What's up, people! After seven long months, I bring you a new story.
To be fair, during these seven months I wrote and drew an entire volume of my comic, "Rewrite the Stars". Forty-three pages of drama and romance that, I believe, has some of the best writing I've ever done in my life.
But nobody cares about that, you're here to read this story. Queen of Diamonds is the fourth installment of my superhero AU, with interconnected stories similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The previous stories are, in chronological order: Ace Savvy: A New Hope (the one that kickstarted this AU, with Lincoln as the new Ace Savvy); Power Chord: High School Musical (the story of how Luna managed to make peace with her powers); and Nova: Homecoming (where Lori had an adventure in Great Lakes City).
Here comes the million-dollar question: do you have to read those stories to understand this one? The answer is, categorically, "no". There will be some references and certain context clues that will let those who have read the stories pick up certain developments on the characters, and you might understand some plot details better, but the main story is simple to understand and it doesn't require any previous reading.
That being said… If you like superhero stories, I invite you to read those previous entries. I think you'll enjoy them.
Without further ado, I leave you with the one and only…
Queen of Diamonds
Chapter 1: Once upon a time…
Once upon a time, there was a girl that had it all.
Money, fame, power, intelligence, and the beauty of a diamond in the rough. All she could dream of. The girl lived in a small town where visitors were an oddity. Practically isolated from the rest of the world, as common folk lived a quiet, humble life, the little girl was like a true princess.
Every day she looked down to the landscape underneath her tower, aware that she was the one guiding the town with her decisions. Trapped in her prison, a single question echoed in her mind.
"What can I do to make even more money?"
…
Alright, alright, I can hear the vinyl scratch and the jazz music stopping. Yeah, the princess loved money. What about it? Money lets you do a bunch of awesome stuff. Like buying dresses, or making sure the media says nice things about you. What else could you possibly ask for?
The little girl had a dreamlike life. No wish was beyond her reach; anything she wanted, she bought it. The whole world at her fingertips.
You think that's boring? Well, tough luck sweetheart, if you wanted a soap opera you should've looked for another superhero story. My life has always been fabulous.
Dang it, look at what you've made me do! Because of you, I've just revealed that I'm the princess of the story. And that I'm a hero! That was supposed to be the big ending! Ugh. My agent told me the best stories are written in limited third-person. And now I'm narrating in the first person. If I can't sell the rights of this story, I'm making sure your life gets turned into a living hell.
Ehem. Well, there's nothing I can do about it now. Sit down, shut up, and enjoy the best fairy tale in the history of mankind. about the prettiest, most fabulous hero of them all.
This is the story of Lola Yates, and how she became the humble, unique, beautiful, perfect, and unmatched Queen of Diamonds.
Incandescent lights! Blinding flashes! Applause! Bouquets flying through the air and falling onto the stage!
Most seven-year-old girls aren't ready to deal with a beauty pageant. They can't handle the hostile environment, the ferocious competition, the gargantuan pressure of appearing perfect to the judges, knowing that every move, every word, and every gesture will be meticulously examined and graded.
Of course, I wasn't like most girls. I carried over forty coronations on my back. Never a second place. Never any disgrace. Never less than a perfect score.
Perfection was my second name. And, minutes away from going out to the final performance of the Little Miss Twinkle Star Pageant, I was about to end yet another perfect night.
I found myself backstage, watching the performance of the antepenultimate contestant. Lacey St. Claire, parading on the catwalk with a beautiful, yellow dress that undulated with every step. If only that girl didn't walk with the grace of a schizophrenic orangutan rushing to get the best deals on a black Friday sale, perhaps she could've posed a threat to my act. Poor Lacey.
"You look remarkably calm for someone about to get the second place," said an annoying voice behind me.
I rolled my eyes, but when I turned around, I kept my chin up and gave the world's fakest smile to that forever second-place girl who called herself my rival.
"Oh, Lindsay, honey, the Little Miss Looney Pageant is on the other side of town," I told her with an annoyingly sharp tone. "I'm sure if you leave now you might make it in time, and then maybe you might win something for once."
