And here is Chapter 3! We come back to Weiss! Yay! And I will start by saying that the next chapter will certainly not be released so "quickly" ... I will do my best to not make you wait too long, I promise!

See you at the end of the chapter for some comments on it, enjoy !


Weiss narrowed her eyes, re-reading the same sentence for the third time without being able to remember it. She was sitting at her desk, reading the many emails she received each day, and found it harder and harder to concentrate. A week had passed since her encounter at the library. Unfortunately, the calm that this moment had created was only temporary: from the moment she returned to her occupations as CEO, she had the impression that the Gods had cursed her, increasing her workload even further. There was so much to do that it was the second sleepless night in a row she was doing, simply because she didn't have time to sleep. Winter tried to help her the best she could, getting very little sleep herself and taking as much work off her sister's shoulders as possible, but despite this the young CEO was exhausted.

Someone knocked on the door, pulling Weiss out of the half-sleep state she had started to sink into. She tried to make herself look dignified and hide the obvious signs of fatigue she was showing. She did it poorly, looking like a half-drunk businesswoman trying to appear sober.

"Come in ..." she said in a voice tinted with exhaustion.

The door opened, and Weiss couldn't hold back a sigh of relief as her sister walked into the office: in her current state, she honestly didn't think she could have been of any use to anyone coming to ask her for help. When Winter put a cup of coffee on the desk, Weiss had a sudden urge to bless her sister over three generations.

"Winter, you're amazing..." moaned the CEO, immediately taking a sip.

Winter frowned.

"Although the compliment pleases me, you can't go on like this. It could have a detrimental effect on your health. You need to rest, even for a few hours." she said sternly.

Weiss refrained from rolling her eyes. Did her sister seriously think she had a choice?

"'A few hours' is a luxury I cannot afford. There is too much to do, you know that."

"There is indeed a lot to do, but the world isn't going to crumble if you take some rest. Especially that, knowing you, you will work until you pass out of exhaustion. And that will slow you down much more than a nap. " Winter replied instantly. Seeing that Weiss wasn't responding, she continued. "Slow down a bit, Weiss, the STC doesn't need its CEO to kill herself. You're not a robot, you need to take care of yourself too. That's why - and refusing is not an option - I will stay in this room until you finish what you are doing, then I will drag you to the sofa if necessary but you will take a rest . "

After her long tirade, Winter looked at her sister intently, ready to cut off any protest. However, the CEO didn't respond for a long minute, her brain seemingly struggling to understand what had just been said. This reaction only increased Winter's worries and she started to wonder if she might not be better off taking Weiss straight out of the office. After a long time, her sister finally answered:

"Ok ... I guess."

Far from reassuring, the complete lack of struggle worried Winter more, if that was possible. Weiss seemed to have given up on contradicting her sister, and just went into 'autopilot' mode, mechanically nodding to what had just been said. That wasn't good, considering Weiss didn't give up that easily normally. Winter waited for what seemed an eternity for her sister to finish, anxious that Weiss would pass out before she could rest. Finally, the second it was over, Winter immediately pulled out her chair, forcibly snatching her sister from her computer. Weiss stood up slowly, too slowly, her eyes already starting to close without her consent. Stubbornly fighting against the urge to sleep, she leaned heavily on her sister as she walked to the sofa in the office. It was halfway that she lost the fight, only avoiding the fall thanks to Winter.

Seeing the state Weiss was in, the soldier sighed before putting an arm under her sister's legs and carrying her bridal style. Ignoring the CEO's faint whispers of protest, she took her to the sofa and laid her down in the most comfortable way she could. Then, after placing a pillow under her sister's head, Winter went looking for a blanket, knowing that Weiss always kept one in her office. Once she found it, she covered her sister, being careful not to let a single part of her body - other than the head - uncovered. When she was finally satisfied with her work, she checked one last time that Weiss was comfortably seated, not being able to suppress a sad smile as she watched her sleep.

Weiss's face was more calm and relaxed than it had ever been since she had to take over the company. Without her furrowed brow and perpetual scowl, the CEO looked easily five years younger. With a sudden gesture, the young woman turned in her sleep, curling herself a little more in the blanket. With a pang of heart, Winter remembered the little girl who came to see her working on evenings when their father wasn't home. On those evenings, Weiss would barge into her sister's office - even though she was supposed to be sleeping - and settle on the couch, determined to watch her sister all night long if necessary. Invariably, the little girl would fall asleep after about twenty minutes, and invariably Winter would take a few seconds off her work to make her sister comfortable and put a blanket on her. Then, once she was done working, she would carry Weiss to her bedroom and put her to bed, kissing her on the forehead before heading back to her own bedroom. Sometimes, Weiss would wake up in the way of her bedroom, and refused to let her sister leave: Winter ended up sleeping in her sister's room and leaving very early in the morning to avoid any problem with their father. This little girl had changed a lot, that was for sure. She had become one of the most powerful businesswoman, the CEO of a world-renowned company and yet she continued to defend her convictions. The soldier was proud of her little sister and the woman she had become, and vowed to support her as much as possible.

