Greetings everyone! I hope you are doing great or, considering the circumstances, the best you can.
Chapter 47 is here- I hope you enjoy it as usual! Thanks as always for reading/following/favoring!
I will see you all next week with ch. 48! Until then, take care and be as well as possible! See you!
Two nights ago
"…and that was when I realized it was no ancient evil; just a pair of boys playing a prank on the villagers. So, we trapped them and got them to the mayor."
Weiss ended her story in a rather anticlimactic manner, but she really didn't care at this point. Of course everyone around her was visibly impressed and was clapping at her; that aggravated her even more.
She was here for a reason, damn it! And that wasn't storytelling for the sake of pompous businesspeople that couldn't identify an Ursa if it stared them in the eyes!
She felt her eye throbbing underneath her bangs. Ok, calm down, Schnee. Don't let them break you that easily.
A woman turned at her, holding a glass of champagne. "Miss Schnee, could you please tell us about that expedition in that backwater Vale village? I have heard some interesting rumors!"
She held back the urge to throw that glass on her painted face and instead gave her best practiced smile. "Of course I will. But I would ask your permission to give me a short break. I am a little thirsty."
After exchanging a series of forced 'thank you' and 'you are mostly welcome' she proudly strode across the floor up to the bar. Her head was pulsing from pain; in Yang's terms, she had to chill a little.
"Can I get you something ma'am?" a young man behind the bar asked her. She was pleased to see he wasn't another faunus used as a servant. "Sparkling water, please. Apple flavoured if you have."
"I see you have developed at least one good habit living down there in Vale" the haughty, arrogant voice that sounded as if it commanded the world itself tripled the pain in her eye.
"The way we last parted, I had thought maybe you would follow your mother's example. I am pleased to see she is the only one with a taste for alcohol" her father, proud prim and proper stood next to her.
Weiss licked her lips without facing him. "On that part, it is the only time I kind of understand her; she has to spend the rest of her life with you."
"Low-tier jabs are so not like you, Weiss." She fumed, but still kept her outer calm. "You have absolutely no idea what I am and what is 'like me' Jacques. So please, drop the remarks."
The barman served them a pair of matching drinks. "That might be the only good thing aside from superior education I have received from you" she nodded at his apple-flavoured water.
"And here was I thinking you wouldn't even consider that. I know you still hold a grudge-" "Why would I do that?" she faked a laugh, trying her best to not raise her voice and draw attention.
"You worked with a man who tore Atlas' defenses apart and killed Winter, along with countless civilians." She took a big chug from the drink to cool her boiling nerves.
"You got arrested for treason and escaped the gallows only because Ironwood was assassinated. You bought your way out of prison and have the nerve to even mention mom's alcoholism?"
The man smirked. "Nothing of these was ever proven. The only witnesses at the time of my trial were either dead or in the other side of Remnant. I am a free man, with my name as clean as it can be."
"You are disgusting. Why hasn't Hill punched you yet?" "Your little bitch of a girlfriend did- and she nearly got arrested for that. Hill tried too; but she eventually conceded that attempt."
Weiss gritted her teeth. She hated this man whose filthy, treacherous blood ran on her veins. If she could tear away every single aspect of him from her body, she would carve her flesh on spot.
"Why do you want, Jacques? Do you want to rub on my face that instead of a life time in prison you still have control of grandpa's company?" she ordered another drink.
"I wanted to meet you" he flatly said. "I heard something interesting from Whitley- that you lost an eye. So, I wanted to see if my daughter, who still affects my public image, is at least still presentable."
"You" she gulped, shoving back all the unbecoming responses that rose to her mouth "have" her eye flared in pain "no right" she turned around, her patch visible to him under her waving bangs "to judge me!"
She held back the scream in the last minute. "I do not judge you, Weiss. I merely wanted to see if you are at least able to represent our name. You are doing ok, I guess."