Lindsay Sweetwater was the only child of the founder of Sweetwater, the company tasked with purifying our town's water. A multimillion-dollar company that gave work to hundreds of families. Their offices even had the second tallest building in Royal Woods.
Way behind my own, of course.
With all that money, one couldn't be surprised that Lindsay looked wonderful. Her reddish hair had been touched up by some of the best local stylists, with curls that flowed softly and with much volume. The total value of the makeup she had on must have been close to six figures, and the cyan dress that hugged her figure had been tailored and designed to the last inch, showcasing her natural beauty and flowing down like a waterfall of scales on the floor.
So far, she'd managed to get almost as high a score as me, but there was no way a simpleton like her could beat me in the final act.
I knew it, everyone knew it, but for some reason, Lindsay wouldn't lose that confident smile on her face. Hadn't forty-two consecutive losses taught her anything?
"Some day you'll find out you're not as smart, or funny… or pretty as you think," she said to me.
"If I was as half as pretty as I am, I'd still be twice as beautiful as you'll ever be."
"Oh, I see you've been practicing your fractions. How about your reading? I heard you have an employee to read everything for you 'cause you can't read straight."
I didn't let that low blow show on my face. I remained stoic and imperturbable.
"Those of us with money to spare can have those luxuries. Maybe if your daddy wasn't up to the neck in debts and bank loans, he could hire an employee to teach you how to banter."
The high business sphere is quite small, and all the walls are always listening. And if you pay enough, walls can talk. I knew about the Sweetwater financial struggles, and apparently, Lindsay knew it too. Her smile hesitated, and she clenched her fists in rage.
I looked at her blood-thirsty eyes and prepared for her comeback. Which was, as expected from an amateur like her, a low, predictable blow.
"At least my daddy tucks me in every night. Too bad you can't relate."
I kept my patronizing gaze on her, from my Ivory tower, showing no signs of accusing the blow.
"Sweetie, I've got all sorts of losers talking to me all the time; trust me, I know exactly what it's like to have your daddy talking to you."
"Did one of those losers work on your make-up? You look like a sickly geisha."
"Better than wearing a dress that makes me look like sea lion bait."
"Lady Gaga called; says she wants her MET Gala dress back."
"The Hunger Games' stylist called; he says you took it too far."
"Your eyelashes are ridiculously long."
"Your nails are hideous."
"Those heels are too small for your feet."
"You have one eye bigger than the other."
She pursed her lips, her whole body shaking with rage. She opened her mouth but then changed her mind, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and shook her head like she wanted to drive away a bad idea. When she opened her eyes again, a spark of defiance and imminent victory glowed in them, which threw me off.
Hadn't I just left her speechless?
"They say the bigger they are, the harder they fall," she told me, turning around and taking her place behind the curtains. "With how big your ego is, I can't wait to see how much it hurts you to lose for the first time."
A new round of applause signified the end of Lacey St. Claire's performance, and the announcer introduced Lindsay. The lights on the stage dimmed, and that was the first sign that there was something odd going on. Generally, we want as much light as we can get. What was Lindsay planning to ask for fewer spotlights on herself?
Her plan became evident as soon as she walked onto the stage, and for the first time in years, I felt true terror.
Somehow, Lindsay Sweetwater looked radiant. Literally radiant. It looked like her dress… no, like her skin itself was twinkling, creating more light than the spotlights. The audience went crazy, chanting her name, throwing rose petals in her direction.
I clenched my fists so hard I was afraid of wrinkling the long sleeves my stylist had given me. I took a deep breath and straightened my back. I was Lola Yates, I could deal with anything. I wasn't gonna be beaten by a cheap lights show.
Did people want twinkling?
I'd give them twinkling.
I sneaked to a side of the stage, hidden behind racks of dresses and boxes filled with decorations. I analyzed my clothes. A beautiful princess dress, with a formal, watermelon gown and chest piece, white sleeves that left my shoulders free, and a hem skirt that undulated to the floor, showing some laces and my precious magenta heels. Over my hair, I wore a golden tiara with flaming, silver details.
The best of the best. But it could be better.
