’m sure my bones would crack when I get up, but that’s not new. What was surprising was how Lucian was still up.

"You, did you not sleep at all?" I asked, my voice sounding unstable.

With how bad I’m feeling, I feel like I’d need a vitamin IV, but Lucian looked like he stayed up the whole night.

Not that he had gotten uglier, but it was apparent how tired he was.

"I’m fine."

Even Oliver was knocked out by the coffee table. That’s another person that needs one hell of a break.

I looked at the time and saw how we had close to three hours before our emergency audience with Grandpa.

"You need to at least nap, Lucian. You have a full day. You might not make it if they decide to open an investigation today."

"I’ll survive." He insisted.

"Yes, you will, but everyone else won’t. You get really grouchy when you don’t have enough sleep. I promise to wake you up." I dragged him by the arm towards the couch.

"Just here by the couch. So it’ll be easier to wake up."

Lucian was going to kill me if we were late, so I set out alarms like crazy and even sent the housekeepers a reminder to wake us up in forty minutes, just in case.

I pushed him onto the sofa while I tidied the remaining documents. But then I noticed that Lucian just kept staring, with no effort to shut his eyes.

"What are you? A fish? Are you planning on sleeping like that?" I call him out, worried that he’s wasting time.

"I told you I’m not sleepy."

"You think you’re not sleepy, but you look like shit. As if it’s been a week since you slept properly."

He just stared at me. And the realization hit me.

"Don’t tell me it’s really been a week? Have you been surviving on just naps?"

He didn’t even grace me with an answer and just flipped over to stare at the ceiling.

This guy!

So, I decided to do what normal wives would probably do.

"Move." And he just looked at me without moving, so I nudged him with my knee.

"I said move." And with some "gentle" (not) prodding, he finally scooted over enough for me to lay down.

"And what do you think you’re doing?" He asked, probably weirded out by my solution.

But I didn’t respond and instead just opted to cradle his head between my chin and chest.

"Sleep or suffocate, pick your poison," I told him as I embraced his head more, my legs even wrapping around his torso.

"This is stupid," Lucian murmured from somewhere, and I replied, "Shut up."

__

Now, tell me again how stupid my idea was because clearly it worked.

We were so out of it that no one woke from the alarm. We had to be woken up by the housekeepers, who thankfully followed my instructions.

For a moment, I did worry that maybe he died of suffocation or something, but his chest looked to be going up and down.

Still alive.

He’s dead tired, alright. He didn’t even budge when the housekeeper nudged me awake.

"Lucian, it’s time. We have to get ready." I said softly, trying not to scare him because the guy might just push me off.

I wanted to give him a bit more time by first waking Oliver up, but he had a tight hold on me. His arms wrapped around my waist as he rested his head on my chest.

"Stupid idea, my ass." I tried nudging his shoulders and then poking at his face, but when nothing worked, I bit his earlobe.

His head jerked, and he had one eye open, squinting at the sudden light.

"Are you crazy?" He asked, his voice hoarse from having just woken up. He was cursing me, but he sounded so good. Annoying.

"It’s time, Sleeping Prince. We need to get ready."

Oliver didn’t have such a grand time as Lucian basically kicked the guy awake.

But our party of three sleep-deprived slaves managed to get to our appointment on time.

Grandpa’s office was on the top floor, the same floor we had stayed on before. This was the first time I had seen his office and met his assistant, Mr. Barton.

A gentleman with a fine build and professional demeanor. His graying hair gave him the proper air of seniority, befitting his position as Grandpa’s longest-serving assistant.

"Good morning, Young master, Young Miss, and Mr. Reed. I heard that you set an emergency appointment with the Chairman?"

"Good morning, Mr. Barton. Yes, we have. Kindly inform the Chairman of our presence. Thank you."

Lucian answered for us while we all greeted our share of "good mornings."

The phone rang, signaling the Chairman’s permission to go in.

"He’s ready to receive you. Would you like some refreshments?" Mr. Barton said as he opened the door for us.

We politely declined since this meeting might not have room for that. And it’s best to avoid anything that could be thrown around. Just to be safe.

Similar to Lucian’s, the Chairman’s office was clean and devoid of anything unnecessary. If anything, all he had that made the room look personal were family photos. But everything else screamed business and no-nonsense.

"Good morning, Sir." We all echoed as we sat on the prepared seats.

"No need for more pleasantries. I heard you raised the importance of this meeting to the highest level?" Grandpa waited for Lucian to respond.

"Yes, Grandfather, you’re going to want to see this." Lucian stood up, laying out a summary of the documents we collated until the wee hours of the morning.

He didn’t even bother about etiquette, and I guess Grandpa couldn’t care less.

I listened to Lucian’s summary of our findings and watched as Grandpa looked through the documents.

He started out with disbelief, then curiosity and now it was that calm and scathing anger that the Sinclairs were known for.

Grandpa was furious. And he seemed to know who to direct his anger at.

"This had been going on for years. Even before I graduated and fully joined the company."

Grandpa combed his hair, his eyes squinting and his shoulders squared.

"Launch an investigation on Sollen and the purchasing department. But make sure it is kept on a need to know basis until after today’s meeting." the Chairman calmly issued orders for Mr. Barton.

"Yes, Chairman."

"Do you want us to delay our final bid submission?" Lucian asked for the most critical information.

"No, our quotation prices are correct. But this will affect the final negotiation as this changes our project bottom line."

Lucian and Oliver agreed, understanding Grandpa’s point.

"Eliana." I nearly jumped at suddenly being called, but I managed to hold it together.

"Yes, Grandpa?"

"The ROI for your shares didn’t even take that long. If you’d be kind enough, my dear, could you join us for today’s meeting?" Grandpa asked me, his eyes a little more gentle.

"I’ll go if that’s alright." I gave a polite smile.

"Of course, as a legitimate shareholder, rivaling even those of other directors, you’re more than qualified to join. You’ve even got voting rights."

"Thank you, Grandpa. And I’m sorry for having to unearth this at a critical time."

I really did feel sorry because had this been at any other time, we wouldn’t be this pressed to look for a solution or the culprit.

"The timing was actually perfect, just before settling with our final bid and final offer. If we based our numbers solely on the initial report, there would’ve been a big probability of losing at the final offer."

That’s because the other companies would be able to lower their final offer based on cheaper materials costs and a higher overall known profit margin.

"The three of you should rest first while we study your documents. I can see how much effort you put into this, considering how you all look like you’ve risen from the grave."

I couldn’t help but chuckle because we really looked like hell came upon us—especially Oliver, who looked ready to collapse.

"Then please excuse us, we’ll see you later for the meeting." Lucian excused us, barelling towards his office.

I had to speed up my pace because I had shorter legs.

"What’s wrong?" I had to ask, slightly breathless at the sudden sprint. I’m not unfit; I’m just unpracticed having to run it in these heels.

"Eat then take a nap." He ordered and I countered by saying, "Didn’t we just do that?"

"Just do it. Stop looking like you’re about to haunt us."

Wow. Speak for yourself, good Sir.

But I do it because I’m no masochist.