Oliver''s remark wiped the smile off Lester''s face. Looking serious, Lester lowered his gaze and pondered. Finally, he looked up at us.


    "Alright. I''m open to discussing the matter, just not with both of you. How about Mr. Hastings meet with me to show that hispany is serious about this? In that case, I''ll discuss it with him."


    Oliver and I left Lester''s office with heavy hearts.


    "Thank God you went straight to the point, or we would''ve never gotten an answer. In the few times I met with him, he always went around in circles. And I could never do anything about it."


    My mood tanked after my first setback on the job. I grumbled, "Lester Schneider is a sly fox."


    "That''smon knowledge, but we can''t do anything about it." Sighing, Oliver joked, "We should''ve made Mr. Hastingse on this trip. He''s wasted two ne tickets on us."


    Suddenly, a familiar voice interrupted us from behind.


    "Serena Ashford?"


    Turning around, I gasped in shock. "Lucas? Why are you here?"


    "Do you guys know each other?" Oliver gave me a confused look.


    Nodding, I exined, "He''s the one who saved me at the underground parking lot."


    Still, the memory upset me because I recalled Alex being mad about the incident. Oliver turned to leave. "Since you guys are friends, I''ll leave you be and head back to the hotel."


    Lucas and I were in a restaurant. Staring at him, I noted that he had shown up in a vastly different style. He was dressed in a ck suit that made him look elite and expensive.


    I asked, "Why are you here?"


    "I''m here to..." He paused and rubbed his fingertips on the teacup.


    Momentster, he said with a chuckle, "I''m here to fight for my share of the stocks."


    "What''s going on?" My face showed wild disbelief.


    "My dad has been thinking of a stock split. As you know, inpanies like Schneider Group, the stockholders who own the most stocks have the biggest say."


    "A stock split? But why?" I squinted at Lucas, intrigued.


    At that moment, I saw a threatening glint in his eyes, but he didn''t borate.


    Lucas had saved my life once. Even though he refused to talk about the stock split, I couldn''t help but worry for him. "Is the battle over stocks a risky one?"


    "Are you concerned about me?" His eyes lit up in excitement. "I don''t have many friends. I''m so happy that you care about me."


    His soliloquy left me a little disoriented.


    He crossed his fingers. "Well, it''s not that bad. I''m sure you know by now that I have two siblings-Xena, and Henry. Our dad has been thinking of having Henry take over.


    With a shrug, Lucas stated, "Too bad Henry is a useless loser. He only knows how to fritter away. Xena is pretty capable, but she''s a woman. Our dad is worried that she might struggle to hold her own in business dealings."


    I recalled that time I met Xena and Henry. Indeed, the two siblings did not seem


    aspetent as Lucas.


    "So, are you going topete against Xena?" I cast him a worried look.


    "Xena is not my match if we were to fight for the stocks." Lucas'' eyes brimmed with confidence. Every time he talked about his family, he often did so with disdain.


    I knew by now that Lucas'' strategy was to y dumb. He showed deference so


    that his family would let down their guard around him at critical moments.