Leila looked through the window as the vehicle drove her into the Farrel home. Her eyes widened in surprise as she took in the property. It was a unique residence in comparison to others in Lake City.
Unlike most homes of the rich and powerful, this property did not use the classic or traditional design. Instead, it was purely contemporary and used a lot of sharp geometry in its motif.
It looked a little futuristic with its clean lines and muted colours.
Leila had not expected this, considering that it was the main residence of the Farrel family. After paying the driver, she walked to the entrance and looked at the dark glass making up the wall and the door with interest.
She could tell that it was two-way glass, but she still felt it was a little bold to use such a material for an external wall in a home. After all, the Farrels were famous and had to have a few enemies.
As soon as she reached the door, it opened without a sound. It was an automated door. She did not enter because she felt it would be rude since she did not knock or ring a bell. Once again, she was very concerned about the level of safety and security.
"Come in, come in," A boisterous voice shouted.
Leila frowned a little, but she stepped across the threshold into a beautiful patio. Seeing that the two-way glass wall and door did not lead to the internal parts of the house, she was quite relieved. Otherwise, she would question the reliability of the family.
When she entered, she saw two people playing some form of chess at a table. One was the cheerful man who had shouted for her to enter. His face was covered in a silver beard, and he had a portly frame.
Although he was not in red, his appearance, jolly nature, and wide grin made Leila think of Santa Claus. She suppressed the need to giggle because it would be rude. But the image could not leave her head.
Opposite him was a young man who did not seem to share similarities with the older one. His handsome face was serious, and his eyes had a sharp shrewdness that did not hide intelligence.
However, Leila could tell that they had the same bloodline. Their scents had a subtle similarity that was characteristic of family members. Leila could not imagine how the jolly man raised a taciturn son like this one.
"You must be Leila Lawson. You are not quite what I was expecting." The older man said loudly with a laugh.
If Leila had her wolf ears out, she would have folded them to reduce the noise. Luckily, her human ears were not as sensitive, even though they could hear better than a regular human's ears.
Putting aside her discomfort, she smiled like an obedient young lady.
"Hello, Uncle Edgar. It is nice to meet you." She spoke politely.
"My old master never said you were so young." Edgar stroked his beard.
Leila laughed. "I have just turned twenty. It is a blessing to look younger for a lady."
Edgar wanted to continue talking, but his son interrupted him.
"Dad, will you keep our guest standing at the door?" He stood up and asked in a calm voice different from his father's. "Please, Ms Lawson. Join us. I apologise for our rudeness."
The young man pulled a chair for her at the table. Leila nodded at him as she sat down at the table. She felt awkward about the situation because she expected to meet with Edgar Farrel only, not his son.
But after what Isaiah Campbell said, it was not unexpected. It looked like he was right about Edgar Farrel retiring and handing over the reins to his son, Elliot Farrel. But it was none of her business.
She was only associating with the people of Farrel Motors because she needed a legitimate reason to be in Lake City while investigating the Campbells and their role in her past. As soon as she found what she was looking for, she would be gone.
Therefore, she had no intentions of making close friends.
"This is my son, Elliot Farrel. He just returned to Lake City." Edgar said, lowering his voice a little now that Leila was seated with them. "He is the one who will be taking over from me for the project. I do not know if my old master told you about him."
Edgar looked at Leila with twinkling eyes that further enhanced his image as Santa Claus to Leila, but she kept her composure.
"No, he told me that you have been running the business from Lake City and needed help with developing a new product. I did not ask a lot of questions about your requirements because of the restrictions which are imposed." Leila said.
Edgar's face lost the sparkle as he thought about his master. He was fortunate to become an apprentice before the various political forces became uncomfortable with the idea of various industry giants being affiliated.
"It is a shame. Those old people could have trained so many more geniuses to bring humanity to greater heights. If there was no jealousy and strife, we could have reached the edges of outer space by now." He lamented.
Leila understood what he meant, but she was also a realist. The old people in the retirement village were geniuses with a lot of power and potential. If they continued to operate in the open world, they would cause an imbalance among the nations.
It would only be a matter of time before they were kidnapped or killed by different forces to avoid tipping the balance in any direction. Therefore, the old people were only safe while living in Nirvana Village, and they had each other for company.
"Do not worry about your master. He is living a great life in the village. He is always playing tricks on others." Leila comforted him as she thought about the old man who always made everyone angry.
Edgar laughed boisterously. "He always loved pranking people. Even students like me were not spared from his tricks. He used to give us the most difficult assignments, and some of them had no answers."
Leila nodded. She learned a little from the old master, but he also tried to play pranks on her. One time, he put the truck she used to run errands in a deep ditch just to test her mathematical skills and ability in offroad driving.
Or so he claimed. In her opinion, he was just bored and wanted to cause trouble.
Of course, she got back at him by stealing and dismantling his favourite rocket model and giving it back piece by piece for every lesson.
"You are fortunate to have grown around so many geniuses. Most people would kill for an opportunity to be around even one of those folks." Edgar added. "I wanted to send my son to my old master, but he refused without hearing me out."
Leila knew he meant the old master, but she did not share any secrets about Nirvana Village. It would do no good to explain that outsiders were restricted and could not learn from them directly.
She was an exception because her grandparents adopted her officially.
Luckily, before the topic continued, the housekeeper came to the patio and served tea to the three people. Leila thanked her politely before taking a sip of the good tea with enjoyment.
Her blissful smile was seen by Elliot, and he was stunned by its beauty for a moment. Realising that he had looked at her for a long moment, he lowered his head quickly to cover up his faux pas and embarrassment.
However, Edgar had seen everything.
His eyes twinkled as he had a thought in his head. He wanted his son to settle down, but he was not satisfied with most of the prospects. While Leila was not from a prominent family, she had a better background than anyone could imagine.
If she could marry Elliot, the Farrel family would benefit before others discovered her potential. The three people drank tea quietly until Edgar decided to make his move.
"Elliot, you will be working with Leila on the new design. You two should talk and figure out the details. You know, you should show Leila my collection in the back. It might give you a few ideas on where to begin." He suggested.
Before either Elliot or Leila could react, the old man was already on his feet and walking into the house.