It was the tail end of September 2004 in the small town of Two Rivers. The warmth of summer was seeing its final days as the cool autumn air began to settle in. Onyx Technology Ventures, a technology company that provided hi-tech solutions to businesses, was on the brink of a major announcement. They touted that there was a technological breakthrough in the world of artificial intelligence that could change the way the world could do business; however, you wouldn’t know that looking from the outside. Workers mindlessly toiled away at their cubicles while others moved from office to office carrying heavy stacks of papers that were sure to put a strain on anyone’s back. Some took a more leisurely approach and engaged in some idle banter at the water fountain. All of which were just typical activities you would expect to see in any big company.

Unkeen observation would just paint the picture as any day at the office; however, there was more to it than the eye could perceive. The sounds of file cabinets opening and closing, phones being answered, and the such served as a mask to shroud a history-defining meeting that was scheduled to take place. The meeting was located in the back of the main work area where a rather elongated conference room was concealed behind a heavily oaken set of doors with windows blocked by Venetian blinds. This room housed the CEO of Onyx Technology Ventures as well as his executive staff as they prepared to discuss their new technological breakthrough. While nobody could see inside the room itself, those who were lucky enough to sit close by could faintly hear the voice of the CEO.

“...and with this new artificial intelligence, a technological revolution on many fronts is looming on the horizon. Our lives are about to get not just simpler, but smarter.” stated the muffled voice of the CEO from within the conference room which was met by a round of applause.

The meeting had concluded and one by one they filed out of the conference room, returning to their offices. Some wore smiles on their faces while others shared a look of concern. It was evident that some were quite conflicted over the direction the company was taking. Of course, none of them would openly admit it; however, their expressions did all of the talking for them.

***

A lone man, young in age, plopped down in a rather large office chair behind his desk. His office was pretty lavish as one would expect for the owner of a technology company. His desk, oversized and made of cherrywood with tempered frosted glass inlaid within, set the theme for the office. His chair was made out of a combination of cherrywood and burgundy leather. There was a burgundy leather sofa against the right wall of the office as well as numerous copies of his own chair lined up neatly on the left wall. Behind his desk was a rather large window that overlooked the main parking lot. Fake plants, medium in height, sat on both sides of the large window. A large portrait of an older gentleman was affixed above the CEO’s left shoulder on the wall.

The young man removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out quite an audible sigh. Just then, a secretary in a black business suit holding a file in her arms approached him. She placed the file down on his desk and the young man picked it up, flipping it open.

“Rough day so far?”

The young man looked up and saw her standing there with her hands cupped in front of her. She wore a smile on her face as she was trying to be comforting since it was obvious that he was under a bit of stress.

“You could say that Alice, but this is just the beginning. There is still so much more that needs to be done. If we’re going to deliver this technology to the world, we will have to work twice as hard as we did to develop it,” said the young man as he placed the folder back down on his desk.

Alice, age twenty-eight with long, yet neat, blonde hair and deep azure eyes, walked over and retrieved the file folder and held it tightly against her body.

“Don’t work yourself to death, Mikomi. Even geniuses need a break every now and then.”

The young man was Mikomi Saigo, he stood six feet tall and sported black hair and deep blue eyes. He is the son of Ryunosuke Saigo, the former CEO of Onyx Technology Ventures… the man whose portrait hung on the wall behind him. Mikomi inherited the company from his father when he passed away, becoming its youngest CEO, but despite being twenty-four in age, he has been at the helm of the company for nearly two years and has been responsible for its rapid growth.

“Please, Alice… I’m not my father. I know my limits. Even still… I wish he could be here to see what I’ve done. He was the true genius after all. This breakthrough was his realization. I simply rearranged the pieces of the puzzle and put them all together. I guess you could say I was cleaning up the mess he left behind.”

Alice shook her head slightly and smiled before she spoke up once again.

“Well… after that meeting, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind a minute or two to unwind. How about I get you some tea? That should help take the edge off for a bit.”

Mikomi cleaned the lenses on his glasses before putting them back on. Even though he had a bit of a stress headache, he managed to put on a smile for Alice as he knew that Alice was just doing her best to comfort him after a nerve-wracking day.

“You always took good care of my father. It's almost to the point where I think you spoiled him. I even remember him coming home one night and realizing that you weren’t there to make him any tea. It was quite hilarious watching him try to make it himself.” said Mikomi as he leaned back in his chair with a reminiscing smile.

