The Alchemists

Aleksis, which was programmed on his watch, responded swiftly, "Yes, Sir."

A few seconds later, Alaric heard Aleksis's voice communicating with Sophia's digital assistant, telling her that he was almost there.

When the car carrying Alaric arrived in front of Meier Tower, Sophia greeted him joyfully, and the employees wondered why their boss had come down to welcome this new guest herself.

"Welcome to Meier Tower." Sophia walked enthusiastically and was about to hug Alaric when the young man raised his hand to signal her not to touch him. Sophia was stunned and promptly threw Alaric a questioning look. "What's the matter...?"

"I don't like being touched," Alaric answered calmly. He just nodded and walked into the building, followed by Sophia who was still in a daze.

"Oh ... since when? I didn't know you didn't like body contact with others," Sophia said, trotting on her high heels to match Alaric's fast pace.

The girl was actually quite angry and felt a bit humiliated when she tried to hug him only to be avoided like the plague. However, she tried to convince herself that Alaric was still recovering and needed time to be friendly to her again.

Besides, later in the afternoon, they would have lunch together with Ned and Portia. By then, the atmosphere between them should get better.

They climbed to the highest floor and when they exited the elevator, it was directly to Sophia Meier's private office which, according to the agreement they made four months ago, would soon become Alaric's.

It was time for Sophia to resign from the family business and take on a new identity. Naturally, she needed someone to replace her as the head of the group.

Because her brother Alexei had become an ordinary human, Sophia asked Alaric to help her out. Especially since five years ago Rhionen Industries and Meier Group had started working together for their big projects. They were just waiting for Alaric to lead everything.

Since he was announced dead and had disappeared from the face of the earth 6 years ago, Alaric Rhionen also needed a new identity. The deal with Sophia was a win-win one for both of them.

"I don't like being touched lately. I hope you don't take it personally," Alaric suddenly said in a flat tone.

He entered the door that had opened automatically in front of him and then casually sat on a large, comfortable sofa, facing a large floor-to-ceiling glass window displaying the skylines of London and its skyscrapers.

"Hmm .. you were not like this before," Sophia commented. She sat next to Alaric and looked at her cousin attentively. "Well, as you wish, I will not take it to heart. We will discuss what has become our goal today."

Sophia pressed a button and called all members of her board to go up to her office as the large meeting scheduled today was about to begin. She wanted to introduce her successor to all of them.

Five minutes later, the directors and top management leaders of the Meier Group who had had been waiting for Alaric in the lobby this morning entered the owner's office one by one. They took their seats at the large conference table in the meeting room.

No one could take their eyes off of the young man who appeared to be standing nonchalantly at the end of the table. He was looking out of the window with great interest, completely ignoring their presence.

Inwardly, they began to wonder whether this person would later replace Miss Sophia in leading the Meier Group.

He looked so young.

"Sir, all the guests are seated. They are waiting for you to chair the meeting," Aleksis said to Alaric. Her voice was programmed to directly access the communication system in Alaric's ears, and could not be heard by those around him.

The young man nodded and turned around. When he did, the directors who were in their mid-40s to 50s, were finally able to see his appearance closely.

This man did look young, but there was something about him that made them all very impressed. His face was handsome and his appearance was completely different from anyone they had ever seen.

Her platinum-colored hair made him look very attractive, plus his pair of purple-blue eyes were very bright. Yet when he looked at them one by one, those eyes were sharp, like an eagle's. They felt as if they were facing someone much older and authoritative than them. His commanding presence was so powerful that they didn't dare to look at him directly.

The hands of some people trembled under the table. His presence was too strong for regular people like them.

"Good morning, everyone. As I have said in one of the meetings last month, I want to resign from the business and enjoy life." Sophia started while staring at the directors one by one.

She realized that their faces looked tense. Yet at the same time, the presence of her cousin fascinated them. Hmm ... Alaric did have the gripping aura of a leader. Sophia had some hope that she could follow Alaric's journey from now on, by being by his side. Alas, she already had to retire.

"Please allow me to introduce to you, this is my cousin who will start leading you from today. His name is Elios Linden and you will find that his leadership style is different from mine. You must be prepared to work harder because Elios has ideals far greater than mine. Under his lead, Meier Group will surely reach greater heights, and I will be monitoring vigorously from afar. " Sophia then turned to Alaric and invited him to take over.

"Thank you for coming here today. I have read all your profiles and contributions so far." Alaric looked at them one by one. His face, as usual, looked calm and gentle, except for some reason, his expression was completely unreadable.

When he spoke, the directors who looked much older than him felt as if they were being judged by an angel of the afterlife and that their bad deeds would be read to the world one after another. What a thrilling new boss, they all thought.

They had never expected anyone in the Meier family to be so imposing. Gradually the confidence in their hearts grew. With a leader like him, Meier Group will definitely be far more successful than before.

"The first thing I will do after becoming the leader of the Meier Group is to merge our corporation with Rhionen Industries. I want the legal team and other relevant departments to prepare all that is needed to accomplish this. Next week I want to hear about your progress."

All the directors exchanged glances with each other, surprised at this sudden announcement. They knew that the Meier Group had long been working with Rhionen Industries for two of its major projects, but the possibility of a merger never crossed their minds.

After the merger, that means ... So, who controlled whom? Rhionen Industries was currently much bigger than the Meier Group, which meant that Rhionen Industries would control the Meier Group. In the restructuring of the corporate organizations, there was a high chance that their positions would be taken over by people from Rhionen Industries.

Was this true? Elios Linden just led the Meier Group and he would give up his position to people from Rhionen Industries? Why?

Alaric who read their minds just smiled. He knew what was making his people worried.

"I will have dinner with the leaders of Rhionen Industries tonight and discuss the details with them. However, one thing you don't need to worry about is meeting a new leader.  I will be the leader for both."

The faces of those present warped again, surprised. Elios Linden would also lead Rhionen Industries?

Who was he really?