Making sure to stay out of sight, I closed my eyes and focused. I slowly dragged a hand in the air, waving it in front of my dress. Immediately, dozens of tiny diamonds materialized, falling like a glitter rain on the fabric of my dress and staying glued to it.
I touched the center of my chest with my index finger, and a diamond the size of a golf ball attached itself to the laces, adopting the shape of an inverted tear. Finally, I shook my left hand in front of my tiara, and at its zenith, I placed a diamond prism.
Oh, yeah. The perks of being a secret metahuman with the power to control and create diamonds. There wasn't any rule against it, so it didn't count as cheating.
Maybe. I'm not so sure. I would have done it anyway.
The resounding clamor from the audience announced to me that Lindsay Sweetwater had finished her strange performance. I took my place behind the main curtains. An assistant did a double-take when she spotted me, perhaps wondering how she hadn't noticed the big diamonds before. I glared at her and she fled, terrified.
No one messes with Lola Yates.
"Alright," I said to myself, fixing my hair for the last time as the presenter announced my entrance, "time to bring a new crown home."
The curtains opened, and the giant spotlights focused on me. I couldn't even see the audience's faces, and honestly, it was even a bit confusing to make out where the catwalk began and ended. My experience, however, was leagues above those of any other contestant. I didn't let those flashes blind me, I didn't get distracted by all the screaming and yelling. That was my place in the world, my second home. My time to shine.
With an impeccable smile, I paraded on the runway, moving my hips and arms with elegance and determination, allowing the thousands of glittering sparkles to appear reflected on the mini diamonds I'd covered my dress with. The public's reaction let me know I'd done it once again.
Over the next ninety seconds, I enjoyed life to the fullest, with all its little pleasures. No worries, only me being authentic, showing myself to the world as beautiful and perfect as I was, being clamored and celebrated. What else could anyone ask for?
When the music announced the end of my performance was coming to an end, I glanced around, stepped into position, and after some quick math regarding the seconds left and the final angle of the spotlight, I bowed to the public so that the light hit the prism in my tiara and created a rainbow.
The audience blew up in cheers, an explosion of jubilance and admiration that must have been heard from the top of Yates Tower. When I gave my final salute and walked backstage, I found Lindsay, Lacey, and the rest of the contestants.
I rejoiced in their expressions as much as I did with the audience's cheers.
"You were amazing," Meli said, tripping over her long, Cinderella-past-midnight dress, struggling to keep up with my pace.
Unbelievably, even with those simple sandals she couldn't walk as fast as I did with my stiletto heels. Poor Meli; she was still a fish out of water at my beauty pageants.
"I know, I always am. Here, could you carry this for me, sweetie?" I said, handing over the forty-third crown in my career, along with the roses bouquet and the winner sash.
She really should have thought faster, since she barely managed to catch them before they hit the ground after I threw them at her. I didn't stop my rapid march, going through the halls as I fixed my pink blouse and made sure my black, wide-wing pants had no wrinkles on them.
When we reached the door, two of my bodyguards were already waiting for me. Their torsos were as wide as double-sized fridges, and they were so tall they needed to bend over to get through most doors. I'd picked them specifically because of the respect they imposed, but also cause it was funny watching them try to get in the car with me.
"Car's ready, boss," Armando said.
"Excellent. Alexei, glasses, please."
The mastodon I had for a bodyguard, with his long, straight hair tied in a ponytail, grabbed two pairs of child-sized sunglasses that looked more like nail clippers in his huge, rough hands that, according to his resume, had killed six men and a bear.
"These glasses be from last collection of Bvlgari," he explained with his thick accent, as he gave one pair to Meli and gently put the other one on me, delicately fixing a lock of hair behind my ear. "Combines with blouse."
"Always so attentive, Alexei. Excellent work."
"Пожалуйста."
"Alright," I said, stretching my neck from side to side to pop my bones there and relax. "Showtime."
With a snap of my fingers, Armando and Alexei opened the doors. If we didn't have those sunglasses on, the four of us would have been permanently blinded by the amount of flashes that attacked us like an atomic explosion. Meli hissed and covered herself with the flowers like she was a vampire, weak to the light, as I rejoiced in the familiar warmth of all lights on my skin. I smiled and posed as I advanced through the lane my bodyguards opened for me in between my fans. Just another runway for me.