And to support her as much as possible, she was going to start by relieving her of her workload as much as she could.

Winter walked over to her own office to get her computer, planning to work in Weiss' office so she could watch over her while she slept, like in the good old days.

Weiss was awakened by the smell of coffee. Eyes half open, she wondered for a few seconds how she got there. Then she remembered: Winter had come to forced her to rest, and she had ... fallen asleep?

Turning to the scent and still half asleep, she nearly fell off the sofa she was lying on. Catching herself at the last moment, she could watch the scene unfolding in her office.

Winter was working at Weiss' desk, sitting in the guest chair, watching her screen intently. Next to her was a steaming cup of coffee that she didn't even seem to notice. Her mind still sleepy, the CEO was confused for a few seconds: why was her sister working in her office?

"Winter?" Weiss muttered in a puzzled voice.

Hearing the call, the soldier finished what she was doing before turning to her sister. She smirked when she saw her still half asleep and a look of deep incomprehension on her face.

"Hello to you too, Weiss." she replied in an amused tone.

"Whathe ... what time is it?" asked the CEO.

"10:30 am." Winter replied, glancing quickly at her computer clock. "You almost slept around the clock." she continued. Then, seeing that her sister didn't even seem to have heard her and seemed to go back on the path of dreams, she took pity on her. "Here. You can have my cup." she said, handing Weiss her still steaming cup of coffee.

Weiss took the drink with a robotic gesture. She took a sip, then a second. It wasn't until after the fourth sip that her brain finally seemed to kick in and analyze what had been said before.

"... 10:30 ?! But why didn't you wake me up? Winter you know that-"

"-that you needed a rest." cut her off her elder. "While you were asleep, I took the liberty of looking at what you had received - other than personal or confidential - and was able to sort it out a bit. Most of the messages are just requests for funds, validations or reports from the different sectors. I organised everything for you to go faster, and I put the most important aside." she continued with her most serious expression.

Weiss stared at her for a few seconds with an air halfway between questioning and astonishment, while the informations sank into her mind. Then, her cheeks blushing slightly with shame at the work her sister had done - she had certainly made a sleepless night to help her- she replied embarrassedly:

"I-thank you, Winter. And sorry for bothering you" she added quickly.

Winter's expression softened upon hearing this.

"You never bother me, just try to pay more attention to your health in the future, okay?"

After Weiss nodded, Winter resumed her professional tone.

"So, for the most important... the Research and Development department is asking you for a solution for the lack of testers on some products in development."

"A lack of testers?" Weiss asked questioningly. This was surprising, because it wasn't a problem most of the time, as the testers received money in exchange for their help.

"I havn't looked the details, but it appears that they are looking to develop more powerful prototypes for certain products, intended for wealthy populations since they are expensive. However, people from wealthy populations see no interest in becoming testers, preferring to wait the release of the final product. Because of that, they are stuck in the test phase. "

"... okay, I'll take a look. Anything else?"

Winter looked her straight in the eyes with a look of apprehension on her face.

"You're not going to like it ..."

"Ah ...?"

"Really not going to like it ..."

"Winter."

The eldest took a deep breath -Weiss was almost sure her older sister was having fun adding drama to the situation-, before responding with her most serious expression:

"You are invited to a Winchester Corporation gala."

A few seconds passed, silent. Then, a moan of horror was heard as the CEO buried her head in her hands.

"Anything but that ... !" she cried.

The Winchester Corporation -WC- was a company specialized in the creation of military weapons of all kinds -projectiles, combat vehicles, rifles, bladed weapons ...-. She was the leader in her field, selling to anyone willing to pay and therefore ironically fueling the stocks of all of Remnant's armies. Her relationship with the STC was the strangest: a kind of halfway between alliance and rivalry. In Jacques Schnee's time, the two companies had entered into a partnership for the development of new military weapons thanks to the excellence of the STC in the technological field. Despite this rapprochement, the WC - for a reason still unknown to Weiss - seemed determined to put a spoke in the STC's wheel.

