The Formidable Mr. Wilde

The red light beamed at the side of the road, bringing the cars to a stop as it's numbers counted down.

Riele Brown withdrew her slender hands from the steering wheel and glanced at her watch. Her windshield was down as she preferred the gentle brush of the wind against her skin than the chilling cool of an air-conditioner.

She looked out the window; the spring breeze brushing past the trees in an ever graceful manner, rustling and cutting free the few leaves that clung unto the branches.

*It's already April, huh?*

As the light turned green and the engines of the cars lined up revved in response, a familiar rhythm rung through the car and Riele looked at the dashboard monitor.

A small smile crept up her lips at the caller ID that read; Tiger, and she hit the answer button.

"I am beyond shocked to see you awake as early as 7am"

"Yeah, so am I " A low, yet soft voice spoke up from the other end. "But a lot needs to be done for tonight's opening"

"And I guess I'm right about the reason for this call" Riele smirked.

"Damn right you are. You better show up for the bar opening, or I'll pull all your hair out"

"Ouch?" Riele chuckled. "I'll be there, Tara. I promise"

"Good. I'll see you tonight"

Riele hung up on the call, then made a U-turn into Gione boulevard.

Most of the buildings in that avenue were cafés and eatries built overtime around FRAGRANCE; a company building that seemed to stretch as far as the sky with most of it's walls made of thick glass.

Riele parked her car in the company's underground garage reserved for company employees only, and after locking her car, she let out a deep sigh and clutched her handbag closer.

*It's okay. Just get through today. I just have to get through today.*

And with one last deep sigh, she made her way into the company building.

Floor fifteen belonged to the marketing and sales department and it often felt like a war zone.

Why?

"Manager Riele" a familiar voice called as Riele headed to her table and she let out a sigh.

Rivalry.

*It's too early for drama.*

She turned on her heel with a forced smile and a middle aged man no taller than 5'7 came to view; a snide smile on his wrinkled face.

Team one; Riele's team had proven over and over just how competitive they were at their jobs, and all it did was attract nasty and jealous eyes from Team two; Damon Banks team.

"I arrived ten minutes earlier today." Damon boasted. "For the number one manager, you're awfully tardy"

*Is this idiot jobless enough to keep count of my tardiness? I'm not even late!!*

"If you had arrived just a few minutes earlier, you would've been the first to get news of the meeting taking place this morning"

Riele paused, then furrowed her brows at the man's annoying smirk.

"Meeting?"

"The company has been stirred up for quite a while " Natalie; Riele's assistant manager said, "I think that's what this meeting is about"

☆

The large hall bustled with murmurs as a crowd slowly poured in, filling the seats behind the reporters seated before microphones, and the paparazzi clutching unto their huge cameras.

The employees looked uneasy, and Riele had to admit that she was as well. There had been several rumors about the company being sold, bankrupt, or some employees getting layed off.

The rumors had gotten out of hand and only ended up frightening them further.

*I guess today we find out what's going on*

The crowd went silent the moment the door at the right end opened, and the camera lights flashed; keeping their attention on the man who walked up the stage with two men dressed in suits accompanying him.

"Is that-"

"Nicholas Kane!"

The crowd burst into murmurs as Nicholas took his stance on the centre of the stage; his blue-green eyes scanning the seated crowd and a smile fixed on his almost wrinkle free face.

For a man well over fifty, Nicholas Kane; the CFO of the company was tall, handsome and omitted an intimidating aura that always seemed to keep everyone on their toes.

*He has been quiet for over three years, and now he shows up?*

Nicholas stood behind the podium, and when he looked into the crowd, he was greeted with silence that proved the power he held in the company.

His lips tugged upwards in a smile and the wrinkles at the corner of his mouth disappeared.

"I deeply apologise for any inconvenience caused by this Impromptu press conference," He started, and his deep but calm voice echoed through the microphone, resonating sweetly through the crowds ears.

"And to the press who made some time out of their busy schedule to attend this meeting, thank you.

The news has not made headlines yet, because I asked the press to hold off on releasing any information pertaining this company until further notice, and, of course, until this meeting was held."

Nicholas's eyes searched the crowd, and his smile only grew when he saw that their attention had fallen completely on him.

"Starting today, this company will be eradicated of it's hidden leeches"

The crowd broke into murmurs, and the press only focused on capturing and recording what was said and done before them. The camera lights flashed viciously, but Nicholas did not flinch, or narrow his eyes at the blinding lights directed at him.

Instead, he stood tall; a bright smile still fixed on his slightly wrinkled face, and his green-blue eyes scanning the audience.

"Fragrance has stood tall as the biggest perfume company across the world. And despite being a billion dollar company, was neglected and placed under the care of money leeching authorities.

They thought they had it all hidden and under control, they couldn't have been more wrong"

Something about the way Nicholas spoke sent shivers down Riele's spine, and it didn't help that the hall had air-conditioners mounted on every corner.

