Hutch and Celina were still in good spirits when they returned home, and while Celina went off to enjoy a hot shower and change into some comfy cloths, Hutch took the opportunity to call Ren, wanting to share with him the good news.
It seemed like ages since the last time the two had spoken, managing only a quick conversation before the new year to better explain what had occurred, knowing the letter he'd left him hadn't done that great of a job.
At the time, Ren had told him that Cherry had come by his home twice, wanting answers as to where Hutch was, and he asked Hutch not to share any details, if he didn't want to be found. Not wanting to put Ren in a tough spot, he agreed to keep much of his situation to himself.
However, after some thought, Hutch came to find Cherry's attempts to find him nothing more than show, concocted to convince others that she cared more than she did, since it wouldn't be that difficult to find him, if she had really wanted to try. Even if she wasn't positive of where he was staying, she knew to whom he was now employed. He'd also told her directly that he was related to Celina, which should have made his living arrangements perfectly obvious, given the nature of the contract to start with. The fact that no police had shown up at the house yet, asking for information on his whereabouts, was reason enough to assume he wasn't yet a 'missing person.'
Using the phone in the kitchen, Hutch sat at the table, and called Ren's number, hoping he'd be the one to pick up.
"Hello?"
Hutch was relieved to hear Ren's voice on the other end of the line.
"Ren, hey, it's Hutch. How's it going?"
"How's it going? The hell Hutch! Do you know there's a picture of you with Celina Salvador on the front page of every gossip rag in Cauthard City?"
"No, shit, really?" Hutch replied, bemused by Ren's reaction. "Is it from New Year's Eve or before?"
"Before, I think. And I'm fine, thanks for asking," Ren remarked, before clearing his throat. "The picture is of someone out shopping with her. And that someone is you. It's a bad angle, and super grainy, but I'd recognize you anywhere. You really had no idea?"
"Not a clue," Hutch replied, having not seen the papers for himself. "I'll look for a copy of one of them next time I'm in the store. Can hardly wait to see the headlines. Probably just as dumb as the rumors at school."
"School? You're back in school?" Ren questioned, sounding more surprised over that than the sight of him on the front page of a newspaper.
"Yeah, and if that picture you saw was taken when I think it was, that was day Celina took me to get my uniforms. But don't blame me for not telling you sooner. You're the one who said, 'I don't want details.'"
"Well, yeah. You know it's hard for me to lie to your mom, and it's completely impossible for me to lie to my own. Still doesn't change the fact that I want to know everything! You said, uniform though; so private school then?"
"Yeah. Casimir's paying for all of it. I know you want to know more, but just hang on a little longer. I actually called for a completely different reason. I have some news for you, and I promise that the source is completely reliable."
"Should I be worried?" Ren questioned, and Hutch could hear the skepticism in voice.
"Absolutely. If I were in your position, I'd be terrified. But lucky for me, I'm not interested in robotics or engineering or the combination thereof."
"Hutch, dude, what are you trying to tell me?" Ren's voice was growing in excitement.
"You got the internship with Iosat Robotics. Celina confirmed it this morning."
Hutch had to pull the receiver away from his ear as Ren began to shout and cheer on the other end.
"You're serious?!" Ren yelled into the receiver after a few minutes of celebration.
"Yes, I'm serious," Hutch replied, followed by another round of cheers. "Alright, alright, I know you're ecstatic…"
"Understatement of the year!"
"Obviously, but if you could calm down for a few minutes, I have a couple of things to explain."
"Okay, okay," he replied, taking a few deep, calming breaths, with some underlying giggles in between, "I'm listening."
"First, you won't be notified, officially, for a while yet. Celina assured me, it's just the pace of these sorts of things, so I don't want you to start freaking out if a couple of weeks go by before you hear anything. And secondly, you won't be starting until the beginning of February, so you have some time to prepare yourself."
"Oh my god, Hutch, this is amazing! Mrs. Comstock made it sound like it wasn't a sure thing. And that without seeing my transcripts she couldn't guarantee the position, even with Casimir's backing. If my grades were lacking, she said the position would go to someone else. I didn't think I'd have an answer this quick. I figured there had to be a number of other applicants and that maybe I was still too young. I just, I don't know what to think."
