Chapter 41 – Absurdly Convenient

  Just as the conversation seemed to be settling, Lunessa’s brows knit together slightly, as if she had remembered something important a moment too late.

  “Wait,” she said, turning back toward Lucien. “You haven’t actually given your answer yet.”

  Everyone paused.

  Lucien looked at her. “My answer?”

  “Yes,” Lunessa said. “About whether you’re okay with me joining your company.”

  Before Lucien could respond, Sorin leaned forward slightly, already looking amused.

  “What would there be to be dissatisfied with?” he said. “I’ve offered him additional funding with considerable leeway, flexible terms, and more patience than most institutions would ever allow.” He waved a hand dismissively. “If anything, he should be paying me for allowing my daughter to work at his company.”

  Polvin coughed discreetly.

  The assistant lowered her gaze.

  Lunessa shot her father a sharp look, and Sorin stopped immediately.

  She turned back to Lucien, her tone steady now. “Ignore my dad’s commentary. Whether you’re okay with me working at your company or not has nothing to do with the loan. The offer he made stands regardless. This is entirely your decision.”

  Lucien took a brief moment to consider, not because he was uncertain, but because he wanted to answer properly.

  “Well,” he said calmly, “I don’t see a reason to have any problem with it.”

  Lunessa’s posture eased almost instantly.

  “We’re already planning to expand,” Lucien continued. “Right now, most of the operational and financial load is falling on Dorian alone, and he’s been handling accounting, legal coordination, and planning almost by himself.” He glanced briefly at Dorian. “Which, frankly, isn’t sustainable.”

  Dorian did not disagree.

  “If you’re coming from a finance background,” Lucien went on, “then having someone who understands numbers, structure, and process would be a real help. It would take some pressure off him and make our internal operations more stable.”

  Lunessa’s eyes brightened.

  “Thank you,” she said quickly, a hint of excitement slipping through her composure. “You won’t regret it. I’ll show you why people at my university call me a financial wizard.”

  Lucien smiled faintly. “In that case,” he replied, “I’ll be happy to see that reputation proven.”

  Sorin watched the exchange with open satisfaction, clearly pleased despite himself, while Dorian quietly noted that the balance of his workload had just shifted in a way he hadn’t anticipated but very much welcomed.

  Lucien then asked calmly, “In that case… how much would the additional loan be sanctioned for?”

  Sorin opened his mouth to answer.

  Lunessa beat him to it without hesitation.

  “You can think about it and tell us later,” she said confidently. “He’ll agree. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Sorin froze.

  Polvin stiffened.

  The assistant inhaled sharply through her nose.

  Sorin turned his head slowly toward his daughter, his expression caught somewhere between embarrassment and quiet panic.

  “Lunessa,” he said carefully, “banks do not operate on ‘however much you feel like asking for.’”

  She waved a hand dismissively. “I didn’t say unlimited. I just said—”

  The assistant cleared her throat, louder this time.

  “Sir,” she said politely, “you may want to clarify the bank’s position.”

  Sorin looked like a man being rescued from himself. He cleared his throat, avoided his daughter’s eyes entirely, and straightened in his chair.

  “Well,” he said cautiously, “within reason, of course. As long as the amount is not… too outrageous, I am willing to approve it.”

  Lunessa opened her mouth again, clearly prepared to argue about what outrageous meant.

  Lucien stepped in smoothly before she could.

  “Thank you,” he said sincerely, turning toward Sorin. “That’s more than fair. I appreciate the flexibility.”

  Sorin visibly relaxed.

  “We’ll take some time to assess what we actually need,” Lucien continued. “Once we’ve reviewed our expansion plans properly, I’ll get back to you with a concrete figure. You don’t need to worry, as we won’t ask for anything unreasonable.”

  Dorian nodded in agreement. “At our current stage, excessive leverage would do more harm than good.”

  Sorin exhaled quietly.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Polvin released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, and even the assistant’s shoulders relaxed slightly.

  Reasonable people, all three of them thought at nearly the same time.

  Sorin gave a small, approving nod. “That’s good to hear.”

  Lunessa glanced between them, then huffed softly. “You’re all no fun.”

  Lucien smiled and he then exchanged contact details with Lunessa. The transfer was quick, almost casual, but it carried an unspoken understanding that this was no longer just a formality.

  “Thank you,” Lucien said. Then, after a brief pause, he added, “You can come over whenever you’re free. For now, we don’t really have a separate office space.”

  Lunessa tilted her head. “So where will I be working?”

  “At the café,” Lucien replied honestly. “Until we set up an office of our own, that’s where everything happens. You’ll have to make do with it.”

  Her face brightened immediately.

  “No problem at all,” she said without hesitation. “I get to work at a place that’s becoming increasingly popular and eat there? That sounds like a benefit, not a drawback.”

  Lucien smiled and nodded. “In that case, welcome aboard.”

  He then turned toward Sorin and the assistant.

  “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “For your time, and for the consideration.”

  Sorin inclined his head, clearly satisfied.

  The assistant nodded politely, already mentally filing away the next set of tasks that would follow this meeting.

  Lunessa stepped forward as well, looking ready to leave with them, but Lucien gently stopped her.

  “You should talk with your dad,” he said. “Mr. Polvin will take care of us.”

  Polvin immediately straightened, inserting himself into the moment with visible enthusiasm.

  “Yes, yes, of course,” he said quickly. “I’ll handle everything from here. I’ll make sure the process is completed smoothly and personally see them off once everything is finalized.”

  Lunessa gave him an approving look. “Alright. I’ll leave them with you.”

  With that, Lucien, Dorian, and Theo offered their farewells and stepped out of the chairman’s office, Polvin following closely behind them as if guarding valuable assets.

