The Alchemists

The girl that Finland liked happened to be the candidate that Tony liked too, so that same day they were able to determine who Finland's successor would be in the Market Research Department. Starting tomorrow, she must train the girl to do her work.

"Gosh, I'm so tired..." complained Finland. She really liked working, but after working only part time for 3 months, today's full-time work really drained her energy.

When she went with Lauriel to Brazil, and during the incidents with Alexei and Katia in Singapore, she only had to work two days a week. Today she had to work from the morning until the evening to fill out reports and attend meetings. It was really energy-consuming.

"Finland... will Aleksis' nanny come again today?" Anne asked hopefully while they were tidying up their stuff before going home.

"Uhm... I don't think so. He is currently busy in England," Finland answered.

"Are you two dating or not?" Lucia asked curiously. They knew that Finland asked for a leave of absence three months ago to travel with Lauriel. The man personally asked for Tony's approval during his engagement dinner. Of course, they were curious what the relationship between Finland and Lauriel really was.

"Ahahahaha... no, we are not dating," Finland said, shaking her head softly. "He is Aleksis' godfather, and also my husband's best friend."

"Husband?" Anne and Lucia looked at each other in surprise. When they met Finland for the first time 2.5 years ago, the girl was pregnant and had no companion. She never told anyone who Aleksis' father was. Of course, they did not think that Finland actually had a husband.

"Gosh... why didn't you ever tell us?" Lucia asked excitedly. "Where has he been all this time?"

"He had some important business to take care of, but now he is back and that's why I want to quit working, so I can be with him."

"Was he..." Anne seemed to dislike her own thoughts, "Ahh... nevermind..."

"What's wrong, Anne? What are you thinking about?" Finland asked, curious.

"Uhmm... he wasn't by your side for the few years you were here..." Anne scratched her non-itchy forehead, "Was... was he in prison, and now he is finally released?"

Finland almost burst her tea at Anne's innocent question.

Gosh... Anne thought that Finland lived alone because she married a criminal or a gangster who committed a crime and was locked up in prison… and now that he was finally released from jail, she decided to quit working to spend time with him.

Right then the receptionist came in and called her.

"Miss Finland, you have some guests looking for you."

Finland thought that Caspar and Aleksis must have arrived to pick her up. She asked the receptionist to let Caspar enter, as she wiped the happy tears from her eyes. This was soooo funny, she thought.

Not long after, the man entered with Aleksis, who was sleeping in his arms. He immediately approached Finland, who was still wiping her tears and giggling.

"Hey... what's up, are you crying?" Caspar asked; he was worried.

"No.. it's nothing... I'm not crying..." Finland waved her hand with a big smile, "I was laughing because I was amused… I laughed so hard that I cried."

Caspar was momentarily fascinated by that. Finland laughed so hard that she cried? This was something he had never seen before. The girl was someone who was often sad and pessimistic, but today she laughed so openly and looking amused... What was wrong?

"What is so funny?" he asked, interested.

Finland then turned to Anne and Lucia, who were stunned. Their jaws fell open and their eyes widened when they saw Caspar enter with Aleksis.

"This is my husband. His name is Heinrich. We were separated for several years because of some misunderstanding... He DID NOT go to prison..."

Finland couldn't help herself and started laughing her lungs out again.

Only now Caspar understood what had happened. His face turned sour.

Just this morning he was almost kicked out of his own hotel, and now his wife's office mates thought that he spent some time in prison because he was out of the picture for several years?

Ugh... this was a risk he had to bear for living a life with such strict privacy. His own employees didn't know the face of their big boss.

Anne and Lucia were speechless. The man in front of them was very handsome and for a moment they held their breath, just like Finland did when she first saw Caspar in his Maybach after bumping into him at the airport.

Was this really Finland's husband? What a lucky girl, they both thought to themselves.

At that moment Tony suddenly entered to give the girls an assignment before they left work. He was momentarily stunned by Caspar's presence.

He remembered seeing this man somewhere before...

"Gosh... you... you are Mr. Schneider, aren't you?" he asked in a doubtful voice. He remembered seeing Caspar giving a speech at the Bartz product launch event at the Continental Hotel several years ago.

Caspar smiled, happy to hear that someone finally recognized him as an important person. He nodded at Tony.

"Hello Mr. Wu. I was just stopping by. LTX's work with Atlas Corp's business for the past two years was very good," he said kindly. "Thank you for your hard work."

Huh... prison? No way. He glared at Anne and Lucia who now looked very uncomfortable.

"Ohh..." Tony Wu was then able to connect the series of events that occurred three years ago when Noah was suddenly fired from his position as Atlas Corp's Marketing Manager. Apparently it was the Schneider Group that bought Atlas Corp. He hurriedly responded, "We are very pleased to be working with Atlas Corp."

He reached out his hand and shook Caspar's hand respectfully.

"You're welcome," Caspar replied.

"I know that the Schneider Group has many companies investing in Asia... if you need our help, don't hesitate to contact me." Tony handed his business card very happily.

"Hmm... I'm not taking care of my business at the moment," Caspar said, but he took Tony's business card, so he wouldn't offend him, "One day, if we need your assistance in anything, Stanis Van Der Ven will be in contact with LTX. Meanwhile, my purpose of coming here today is to pick up Finland."

"Ohh..." Tony then realized that Caspar was carrying Finland's daughter, and understood that Finland and this man certainly had a special relationship. "Oh... so Finland will quit working because..."

Caspar nodded. "She said she needed a month to train her replacement. Uhm... could it possibly be made faster?"

Tony, who was good at reading the situation, immediately realized what was happening. To win Caspar's heart he immediately nodded.

"Of course. Today we have chosen her replacement and within 24 hours I can ensure that the transition will be completed. We are very sad to lose Finland from LTX, but of course we will be happy if she can spend time with her family. Family is the most important thing in life..."

Finland was astonished to hear how easily Caspar made Tony let her go within 24 hours.

Whaa... what? Just like that?

"Good. I really appreciate this," Caspar smiled broadly. "Tomorrow Finland will come to work one last time and make sure her replacement is ready, now we want to go home."

Caspar picked up Finland's bag and took her hand to leave the office, turning away from the envious looks of all the women in the office and Tony's smiling face.

Tony Wu was very happy to know that Finland had a special relationship with the owner of one of the largest corporation group in the world. If Tony could give a good impression to Heinrich Schneider, it would certainly be useful for his business in the future.