I waved my hand from one side to the other, blowing kisses to the air, pretending I recognized someone in the crowd, wished them good health, and to see each other again soon. A couple of fans had a marker in their hands, so I put on a big smile and signed some copies of Royal Wood's Forbes with me on the cover. I even got a round of applause when I shook hands with a girl in a wheelchair.
My secretary had placed her there.
At the end of the sidewalk, waiting for me as a last barrier to go through before getting into my Hammer limousine, were the paparazzi. I heard Meli whimpering next to me; the poor girl hated the press.
Can't relate.
"Miss Yates, Miss Yates!"
"Good morning, Larry," I greeted, stopping next to the first microphone.
"What does it feel like winning yet another pageant?"
"Oh, Larry, always with the same questions," I giggled like a schoolgirl. "Of course, it brings me great joy, it's the result of many hours a day of effort to try to give my best for the public, and I'm happy they recognize it."
"Is your presence confirmed at the Little Miss Entrepreneur Pageant next month?" Asked another journo to my left.
"No matter what the organization says, my presence there depends exclusively on whether they decide to invite me or not, so that's a question for Miss Maximoff."
"How true is it that there's a serious bullying issue between pageant contestants?"
"Absolutely false, we're all close friends in this industry."
"Considering the intentions of Yates Industry to expand into the security market, has there been any sort of contact with our local heroes? Nova, Eclipse, or the new Ace Savvy?"
My camera smile turned into a real mischievous grin.
"Oh, I don't think I could ever work with someone with such a horrible sense of fashion as that Eclipse girl or Nova. Have you seen their masks?"
They all laughed with me.
"What about Ace Savvy?"
"Oh, there's a lot I'd like to discuss with such a handsome, chivalrous hero. I'll be waiting for him on my tower if he ever wants to have a… private meeting."
A new wave of flashes hit us, and I hoped they managed to capture the slight blush on my cheeks. With any luck, this interview would reach the ears of my favorite hero.
"Any comment regarding the rumors that the mayor is willing to lift the territorial restrictions for the expansion of Yates Industries facilities in exchange for a fiscal plan to urbanize the outskirts of town?"
My gaze quickly shifted to that journalist. Katherine Mulligan. Always carrying classified information. Always trying to figure out the truth behind the political webs in Royal Woods.
Always extremely annoying.
"I don't comment on rumors," I simply said, turning to smile at the rest of the cameras. "Well, alright, my friend and I need to go for lunch, so if you excuse me, I'll see you all next time. Byeee!"
The journalists tried to invade my personal space, but Armando and Alexei protected us like the walls of Troy. We got into the giant limousine, the inside of which was the size of a small apartment. Meli sat next to me, carefully leaving the crown and other gifts on the small table designed for that purpose.
"Ugh, can you believe it? She found out about my deal with the mayor," I said, complaining as I opened a Fuji water bottle. "Who does she think she is? Just because the original Ace Savvy gave her constant interviews doesn't mean she needs to meddle in everything. Ugh. What an annoyance, right?"
"Yes, Lola," Meli immediately replied.
"Exactly! I'm glad you agree. Oh, well, anyway. Life goes on. I'm hungry. Are you hungry? Should we go get some lunch?"
"If you want to, Lola."
"Excellent. I think I could use some fusion cuisine. What do you think about Jean Juan's?"
"If that's what you want, we can go," she shyly replied.
"Perfect. Armando, call the restaurant. Get a reservation for a big table, and all other tables around it."
Two hours later, the limousine stopped in front of the private entrance to Yates Tower. The impressive skyscraper rose as a milestone in town, reflecting the blue sky and the clouds in its immaculate facade, with my family's name in giant letters near the top. The family penthouse was located at the very top, sometimes disappearing among low clouds, which always made me feel like a demigoddess trapped on Mount Olympus.
I frowned. No, I wouldn't be a demigoddess. If there was any spark of divinity within me, I'd definitely be a full goddess.