Its CEO, Cardin Winchester, was one of the worst - if not the worst - human beings Weiss had ever met. Already several times involved in shady cases - money laundering, illicit substances trafficking, assaults - he had never been worried thanks to the money and power he had accumulated. Scams, misogyny, shady business, racism and an oversized ego, he was the perfect exemple of everything Weiss hated. Yet despite her distaste for this ... man, the young CEO was compelled to maintain the partnership with his company, otherwise she would cause a world-wide conflict and great losses for the STC. Which also meant that she had to go to this gala and put up with Cardin's more than unbearable attitude for a whole evening without snapping. It was easy to understand her lack of enthusiasm for the idea...

"... Great. And when will this ... event take place?" Weiss resumed after a moment with a forced smile on her face, a nervous twitch on the corners of her lips.

"In three days."

Great. Of course he was going to warn her as late as possible. By giving her only three days to prepare, he was shaking up her entire planning, and the STC would suffer in one way or another. Weiss had a sudden urge to take the scissors lying on his desk, find Cardin and slit his throat with it. She calmed down as best she could, thinking about all that needed to be done to prepare for the event. At the same time, she was also thinking about the problem of the Research and Development department to which she would have to find a solution as quickly as possible. She was already feeling her migraine from the day before coming back...

"Weiss." Winter cut her off, interrupting her thinking. "The most important thing for the moment is to prepare for this gala. It's the image of the STC that is at stake. The rest can wait a few hours or even a few days." then she continued with a weak smile, "Don't try to do everything at once, it will do more harm than good."

The CEO nodded at the wisdom of her big sister, and took a minute to focus and shift into 'businesswoman mode'. When she lifted her head to meet her sister's gaze, her eyes were filled with a new determination.

"Winter? Can you let the message from the Research and Development department apparent?"

When Winter nodded, Weiss continued:

"Good. Now I guess I need to think about who I'm going to take to this gala to represent the STC. And I need to see Coco for a proper outfit." she mumbled. "Winter? I'm going to take back my office, I'll take care of the rest. Go get some rest, I know it's been a while since you've slept. It's an order." she added when she saw that her sister started to open her mouth, presumably in protest.

"... Very well." Winter replied finally. "And Weiss, I really think you should hire someone to assist you. It would prevent a situation like this from happening again."

Weiss frowned. Winter had already brought the idea several times, and each time the CEO had refused, preferring to do everything on her own. This time she contemplated the idea: Winter was right, she couldn't go on like this. An assistant would lighten her workload, allow her to be better organized, and therefore save time. Reluctantly, she quickly replied that she would think about it. She asked her sister one last question before she left the room, causing her to stop at the door.

"Winter ...? I take it he didn't write?"

Seeing her sister shake her head sadly in negation, Weiss sighed and then refocused on her computer screen as Winter exited, closing carefully the door behind her.

While reviewing her messages, Weiss was making a priority list. For now, she had to focus on the upcoming gala, the corporate image was on the line after all.

First step: learn about the importance of the event. Weiss clicked on the official WC message she had received and read it intently. At first, everything seemed normal to her: the purpose of the gala was to present what WC had to offer and to meet other companies, which could later lead to contracts or collaborations. Presented like that, it was a really good opportunity ... Unless a jerk tried to sabotage her by not warning her until three days before the event!

Realizing that she was starting to get angry again, Weiss quickly went through the guest list. Depending on the people present, she would be able to decide on the two or three people who would accompany her to represent the company. If she chose badly, it was the image of the company that would suffer, so she had to pay extra attention. Among the guests, she found the WC - the host -, the STC, other companies often present at this kind of evening, General Ironwood, an oil compan-.

Wait, what ?!

Praying that her vision had played tricks on her and that she needed glasses, Weiss came back slightly ... only to realize that no, she could read very well.

General Ironwood was among the guests.

The gala had just gone from 'lambda night' to 'event of the year' in a second.

Wide-eyed, open mouth and gaze fixed on her screen, Weiss froze for several seconds. Then, after an infinite amount of time, she closed her mouth before opening it again, overwhelmed by her emotions and wanting to externalize her feelings.

"... crap."

"Winter ...?"

Hearing her name, Winter turned around in astonishment. She had just finished putting her things in order and was getting ready to go home and get some sleep. She was therefore quite surprised that her sister - who was the one who had ordered her to take some rest-, came to ask her something. And that tone of voice usually meant Weiss wanted to ask her a favor she wasn't going to like.

"What is it ?"

She saw Weiss wince before putting her hands behind her back, looking at everything but her sister. Winter almost wanted to laugh when she saw this, it looked like a child who was about to confess a stupid decision he made. After a moment of silence, she raised an eyebrow to express her confusion. Finally, Weiss decided to speak.

