A male voice came from the other side of the call, calm and unbothered by the tone of the black-haired blue-eyed young man:
"I found out about Alex's movements over the past few days."
The business-like tone didn't cause a ripple in the young man's expression, but the words did, as he paused, then raised his eyebrows in deep interest:
"Oh? Tell me, what has my cousin been up to?"
While saying that, he lowered his head back to the graphs of different color on a dark background displayed on his laptop's screen, but he didn't have the same focus as before the call, nor the same sharp gleam in his eyes, as the latter had been replaced by a smile that extended from his lips.
The voice on the other side came again, reporting with as much composure as ever:
"He went to have fun at the Hintertux Glacier this weekend, had one or two flings with some local conquests, then came back yesterday in the evening. He spent this morning at K World, the new shopping center he got a shop at. I can't get any real time information, so I only know that he left the mall with the chairwoman at noon and didn't return, at least not yet. But he didn't return to the Group headquarters with the chairwoman either, so it is improbable that she has managed to convince him to take over the Group at last. The heirship might still be up for grabs."
The blue-eyed young man slowly lost his smile, and sneered, a deep-seated disdain appearing in his eyes, with something like anger in their very depth:
"He doesn't deserve to be the heir. He has never deserved it."
The other side of the call fell silent, not commenting on the succession right of the family capable of making the financial world shake with any single sneeze a bit too loud. In the room, the forms that had been stirring on the bed because of the noise went still, and the wind itself seemed to stop, its light currents waiting out the sudden tension.
As anger swirled in his chest, growing the more he considered the situation, the young man's face suddenly lit up. Having thought of something, the stuffiness in his chest receded like a tide and he asked in a deep voice, his eyes flickering:
"Will he be at the party tonight?"
He could only be asking about one person, and the one on the other side of the call did not miss subtext, catching it and even deducing where the conversation was going. Deliberating for a moment, he replied:
"It is possible, but not confirmed. Only Lance Lotter's presence has been confirmed. He is one of the organizers."
The blue eyes lit up with a light that, though not bright enough to rival with the sunlight streaming into the bedroom, was deep enough to be as unsettling as the smile accompanying it:
"Good, then I will be there too. If he does not come, I will crush his best friend, and if he does come, all the better, I will crush him."
Hearing the expected words, the one on the other side immediately affirmed:
"I will have your car ready."
Taking a deep breath to calm the intoxicating anticipation swirling within, the young man locked the breath in, and spoke in a deep voice:
"Do that. It will be best if I can make them never step on a race track again."
Exhaling, the black-haired blue-eyed young man hung up and closed his eyes to savor the new kind of tension that had settled in with his words.
Turning to the bright sky outside after opening his eyes, he said nothing, but written all over his face was his impatience for the sun to go down faster, and for the night to come sooner.
He could not wait.
_ _ _
_ _ _
The light shining from the ceiling of the bedroom ricocheted against Sharon's blond hair, creating a reflection that was neither bright nor deep. Despite that, the blond hair, combed to the side with a beautiful wavy appearance, possessed a shine that seemed to draw at the light while at the same time pushing it away to stand alone as the center of attention.
Putting the brush in her hand down, the blonde picked a lipstick among the dozen lined on the dressing table to add the finishing touch to her appearance. Lightly applying the red of her choice, she pressed her lips together, then looked at herself in the mirror.
The last addition to her makeup, neither dazzling nor dark, only deep, and just right to create an intense but distant depth to her look, just right to cover any unnecessary emotion. She remained as beautiful as always, only not as a bright flame this evening, but as a flame with a deeper shade, a darker shade, just like the night, or rather, just like a star in the night.
Smiling lightly at herself, Sharon put the lipstick down. Right then, her phone rang, and she took the call after seeing her manager's name on the glowing screen. The strong woman's curt voice immediately came through:
"I'm here."
"I will be down soon."
Glenn hung up. Sharon smiled, unsurprised, then stood up. She wore the thick soled heels she had chosen to go with her attire, picked up her purse, then departed. Not long later, she stepped out of her apartment building, and immediately saw the sports car waiting in front.
Sleek but aggressive, a Lamborghini Revuelto. Recognizing the car, Sharon smiled, then gracefully sat inside when the door on the passenger side finished rising up like the wing of a butterfly. Looking at Glenn who sported a more gender neutral look by that was just as aggressive as their ride by not only not hiding her assets, but instead highlighting her 'strong' figure, she could not help but let out a laugh:
"Glenn Carter, you seem to be looking forward to this party more than I do."
Glenn gave Sharon a once over. While she had a brown shirt with a few buttons left open and her long sleeves pulled back while wearing dark leather pants tightly wrapping around her legs below, the blond actress was wearing a dark one shoulder dress that reached the middle of her thighs, leaving her looking relaxed but hot. And where her red hair was tied in a simple ponytail, Sharon seemed to have gone all out to make hers shine like an ocean of scintillating gold that contrasted with her dress.
The fiery woman shook her head with a smile and teased back:
"I doubt you are being sincere. You just want me out of this seat sooner so you can enjoy yourself."
Smiling without denying, Sharon pulled her seatbelt and fastened as she asked offhandedly:
"Have you confirmed that Alex Lenner will come?"
Glenn gave her a look, then shook her head:
"I have not, and to be frank, I heard that even his best friend does not know."
Sharon raised her eyebrows, then dropped the subject. Not considering anything else anymore, she looked at Glenn and said with an unbothered laugh:
"Anyway, it doesn't matter. Even if he does not come, making some money will not be too bad. Let's go. Tonight, us girls will have fun with no pressure!"
"Yeah!!"
Laughing, Glenn pressed on the accelerator, and the sports car took off, speeding away, this time not with men inside, but beauties, each more independent than the other, each more confident and self-assured than the other.