The look in his blue-green eyes, the way his lips remained curved in a lax smile, and the way his voice held so much calm with words that seemed laced with venom.

Everything about the way Nicholas Kane carried himself on that stage, sent chills through her and the crowd.

*He's pissed.*

She mused.

"Fortunately, " He continued, bringing the murmurs to a stop, "things are going to be completely different from now on.

While some of the culprits have been caught, investigations are still ongoing, and so is our sifting process. The criminals will be caught and replaced by the end of the month.

That being said, I, Nicholas Kane, will assume the role of CEO and owner of 'Fragrance' starting today"

*Well, we definitely did not expect this.*

"I won't take any questions for today. If you need anything else, meet my secretary; Cole." He Informed and gestured over to a tall and stern looking young man with a sharp jawline and jade colored eyes peeking through his horned rimmed glasses.

"That will be all. Thank you for your time"

His exit threw the crowd into a burst of mutters and complaints as they struggled to digest the information thrown at them. Some people were uneasy, some were relieved, and the few who were more or less like Riele; didn't give much thought to it.

☆☆

"Nice!" Riele exclaimed when she walked into a large building filled with the smell of expensive liquor.

At every corner she looked, there were men and women holding drinks and chattering their time away.

The far end of the room facing the entrance of the building had some musical instruments and a small group of four on stage; fine tuning them in preparation for a performance.

Haven been inside the building numerous times during it's renovation, Riele could make her way to the counter through the large crowd with much ease.

Tara spotted her bestfriend's caramel skin and small frame squeezing through her customers and a wide grin grew on her face.

"You actually made it" she teased and took out a padded bench for Riele to sit on.

"VIP treatment" Riele smirked as she wiggled her brows, "Me likey"

"Oh shut it. I knew you'd be late, so I shot daggers at anyone who attempted seating here"

"Shouldn't you be nicer to your customers?" Riele giggled and Tara's brows shot up in a questioning look.

"There is no 'nice' in a bar, Riele. Hell, I'd be grateful if a fight broke out every now and then. I like to be entertained" she declared, stressing her last word with a dramatic tone and Riele shook her head at her bestfriend.

"You run a bar, Tiger, not a gang"

"A gang would've been nice" Tara shrugged and leaned her arm on the counter; inching closer to Riele. "You see the chick over there?" She whispered and nodded in the direction of a young woman with long red hair wearing a tight and short red dress.

"Woman in red?"

"Woman in red" Tara confirmed and a smirk grew on her lips. "I haven't been able to take my eyes off her since she got here"

"She *is* pretty" Riele breathed, then paused. "Don't go around flirting if you're not sure she's gay"

"With a body like that, she might be" Tara defended and earned an 'areyouserious' look from Riele.

"Who knows, she could have a boyfriend hovering around somehere in here"

"Yeah, I doubt that. She's been hanging with those girls for over an hour now, and they've accepted free drinks from men, but rejected their approach. Another reason I think she might be gay"

"Or they just want to spend a girls night out" Riele corrected and gave a light knock on the counter. "Also, I've been here about ten minutes, and I still haven't got a drink In my hand"

"Oh right!" Tara breathed, feigning an apologetic face, "Anything for my late customer"

Riele rolled her eyes in amusement.

The sound of a guitar echoed through the large room, and the noise died down a bit as most people looked to the performers with listening ears.

~Had we met another way~

The vocalist started, his voice a deep, calming and pleasant tone to the ears.

~Would things be different?~

~If I told you to stay,~

~would you have listened?~

Every beat danced along with the tune of his voice, and soon, everyone inched closer to the stage; leaving the counter almost empty, with just a few people seated on the stool with their eyes fixed on the performance.

Riele found herself completely immersed in the lyrics of the song, and soon she began to sway to the tune, her mind filled with the words and her eyes fixed on the dejected expression on the vocalists face.

~Oh, why did you choose to come into my life~

~if you knew you'd leave anyway~

~All of the happiness you promised we'd find~

~was it that easy to throw away?~

"Amazing right?" Tara's voice snapped Riele out of her own little world and she let out a low sigh before grabbing her drink and chugging it down.

"Yup" Tara sighed, then grabbed the glass to make Riele another drink. "I knew you looked too calm to be okay"

Riele rested her forehead on her palm and let out another sigh before looking up at Tara.

"I thought I'd be able to fool myself into believing I was okay if I acted like it"

"You shouldn't force that on yourself you know. It's okay to be a little sad"

Riele paused and let out a scoff.

"Sad? No fucking way"

*I might be sad, but I refuse to acknowledge that. I'm feeling sad? No way-*

"-I'm enraged" Riele breathed and grabbed the drink Tara placed before her; gulping it all down in one go and earning another sigh from Tara.

*Today is the fifth of April.*

*The day I met my ex husband; Gilbert Wilde.*

"That lying son of a bitch"

Riele bit out.