A long-awaited weekend for Airi.
After the heated month passed by, finally Airi could relax. This month surely resulted in something good, and all her hard work paid off. Now finally she was having a lazy weekend, lying in her room after having her breakfast.
She was thinking about reading a book just then she heard her father calling her from downstairs.
She climbed down the stairs to find her father. He was in the living room, having sips on his tea. He had his phone to his ear, it seemed like he was talking to someone.
"Yes, Paa. What's wrong?" Airi asked Max.
"My… boss wants to talk to you…, " Max looked at Airi with a puzzled look. And of course, both Airi and Sara were equally confused.
"Eh? Your boss? Why would he… fine, give it to me." Airi took the phone from his hand and put it against her ear. "Hello? Arne here."
"Ah! So you are Airi. You must be wondering why your father's boss wanted to talk to you." a hoarse voice came out from the other end of it. And that voice was so not pleasing to the ears.
"Yes, that is for sure, Mr…" Airi tried to recall if she ever had heard Max's boss's name.
"It's Sinclair. I hope you do remember the company name your father works on. It's my family business,' the harsh voice completed Airi's words.
Now that she thinks back to it, her father does work in Sinclair Enterprises. "Yeah, sure. Good morning to you, Mr. Sinclair." Airi tried to sound polite, yet kept her monotone intact.
"Haha, you sound refined. Surely, I have heard about you right. My daughters talk a lot about you."
'His daughters? Don't tell me…'
"Sinclair… Ah! Are you perhaps the father of Maria and Senior Rena?" All of a sudden, the last name clicked in her mind. Those two sisters have the same last name.
"As expected of you. I heard that you have become the student council president this year, defeating my daughter. That was really impressive. Well, hearing the news, I am highly interested to meet you." Mr. Sinclair took a pause before continuing, "So will that be okay if you come tomorrow to our office with your father? I reckon it is an off day for you."
Airi had pretty much expected this happening sooner or later. After all, she messed with someone who is claimed to be the daughter of the richest person. Some day, they would come for her. But she never thought it would be this soon. For a second, she thought of declining. But surely, that would fall on her father needlessly. And she wouldn't want that.
"You flatter me, sir. There is nothing impressive in me winning the election. And of course, it would be a pleasure to meet you. Tomorrow is okay for me," Airi reluctantly agreed to his proposal.
"Then it's settled. Tomorrow, at 9 AM, I'll be waiting." And with that, he finished the call.
Airi slowly returned the phone to Max. And when she did, Sara immediately came near her. "What's the matter?"
Instead of replying to her mother, Airi asked Max another question, "What did he say to you Paa?"
Max kept the teacup in his hand on the table, while replying, "Nothing much. He just called and asked for my daughter. Nothing else."
"I see." Airi nodded back in a daze.
"What did he tell you, Airi?" Max once again asked her. And after pondering for a while, Airi decided to tell the events in short.
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"So basically, I got involved in one way or another regarding Rena's matter. And perhaps, Rena blamed it all on me, complaining to her father. So, maybe that's why he wanted to meet me."
"So, you could've declined that. Who knows what he will say to you…" Sara worriedly stated. Max also nodded agreeing with her.
"That would make things weirder for nothing. Paa works for him. So I wouldn't want that man to vent on him if he is planning to do so. It's just a meeting, what can possibly happen? Not that I did anything bad…"
Although the deed wasn't hers, to begin with. But as if she could say that then.
"Just take me with you tomorrow, Paa. As for the rest, I will handle it." Airi gave a reassuring smile to her parents, while internally preparing herself for tomorrow.
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The next day, Airi went to her father's office a bit early. There were still 20 minutes left until the appointment time. So Max suggested his daughter if she would want to wait for a bit. "Want to sit over the cafe for a while?"
Airi shook her head sideways, "No, it's just 20 minutes, I hope he is in there. So I better make this quick. Let's go."
Meanwhile, in the office, Mr. Sinclair was sitting in his office comfortably, while lightly tapping on the table with his fingers. Occasionally, he was looking at the table clock, checking the time. Then suddenly, he heard a knock on the door.
"Sir, there is Mr. Max Arne with a young lady wanting to meet you." It was his secretary.
"They are fast, it's still 15 minutes left," he thought to himself. "Yes, I do have an appointment with them. Let both of them in," he raised his voice to let his secretary know.
And after a few seconds, two people appeared in front of his vision. Among them, one was his own employee, working diligently for many years. And the young girl beside her was supposedly his daughter.
Mr. Sinclair studied the young girl from head to toe. The girl was of the same age as her younger daughter, Maria. Yet, she seemed different. She didn't have some weird extravagant attire or accessories on her, unlike his daughter. She was quite tall, figure neither too slim nor too fat, long hair tied up in a simple braid. She had a cute kind of air around her, yet something about her was different. Something about her was telling him that she wasn't someone just cute-looking. Mx Arne was a normal salaryman of his office, and to affirm that fact, the girl had bright colored yet simple clothing. Yet, the simplicity of it was emitting a calm demeanor, on contrary to how timid she looked. She appeared to be timid, yet something about her was telling that she was way more mature than her age. Even her perceptive eyes which were showing wariness for the person in front of her, were revealing the depth of her maturity. She was honestly felt to be way more capable and calculating than any other teenager of her age. If he was to be honest, even he would choose her over Rena. But no matter what, he called this girl to have a proper talk, to make her realize that she had messed with the wrong person at the wrong time.
Well, no matter how mature she is, someone that timid would be enough to deal with a little warning.
The way Mr. Sinclair was sizing her up from head to toe, Airi understood that he was surely making a simple judgment over her look. She very well knew that if she appeared here today without any consideration, things might have gone southwards. Airi wanted him to judge her not as someone timid or shallow, but as a worthy opponent of her daughter, though all of these felt quite childish to her. That's why she paid extra attention to her appearance. Airi felt a strange feeling of victory, seeing her assumption being true.
"Here you are. Please have a seat, both of you." Mr. Sinclair pointed to the chairs to take a seat. When both of them sat on the chair, Mr. Sinclair called his secretary into his office. "What would you like to have? Any drinks? Or perhaps, a light breakfast?" Mr. Sinclair asked, looking straight at Airi.
Max was about to reply, then suddenly Airi left him off guard, speaking up first. "That wouldn't be necessary. We had our breakfast at home, and I am still full from that, " Airi politely replied, not removing her gaze from him.
"Well, then, " he signaled his secretary to leave the room. "So, you are Miss Airi Arne. Sure enough, you are cute and friendly as I have heard. Nice to finally meet you." He extended a hand in hope of a hand-shake. Airi mulled over for a while whether she should take it or not. In the end, she took it and shook it lightly, "I hope the pleasure remains all mine till the end, Mr. Sinclair."
For a moment, Mr. Sinclair was amazed at her answer. "Haha, that sure is a unique way to answer. I heard a lot about you from my daughters, and of course, you are quite a witty person, in addition to having an approachable and cute character."
"I don't think senior actually did say anything good about me, " Airi flatly stated that, while scanning the hand she just shook with him with her eyes. "Nevertheless, it makes me glad that I have such an effect on your daughters. It is a hard gain I must say."
By then, the piece of fake smile he had was wiped off, and his face became serious.