021 - Red string: Chess moves in the shadow

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

The sound resounded in the large office, and a calm answer rang a moment later:

"Come in."

Leyna pushed the door with her weight, and walked into the simple but tastefully decorated office. From its windows, shorter buildings, along with a wide view of the cityscape breathing of modernization and urbanization formed a scenery giving the impression of standing high, not just physically, but also mentally.

Leyna looked different in her blouse just loose enough to let her full chest have some breathing space, unlike the crop top she wore a not long ago, in her stiletto skirt, and on her sharp high heels. She walked past the low table surrounded by a couch and a sofa, her heels producing crisp, rhythmic sounds until she stopped before the only desk in the office.

When the short-haired owner of the office raised her head to look at her, she spoke, as she put one of the documents she was holding in her hands down, and explained:

"Chairman, the activity reports for last month."

She opened it, and silently pointed at certain sections and some numbers in the document.

Grace's green eyes followed the movement of the finger until she went through the whole report, before Leyna put the other documents in her hands down, continuing her words:

"I followed the same logic and went through the activity reports of the previous months too."

Grace skimmed through the documents, making the movements of the papers produce the only sound in the silence until she broke the latter with a simple question:

"Who?"

The calm tone carried no fluctuation, and Leyna replied with an similar calm that seemed to have been learned from the older woman:

"The COO and the CFO, mainly."

"My brother-in-law?"

The question carried a firm lack of hesitation, and to it, Leyna nodded:

"Yes, Chairman, your brother-in-law, Director Marten Lenner. It was his directives that allowed what happened. I'm sorry I did not notice anything before you pointed it out. I have failed to do my job well."

Grace closed the reports and waved her hand:

"Marten is the Director of Investments of the Group. He has the right to make those decisions, and it is normal for you to miss some details when he doesn't want to make things obvious."

Grace put the documents to the side while Leyna froze, before she said nothing more about being guilty. She lowered her voice, and spoke with some hesitation:

"Then, during the next board meeting…"

Grace looked at her assistant and nodded, then shook her head slightly:

"We will see in a month, don't worry about that for now. What is your opinion on 'K World Mall'?"

Leyna paused, then smiled:

"It is big enough, with thousands of shops, creating a small world where you can find almost anything, whether a product or a service, as their positioning said. It has good traffic, even in the early hours of the day, ensuring profit for most of the shops inside. It has brought more vitality to the surrounding area, and at the same time, raised the value of the following project of 'K World Group'."

Grace calmly nodded:

"That mall is indeed proof enough of the capabilities of that new group. By cooperating with them, even the periphery will be rentable, and we will have little chance of losing out."

Then the short-haired woman raised her eyebrows at her assistant:

"But that does not tell me why you smiled when speaking of the mall?"

Leyna's smile deepened:

"I met Alex at the mall."

Grace frowned:

"At his cafe?"

But Leyna shook her head:

"No. I tried the sports center he gave me a lifetime membership of, and that is where I met him. He was with a friend of his, and he ran away when I brought up his trip from the previous weekend."

Leyna raised a hand to hide a soft chuckle. Grace shook her head helplessly, then turned to the computer she had on her desk, and returned to her work.

Seeing that, Leyna restrained her smile, and turned around. Before she could reach far, though, her superior and godmother's voice came from behind:

"It is almost lunch time. Since Alex went to the mall, he will probably spend the day at his cafe. We will leave in half an hour."

Leyna's smile came back, half of it holding hints of amusement as she turned back and replied:

"Understood, madam."

Leyna reached the door, and was about to open it when Grace seemed to remember something, making her turn away from the screen of her computer and call out:

"Wait, Leyna."

The black-haired younger woman stopped, and turned around, hiding a bit of surprise behind her calm expression:

"Madam?"

Grace faced her, and asked:

"What is that little girl Jenny up to now?"

As a good assistant, even though she had not been tasked to look into the matter before, Leyna had the answer prepared:

"She opened a company."

Grace raised her eyebrows, wordlessly making Leyna elaborate:

"It seems that she wanted to open a fashion company at first, but then she changed her mind, or she lost interest. Now she is focused on cosmetics."

Grace asked with a tinge of curiosity in her tone:

"Is that the surprise she wants to give Alex?"

Leyna smiled and replied with the affectionate tone of an elder sister:

"You know, madam, that Alex is the favorite big brother who has always stood before her. I doubt there is anyone she likes more in the family. She is twenty now. She might want to show her big brother that she has indeed grown up."

Grace paused, and her face softened with a maternal glow, as she spoke in a soft tone, like a sigh:

"It had not been easy for her, losing her mother so early in her life."

Leyna nodded, with a hint of sadness, and smiled softly:

"Yes. Fortunately, she had Alex to take care of her, and pull her up everytime she stumbled, and after thirteen years, she has grown up to become a fine young lady."

The office quieted down for a moment, as if to empathize with the sad topic, before Grace exhaled, and waved her hand:

"You can go. Jenny is an adult already, and we are not lacking money, so let her play as she wants. With Alex to look after her, I have no need to worry."

Leyna laughed softly at those words. It was odd feeling at ease leaving someone whose reckless behavior was the source of much frustration to take care of someone else, someone younger, and seemingly more fragile.

Leyna's reaction also brought a smile to Grace's lips, before she turned to focus on her work. At least, that was the plan, before she noticed Leyna not moving.

"What is it?"

Leyna hesitated, and voice a question that seemed to trouble her:

"Madam, will… will Helly also come back?"