Fait came by to pick up Chance later in the afternoon.
Genevieve happened to see her car pulling into the driveway.
"Aunt Fay is here! Aunt Fay is here!" She shouted through the house as she made a beeline for the door. She reached up with her little hands and opened the door just as Fait made it to the front porch.
"Genevieve!" She flew out the door and wrapped her arms around Fait's knees.
"I missed you so, so, so, so, so very much Aunt Fay! How come you never come to visit me anymore?"
Fait bent down, scooped her up, and carried her back into the house.
"Now sweetie, I'm not sure what you mean. Didn't I see you last week?" She asked as she set her down on the couch.
"Nuh-uh, that was, um... Papa!" She yelled for her father. He poked his head around the corner and she asked, "When did Aunt Fay come to see me?"
"Hmmmm, I believe it was just over two weeks ago." The last time they had seen each other was at Mack's grave site for a small private service.
"No Papa, not the last time she saw me! I mean the last time she came to see me!" Genevieve scrunched up her cute little face as she tried to remember when exactly it was. She eventually gave up and exasperatedly said, "Anyways, it has been too long! Aunt Fay, you need to come see me more!"
"I'm sorry Gen, I've just been really busy at work."
Genevieve crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Adults always say that."
"Hey Genny, can you go tell Uncle Addy that it's time to go?" Roy interrupted their exchange, hoping to distract his daughter. He knew that the next few weeks, if not months, would be even worse than before for both Fait and himself. While he would still go home in the evenings and could see Genny, Fait had her own home to return to in the city.
"Awww, you mean Uncle Addy has to go too?" She had just found made a new friend and now he had to leave? 'Adults are no fun!' She thought as she trudged up the stairs.
Fait raised an eyebrow at Roy. "Uncle Addy?"
"She named him that all on her own."
...
Meanwhile upstairs, Chance had just woken up from a short nap and was washing his face. Genevieve burst into the room and knocked on the bathroom door. He quickly dried his face and opened it.
She had a sour look on her face. "Uncle Addy, Aunt Fay is here to take you somewhere."
"Alright, let me gather my things."
His 'things' consisted of the clothes he was wearing when he got there, his wallet, a ring of mostly now useless keys, and his cellphone. In addition to that he had the things he was just given which of course was his set of unicorn pajamas.
Genevieve watched with a forlorn expression as he packed his belongings neatly into a brown paper bag. She watched him pick up something off of the nightstand. It was the pin she lent him. Chance had taken it off when he took his nap. He reached out his hand to return it to her but she shook her head.
"Uncle Addy, I want you to keep it. That way you won't forget about me." She said it like he was going off to war or something and might not make it back.
"Genevieve, how could I forget about you? You taught me all about unicorns after all!" He put the pin on his shirt again. Despite not knowing much about children he knew that he wanted this little girl to smile.
"Will you come back and visit me?"
"If your papa and mama say it is alright." His interaction with Eve was very limited but he had a gut feeling she was a woman you should never cross.
"Can you make Aunt Fay come too?"
"I can't make her come but I can ask her to come."
"Okay." She relented for now and followed him back down the stairs.
Everyone else was waiting and chatting in the living room. Once Fait saw Chance, she stood up and was ready to go. But first little Genevieve insisted on giving both Fait and her new 'Uncle Addy' a hug.
Chance knelt down so he was closer to her height and hugged her back. Then he thanked Roy and Eve again for their hospitality. Roy was cautious with his words in front of Eve but she straightforwardly insisted that Chance was welcome anytime.
A few minutes later he and Fait were in her car, driving back into the city.
"So... where are we going?"
"Lovewell Publishing. Since you are already familiar with it, I figured we could start there and then ease into the other companies."
"Sounds reasonable." He thought for a moment about the transfer agreements. The major companies listed were tied mostly to the shipping and shipbuilding industries. They were for the most part managed autonomously. Chance still had to provide oversight and was responsible for major decisions like reviewing and signing off on contracts and negotiating with labor unions but for day to day operations he wasn't really needed.
Where Mack was most active was in his smaller companies like Lovewell Publishing. These smaller businesses were still growing and needed more guidance from the top.