"I need a favor ..."

"I understood that, what kind of favor?"

"Something you're not going to like ..."

"I suspected that, thank you."

"Really not going to like ..."

"Weiss."

"..."

Winter felt a tinge of irritation as the conversation was going nowhere for the moment. Seeing that her sister seemed to fear her reaction, she decided to try another approach.

"If it's to ask me to kill Cardin, I'm fine with it, but you get rid of the body."

The sentence completely caught Weiss off guard, who stared at her for a few seconds with a shocked look before making an amused little noise. Then, once the surprise was over, she shook her head and resumed a calmer expression as Winter heard her whisper something:

"I would have prefer to ask you that ..."

Finally, the CEO managed to look her in the eye. Hands still behind her back, she took a deep breath - Winter could have sworn she was overdoing it on purpose.

"Come with me to the gala. Please." she added after a few seconds of silence.

Perfect silence followed her request. Winter could no longer move a single muscle or even form a coherent thought. She didn't expect that, at all. Damn, she would have found the idea of Cardin's assassination more credible! The soldier took a good thirty seconds before being able to react. And even when she was finally able to regain control of her body, she could only articulate two words.

"... Excuse me ?"

Weiss grimaced again. But she didn't look away: she continued talking to her, a determined expression on her face.

"I would like you to come with me to represent STC at this gala - at your convenience of course."

Winter looked at her with the same expression as if she had just proposed to her. Weiss knew really well that her sister hated these kinds of events - damn it, that was even one of the reasons she had given up on becoming CEO! -. She hated the vibe, hated having to keep up appearances, forcing herself to sympathize with questionable people, and behaving like she was above everyone else. Usually, the soldier was someone who appeared to be 'cold' because she remained unmoved under all circumstances. She should therefore have had no difficulty interacting with the people who were at these kinds of events. And yet, it was in these situations that she found it most difficult to control her emotions ... Her father had even ended up giving up after she punched a young man a little too pushy, breaking his jaw in the process - ironically, that was how General Ironwood had spotted her and had become interested in her potential in the military. For that, Winter absolutely did not understand how Weiss could even think of asking her that. Moreover, she was not even employed at the STC! The soldier seriously wondered if the lack of sleep had not made her sister completely crazy...

"Did you hit your head?" she replied incredulously.

"No. I'm serious."

"... Weiss, you know very well that I'm going to ruin the evening more than anything else, what could make you think that I would be of any use-"

The CEO showed her the screen of her phone where Winter could see a list of company names and more or less famous people. Her finger was pointing at a particular name, which stopped her dead in her tracks when she read it.

"- se. Oh." Winter continued after her brain had rebooted.

Weiss gave her a look that clearly meant 'Do you understand now?' before taking an expression halfway between a grimace and a plea. Winter, still looking at the screen, began to think quickly. If the General was present, that complicated everything: he was one of the biggest customers of the company, buying the technologies of the STC to try to always more modernize the life of the inhabitants of Atlas and taking a close interest in anything that could improve the military field. He wasn't present at many events - being a very busy man - but when he was there, the goal of the evening for the STC was to succeed in keeping him as a client, in particular by sending the CEO to talk to him ... And Weiss had been running the company for only a few weeks, she didn't have enough experience in this area, so it was normal that she didn't feel ready to handle conversations with such important people. ... The invitation looked more and more like a trap, Cardin was compelled to know that Weiss didn't have enough experience for an event of this size.

Winter, on the other hand, knew the General well, being his right-hand man. She was certainly in the best position to speak with him, and Weiss would be more reassured if her older sister was there to catch up on potential mistakes ... which meant she had to go. Although this was what she hated the most in the world, she couldn't see herself letting her sister down like this. Besides, she supposed it would be nice to see the General again after those few weeks away from the army ... hoping he didn't try to get her back right away, there was still too much to do. Her decision made, she turned to Weiss to answer her.

"... forget what I said, I will hide the body myself. "

"Eh ?" Weiss replied in astonishment.

"Winchester. To make me go to that damn gala."

Weiss stared at her for a few seconds with a look of incomprehension, before finally realizing that her sister had just agreed. She relaxed immediately, before responding with a smile:

"Thanks Winter. Really."

"If you really want to thank me, buy me dinner when it's over." Winter muttered, half joking.

"Duly noted." Weiss replied, her smile widening.

There was a comfortable silence of a few seconds during which neither woman spoke. Then Winter ended up asking a question.

"Do you already know who else you are going to ask to come?" she asked.