“I’ll try not to spoil you too much then. We wouldn’t want you to forget how to be self-sufficient, now would we? In the meantime, I’ll go get you that tea, but only because I offered and not because I’m trying to spoil you… much.” said Alice as she shot Mikomi a wink.

Alice turned towards the door and reached for the doorknob. Right when she was about to grasp it, there was a rather loud knock, almost to the point where you could say someone had pounded on it. The door even vibrated a bit from the impact and it caught Alice off guard. She stumbled back, taking in a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down from the shock. Alice shook her head as she realized how silly it was to be startled by such a small thing. She laughed to herself and went to reach out for the doorknob a second time. If the loud knocks caused a stir within her, then seeing the doorknob turn on its own caused her to take a step back.

The door swung open and there stood a man in a black business suit. He was of average height and build sporting black hair that was slicked back and a pair of sunglasses that hid a just barely visible scar over his right eye. He cracked a grin as he lowered his glasses and gave Alice the once-over.

“Don’t mind me, sweetheart. I’ll just let myself in since it’s so hard to open a door for a man these days.”

The man, vile in his words, approached Mikomi’s desk and took a seat. He disrespectfully kicked his feet up onto Mikomi’s desk causing flakes of dirt to fall onto its surface. Mikomi let out a sigh indicating that this wasn’t the first time these two had met. The man pulled out a cigar and lit it in front of Mikomi and despite the blatant disrespect he had shown already, he had the nerve to turn toward him for approval.

“Mind if I smoke? No? Thanks!”

Within seconds of the cigar being lit, the room began to reek from the stench of tobacco. After Mikomi’s only response was a silent judging glare, the man shrugged and continued to puff away on the cigar.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

“If you’re here to talk about your so-called proposal, I already delivered my decision to Mr. Rutherford. In case he didn’t clearly understand my message, allow me to repeat my answer. My answer is a firm no.”.

The man laughed a bit quietly to himself with the cigar still hanging slightly from his mouth. Realizing it might be quite the chore to talk with a cigar in his mouth, he removed it and tapped the ashes on top of Mikomi’s desk.

“Straight and to the point. I like that about you, Mikomi. You see, your company is quite valuable in the business world. Your father was quite the innovator. It truly is a shame he had to pass away, leaving you to shoulder the burden. All Mr. Rutherford wants to do is ease that burden. Nothing more. Nothing less. If he had a controlling stake in this company, he could use his many years of business knowledge to steer this ship for you. Of course, you would retain your title as CEO and reap all of the benefits… well… a percentage of the benefits… How can you say no to something like that?”

Mikomi gritted his teeth.

“Do you think that just because I’m young that I’m naive? I’m well aware that my father and Mr. Rutherford had conversations about this before. The day he sent me that letter, I did some research. I know what he truly wants and I will never give it to him no matter how many times he asks for it.”

“That’s some iron resolve you have there, kid.” said the man as he pointed his finger at Mikomi, the cigar dangling in the same hand. “Daddy would be so proud, wouldn’t he? The thing is, though… what Mr. Rutherford wants, Mr. Rutherford gets. One way or another, we will make this deal happen. When it does, you will feel like a fool when you realize just what you were so hesitant to accept. A life of success and luxury could all be yours and here you are pissing it away just because of some family promise. Promises mean nothing in business, Mikomi. That is a less you need to learn and learn quick.”

Mikomi gritted his teeth even more. He knew exactly where this was heading and he didn’t like it one bit. He wasn’t about to just hand over his father’s legacy to this man.

“So, in other words, you want me to abandon my father’s work. You want me to abandon everything that I’ve learned from him, all of the late nights I spent finishing his project? You think I could just simply hand it over to you just because your boss wants me to?” asked Mikomi, keeping that stern tone in his voice.

The still-unnamed man burst out in laughter. Even though Mikomi was quite serious, the man found his attitude very amusing.

“Abandon? Heavens no. I told you, instead of having the whole pie, you’ll just have a slice. You don’t have to abandon anything.”

“So, what you’re telling me is that if I sell a controlling stake in Onyx Technology Ventures to Mr. Rutherford, he won’t take our A.I. program and bury it deep in some digital vault somewhere? I know that’s his true intention. He doesn’t want to use this technology… he’s simply buying his competition so his software doesn’t go obsolete. He knows my A.I. will revolutionize this industry and possibly put him out of business. He doesn’t share my father’s dream of making the world better… he just wants to protect his fat wallet from shrinking.”

