The soft, rhythmic click-clack of Aunt Kate's nails against the laptop's trackpad had been the only sound in the room for the better part of an hour. I sat back in the plush leather sofa; there's a certain kind of focus professionals get—a total immersion that shuts out the entire world. I'd seen it in coders lost in their screens and artists lost in their lines. Seeing it in a lawyer, especially one as sharp as Kate, was a different beast entirely. It was calculating, predatory. She was dissecting my corporate skeleton, and I was genuinely curious to see if she'd find any weak bones.
I took a sip from the glass of cola, the condensation cool and slick against my palm. Finally, with a slow, deliberate motion, she closed the laptop. The soft thump of it shutting felt louder than it was.
Then, a slow, impressed smile spread across her lips. It wasn't a patronizing smile; the kind you give a kid who did a good job on his science project. This was the real deal. The kind of look one equal gives another.
"Sael," she began, her voice a low, smooth contralto that commanded the room.
"This is… exceptionally thorough. I've seen seasoned corporate attorneys with twenty years in the trenches put together sloppier incorporation documents. The liability waivers for the VR division alone are a work of paranoid art. And you did all this yourself?"
I shrugged, the gesture feeling oddly casual in the face of her intensity.
"I had a lot of free time. And a good teacher." I didn't elaborate that the 'teacher' was an omnipotent AI inside of my head named Sunday. Some things are better left unsaid.
She leaned forward, folding her arms on the desk. The gesture was confident, open. "Most professionals would have tripped over at least three of these clauses... You didn't. So, let's cut to the chase. You want me as Meteor Studio's legal representative. It's a monumental task. This company isn't just a start-up; it's a powder keg about to go supernova. So, if I say yes… what's on the table?"
Here it was. The moment where I had to stop being her nephew's and start being a CEO. I met her gaze, keeping my own calm and level. I laid it out, clean and simple.
"Five million a year. Base salary. Full benefits—medical, dental, vision, the platinum package. A housing allowance for a place of your choosing in the city, or we buy it outright. A company car, or a stipend for one. Your choice. Essentially, you want for nothing."
A sharp, incredulous laugh burst from her lips. It wasn't mocking; it was pure, unadulterated shock. "Five million? Sael, my current firm pays me two hundred thousand a year and grumbles when I expense printer paper. 'Dental' is a myth they tell us at the holiday party."
She shook her head, a few strands of dark hair falling across her face. "It's a… a wildly generous offer. But you and I both know the hell you're about to bring down on us. Every media conglomerate on this polluted rock is going to come after you with everything they've got. This job will be my entire life."
"I know," I said simply. "And I need the best."
She was silent for another long moment, her eyes studying me, seeing past the seventeen-year-old face to the thirty-five-year-old mind running the show. I could see the calculations going on behind her eyes, the weighing of a comfortable life against a turbulent, legendary one. She took a deep breath.
"I have a counter-offer."
I nodded. "I'm listening."
She didn't blink. Her gaze was locked onto mine, deadly serious. "Two million a year. Plus, the full benefits package. That's the professional side."
I remained quiet, knowing there was a 'but' coming that would change everything.
"But," she continued, her voice dropping, becoming more intimate, "I also become one of your girlfriends…. And I want you to impregnate me... I want your babies,"
The air went out of the room. The hum of the central air conditioning faded into a distant buzz. She wasn't joking. There was no hint of playfulness in her eyes, no teasing smile. This was a negotiated term, plain and simple. It was, without a doubt, the most bizarre and brutally honest proposition I had ever received.
I leaned back, processing. The old otaku part of my brain did a backflip and promptly fainted. The rest of me, the part running a multi-million-dollar studio and fending off a government-mandated breeding program, assessed it logically.
"If you're my girlfriend," I said, my voice even, "and the mother to my children… that doesn't make you an employee with benefits, Kate. That makes you, my woman."
A low, throaty chuckle escaped her. "Yes. I know. And I know that if I'm your woman, you'll take care of me. Far better than any employment contract ever could. This…" she gestured between us, "…is a far more binding agreement. For both of us."
I nodded again. It was. In this world, with the GMRD breathing down my neck, it was also a strategic alliance. A powerful, brilliant woman by my side, tied to me by more than just a paycheck, beside I do like her a lot. But it had to be clear.
"If you're my woman," I said, my tone leaving no room for ambiguity, "then you're my woman. There's no playing the field. No side arrangements. That door closes. Permanently."
She didn't hesitate. "I understand. I never planned on it anyway. I'm not interested in distractions. I'm interested in a future." She held my gaze, and in it, I saw not just a sharp legal mind, but a profound loneliness and a fierce desire for something real. Something that was hers.
A slow smile touched my lips. It was insane. It was perfect. It was so utterly Kate.
I held my hand out across the desk. "Then we have a deal."
Her hand met mine. Her grip was firm, warm, and sure. A business deal and a blood pact, all in one handshake. We held it for a moment, the silence speaking volumes.
"Welcome to Meteor Studio, Kate," I said. "You're my first official hire."
She smiled, a real, radiant smile that reached her eyes for the first time all evening. "I suppose that makes me the founding member of your harem, too."
I laughed, the sound echoing in the quiet office. "I suppose it does. Let's try not to put that in the corporate bylaws."
We finally released the handshake. The deal was struck. I had my lawyer. And it seemed, I had just acquired a hell of a lot more.