He Was Almost Absorbed By The System - Part Two

Chapter One Hundred And Ninety Three - Charity Auction

For the following five days, Dominic took his breakfast in the small garden park.  He ate a lunch, purchased in one of the many cafes on route, in the park.  And he even lingered for an hour after the business day was done in the same park.  He didn't necessarily sit upon the same bench or brick wall each time.  And although he took his camera, he did not take any pictures with it.  His eyes simply drifted through the numerous bodies that passed through or enjoyed the piece of nature amongst the steel and glass towers surrounding it.  He once saw the youth with multi-coloured hair, but the person he truly wanted to see, he did not find once.

He had his computer scan the image of the youth to try and identify him through electronic means, but either the image was not detailed enough or the programs he used were not adequate enough, but he couldn't get data upon the boy beyond what the computer deduced thanks to the original picture.  The boy was five foot and nine inches tall and weighed approximately one hundred and seventy pounds.  If he estimated correctly, if the youth was standing before him, he'd be able to tuck him just beneath his chin while embracing him.  Why this idea came to fruition in his mind or why it appealed to him strongly, he wasn't sure, but he liked it.

Having failed to make headway into identifying the boy himself, he had discreetly made inquiries with a private detective, who had yet to come back to him.

On the sixth day, not including the resting day, where the office was closed and the park was filled with people who lived nearby, Dominic did not stop for breakfast in the park, just walked on through.  He still kept his eyes alert, which wandered in the direction of the university more than once, but did not see who his heart longed for.  He did catch another glimpse of the boy's friend and the temptation to run up to him and demand to know where the boy was, caught him, but he doubted he would get the answers in doing so.  He left the park and the notion behind him with a sigh.

His office was a little tidier now, not cluttered with numerous images of the youth.  Only one remained, which was sitting framed and taking pride of place upon his desk.  Looking at it daily kept him from going mad.  His brother had not spoken another word about his obsession, discontent about it, but also coming to the realisation that whoever this youth was, he had suddenly grounded Dominic and the man seemed less agitated, less driven by his demons to rush to the stars and vanish until the family could drag him home.  Instead, Artem had decided to test this resolve and explore just how far he could familiarise Dominic with the daily workings of the company.  Currently this involved Dominic scanning through and approving a spot check of financial documents from the accounts department.  Dominic wasn't particularly happy about the line of work, numbers weren't his thing, so he was surprised that he managed to spot the odd mistake on one of the reports.

He deuced that it was probably a one off and simply highlighted it, but something about it bugged him and he loaded the document, that ordinarily would be emailed back for correction, to his handheld device and left his office for his brother's.  It didn't occur to him to knock and although the office was clearly occupied by more than one person, it was not locked for privacy.

"Oh, Sorry," Dominic apologised for his abrupt entry, realising his mistake a bit to late.  Artem did not show reveal any of his annoyance, his brow simply twitching upward before it was schooled into more an amicable appearance.

"Lord Olson, Lady Millicent," Artem turned to his guests, a couple who appeared in their middling years so less than a hundred and twenty, but more than ninety.  The woman, in particular, seemed familiar to Dominic.  "You've met my brother before."

"Yes, I recall," Dominic said politely and offered a genuine smile.  "Lady Millicent was quite insistent for me to sell that humble photograph of mine.  Is it what you wished it to be, ma'am?"