"Think, 'I did it.' And seriously, Ren, they probably took one look at your grades and stamped 'approved' on your application without having to think about it. So, I'm hoping that maybe given this exceptionally good news, you'd want to get together this weekend to celebrate? I can fill you in on everything you want to know, we can hang out, grab some dinner, maybe a movie, and possibly get some studying done, if there is time?"
"Studying? Did you say studying?" There was something odd about the way Ren asked his question.
"Yes?" Hutch replied, uncertain of how he was expected to answer.
"Are you sure you're okay, Hutch? Just say bananas; if you can't speak freely."
"Funny, ha, ha, Ren. I'm fine. But school's a bit harder than I remember, and I'm seriously trying to do better given my circumstances. And technically, if you tell your mom you are going to a study session, as long as we crack open the books for a little while, like on a break between doing other things, you won't be lying to her. So, what do you say, you in?"
"No bananas?"
"None," he responded, only for Ren to fall silent for several seconds.
"Fine," he finally replied, "but I still have concerns. Casimir might be decent on the surface, but I'm sticking to the theory that he's some sort of super villain, and I suspect that you're now living in or around his lair. Don't confirm that just yet though."
Hutch couldn't help but chuckle.
"Honestly, I have no idea where I stand on that anymore. But you're going to have plenty of time to determine the truth and let me know."
"MOM! HUTCH!" Clara shouted from the doorway.
"That doesn't sound good," Ren commented, having heard her through the phone.
"No, it doesn't. Unfortunately, it also means I need to go. I'll pick you up around noon on Saturday, if that's good with you?" Hutch asked, getting up from the table as Clara marched into the kitchen.
"Sounds good, and say Hi to Clara for me."
"Will do, but I never said it was her. See you Saturday."
"Laters!"
Hutch barely caught Ren's farewell as he hung up the phone to Clara slamming a newspaper down on the kitchen island.
"Have you seen this?" she asked, thrusting the paper towards him, as he approached.
"Nope. Ren just told me about it though. He says, hi, by the way."
"Oh," her demeanor instantly shifting from anger to flattered, "that was rather sweet of him. Give him my regards when you see him again," she remarked as Hutch picked up the paper, entitled, 'Celebrity Weekly,' which was the best-selling gossip rag in the country.
"You can give him your own regards on Saturday, when he's here," Hutch replied starring at the oddly distorted photo taken by someone with an extreme zoom lens. "'Is the Tower about to crumble?' What a headline," he snickered as he continued to read out loud. "'Famous CEO of Cascel tower, Celina Salvador, caught with mysterious,'" he raised his brows and pursed his lips, "apparently I'm mysterious."
"Glad you find this amusing," she stated, with a deadpan stare.
"Can't help it. Never been front page news before," he smirked, and continued reading, "'mysterious, new man in Cauthard Cities most luxurious shopping district. Illicit affair with a younger man? Or is something else going on? More on page 5!' Page 5? Yeesh, must have been a slow gossip week."
"What are you two going on about?" Celina asked as she came into the kitchen. "I heard you yelling all the way upstairs."
Hutch closed the paper and handed it to Celina. "Illicit affair or something else?"
Celina scrunched her brow and took the paper, scoffing as she read the headline.
"Clearly something else," she remarked, rolling up the paper and batting him in the arm. "Lousy vultures can't even get a good picture of us together, and they spew out this nonsense. I'll have the lawyers draw up some of their fancy legal papers tomorrow, to get this retracted."
"Don't bother, I already spoke to the legal team, and because of the wording, there is nothing we can do. It's all written as conjecture and assumptions. The problem is that those vultures have been circling, and no one is talking. Instead, they contacted me to let me know," Clara explained as Celina handed the paper back to Hutch. "Baxter, our head lawyer," she said for Hutch's sake, "thinks you should get ahead of this and just put out a press statement, revealing Hutch as just another employee."
"And I think it's best to leave this in your father's hands. He'll know how to deal with this when he gets home. Until then, let's not worry about this tonight, and focus on something more important."
"I don't know, this is pretty important to me," Hutch remarked, holding up the paper and pointing to the photo of himself. "That's me. I'm on the front page of a gossip rag!"
"Yes, dear, it's very impressive. What type of cake you would like to have to celebrate this monumental achievement?"
"Angel food," Hutch answered, his eyes narrowing in distrust for Celina's shift in enthusiasm.
"Excellent choice," she chirped, steepling her hands, "I don't think I've ever made one of those for when Casimir comes home!"