Chapter 5 Chapter 5

SHANE

The next morning, when I was having breakfast, Jace made an appearance at the mansion… uninvited.

Jace and I rarely met. Not that there was any need for us to. Our phone calls were enough.

The fact that he mustered up his courage and came here meant that this was important. It had to be.

Because, as far as I know, Parker Jace is scared shitless of me as everyone else, and my mere presence unnerves him.

“This is a surprise.” I said quietly, leaning back on my chair, piercing my eyes into his.

Jace was a tall guy with brown hair, lipless mouth and small beady eyes. I found him to be smart, so I put him in charge of my henchmen since I took over the company, and so far, he has been useful. But I think he's starting to outlive his usefulness.

He gulped down nothing, averted his eyes, then crossed the room to me and gave a little polite nod. “Good morning, sir.”

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Jace?” I asked, voice low and steady.

“I… I just wanted to speak to you.” He said.

I arched a brow. “About?”

“About your ex boyfr…” He paused, catching himself. “Sorry. I'm sorry. I mean, about Henry Jones.”

I sat upright. “Have you found him?”

“Well… no.”

“Then what about him do you want to talk about?” I demanded impatiently.

“I have an idea that might make him come out of hiding.” He muttered, fidgeting, staring everywhere but at me.

“Hmm.” I hummed under my breath. “This better be good. Take a seat.”

Jace eased a bit. He wetted his dry lips with his tongue, then pulled out a chair from the table and sat down.

I leaned back in my chair and folded my arms. “Well, then. Let's hear it.”

He hesitated, then let out a deep breath. “Permission to speak freely, sir?”

I nodded, “Go ahead.”

He shifted nervously in his seat, then began. “Okay, remember about four years ago, when a clip of you blew up on the Internet, and everyone was raving about you?”

Yes, I do remember. I had just taken over the company as the CEO, and a female employee with a huge following on her social media account secretly recorded a clip of me and uploaded it.

Apparently, the clip went viral, and I found out about it.

I detest social media. It's a place for shallow-minded people who chase validation just to feel good about themselves. And what I detest more than social media?

Appearing on it.

Of course, I had that useless employee delete her whole account, fired her afterwards and then had her compensate me. Next time, she'll think twice before uploading people without their consent.

“Yes.” I replied flatly, “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was hoping you would do that again.” He said.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You want me to record a clip of myself and upload it on the Internet?”

“Hear me out, first.” He said sharply, then wiped the sweat on his forehead. “Henry Jones, wherever he is, probably uses the Internet, right? And he most probably thinks you're dead. I-I bet... I bet he's still…a” He paused and cleared his throat, looking at me as though asking for permission, “I bet he's still in love with you. If you upload a clip of yourself on the Internet, there's a very high chance it'll go viral, because you know, you're um… you're an exceptionally attractive man, not that I'm gay though, I'm just saying. You're attractive, you're wealthy, and you're a young CEO, too, that no one knows of. People usually eat this kind of thing up. You've gone viral once, and you've seen it for yourself. I know that this clip of you will go viral if you do it, and since Henry Jones is still, um, probably in love with you, he'll discover that you're alive and might reach out to you first.”

I mulled what he said over for a while, silence stretching.

He was making sense. But I loathe appearing on the Internet. I loathe being the cynosure of attention. I do not want attention.

“Please, just think about it.” Jace pleaded, voice soft and laced with desperation. “This might be the only way for you to find Henry, wherever he's hiding.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, brooding on it for another moment. A frustrated groan rumbled from my chest. Then I rolled my eyes open.

“Okay, what do you have planned?” I asked.

His face lit up, then he beamed, “You're doing it! Thank you so much, Mr Blackwood. You won't regret it.”

“And if I do, I'm gonna slit your throat.”

His eyes snapped wide, terror filling them, “W-what?”

“Tell me what you have planned.” I repeated.

He stared at me, extremely unnerved by what I just said. Then he gulped down nothing and shifted again in his seat, then gulped down again.

“Umm… okay.” He began, wiped the perspiration on his forehead and dropped his hand on his lap. “I presume that since you've made Blackwood Enterprises into what it is today in just the time frame of three years, that you've been receiving some interview requests from media companies, right?”

“Yes, I have.” I answered. “But I've been ignoring them.”

“That’s… that's awesome.” He said timidly, “Then we'll start by having you accept them.”

I clenched my jaw, “I thought you said that it was just a clip.”

“Yes, yes, it is.” He said sharply, “But you don't have a social media account, and I'm sure you do not want to create one. If you go to this interview and answer their questions, the media will upload your clip on the Internet with a gripping headline. And then when people watch and see how… charming you look, they'll keep sharing and sharing and sharing, other accounts will repost too, and voila, you're viral.”

I do not like how this sounds. Not even one bit. I love my privacy. And wants no one's attention.

But if doing this will get me to Jones, then I'll do it.

I shot Jace a death glare, and he flinched, “If this doesn't work, I'll make you wish you were a dead man, got it?”

He swallowed, then nodded his head quickly. “Y-y-yes, sir.”

“Good.”