Weiss thanked all Gods for what he said. Her nerves were already being fried. "But there is one thing you should be aware of" he added.
She raised an eyebrow and he chuckled pointing towards the rest of the room. "It is visible to anyone with half a brain that you hate every second being here." She gulped; of course he would notice "so what?"
"You should at least learn to pretend, Weiss. Next time-" "there will be no next time" she cut him off. "I will soon return back to action."
"That's not going to happen. I may not have been the best father, but I know a broken person when I see them. And right now, you look like a rookie businessman who stepped inside the SDC negotiation room."
For the second time in a few days, a relative had managed to leave her speechless. "That's- you are wrong!" she was shaking. Who was she trying to convince, really? Her father? Or…
"You are one step away from retirement. This" he opened his arm showing the rest of the room "will be your life from now on; talking about your past in events."
He glared at her, silently enjoying her helpless expression. "I hope you will at least learn to present yourself so that you will not shame the family name even more."
She couldn't reply. She had to. That man was her father. His opinion shouldn't matter. He should be wrong. He should not be this way. Not confirming the thing she was afraid of the most. She-
"Now, now Mr. Schnee." A melodious voice helped Weiss compose herself. "I didn't invite you in the ball so that you would insult my other guests. That's mostly troublesome."
Father and daughter turned around and came face to face with Sophia Carmel. She smiled at them and walked to the middle of the room.
Sophia's attire was breathtaking. She wore a coffee-colored luxurious sleeveless vest that cut just upon her curvy chest. Its tail was similar to Yang's, but stopped even higher in her legs.
Said legs were covered by a pair of pastel red leather tights that highlighted every movement she made and were accompanied by a pair of dark color low-heeled shoes.
Above the vest, a see-through dark crimson open shirt covered her slender arms. A gold circlet with a small ruby on it rested on her tender-looking neck.
Her caramel hair shaped a ponytail in her back and triple curled bangs that framed her enchanting almond-shaped eyes in the front. She stood there, simply knowing she owned all the stares in the room.
"My apologies for the delay" she addressed everyone. "Running a ball isn't as easy as it seems. But exquisite guests like all of you are more than a worthy reward for Carmel Communications."
Weiss gulped. The woman radiated charisma. Her presence was so immense; everyone had stopped talking without even asking them.
"I will not take a lot of your time. Talks are for business meetings. I wanted to thank you for being here on our 5th anniversary! Please honor us by having a good time! Thank you so much!"
-o—
"So, that is Sophia Carmel. She is quite something, Wenge." Yang commented to the slightly tanned man next to her as he gave her another Margarita and stole another glance at her legs.
"She is" the suited man said. "I have worked for many people, her parents included, but she is on a whole different level" he replied fondly.
"She is quite the beauty too. I guess everyone in the company is dying to work for her, aren't they?" the blonde winked, earning a good-natured laugh by him.
"Miss Sophia motivates her people simply by knowing what to tell them and how to ask them things. Even if she were an ugly hag, the company would still run the same. She is incredibly skilled as a leader."
"I see" Yang crossed her arms underneath her chest raising it just a little. Wenge noticed it and so did she. "So you would say everyone in Comms is a very happy person who loves their boss?"
He averted his gaze and replied "I can't be sure for everyone; however, I have never heard anything bad about her. She motivates, she never shouts and works more than anyone else- the perfect CEO."
If that is not suspicious, then my natural hair color is pink she thought. "So, Wenge. Besides communications what else do you guys do there?"
"Electronics and monitoring devices are a part of our company too. Not on a grand scale, we mostly design support tech for our own stuff. 'Self-sufficiency is both the key and the gate' is our motto."
"I see... so not many give and takes with other companies. That's great!" Yang had started getting bored. Wenge was truly nice company, but the conversation was dull. And she had to keep it going.
"I wouldn't guess you to be so interested in our company, Ms Xiao Long." He smiled and winked at her. "To be honest, looking at you I would guess lots of things but not an eye for business."