After all, if she was going, better she knew with whom!

"Honestly, before I even read the list I thought I'd ask Roman." Weiss confessed after a moment. "I think he would be really good at this kind of party."

"Good choice." Winter appreciated.

She didn't know the man very well, but she knew he would have no problem: he was never taken aback, knew how to use words to his advantage and was very good at leading people exactly where he wanted during a conversation. The perfect candidate.

After that, the two sisters continued talking for a few minutes before Weiss returned to her office, and Winter to her sleep. Once again settled, Weiss spent several minutes writing an email to warn Roman of the gala. Once she was satisfied with the result, she emailed him, and also sent a duplicate to Neo, the man's assistant, who would remind him and make sure he was present at the event.

Deciding to take a break from preparing for the gala - she would warn the heads of Departments later that she would not be available that day - her gaze was drawn to the second problem of the day: the Department of Research and Development's email. Wanting to be able to start thinking about the problem, she read the email for a detailed explanation of the situation.

From what she understood, for certain products intended for specific populations - largely medical devices such as prostheses - the Departement was struggling to find testers. The reason was simple: since they would be sold to people with the financial means to buy it, the testers were mainly sought among them - especially since it was often necessary to have done an expensive operation beforehand to be able to use the medical devices -, but it was precisely the rich people who didn't find the offer interesting and preferred to wait for the release of the final product ... In short, a real headache.

Weiss spent several long minutes thinking, hoping that a solution magically appeared to her. Unfortunately, it didn't happen: twenty minutes later, she was no further ahead than before. She could not find a way to convince more without having to drastically increase the pay of the testers.

Frustrated, she sighed before going through the product list for the fifteenth time, trying to convince herself that 'fifteenth time's the charm'. Of course, it didn't work either : she hadn't found anything when she finished rereading.

It was a real horror: the rich were too rich for it to find it interesting, and the poor populations would not have enough money for any operation, let alone to buy the device once it was finished! Weiss was stuck anyway, she couldn't do anything without it costing more. Besides, for the poorer people who were desperately trying to make a living, the testing phase might earn them some money, but once the testing would be over it would be back to square one for them. In addition, without money to buy the devices, they would still have a hard time-

"-finding a job." Weiss finished aloud, her eyes widening in realization. For a moment, she was immersed in the memory of a mother with lilac eyes who couldn't find a job because of her condition ...

And suddenly she had an enlightenment.

An idea burst into her mind, so vivid and clear that it instantly destroyed all the other bogus solutions the CEO had come up with. Heart pounding, Weiss immediately tried to do the math for the budget, and found that it was a bit over the current. However, the extra was much lower than all her previous attempts : she could allow it. On paper, it could work.

And if it also worked in practice, it would certainly be the most sustainable and profitable solution, both for the testers and for the company. Of course, it wasn't a perfect solution, but the CEO was sure it was the best, by far.

She began typing frantically on her keyboard, writing an email to the Department to state her idea and get the director's advice as quickly as possible. Once she was done, she took a moment to calm down and compose herself. Then, a small smile dawned on her lips.

She knew he was going to accept.

It wasn't an act of pretension, she just knew it would be hard to beat, and she trusted her proposal. It was the first time since running the company that the CEO felt ... satisfied with herself. She felt like she was finally making a difference, that she really was doing what she was supposed to do, that she really could help find a solution. At that moment, Weiss was filled with determination: even if her idea wasn't accepted for some reason - which she doubted - she would keep searching until she find the one. She would improve, she wouldn't give up. She could do it.

And when she received the positive response a few hours later ...

For the first time, even if it was only for a moment, Weiss felt fit to be the CEO of the Schnee Tech Company.


There you go ! Chapter finished! I was afraid it would be a bit too boring at first, but I like the result sooo... we're good.

Fun fact : I counted, and I modified more than 220 times the text I got from Google translate to have this result... It takes hours since I don't have an excellent level. RIP me from the future chapters.

This chapter was really centered on the two Schnee sisters, at the beginning Winter was not supposed to be so present, but I changed my mind during the writing ... As usual, I tried to stick the more possible to the original characters in the dialogues and reactions, but damn it it's complicated!

Finally, let's get to the comments:

- I swear that I didn't purposely make the name of Cardin's business shortened 'WC' ... but I admit that it made me laugh when I realized it.

- I have no idea what a CEO is supposed to do in real life, so ... too bad if it doesn't correspond to reality, it's fictional I suppose.

- I sincerely think Roman would make a good businessman. I don't know why, it's just an impression I have.

That's all for today ! Take care of yourself and see you next time!