The next day after Roman's visit, Annabel went to talk to her aunt, Janice. She found her sitting by the pool side. The air smelled of chlorine and freshly cut grass, as well as the faint scent of citrus from Aunt Janice's perfume. Janice was sitting on the edge of a lounge chair and holding a glass of gin and tonic. Annabel sat beside her."Aunt Jan," Annabel called. Janice looked at her. "What was that about yesterday?""What was what about?" Janice feigned ignorance. Annabel sighed. "You ambushed my boyfriend back there with your weird questions. You've never done that before, why did you have to do it today? It was so embarrassing."Janice chuckled. "Oh, that? How's that embarrassing? I was only looking out for you.""And you went about it wrongly. That was his first time here as my boyfriend, and you talked about how expensive his watch is. That is just wrong, Aunt Jan." Annabel's anger was visible now. "You know you could have just let it be a nice day. Now it looks like you'

Thursday was fast to come by. The Valey brothers were already in Roman’s office at exactly 10 AM on that day. Roman, as usual, was sitting opposite them. "Gentlemen," Roman greeted them. "Let’s make this quick. I’ve got lunch plans." Pope chuckled and it sounded like gravel against a shovel. "Always the busy man, Mr Averne. But then again, time is money." Roman smirked. "And money’s what we’re here to talk about, isn’t it?" Prance nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yes." He immediately went to the details without waiting for his brothers' approval. "We have gotten the manufacturing plants lined up already. So all we need now is your signature next week, and we can start rolling out the first prototypes." Roman nodded. "And the branding?" Dexter immediately answered, as if he was in a competition with Prance that he wanted to win. "Anonymous launch, just like we discussed. We need the rumors to start circulating that Averne company is backing it, then you step in and confirm. Lim

The family gathering was slowly coming to an end. Some cousins were already picking up their bags and waving their goodbyes with bright smiles on their faces. Some of the older uncles had gone to the living room, where someone had put on a documentary that no one was watching, while the children were scattered all around. Some of them had gone to the guest rooms, while the others were outside with the dogs.Janice, however, was sitting by herself near the back patio. She had one of her legs crossed over the other, and was holding a half glass of wine on one hand. She wasn’t one to join in the chaos of packing after the gathering was over. She preferred to sit stylishly and sip on whatever alcohol came her way. She was taking one more sip from the glass when Donald saw her.He was one of those uncles that was always around but never too involved. He rarely took sides, but always had something to say when the dust settled. Everyone called him “Chill Uncle Don” in a sarcastic tone tha

Janice took her bag and phone from the side table, and started making her way down to her car. She was humming too, in her old habitual manner. She had just gotten to her car when she heard someone call her name from behind.“Janice!”She turned. It was Donald again. But this time, he wasn’t alone. Marren was with him. 'Two of them together? That cannot mean anything good.' Janice thought. Janice stepped out of the car and closed the door halfway, then she folded her arms across her chest and watched as they approached her.“Don’t tell me you’ve come to lecture me again,” she said, looking at Donald. Donald smirked. “Not this time. Marren and I… we’ve got something to discuss. And we were hoping you’d host us for a bit.”Janice raised a brow. “At my house?”Marren smiled. “It’s not a long discussion, Jan. Besides, you have the biggest wine rack.”Janice sighed. “You’re buying the next bottle.”“Deal.”Before she could even ask any more questions or say any other thing, the two men

Two weeks after the campaign rollout, Roman welcomed the Valey brothers into his office once again. The three men were dressed like they had just won a lottery. Their suits looked better than the last time, their grins were wide, and Pope still carried that his exhausting air of confidence on his shoulders as he came in. Roman leaned back in his chair and offered a nod as they settled."Mr Averne," Pope greeted. His raspy voice sounded like sandpaper. He did not sound good at all. "Good to see you again."Roman smiled. That was his thing now — smiling through all of it. He wasn't even sure it was real anymore, but it worked. His investigations were coming out as inconclusive, which wasn't a bad sign, but was also not a good sign."The branding campaign's been rolled out, just as we planned," Dexter said as he dropped a thick portfolio on Roman's desk. He sat down. "People are talking about the anonymous identity. They are curious and confused, and we love it.""Good," Roman replied