  The doors closed softly behind them and they headed back toward Polvin’s office.

  Back in Polvin’s office, the atmosphere was completely different from before.

  The process moved quickly now, almost effortlessly. Documents were approved, digital forms finalized, confirmations sent and received without the usual pauses or bureaucratic back-and-forth. Polvin worked with sharp focus, fingers moving rapidly across his slate, occasionally issuing quiet instructions through his wristlink.

  Watching it all unfold, Lucien hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

  “Mr. Polvin,” he asked carefully, “do we need to arrange anything additional? Any extra documents, guarantees… or perhaps our parents’ signatures for the café?”

  Polvin froze mid-motion and looked up slowly.

  Then he laughed a full, unrestrained laugh that echoed through the office.

  Lucien blinked. “What?”

  Polvin shook his head, still smiling. “Mr. Lucien, you must be joking.”

  Lucien frowned slightly. “I’m serious. The café is technically family property, so I thought—”

  Polvin waved a hand dismissively. “No. Absolutely not.”

  He leaned back in his chair, amusement still lingering on his face.

  “There’s no need to use the café as collateral,” he said. “Your book’s earnings and projected cash flows are more than sufficient. In fact, trying to involve your parents’ property at this stage would be unnecessary.”

  He paused, then added bluntly, “And frankly, if I insisted on dragging the café into this now, I’d be doing something very foolish.”

  Lucien raised an eyebrow. “Foolish?”

  Polvin nodded. “Yes. The kind of foolish that gets people quietly removed from their positions.”

  He smiled again, this time calmer.

  “You don’t need to worry about those things anymore,” Polvin continued. “You have the chairman’s backing. That changes the framework entirely.”

  Lucien absorbed that in silence.

  “So, focus on your work,” Polvin said, returning his attention to the documents. “Write your books. Build your press and grow your business. Leave the rest to us.”

  The process was done.

  Once the final confirmations were completed and the last approval indicators faded from Polvin’s slate, the tension that had been quietly hanging over the room finally dispersed.

  “That should be everything,” Polvin said, setting the slate aside with visible satisfaction.

  Lucien stood and extended his hand. “We appreciate this, Mr. Polvin. Truly.”

  Dorian nodded as well. “Thank you for handling this so efficiently.”

  Theo added his own quick, earnest thanks, looking far more relaxed than he had all morning.

  Polvin rose from his chair and personally escorted them out of his office.

  As they walked, he spoke quietly but enthusiastically. “I’ll go through my contacts over the next few days,” he said. “Suppliers, equipment vendors, logistics partners and people who can actually help you at this stage. I’ll connect you with whoever I think will be useful.”

  “That would help a lot,” Lucien replied.

  Polvin smiled. “Consider it done.”

  At the entrance, Polvin stopped and straightened his jacket, clearly savoring the moment before returning to his desk.

  “Safe travels,” he said. “I’ll be in touch soon.”

  With that, Lucien, Dorian, and Theo stepped out of Lunecrest Bank and made their way back toward the tram station.

  The tram rattled along its rails, carrying them back toward the café as the city drifted past in a blur of glass and stone.

  For a while, Dorian said nothing.

  He sat with his arms folded, gaze unfocused, clearly elsewhere, and staring straight ahead with the strained focus of someone trying and failing to solve a math problem in his head. Theo noticed it but didn’t interrupt. Lucien did.

  “You’ve gone disturbingly quiet,” Lucien said after a few minutes. “That usually means you’re either planning something or questioning reality. Which is it?”

  Dorian exhaled slowly, as if deciding whether to put the thought into words.

  “I don’t understand it,” he said at last.

  Lucien blinked. “Understand what?”

  “All of it,” Dorian replied. He shook his head slightly. “The situation. The way things unfolded. I keep replaying it, and it still doesn’t add up and every time, my brain rejects it.”

  He turned toward Lucien then, studying him with an expression that wasn’t accusing, just genuinely puzzled.

  “So… this,” Dorian said carefully, “this is all because of your book? And the fact that someone became your fan?”

  Lucien hesitated. “When you put it like that, it sounds… questionable I guess?”

  Dorian let out a short, disbelieving breath.

  “Doesn’t that feel absurd to you?” he asked. “You’ve written one book. One. And it’s not even been out that long. And yet you already have people this invested. Because what are the actual chances? Someone reads your book. That someone happens to be the daughter of the chairman of a major bank. She likes it, really likes it. Likes it enough to fast-track meetings, smooth approvals, and casually wave us past hurdles people normally die of old age waiting to clear.”

  Lucien shifted in his seat.

  “And then,” Dorian went on, incredulous, “she’s enthusiastic. Enthusiastic enough to talk about joining the company. Which means, let me be very clear. We now have direct, friendly access to everything we would ever need a bank for. Through a person who actively wants to work for you.”

  He stared at Lucien, voice lowering.

  “Do you have any idea how insane that sounds when said out loud?”

  Theo nodded solemnly. “It does sound like the premise of a fantasy novel.”

  “Exactly,” Dorian said. “If someone pitched this to me, I’d tell them to revise for plausibility.”

  Lucien was quiet for a moment.

  Then he said, with an awkward little shrug in his voice, “Maybe I’m just… lucky?”

  Dorian froze.

  For a heartbeat, he looked torn between laughter and despair.

  Finally, he let out a short, breathless sound and dragged a hand down his face. “You are lucky, all right. That much I can say with absolute certainty and is painfully obvious.”

  Theo smiled, relaxed and amused. “Luck or not, it worked. The doors are open, the approvals are in, and we’re moving forward. However it happened, it’s done.”

  Dorian glanced between them, then shook his head with a crooked smile.

  “I still don’t like it,” he muttered. “But I suppose I’ll take absurd fortune over logical failure.”