Chapter 83 - ACCEPTANCE
Sun rose up in the blue sky, scintillating its light upon the earth. The terns and black-headed gulls were noisy and ready to fight for the fresh food near the port. The siren of ships was loud enough to send the ringing sensation through the ears but the fishermen were used to this loud noise.
It was their life and served bread on their tables. The group that was assigned to unload the ships, ran to their position when a ship came to rest at the harbour.
Between this early morning chaos, a man with sunflower blonde hairs that were styled immaculately and a full beard with moustaches took confident and long strides in the direction of one of the buildings near the port.
He was a well-known and respectable man and those who looked in his way didn't advance a single step without greeting him. He neither replied nor his emerald eyes paid any heed to them. He had his mind settled on something so did his body.
Power oozed out of his every feature and that was what mattered in his life at the end.
"Inform me about the details, and arrange another meeting with-"
The door of Harold Davies's office suddenly opened and stepped inside his least favourite person in the Vincardine.
"Can we have a word?"
Harold's body became alert at the sight of the unannounced appearance but he didn't mind it.
Giving the person another blank look, Harold dismissed his assistant and instructed him to not disturb the two men for the next twenty minutes.
The assistant scurried out of the room but not before greeting the other person but got no response in return.
Harold's fist clenched in irritation at the act of his assistant and he made a mental note to fire the fool the first chance he got.
Harold composed himself sensing the man's eyes focused on him.
"Well, good morning to you too, Mr Douglas Morgan." Harold leaned back in his huge chair and pointed Douglas to take the seat in front of him on the other side of the table.
"I am sure that you must be aware that I am not here to exchange pleasantries." Douglas Morgan was always clear with his words. Time... that was his asset and power... that was his goal.
Harold chuckled dryly. "And here I thought I owe your presence because my day was lucky."
Douglas's face hardened. "Let's not beat around the bush, Davies. You know why I am here."
"No, I don't Mr Morgan. Please do me a favour and tell by yourself." Harold was clearly enjoying the situation.
"You again tricked him, didn't you?" Douglas narrowed his emerald eyes in accusation.
"What are you talking, Mr Morgan?"
"Don't pull the act, Davies! We both know how you work. You again tricked Lord Augustus in granting you the ownership of the land that is in the central square of the town.
You knew I was eyeing that property for a long time and I would have got it if you hadn't played your dirty tactics." Douglas glared at Harold's face that now had lost all its humour and turned serious.
He scoffed. "Don't try to hide your failures behind my name, Mr Morgan. I didn't do anything to trick Lord Augustus. I proposed him a good deal and he agreed, that's all. Isn't this the way business works?!"
Harold's words were as hollow as his morals.
Douglas stared at him for a moment longer, then his expressions suddenly changed.
"Why are you doing this, Davies?"
Deciding to play safe, Harold asked. "What am I doing, Mr Morgan?"
"You are playing a very dangerous game, Davies. Do you think that I am not aware of what happens in my company?" Douglas cocked his brow at him.
Harold maintained silence with a passive face though he knew what was about to come.
"I know you have planted your men in not only my but other companies too for the cause of espionage. And before you deny that let me inform you that I have already caught your man yesterday and now he is in my custody."
Harold's hands fisted tightly under the table that turned his knuckles white. He didn't expect this news, he thought his plan was perfect. Then where did it went wrong?
Satisfied with the turn of tables, Douglas's lips stretched in a taunting smile. "If you think that your loyal dog will not open his mouth then you are wrong. There are certain ways to deal with such things and I am well knowledgable about them.
Now tell me, Davies. What will happen if I bring your real face in front of the O'Dells? What if I disclose your whole espionage set up in all the companies?"
"Douglas Morgan!" Harold yelled his name in a warning.
How could he threaten him in his own office? He first barged into his office without Harold's permission and now the threats.
'If only I could put my hands on you!' Harold had now quit his pretence of calm.
Douglas leaned on the table and looked straight into Harold's eyes. "I wouldn't have used that tone if I were in your shoes, Davies. I heard over a breeze of wind that you have planted your spies in the King's business too?!" His face held a cunning smirk and his emerald eyes looked nothing less than the eyes of a fox.
Glaring at Harold, Douglas continued, "We both are in the same business, Davies but you are no match to me. Don't try to fly higher than your capabilities or you will fall on the ground and break your wings. I am ready to forgive you for this time but the next time, I can't say."
Harold was at a loss for words. He couldn't understand how Douglas found out about his men espionage in King's business. Who told him?
"You belong to a puddle so don't mess with the shark of the ocean, Davies. This is my last warning to you, STOP with your foul tricks."
With another heated glare towards Harold, Douglas stood up from the chair and turned to leave but stopped in his tracks when he heard the other man talk.
How could Harold let Douglas leave without throwing some bombs of affront in his way?!
"I don't need to use dirty tricks, Mr Morgan. I know my capabilities and I know how high I am able to fly. May be it is only you, who need to use a woman to get what he wants. Now that we can't consider as a symbol of manliness, can we?"
Harold smirked devilishly because he knew that he had hit the right nerve. Douglas and Theodora's amour was a well-kept secret over the years. But Douglas had underestimated this snake as a worm.
Harold was a man with no morals and values. He was a self-seeking man who could stoop down to any level to get what he wanted. He was not someone to be trusted. He would not hesitate even for a moment before using this weapon to his benefit and Douglas knew it.
Without turning back Douglas clenched his jaws. Not allowing to let Harold enjoy the satisfaction, he pulled out a triumph card from his pockets to use on him. His emerald eyes darken and a pain shot through his gums but he didn't allow his beast to take control.
"No matter how much you try but you can never be par with us Davies. You have just proved that by yourself. You came from that lower strata and you will always belong to that mud just like your family."
Seconds turned into minutes and by this time Douglas was long gone to his destination. But Harold stood rooted to his place, his eyes fixated on the closed door through which Douglas had stepped out minutes ago.
-"No matter how much you try but you can never be par with us. You came from that lower strata and you will always belong to that mud just like your family."-
No matter how much he tried, the world was not ready to accept him with open arms. It kept reminding him of his roots. Throughout his life, Harold had worked hard to achieve what no one from his strata had ever dreamed of.
After years of sweat and blood, he had achieved great things except for one, ACCEPTANCE!
"I will show you my capabilities and prove to this world that I belong here. On the top of the mountains. I am not like my family. I am NOT like my family!"
His scream echoed in the room followed by a thunderous growl that shook the windowpanes. He exhaled hot breaths, beads of sweat covered his forehead and his eyes, they were a shade darker than his natural ones.
Long canines grew in his mouth and so did sharp claws on his fingers. And when his eyes caught his reflection in the window glass, a furious creature stared back at him in a form of a werewolf!