The Heir

chapter 4

MAXIMILIAN got off from the taxi across the street. He stood there for quite some time and stared at the tall building of the LS Group owned by his father. Soon, it will be his. And that meant one thing, his life was about to change. But before finally taking over the company, Maximillian decided to inspect his property first.

He crossed the street and entered the lobby of the LS Group building. The guards did not stop him, though, but they gave him that kind of look that tells him he was being judged through his looks. Well, he could have donned his suit Victoria recently bought for him, but he chose to dress in casual attire. This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

Maximillian sauntered towards the reception desk and was greeted by a woman dressed in a formal suit. Unlike the guards who saw him a while ago, the receptionist smiled at him.

“Hi,” she greeted cheerfully. “Good morning. What can I do for you, Sir?”

“Hi,” he greeted back. “I would like to talk with the president.”

“You mean… Miss Vanessa Smith?” the woman implored in a polite tone.

He scratched the side of his head. He did not know who it was. Ah, he should have asked Wilfred first before he went there. Why did he forget about that?

“A-ah, yeah. I would like to speak with Vanessa Smith, please.”

“And you are?”

“Maximillian Lee.”

“All right, wait a second. I am going to call the president’s office.” The receptionist sauntered towards the phone.

But just when she was about to pick up the receiver, a woman dressed in the same formal suit as hers appeared and stopped her hand.

“Are you nuts?” the woman who just arrived said in a firm tone.

“P-pardon?”

“You have been an intern here for almost a month now. You should know better.” The newcomer threw him a glance. He knew that kind of gaze very well. “Just look at the way he was dressed. There is no way he could have any connection with the president.”

The intern turned to him with an apologetic look on her face. “I am sorry, Sir.”

His gaze reverted to her name tag. Rebecca—that was the woman’s name. He will make sure to compensate her soon for treating him fairly.

“Well… well… Look who is here.”

Maximillian turned in the direction of that familiar voice and found Iris Griffith with her boyfriend Dominic Parker walking towards him. His fists itched when the two stopped right in front of him. The smug look on their faces was such an annoying sight. Of all places, why did he have to cross paths with them at the LS Group building?

“Fancy meeting you here, Max,” Dominic said nonchalantly.

He did not pay attention to him and turned to Iris instead.

“What are you doing here, Iris?”

His wife’s cousin scoffed.

“My boyfriend is here for business, of course. I tag along with him because we have a date later.” Iris flipped her hair. Look, I should be the one asking you, Max. What are you doing in a place like this?” She looked at him from head to toe.

Dominic leaned towards his girlfriend and spoke loud enough for Maximillian to hear.

“Perhaps he is applying for a job?”

“What kind of job suit a son of a waste like him?” Iris tapped her chin. “Let me guess… Cleaning aid?”

The couple laughed together. It was enough to catch the other people’s attention. Now everyone in the lobby was watching them.

“You know what, why don’t you just go outside and wipe the dust off the cars in the parking lot? Maybe the owners would pay you at least a dollar for your service?” Dominic said and laughed at his suggestion as if it was something hilarious.

Maximillian could only scowl at him, for now. He just needs to wait a little more to get back to him. The last laugh was not for Dominic nor for Iris. He will make sure it was his.

“And for heaven’s sake, Max… Could you please stop walking around the city looking like that? Are you a homeless man or what?” Iris let out an exasperated sigh. “Why are you so good at bringing humiliation to our—I mean, my family?”

“For the nth time, I am not humiliating the Griffith family,” he countered. “I have always been me from the beginning—”

“That’s it!” she cut him off. “You, being a loser that you are, is enough humiliation for my family! I just hope that you are aware that whatever mess you run yourself into will affect my dear cousin Victoria.”

“Let’s go, Iris. We should not be wasting our time here for someone like him.” Dominic grasped Iris’s arm and tugged her in the direction of the elevator.

After they left the lobby, the receptionist called the guards and asked them to drive him away from the building. But Maximilian resisted leaving, so the guards used force to take him out.

MEANWHILE, Rebecca, the intern, rang the president’s office to report.

“President’s office, hello,” the secretary to the president said on the other line.

“I would like to report to the president that there is a certain Maximillian Lee who wanted to see her,” Rebecca informed the secretary in a nervous tone.

She heard the secretary talked with the president and got back to her afterward.

“The president will see him now,” the secretary told her.

“B-but…” Rebecca looked in the man’s direction, who was now being dragged out of the lobby.

“Tell him to wait for a while. Miss Smith is on her way to see him.”

“The security guards are dragging him out.”

The elevator doors opened, and the president, Vanessa Smith, emerged.

“You said Maximillian Lee wants to see me? Where is he?” the president asked her.

Rebecca gestured in the direction of the exit door.

“Damn it!” Vanessa said through gritted teeth. “How dare them to drag him like that? If the chairman knew about it, we’re all doomed.”

Rebecca’s forehead knotted. What did the chairman have to do with that man?