"Well, that's two o'clock," I said, looking at the digital watch behind the driver's seat. "Thanks for coming with me, Meli."
"You're welcome, Lola," she said with that voice of hers, so soft that sometimes it was hard to hear her. "Thanks for the food."
"Don't even mention it."
I snapped my fingers and Armando handed me a silver suitcase. He opened it for me, revealing several stacks of bills, previously assorted. I grabbed one and handed it to Meli.
"Give my thanks to Mrs. Ramos, and tell her I need you to be my friend first thing in the morning tomorrow; I've got an interview with a radio and I don't wanna show up by myself."
"Of course. Thank you, thank you so much, Lola," she repeated, saving the bills into the pocket of her dress as if she were afraid of losing them.
I couldn't understand why she felt so worried about it. In two years she'd never lost them. It's not like she would suddenly become careless.
"Boys, make sure she gets home safe and sound."
"Of course, императрица."
"Bye, Lola!"
Unfortunately, I'd already opened the door and took a step out of the limousine, so I couldn't bid goodbye to Meli. Two new guards, with more common body types, came to escort me through the long hall that led to the foyer of Yates Tower.
Employees almost tripped on the polished marble floors when they saw me passing by, suddenly stopping to greet me and wishing me a good day. Ha! As if I needed a secretary or a chief engineer to wish me good luck for my days to be successful.
I soon reached my private elevator, where an employee waited for me.
"Where to, boss?"
"Meeting room. Hold on," I stopped him, as soon as he moved his arm to the panel. "I can press the button on my own."
"Of course."
I stepped next to the button box. I waited a second before clearing my throat.
The employee picked me up so I could reach the top row of buttons, and pressed the one that would take me to the meeting room. As we kept going higher into the clouds, I hummed the melody of the princess song that echoed through the speakers. I checked my nails, making sure they were perfect and fixed my pearl necklace so they'd be symmetrical and centered. As soon as the elevator stopped, I stopped humming and entered CEO mode.
The doors hadn't finished opening before I stepped into the room.
"Briefing," I demanded as two assistants came to me from left and right with folders filled with papers, instructions, news, and things to sign.
The immense room had three sides covered in armored, frosted glass, allowing light to get in, but keeping away the curious eyes of the competition. The only furniture in the room was the table for thirty people and the chairs, almost all of them occupied right then by the company's board of directors.
"Our shares went up by point zero nine percent today," the assistant to my left said.
"So little?" I said as I began to sign the paper my other assistant handed me. "Publish the report on our cybersecurity updates, that'll increase trust in our investors."
"Two newspapers published articles on the company. One's positive, the other one criticizes your relationship with the press."
"Invite them both to our next charity dinner and make sure you give them the expensive drinks. If they keep criticizing me, make their lives hell on social media."
"Got it."
"What else?" I asked, walking and signing more papers as I passed the other members of the board, soon reaching my seat at the header.
"Stanley Chang sent a new e-mail requesting a meeting with you."
"Tell him my schedule is filled 'til February."
"We're in May."
"Exactly. Anything else?"
"Jack Sweet's Candy Factory accepted your terms on the contract; the Gummy Bears box will arrive at your office tomorrow morning."
"Excellent!" I said, almost tasting those delicious treats on my palate. "Well, if that's all, get outta here."
The two assistant dropped their heads and got out of my sight right away, leaving me facing the two dozen vultures that were constantly trying to take my company away from me.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we all know why we're here," I coldly opened. "You know my plans. I know many of you don't want to follow through with them. You have this meeting to try to change my mind."
"That's not how the Board works," said one of the men in suit. "Without the board's approval, you have no power. It's you who should be convincing us that your plan isn't a complete financial suicide."
"I already did," I replied. "I presented my idea. I told them how to do it. I had a report made just for you explaining the viability of this. It'll be profitable, and it'll make us all much richer. Out of everyone in this room, I'm the only one with a clear plan and the guts to see it through."
"There's a fine line between guts and ignorance."
"And here you are, with none of one and submerged in the other," I told him without missing a beat.
He shook his head as the rest of the board members began to whisper among them.
