The Alchemists

Jan made a really interesting profile for London. He used the name Killian Makela for the profile, and the profession listed there was a photographer for a lifestyle magazine. Killian Makela was a single dad with one kid.

"A baby is a chick magnet, Sir. Just like a puppy. The women's maternal instincts will kick in when they see a handsome single dad with a baby in desperate need of a good woman in their lives." Jan listed all the reasons behind the profile he created.

"One child is a magic number. If, Sir Alaric, for example, being a father of four, wanted to find a partner through online dating, I guarantee he will not be very successful. It's not easy to find a woman who is willing to raise four children from another woman, even if the man is good looking. The baggage is just too big.

Well, unless Mr. Alaric wrote in detail that he was filthy rich and really powerful, then it's another story. But, we are talking about ordinary people's profiles. You don't want to disclose your real identity to these women before you can trust them and there is a chemistry between you and them."

"Sshh... what do you mean Alaric can't find a partner through online dating website just because he has four kids? Have you gone mad?" asked London curtly. He knew that Jan didn't like Alaric. Whenever Jan talked about his brother-in-law, it almost always sounded negative.

Jan just shrugged. He realized that it was still difficult for him to be nice to Alaric because the man caused his father to kill himself. He didn't know if he could ever get over that.

London did not press the issue further and continued reading his profile details.

"I love reading and traveling. Nice. I also love outdoor sports. These are good ... my profile seems smart and adventurous," he said approvingly. "The photos are good too. You can submit the profile. I approve of everything. Then, how will you do it?"

"I will control this profile and sort prospective candidates. Only those who meet the requirements can meet you for a date. Anyway, I will definitely find a good match for you, Sir. You can rely on me."

"Ouuuch ..." London g.r.o.a.n.e.d in pain when Lily suddenly bit his finger. Although the little baby didn't yet have teeth, it looked like Lily was exerting all her might to bite her father's finger. London turned to Lily with a confused face, "What's wrong with you, dear Lily?"

He then exchanged glances with Jan.

"Uhm ... it seems like Miss Lily doesn't like you dating other women," Jan answered carelessly. "Haha.. I'm just kidding. We will never know what she was thinking, Sir. Little Miss is still too small and she cannot speak."

Both of them brought their faces closer to her and watched Lily at close range. Lily still won't let go of her father's index finger.

"This is very strange. Do you think she really understands our conversation?" asked London in surprise. He no longer felt pain in his finger. All his attention was now directed at Lily. "If that's the case, then my child is a genius!"

Hearing her father's praise for calling her a genius, Lily let go of London's finger and smiled very cute.

Jan didn't take London's words seriously. He knew that parents were the most biased towards their children. For all parents, their children were the most beautiful, smartest, and most adorable children in the world. However, he didn't refute his boss' words. Jan just nodded.

"All right, Sir. As soon as we find a suitable candidate, I will tell you about her and I'll arrange a nice date for you. Now, please excuse me. I need to get ready. The meeting will start in an hour." Jan was about to excuse himself when London stopped him.

"Uhm ... please sterilize the bottle first, Jan. I can't move ..." London said, pointing at the refrigerator.

He was right. He couldn't move. Lily was still lying comfortably in her father's l.a.p and London wouldn't move for fear he would disturb the comfort of his beloved daughter. He couldn't get up to prepare milk for her. That's why he was asking Jan to do it for him.

Jan could only grumble silently, but he did what London asked him to do without saying anything. Ten minutes later, he had handed a sterile bottle filled with warm milk to his boss.

"Excuse me, Sir. I have to go and get ready for the meeting," he said.

"Thank you very much, Jan." London raised Lily's hand and made her wave at Jan and he pretended to imitate the baby's voice, "Dhank yuu, Uncle Yaan ..."

Jan could only massage his forehead while walking out of his boss's room. Actually, his position in this building was the HR Director, but for London Schneider, Jan was a versatile personal assistant who was expected to help his boss in any aspects of his personal and professional lives, helping him from romance to sterilizing milk bottles.

***

At 3 pm, after lunch, London took Lily to the large conference room at the other end of the corridor. He felt very happy because as it turned out, bringing his baby to the office didn't bother him at all at work.

He only needed to change diapers three times so far and feed her every two hours. Lily was not fussy because the room temperature was quite cool and she always had her toys that kept her busy. Most of her time was spent playing or sleeping.

When he passed a corridor filled with hundreds of employees working in their cubicles, London attracted the attention of many staff. He did not even realize they were taking pictures secretly. That day, Miss Lily Schneider was the subject of trending talks within the Schneider Group's internal server.

"Good day, everyone. We can now start the meeting," London said as soon as he entered the conference room and closed the door behind him. He placed Lily's basket on a large chair beside him and began their meeting that day.

Most of the middle-aged directors were surprised to see a baby in their meeting room, but no one said anything. They run the meeting seriously for two hours.

At first, Lily seemed to pay close attention to their discussion, but fifteen minutes later, she looked bored and yawned several times, then she fell asleep.

Lily seemed to have a very lively dream while she was sleeping. She would throw her fist to the air and mumble, all while looking as cute as a button. The meeting participants had to hide their laughter several times when they saw her acting so cute in her sleep.

London was very happy to see how everyone who saw Lily was mesmerized by his baby. He really couldn't wait to see Lily grow up and be able to walk and talk. He believed Lily would be even far more adorable than this.

"Alright ... let's end the meeting now. We will meet again with plans for next year at the end of November," London said two hours later as he closed the meeting. The clock showed it was already 5 pm.

All the directors excused themselves, and only Jan and London remained in the conference room.

"Miss Lily is very popular today," Jan commented. "I don't remember Sir Caspar ever bringing his children to the office."

London shook his head. "Hmmm, he never did. My father was too overprotective. We were never brought to the public."

He regretted the way Caspar raised him and his siblings. Caspar was too concerned about the safety of his children that he chose to hide them at home. As a result, London had now become an a.d.u.l.t without many friends.

Come to think of it, he didn't want the same thing to happen to Lily. He wanted his children to grow like other ordinary children and have many friends.

He lifted Lily's basket very carefully so as not to wake the baby up and retrieved his cellphone from the table.

London's brows furrowed when he saw that there were 100 missed calls from L.