Days later, Ci-ci had convinced Jason and Isabella to focus on preparing for the negotiation. There were too many variable wordings and phrasing to comb through – not to mention various facets of medicinal law and bylaws – for them to be dealing with the corrupt Algood Police. However, it seemed that Ci-ci had missed quite an important visit while he was dealing with a few things."Someone of the Alleman family came by?" Ci-ci asked with a questioning gaze.
Isabella nodded solemnly, rubbing her temples as though there was something she couldn"t quite figure out.
"I don"t know why, but it felt like a shakedown. They didn"t say anything out of line, but it constantly felt like they were pushing us in a certain direction." She answered.
"Some bigshot named Gael Alleman met with us to "encourage" us and to let us know that "no matter what happened" he"d do his best to uphold "absolute fairness"." Jason sneered under his breath. "Then he went on about how oh so "disappointed" he was about Dr. Von"s disappearance."
Ci-ci almost couldn"t hold back his laughter when Jason called Gael Alleman a bigshot, but he managed to hold back. He had a hard time taking a man he turned into a cuckhold seriously.
"Why are you two so sure he was disingenuous? After all, what reasons do the Alleman"s have to favor one firm over the other?"
"He was just so… Slimy." Isabella settled on the best description she could come up with. "Plus, my fiancé has had dealings with this Gael before and let"s just say he"s not a very good guy… As for what reasons, I thought you had stopped testing us already, Lucius."
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Ci-ci chuckled. The reasons they had were obvious after a second glance.
The parent company behind Simple, the one Jason and Isabella were always worried about, was none other than an Alleman owned company. Knowing this, it was quite obvious what the Alleman"s wanted out of this… The question was why they were so h.e.l.lbent on the research group.
"I definitely made a mistake not meeting this Dr. Von beforehand. But now he"s been taken away to G.o.d knows where…"
With the transportation technology today, Ci-ci alone could drive from one end of West Continent to the other within half a day. There was simply no telling where Dr. Von could be.
"I"ve been splitting myself too many different ways. If I had been focused on this case solely, I would have never allowed this to happen… I need to make some changes."
"Alright, I"ll be heading out then. If Gael Alleman makes a reappearance, just pretend as though you"re buying what he"s selling. People like him who have their eyes above their heads are susceptible to being tricked by the weak."
"Hold on." Jason called out. "Where is it that you go all the time? If we"re going to continue partnering up like this, shouldn"t you be a bit more transparent?"
Isabella remained silent, but was definitely in agreement. They had come to respect Ci-ci, but that didn"t mean that they accepted everything he did. In fact, they felt that if Ci-ci spent as much time on this case as they did, their chances of losing would drop to zero.
Ci-ci smiled in response, not minding their prodding. "You could say that I"m laying down the path for the future. Maybe if I"m lucky enough, one day my name will be beside yours on that wall."
His words seemed to have the desired affect.
"Our minds are so focused on this goal that we haven"t been thinking about the future… While we"re hoping to retain a Prime Client, he"s probably trying to find another…" Jason and Isabella looked at each other, seemingly sharing the same thoughts.
To Ci-ci, rising to the top of the world of law and justice was a single, but important facet of himself. It might seem silly to try and better the world while limited to the scope of a corporate lawyer – in fact, it was downright laughable the sheer irony of it all – but Ci-ci saw the world in his own way.
When he spent months doing pro bono work, yes, it was to put himself ahead in quotas. But, at the same time, it was proving something to himself… The only way to hit these large families where it hurt was on this field. Only when their power was slowly chipped away, only when their businesses ran dry and their bank accounts fell red, would they truly feel the ramifications of their actions.
So, when Ci-ci said he wanted his name to be beside theirs, he wasn"t lying, and as such, they felt his sincerity.
"Lucius…" Isabella called out one more time before he could leave. "… Would you like to come to my engagement party?"
Ci-ci tilted his head in surprise. An engagement party was supposed to be for close friends and relatives, was it not? It was definitely a surprise to be invited. Maybe Isabella got swept up in the moment?
"Ah," Isabella scrambled to explain herself. "You might be used to marriages where such parties are fairly close knit, but marrying into large families at the sub-pillar level is a lot more… political. Honestly, of those who come, you and Jason will probably be among the only two with actual close ties to Dalton and me."
After a moment of thought, Ci-ci nodded. "Sure, I"ll come."
Hearing these words, Isabella released a breath she didn"t know she had been holding. Somehow, she had begun seeing Ci-ci as a mentor although they were basically the same age. To think she"d be nervous asking such a question.
Smiling brightly, Isabella nodded. "I"ll send you an invitation. You don"t have to worry about the gift honestly and feel free to bring a plus one!"
Ci-ci chuckled and waved goodbye. "I"ll keep that in mind."
**
Later that day, Ci-ci began to "move in" to the Cherry Rose Residency of Grandbell University.
These days, his mind was split three ways. One for the firm, the other for the Petrov Technologies, and the latest and newest involved Grandbell University. However, for now, there was plenty of waiting and biding his time involved.
The Petrov Technologies aspect was currently being handled by Dr. Rai. There were still a few days until his first visit with mad scientist keen on dissecting his body, so he had breathing room there. But, he still needed to find a creative type so that he"d have no worries remaining in that lane…
As for Grandbell University, that was even simpler due to the fact the school year had yet to begin.
Lastly, the matter of the firm and the Algood Police was like a carefully laid trap, waiting to be sprung. He simply had to wait for Manager Romano to finish his end… It wasn"t so simple to stir up a believable conflict to fool such veteran parties.
Knowing all of this, Ci-ci felt he should spend some time keeping up appearances by moving into Cherry Rose Residency. Although it was the best residence Grandbell had to offer, that wasn"t why Ci-ci insisted on making it his own. The reason he wanted it was not only because it had a few hidden things that met his requirements perfectly, but also because it was built in the name of his mother.
In the past, when the Medical Saint was still alive and well, she had a habit of lighting scented candles in celebration for a cured patient. As no surprise to anyone paying attention, her favorite scent to use after the most difficult cases was the Cherry Rose scent. As such, this residency was named this way in honor of her.
Unfortunately, before Ci-ci could even enjoy stepping into his new residence, he was met by a visitor that almost stunned him to silence. But, in the end, he could only bitterly chuckle as though he should have expected this.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Miss Secretary Mortlock?"