"You're asking us for an inversion that doubles our annual budget, no one in their right mind would take such a risk," objected a woman wearing a red dress too revealing for my taste. "We've been working for this company for decades, and we'd never imagine to even consider a project like this."
"And that's exactly why this company has been stagnated for so long," I said, standing on my chair so I got to eye level with the rest of the businessmen. "Growth rates of two percent annually. Relative growth behind the national mean. It took you twelve years to recover from the crisis of '97. That 'v' bounceback you proposed turned into an endless slope of stagnation. And all for what? So you guys can keep your bonuses?"
Everyone looked away.
I got them where I wanted.
I stepped onto the table and began to walk across it, staring down at the board members, keeping them with their heads down.
"Ever since I took the reigns of this company, the shares have skyrocketed. I multiplied your bonuses over five times, I brought national attention to our name. I'm not an engineer, I don't know how to develop software, but I know where the market moves. I know what people want, and what they're willing to buy."
I stopped in the middle of the table, my heels placed firmly on the stainless steel.
"Tetherby Industries is filing for bankruptcy, in a few months they won't even be able to hold onto their name. Ace Savvy is dead. The security in Royal Woods needs a new banner: it needs us."
"There are other heroes," countered someone at the end of the table. "And their public image won't stop growing."
"Oh, please, child heroes?" I said, waving my hand dismissively in the air. "They'll soon disappear like every other hero does. Private security companies are eternal."
"The new Ace Savvy has been active for over a year. Nova and Eclipse, even longer."
"Yeah, and the three of them almost died two weeks ago when those villains from Great Lakes City invaded town," I replied. "That's the point, that's what we need to show to the public."
"The media have changed their narrative over them; the anti-hero movements aren't as popular as they used to be, people have hope in these children."
"Then let's use that in our favor! No one wants to replace them. We'll say we're here to support them, to make sure they succeed where so many others have failed."
"Miss Yates, if we promise something like that and then they disappear as you say, that'd be adding a failure to our records."
"Of course not. We'll mourn, we'll create a museum with their name, open a public school after them, and then we'll say it's imperative that we keep their heroic labor alive. Leave the press to me, they love me. You just make sure to approve my investment plan."
"And why Evergreen Forest of all places? We've got many available land in the industrial zone. Why should we try to get into an impenetrable forest to establish a factory?"
"Precisely to show that nothing can stop us," I replied, getting back to my place. "Not even a silly legend."
For a few minutes, no one asked or questioned me. I could only hear the indecipherable whispers among the board members, conspiring against me as always.
If it was up to them, they'd fire me, expel me from my own family's company, and leave me on the street without a dime to spare. Luckily for me, they didn't even value their pride more than their money, and I was making them earn a lot of money.
After long minutes of deliberation, the spokesman of the board of directors took his glasses off and stared defiantly at me. I met his eyes. He didn't scare me.
"The board doesn't agree with this security investment you propose, which would leave us indebted for at least a decade, with no guarantees of recovering the investment or making a surplus in the medium term."
"However…?"
He frowned at my smile. He sighed and rubbed his temples.
"However… it's not in our best interests to hinder the company vision that you, Miss Yates, carry on as the CEO and only heir of Bumper Yates, may he rest in peace."
"Is the project approved, then?" I asked, as I leaned forward and steepled my fingers.
"Not yet," he said, closing the binder in front of him. "We need the fiscal plan with the mayor to be confirmed and signed. Only then will you get the board's approval."
I nodded, leaning back into my chair. With no further words, they all stood up and left towards the stairs to their shared elevators. I was waiting for all of them to leave so I could screech in joy, dance on the table, and eat candy until my sweet tooth ached, but one person stayed behind, sitting on his chair, smiling at me.
"Oh, Winston, dear, what can I do for you?"
Winston slowly approached me. With his blonde, combed hair and that pink scarf wrapped around his neck, he acted and presented himself as a real adult, and not a boy my age, representing his father as a member of the board of directors in my family's company. He was probably the most handsome boy in Royal Woods and among the richest.
Way under me, obviously, and he knew that. Our constant flirting was nothing but an undercover tug-of-war, always trying to find the other person's weakness.
