CHAPTER 010

The morning light blazes into Ciel’s penthouse, he yawns as he strides out of his kitchen nursing a mug into the living room. He finds Lucas pacing back and forth, phone pressed to his ear as he speaks rapidly with vexation. Ciel goes over to the sofa and sits lazily, waiting for Lucas' call to end as he sips from his mug.

“No, I already told you, Ciel has nothing to do with the cast change. It was a production decision! If I see one more headline suggesting otherwise, I’ll-” he says into the phone but soon follows is the loud beeping sound of a hung up. Lucas curses under his breath as he dials another number.

Ciel yawns. “Relax, Lucas, your pacing is giving me anxiety. It’s not like this is the first time someone’s dragged my name through the mud, they do it all the time.”

Lucas places his hands in his hips, frustration marrying his brows as they forrows, his jaw is clenched and his eyes are blazing with anger. He runs his hand through his blond hair and rants. “You don’t get it, Ciel! This isn’t some nonsense about who you are sleeping with or your awful party habits, they are accusing you of using Xerxes’s influence to ruin other people’s careers. This is serious.”

Ciel crosses his legs and sips from his mud. “You know that's totally false, which is why I don’t care.” He's been accused of doing far worse. This is nothing new.

Lucas glares.“Well, I care. You might be fine playing the bad boy, but I’m not letting this go. It's getting so much views and attention online, you are facing backlash, at this point, you will be back to nothing and as your Manager, I can't sit around and do nothing. We’re meeting the reporter who wrote that damn article today.”

Ciel groans. “Do we have to? They are just gonna twist whatever I say into something worse.”

“Not if I handle it.” Lucas says with determination. “Be ready in an hour. We’re meeting him and I'm gonna give him a peace of my mind.” he puffs and Ciel almost laughs out loud. It's fun having your best as your manager.

Ciel gets up, grinning. “Alright, let's go throw hands, brother.”

~

Ciel and Lucas arrive at the restaurant, an Italian restaurant that goes by the name La Pizza. They immediately spot the reporter at the far end of the restaurant, seeming to be having fun with his bloody camera. Lucas has the urge to trash it in his face till it's damaged just as his face.

Ciel and Lucas sit on the table, the reporter drafts his sharp eyes between them before his crooked lips curled into a mocking smirk.

“Well, well. The man of the hour is finally here. And his loyal manager. To what do I owe this pleasure? Did my article push you out of bed early? It's gaining so much reading and views.” he places his elbows on the tables and wriggles his brows at them, the mocking smirk present on his lips that it suddenly annoys Ciel. The bastard is cocky after writing shit.

Ciel takes off his sunglasses, revealing his darkened green eyes. As much as he doesn't care about his reputation, he won't sit around and allow some shitty reporter to accuse him of something he didn't do. At least, write about what he did. “If you have got something to say, why don't you say it. If you’re going to insult and humiliate me, at least be original. I’ve heard this crap a million times, and trust me you’re not as clever as you think.”

“We are here to say that that article you wrote is completely false. Mr. Graves, let’s be clear here, Mr. Reid has nothing to do with whatever decisions that were made. The studio made them on their own. You’re dragging his name into something so baseless. I want you to take your article down before I file a lawsuit against you and I will make sure you lose everything you hold dear, trust me, I'm very much capable of that.” Lucas pins the reporter with a hard stare that punctures his face.

The reporter's smirk falters. “I have evidence. I've already said what I want to say. The cast change? The timing? All too convenient, don’t you think? And then there’s your connection to Xerxes Laurent. Are you saying all this is a lie? Tell me, is it a lie too that he used Mr Laurent influence to repair his damaged career. Suddenly appearing as his fiancee when Mr Laurent…” he trails off as if unbelieving and rests his back on his seat. “... that's the most suspicious thing I've ever come across. Mr. Laurent has been the most sought bachelor in New York and suddenly, he has a fiancee.” Suddenly, he leans forward again, his eye glinting wickedly and his lips twitching. ”Did you somewhat discover Mr Laurent's secret and now you're threatening him with it?”

Ciel chuckles, throwing his head back as he leans down into his seat. “That's the most ridiculous shit I've ever heard.” He shows the reporter his hand, where his ring rests proudly, then he twists it around his finger, a smirk playing on his lips. “But then you're right, Xerxes is so madly in love with me that I have wrapped him tight around my middle finger.” Ciel resists the urge to shove his middle finger on the reporter's face. “Your shit is baseless.

“Baseless? Oh come on. A man as influential as Mr Laurent doesn’t let things happen without a reason, he is a highly feared CEO in the whole of New York. I know when something is suspicious when I see one. If you tell me the situation about your relationship, I might take the article down.” The bastard smirks.

“That's stupid.” Ciel hisses.

Mr. Graves laughs. “Touchy, are we? Now that’s the thing about people like you; you think you’re untouchable but the truth always comes out and bites you in the ass. I'm now one of the most popular reporters now, thanks to your story.”

Ciel leans across him on the table. “If you think I'm using Xerxes to get what I want, then aren't you scared? You said it yourself, Mr Laurent is a very influential man and he’s my fiance. I could go to him and ask him to wipe your existence from the surface of the earth.”

The reporter looks calm and that's not the intention behind Ciel's words. To his shock, the reporter slides out a recorder from his jacket and gets up with a sneer. “I expected this from you and you didn't fail me, Mr Reid, you can finally kiss your career goodbye.”

Ciel grits through his teeth. “You are fucking dead, asshole. I'm done here.” he slams his palm on the table and stands up as he puts on his glasses. “I'm out of here, Lucas.”

“Hey, there's always an alternative you know.” The reporter sneers, then he rubs his hands together. “I'm sure what I ask for is nothing much for celebrities like yourselves.”

Lucas stands up as well, brows furrowed in anger. “Bribery? That's classy. Go get yourself a lawyer, you will need one.”

~

"Laurent's Puppet: Ciel Reid's Dark Dealings Behind the Curtain." Lucas reads out loud from his phone and throws it on the table, then jerks to his feet.

Ciel tsks. “It's gonna blow off soon, just ignore it, Lucas.”

“This is worse. He’s doubled down. This piece of shit is accusing you of blackmailing the studio. He’s claiming we tried to bribe him to shut up.”

“I told you this was pointless. People like him don’t care about the truth, they care about the drama.”

Lucas hisses. “And people like me care about fixing the mess! I’m going to fix this.”

Ciel raises an eyebrow. “What are you going to do, Lucas? Politely ask him to stop?”

Lucas grabs his phone from the table and heads towards the door. “Something like that. Just stay here. I’ll handle it.”

Before Ciel could argue, Lucas is already out the door. He tsks and decides to wait.

Hours pass, and Ciel finds himself pacing around the penthouse, checking his phone every few minutes and then Lucas finally walks in through the door, his face pale as if he's seen a ghost, his hands trembling as he strolls over to the sofa.

Ciel frowns in confusion. “What happened?”

“He’s dead, Ciel.” Lucas looks up at the actors whose mouth falls open. “I saw it in the news, he was found dead this morning with a knife buried in his throat; it's the most brutal thing I've ever seen and the crazy part, the article is gone f

rom the Internet.”

“T-his is just a coincidence, right?” Ciel shutters, he runs a hand through his hair.

“Perhaps, I don't know Ciel.”