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Jezebeth sat up and crossed her legs on the couch in front of her. "All?"
"Turns out my luck has either improved or declined, depending on how you look at it. My nervous little Hatchling is staying with none other than the boy I went home with."
Jezebeth cackled, holding her stomach and leaning her head back against the couch. "Mykie, I'd trade lives with you if I could! I'd welcome the beautiful arm candy on either side of me any day."
"Oh?" Mykie put her hand on her hip and smirked. "Does that mean I get Dexter to myself?"
The green-haired menace immediately stopped her teasing and frowned. "Don't you have some project to work on?"
Mykie rolled her eyes, crossing the living room. "I don’t think I've had many days where I haven't."
She left Jezebeth to her channel surfing going down the hall to her room. On her desk were the papers Chance passed on to her yesterday and her laptop. She grabbed both and laid back on her bed, getting comfortable before getting down to business.
She began outlining Harper and Co.'s profits in the last twenty-five years since the business had begun and compared them to the competitors in the area. Once she’d read more about it in the file as well as online, Mykie concluded that it began first between a couple who started freelancing before branching out once it started turning some profit. It was a realtor and construction company who either found your dream home or built it for you.
What seemed like an unlikely business had apparently turned into a quick success for homes, businesses, and vacation areas. Just in the last eight years, their profits had nearly tripled almost magically. From just the numbers on her spreadsheet, the change was unexplainable. What was different in the last decade for the couple? The company seemed to survive and even thrive through the most recent recession.
After the sheet listing sales and profits, there were another few pages about the couple who owned the company in the file. Madeleine Harper was a mother of four boys and one girl, all under the age of thirty. She met her husband, Earl, when they were in high school but didn't start a relationship until meeting again after college. Earl had studied business before quitting the year before earning his degree. Madeleine, on the other hand, had earned her degree in interior design and moved onto a path towards real estate.
Mykie paused, tapping her lip with her pen. How was Earl doing so well in the market without a degree? She was in full belief that while a degree didn’t always mean hardworking, a degree did make clients take someone more seriously when contemplating whether to spend their money on a service.
She looked at Madeleine's information again, suddenly curious about their children. Did they help in the business, or had they all flown the nest?
She opened a new tab and typed in Madeleine's name. She hit 'Enter' and started to look through the first page, but before she could get to the bottom of the first search page, her phone vibrated.
Corbus:Can we talk, or are you busy?
Mykie grinned. She was busy, but she could text him without it becoming too distracting. His next message came before Mykie could send her own.
Corbus:I want to know more about you.
Especially after seeing you work Renly up so hard.
Mykie bit her lip and chuckled aloud. Of course, Corbus had to rub it everyone's face, and she had a feeling Renly got the brunt of it after her parting remark. Her fingers flew against the letters on her keyboard, responding to him quickly.
She was surprised when she didn't receive a text back immediately. Brushing it off, she tossed the phone onto the bed beside her and went back to her research.
One of the results she saw on the second page of the search led her to a teacher's website for a Greg Harper. She almost clicked away, considering it unrelated if not for catching that he had his doctorate in business. He seemed to be in the age range for the son Madeleine had before the business begun, and his education in business was a possible explanation why the business was booming in the last decade.
Mykie was surprised when her phone started to vibrate on the bed before turning into her ringtone for contacts requesting to video chat. She picked it up, her mouth upturning into a smile once she saw the Caller ID.
"Hello? Is something the matter?" she asked softly once she answered. She wasn't expecting him to call her, especially when they were just texting. The room he was in was one she hadn't seen before. From the small area she could see, she could tell it was a bedroom. The wall behind him was white, but there were paintings she could partly see hanging above where he was sitting. She could see the pillows he was leaning against, which were covered in blue pillowcases.
"No, sorry," he said just as quietly, his breath slightly shaky. He ran his right hand through the front of his hair, brushing it up and to his right as they both waited for the image to be clear. He was quiet for a moment, but when he spoke again, his voice was even again, if not still shy. "I don't like to text a lot, so I needed to sneak away from the living room before I called."
"Afraid someone might overhear our conversation?" Mykie mused and quirked her eyebrow.
"No. Afraid that someone might steal my phone to talk to you themselves," he said with a pout, not unlike one she'd imagine coming from Renly.
"No pouting. I don’t know if I could resist it for long,” she joked. Her tone was serious, but she made her face playful in hopes that Corbus wouldn't think she was too serious and would laugh.
She got her desired result, which made her bite her lip to hiding her grin.
“You shouldn’t have told me that. Now I’ll just pout in your direction whenever I want something,” he murmured.
“As long as you use this power for good, I’ll let it slide,” she said with a wink, making him laugh again.
Once Corbus caught his breath, he gave her a relaxed smile. "He was devastated when you ran out, but he wouldn't leave me alone after you left. He felt it was unfair that I got your number and he didn't." He rolled his eyes.