"I wanted to congratulate you on a new pageant crown, mademoiselle."
"Do you congratulate the sun for coming up every morning?"
"The sun isn't as shining as you, more beautiful than a rainbow."
I tilted my head, resting my chin on my hands. Was Winston aware of my act with the diamonds? He wasn't there, and there was no way the press had published an article with such specific details. Did everyone have spies everywhere?
"Oh, dear, are you stalking me?" I asked with a subtle edge to my words.
He leaned closer, his face inches away from mine. Dangerously close. I could've stabbed him with my pen.
"You know me. If there's anything I love more than my own reflection, that's money. And you, dear boss, are the biggest gold mine my father has ever invested in."
He moved back, grabbed a chair, and sat on the first seat to my right.
"But you're not the only one my family has invested in," he said. "And believe me, I follow everything up close. My father's diverse investment portfolio makes me someone very, very well informed."
"You don't say."
"Yes. Few things are as valuable as information in this social circle. I know young little CEOs that would be willing to pay an obscene amount of money to get their hands on a fraction of what I know."
I smirked. I'll admit he had me confused for a moment, but now we spoke the same language again.
"Interesting. I personally find people with information particularly handsome."
He smiled back at me.
"If you want me to dress up as a hero, I'm sorry to inform you I don't get along with spandex."
"Oh, that's a shame. Anyway, how much should a young, little CEO be willing to pay for a sample of such valuable information?"
"That's the best part," he mentioned, leaning forward like he was about to tell me a secret. "My father taught me to think long-term. That's how I learned that, sometimes, it's better to give away some free samples if that leads to making more money in the long run."
I sighed and rested back on my throne.
"Ok, this is getting annoying," I said with apathy, my smile leaving my face. "Say what you have to say or get out, I have a tea party in my penthouse and Eunice doesn't like to wait."
Winston's smile faded as well, dropping his act, and he leaned back on his chair just like me.
Time to talk business.
"Why do you think the board decided to approve your project of making a security facility in the Evergreen Forest?" He asked me right away.
"Because my ideas are great and all of you are too dumb to come up with anything better."
"Incorrect, my dear Lola. Although it might be hard for you to accept, you don't know anything. And, actually, your ignorance of this subject has the entire board particularly fascinated. They think it's the perfect chance to get rid of you."
"Pfft, you think this is going to fail?" I mocked him, snorting. "I spoke with the investors, the architect, and the engineering team, they guaranteed me this is doable. And I know it'll be a big hit."
"No, no, you still don't get it. They're convinced your plan will be a total success and you'll make them even richer."
I shook my head, incredulous.
"And how do they expect to fire me if everything goes as I expect?"
"Because the board can fire you if you, by act or omission, cause the company sensible losses."
"Uh, I thought we agreed the shift towards security would earn us money, not losses? Hello?"
"The loss wouldn't be because of what you do, but rather what could slip from your hands even with such a huge capital investment. A loss so huge that, even with all the planned revenue, your firing would be more than justified."
He extracted a small silver case from his purple blazer. He opened it on the table and took two pink lollipops covered in plastic. He took the plastic out of one and then started savoring it.
"Strawberry?" He offered.
I accepted it. My dentist discouraged me from eating lollipops, but what can I say? I'm a social sugar consumer.
"Even if I made a mistake, which is totally impossible, but assuming that's the case… Even then I'd be giving the company a huge share boost. If you fire me, the board will keep those shares and the capital growth. Why would you try to warn me about this mistake instead of keeping the money and getting rid of me?"
"I told you, sweetheart, you're a goldmine. None of the other geezers could make this company grow as much as you do. Getting rid of you would have a positive impact short term, but I'm looking far ahead. The longer you're in charge here, the more money I'll make. That's why I need to warn you about the board's secret plan and how the competition will interfere."
I snapped the lollipop in half.
"Competition?" I growled. "Alright, enough with the games, Winston. What's going on?"
He licked his lollipop a little more before leaving it on top of its plastic wrap.
"Tell me, dear Lola. Do you know the legend of the Evergreen Heart?"
