New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live



While this was happening downtown, Jack Boudreau was being driven by Guo to the EG headquarters halfway across town. He was wearing formal attire, and his face showed no emotion, as per usual.

From the front, Guo looked in the mirror at his boss.

"Sir. Should I go in with you? Or do you want to go alone?"

Jack looked back into the mirror.

"I'll be fine on my own. I doubt Constantine Levesque will do anything rash, even if she has the power to do so. And even if she does, I trust you can be in that room in a breath's time."

His assistant smiled at him, his eyes almost closing shut from the action.

"Of course, Mr. Boudreau. There isn't much anyone can do about me going where I want in this world. Well, at least for now."

Jack looked at Guo in the mirror, thinking about how they had met. Guo used to be a special agent in China, where he served in a division of the government that dealt with abnormal phenomena.

They had met in an incident in a rural Chinese village where Jack and his wife had been on vacation. A strange creature had attacked the sauna they were at, and Guo had also been there, relaxing.

Jack had offered the man a job as his assistant, after seeing how well the man fought and doing a quick background check on him.

Guo had just retired back then, and had been looking for something to do to fill his days. Little had he known he was embarking on a job that would require him to use a lot of his past skills and training.

But Jack had put the man to good use over the years he had worked for him, and Guo wasn't bitter about being so active. On the contrary, it made his life have some meaning.

He had known only combat all his life, and now that he could use it for someone's sake, whilst doing other annex tasks, he was content.

The drive ended, as Guo pulled the black sedan into EG's parking lot, going toward the VIP reserved section. He flashed their IDs to the guard, and the man let him through.

Parking in front of the door, Guo disembarked the vehicle, heading to Jack's door, and pulling it open for him. Jack exited the vehicle, straightening his outfit as he rose to his feet, looking up toward the enormous building.

"Stay in the car for now. If I need you, I'll signal you through the watch."

"As you wish, Sir," Guo responded, doing a quick bow.

Jack walked into the building with a resolute visage and a steady gait. He knew why Constantine had called him.

He had caught her techs snooping around his surveillance systems, only blocking her from the secretive projects. But he wondered what prompted her to look into his projects at all.

'It was only around the time I sent extra help to Mr. Magnus, too. Is she interested in the boy as well?' he wondered as they guided him to an elevator.

The two men escorting Mr. Boudreau brought him to a meeting room, this one much smaller than the meeting room they had used for the big meeting last time. But it was also much more luxurious.

He waited there for ten minutes before Constantine finally made her appearance.

He looked at her disapprovingly.

"Ms. Levesque, I am a busy man. I don't quite appreciate being kept waiting when I am on time for a meeting you set up."

Constantine flashed a bright and warm smile at him as she sat down in the chair opposite to Jack.

"I apologize, Mr. Boudreau. Another important call held me up. I trust you know how it is to run a business."

Jack huffed a bit at her response. It was obviously a brush-off.

"Regardless. I would love to know why you wanted to meet me so badly and still show up late."

Constantine faked a pout.

"My dear Jack. Surely you jest. Can I not wish to speak with one of my biggest shareholders for other matters than business? Do I look so rigid as to only think business?"

Jack's gaze hardened.

"Come to the point, Constantine, or I am leaving. I don't have time for a casual chat these days. I am very busy."

His icy tone wiped the smile off Constantine's face as she became serious. The coldness in her gaze didn't come shy to Jack's, and that was saying a lot, considering he had seen some shit in his days.

"Fine. No more turning around the pot then. Yes, I have noticed you have become busier these days. Care to share with me why that is?"

"My business owes no accountability to yours, Constantine. You hold no shares in it and I don't have to answer these questions."

Constantine smirked. She pulled out a tablet from under the table, eliciting a curious frown from Jack, and tapped it a few times.

She then smiled at him, not saying a peep until Jack's phone beeped in his ear.

Jack received an email stating some of his larger shareholders had suddenly sold out to some big tech company, and the shareholder composition had shifted. EG now held thirty percent of his shares, which made them the biggest shareholder behind himself, at fifty-one percent.

"I am now. Are you more willing to share what all the movement in your construction companies is about? She said, a smirk on her lips.

Jack's face darkened as his presence of will flared up. Unlike his usual presence, Jack's aura had a bit of mana laced into it this time, unbeknownst to him.

"You had better have a good reason to do this, Constantine, or I will drive EG into the ground. My enterprises are not yours to meddle with."

Constantine laughed heartily.

"They are now. I simply wanted to know it from you. But I already have a good guess. But I am curious to know why you are helping Mr. Magnus build his apocalypse shelter. What's in it for you?"

Jack shivered. She knew more than she let on, and that was worrisome. But he wouldn't let her boss him around.

"This meeting is over. Since this doesn't concern EG, but my company, if you want to know, you can set up a meeting with my assistant, and we'll talk about it then. Until then, I will be leaving.

Constantine looked angered at how he brushed her off, but she was still the smaller of the two players in this room. And she already knew Jack's assistant wouldn't give her the time of day.

'I'll find out soon enough, Jack. You only wait.'