"These lots of things are wrong" she replied. "Appearances are built to deceive and flatter. I am not even half the things your lewd imagination has created, Mr Knight."
"Oh, don't misunderstand. You are a gorgeous woman but I would never go after a girl that has a serious relationship anyway. It's bad for my health."
Shit. The conversation has derailed! Did he do it on purpose? She silently chastised herself. There was no easy way to continue without making the man suspicious and despite his flirty attitude he seemed very professional when job was mentioned.
So, Yang thanked Wenge for the drinks and decided to take a shot around the place. She locked eyes with Blake moving away from Hill and Weiss fleeing from her father.
-o—
A couple hours and a ton of boring conversations later, all three of them were standing in the bar, enjoying their respective drinks.
"I never had truly realized how popular we are until today" Blake sounded exhausted. "We barely make two steps before someone runs to talk to us- it makes all the elaborate dressing I did seem needless."
"To make things worse, CC employees are happy-go-lucky guys who care more about ogling my legs than talking. And when they do, none seems to know anything about Merlot Industries" Yang groaned.
"I feel like my head is going to burst. This place gives me the creeps, even after my father left" Weiss complained downing her sixth apple soda. "I don't know if it's frustration, anger, or both at this point."
Yang stretched her arm and gently rubbed the girl's shoulder, happy to feel her let out a tiny cute satisfied moan. "So, now what?" the brawler asked.
Blake sipped her margarita and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess we take our leave and find a way to search the company in other ways?" she asked back, despite not sounding too confident about it.
Weiss heard her, but didn't reply. Her eye had fallen at Sophia Carmel, bidding good night to Robin Hill. She was particularly drawn to her eyes; a pair of almond-colored orbs shining in an alluring manner.
Sophia thanked the councilwoman and then walked to the balcony. At some point Weiss would have sworn she spotted the woman smiling at her.
"I have an idea" she finally told the others. "Why don't we ask the person who is runs the company directly instead of beating around the bush?"
The two girls looked towards the way she was staring. "Isn't that too risky, though?" Blake asked. "I mean, she practically is the CEO-"
"Which means she is the one who will have access to any info regarding to the company" Yang cut her off and straightened her blouse. "I am going."
"Wait" Weiss grabbed Yang's arm. "You and Blake attract too much attention dressed like this. I will go."
Yang wanted to counter by saying that Weiss was gorgeous enough to draw attention from other people too, but her girlfriend's expression stopped her. "Please" Weiss said. "Let me do this. I can do it."
Yang nodded in approval. "We will take turns drawing people away from there so you can talk undisturbed" Blake added. "Thanks" the ex-heiress flashed a quick smile and left, taking her soda with her.
She walked to the balcony and bit her lip to endure the biting cold. Sophia was standing on the edge, facing her, full lips parted in a perfectly framed smile.
Weiss shivered and not because of the cold. Everything about the woman- body curves, posture, dressing code, even her smile- was perfect. And that made her even more suspicious.
"You can join me; I don't bite." Her voice was softer than before, but still had that commanding undertone many people would find irresistible. She carefully walked forward and greeted her.
"I am sorry about disrupting your peace and quiet, Ms. Carmel." Her smile became deeper "nonsense. Good company is always welcome, Weiss. And, you can call me Sophia. Ms. Carmel is too formal."
"Ok, Sophia. Sorry for bothering you while taking your dose of air." The woman chuckled and picked a cigarette case from her pocket. "Taking my dose of poison, you mean" she lit one. "I believe you don't smoke."
"No, I don't like smoking; for me and for others" she immediately regretted it, as it came out more hostile than she expected. "Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you."
"Heh… you are surprisingly straightforward, aren't you. You wouldn't survive a week in a corporation." Weiss nodded solemnly "I take that as a compliment, if you don't mind."
"With a father like yours, I can understand why you would hate the world of business, to be honest. I am the same; albeit for a totally different reason."