“As sharp as a knife you are. It is as you say, Mikomi but is it really all that bad? We’ll gladly pay handsomely for your work but, honestly, why care so much? We’ll give you enough money to walk away from this death trap and live a very comfortable life for the rest of your days! There’s no need to change the entire world… just your own. Mr. Rutherford can make that happen. Every father just wants to see their children grow up and live the best life possible, right? Both his and your hard work have paid off. Give Mr. Rutherford what he wants and he’ll give you everything you could have ever asked for. It’s that simple.”

The offer was met with silence as Mikomi folded his hands and rested his chin atop them. He closed his eyes as the unnamed man sat there with growing interest as it appeared that he had finally gotten through to him. As Mikomi acted as if he were thinking this over in his head, the man grinned as he awaited a favorable answer.

“Mikomi...” muttered Alice.

Mikomi’s eyes snapped open. All Mikomi had to do was glance over at her and observe the look on her face. She didn’t have to say another word as her expression said everything that needed to be said. His father’s dream was just too precious to him. Plus, it would mean putting someone like Alice out of a job. Mikomi let out a sigh as he sat back in his chair, folding his arms. He looked right at the man sitting in front of his desk and in a stern and clear voice delivered to him his answer.

“I think you should leave.”

The man burst out in laughter as some of the ashes from his cigar fell to the floor.

“There it is again! That unwavering iron resolve! I should remind you that either way, whether you say yes or no, we will acquire your company in the end. So, consider this your final chance to make the right decision.”

Mikomi closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. He then pinched the bridge of his nose as his headache from earlier was still bothering him. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with this so he was about to put an end to it all here and now.

“My father would have never caved in and neither will I! I spent my entire life watching him devote all of his time and energy to this. The missed birthdays. the missed Christmases, all of it was for this one moment. So, again, let me say it loud and clear...”

Mikomi stood and slammed the palms of his hands down on his desk with authority before pointing towards the door.

“GET…. OUT!” said Mikomi as sternly as he could.

The man stood up and grinned, the two of them were face to face. The man removed his sunglasses so that the two of them were eye to eye. Mikomi looked at the nasty scar over his eye, which was white and clouded over. He was clearly blind in his left eye, but his right eye was brown in color and kind of beady.

“Have it your way, Mikomi. I’ll let the canary sing for a little while longer, but just remember what was said here today,”

The man took one final puff of his cigar and blew the smoke into Mikomi’s face. The man put out his cigar on the surface of Mikomi’s desk, but despite all of that, Mikomi didn’t flinch. He continued to stand his ground until the man turned and proceeded towards the door, putting his sunglasses back on in the process.

As the man opened the door, he was stopped when he heard his name called out.

“Lief…” said Mikomi.

Lief stopped and looked over his shoulder. He pulled his sunglasses down just far enough to expose his blind eye.

“Don’t forget to tell your father I said hello,” Mikomi said sarcastically with a grin on his face.

Lief cracked a grin of his own as he raised his hand as if he were waving goodbye to someone.

“I’ll tell him more than that for sure. We’ll see you soon, Mikomi.”

He walked through the door and Alice closed it behind him. Mikomi fell back into his chair and let out a huge sigh of relief as he tilted his head back and looked up towards the ceiling. He was relieved that the entire ordeal was over but he still pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes as this whole experience made his headache even worse. Alice took a couple of steps toward Mikomi’s desk and placed her hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Mikomi..”

“It’s not your fault, Alice,” said Mikomi as he interrupted Alice. “This is just part of the job. I know my father had to deal with this, too. As you can see, I was prepared for it. There’s no way I’ll let anyone take away his hard work.”

Alice fidgeted for a second. She still felt bad for him having to go through it. She needed an escape for a bit to clear her mind and that’s when she remembered that she was about to make Mikomi some tea before all of this transpired. She looked back up at Mikomi and used that excuse to make her exit.

“I… I still owe you some tea. I’ll go make it right away.”

Alice scurried out of the office as Mikomi spun around in his chair. He looked out the window of his office. Down below he could see the parking lot. With the day not quite over, it was just a sea of cars reflecting the light of the sun. There, he began to reflect on everything that had happened throughout the day. He knew that every one of those cars belonged to a hard-working employee. He knew that it wasn’t just him that they worked for. Every one of them was as loyal to him as they were to his father. His father’s work was their work as well. Mikomi was filled with a sense of duty that he had to do whatever it took to protect them.

“Father… Am I doing the right thing?”

Mikomi clenched a fist and placed it on the window. He rested his forehead against his fist as he gritted his teeth knowing that he may never know the answer.