That was a quite confusing statement, but Weiss decided she had better not pry too much. Now the question is; am I going to be honest with her? Or should I find an excuse to ask about the issue?
"What's the matter?" Sophia looked at her, still smiling. Her eyes were once more shining, in ways that simple brown should never possibly do. Gosh, was she breathtaking!
"You can be honest with me, Weiss" she said. "I want to… I am tired of doing things half-assed, just because I let my childishness get the better of me" she let her voice slip out of her mouth.
"Are you referring to this?" she tenderly caressed the eye patch. The sensation was amazing. Second only to Yang's arms. Yang?
Her entire body shook and she jumped away. "I am sorry! I don't know what got in me! Oh gosh! I am really sorry!" Sophia didn't budge; only raised an eyebrow.
"It's fine; I understand. You have an important person in your life. It's quite admirable, actually" she stood up and locked those gorgeous, shining almond-shaped pools at her.
"Thank you" Weiss whispered. "I love her with all my heart, but somehow I always find ways to make it tough for her. I… am that kind of person."
"It doesn't matter" her voice was even softer; like a gentle silk touching her ears. "Now, why don't you tell me what you truly wanted to ask me?"
Weiss nodded and smiled at her. The smile was deep, but had a cold, forced tone in it. She didn't know why, but she had to smile at this wonderful woman in front of her.
"Someone from your company ordered Grimm-suppressing chains from Merlot Industries five years ago. We wanted to find out who it was."
"Good girl" Sophia's smirk became deeper. "That was me, of course." Weiss snapped out of her trance, and stared at the woman in shock. "What?"
The CEO looked at her in a condescending manner. "Is there any possibility that someone would have used CC's resources for something like that without my approval, silly girl?"
Weiss' hand reflexively went to form a circle. The glyph roared, creating a- "Stop." All it took was a simple glare from her eyes and Weiss stopped her summoning.
"Get inside. Tell your teammates to say everyone goodnight and meet you in the garage. Act as naturally as possible. Then go to my limo and fall asleep. Understood?" the voice was cold and merciless, but as commanding as ever.
"Understood madam." The huntress mechanically replied, then stepped in the ballroom.
-o—
"Did Weiss seem off to you, or was it just me?" Yang asked Blake as they both stepped out in the garden.
"No, she was off. Like, she seemed to be way too normal? If this is the right way to put it." "My thoughts exactly, Kitten. I hope my hunch is totally wrong."
They walked carefully around the corner of the garden and stepped into the garage. Weiss was nowhere to be seen. Instead…
Six armed guards were waiting for them, Peros Bishop standing in front of them. "Goodness gracious, how nice of you to come by." The man was wearing his suit and save for his handgun, kept nothing on him.
"Where is Weiss?" Yang's eyes flared red. "She's asleep" another voice, more melodious and soft, like the wind, replied as Sophia Carmel stepped behind them.
Yang's fist clutched and Blake drew her weapon, aiming at the woman. "You have three seconds to tell me where she is" the blonde roared. That was her only mistake.
"She is asleep" a pair of shining eyes stared at the duo, taking their breath away as their mind got absorbed into her alluring gaze.
"And so will you" she finished her command, as Yang and Blake fell down, sleeping soundly on the floor. The men ran on them.
"Take their weapons and search them for any sort of equipment. Then, tie them up and put them in the armored car" she commanded
"I have to return back to the ball, but your men should get going. And remember; no scrolls. That applies to everyone. You will handle everything in my absence."
"Yes, madam" Peros replied before springing into action. Sophia grinned as she walked back to the house. The headache was immense; she had overexerted herself after all.
But everything was going just perfect; exactly as she wanted it to and in a few days all her problems would have been resolved. Her plan was flawless, as usual.
She was so self-absorbed into her triumph that she failed to notice one of the men glaring at her in hatred as they stepped inside the armored car.