"Master, why did you make such a deal with that woman?" Grayfia asked Adam now that they were left alone.
"Well, is there a problem with her?" Adam asked as she brought him their dinner.
"There is a deep greed hidden in her eyes. Something like that will invite trouble." Grayfia didn't like her from the start, not to mention she had such audacious claims of putting Adam under her protection.
People like her often bite off more than they could chew. Not only would she put herself in danger, but her stupidity could also ruin Adam's peace later on. Since he included her knowing that, there should be something.
"What's wrong with that?" As expected, he didn't seem to see the problem which stumped her. Seeing that he smiled a little as she took her seat across him hoping to know more.
"Greed isn't a bad thing. After all, everyone does something for a reason. They expect something in return, may that be affection, money, power, affirmation, or favors. The reason may be different but something is always behind every action." He said cutting into the steak, "That's why I don't mind her greed, because she is ready to work for what she wants. Someone like that is better than people who just want things without doing anything."
"It doesn't bother Master…?" Grayfia's eyes widened a little as he shook his head.
"Actually I find it quite attractive." Greed held great importance to Adam. The feeling of wanting something, he was most familiar with this emotion his entire life.
It was the same for Grayfia.
'Everyone has greed… that's correct. Even I made a decision under its influence.' Since she met Adam, her heart has been filled with a sense of longing for him.
Although he wasn't around for long whenever he was, she felt like reaching out to him, to go see him, to ask if he wanted something, wanting to know more about him. Without knowing it, Grayfia found herself in places he was, or in places where people who knew him were.
To better understand her heart she left her world behind and signed a contract with Adam. Leaving behind her recently found brother was tough. But to her surprise, she didn't long to make that decision. Now, she understood why, and another question remained.
'What do I want from Master?' She couldn't take her eyes off him.
What was it that she needed? Affection? Power? Attention? The answer was much simpler than that.
"Master here's the after-meal Tea." Seeing him enjoy her ginger tea made her heart flutter.
"You've improved a lot." Hearing his praise gave her the butterflies.
"Master, where will you live from today onwards, shall I get another mansion in the city?"
"In the room upstairs will do fine. I like smaller living spaces anyway." Finding out new things about him made her excited. She would jot it down in her notebook to keep a backup in case she forgot, which wouldn't happen but she prepared for it.
"Should I bring something for you Master?" Just talking to him made her heart calm down, making her forget what she had left behind.
"I don't need anything now, but there is something I'll tell you." He promised.
Such small things filled her with happiness as if she had won over the world. It wasn't as grand as the greed she had envisioned, but every passing moment with him became special to her. So, she didn't want to miss it, not even a second of it.
'I see, so that's why I made that contract.' Grayfia spent the night standing next to Adam discussing their plans moving forward. Throughout the time she had failed to notice the smile on her lips, something she tried to avoid often to keep a calm front.
Before she knew it, the night passed by.
As morning came around a luxurious black sedan stopped in front of the shop. The familiar Mountain Ape stepped out of the passenger seat to open the back door, and out came Fubuki looking classier than yesterday. The only change made to her outfit was the coat, but its high quality shone through to match her beauty. Today even her heels and black dress appeared in a class of their own.
With new golden shades, she came into the shop under an umbrella, as if she owned it.
"Hello, partner. Hope you had a good night's sleep." She went straight to Adam.
Her skin glistened and looked healthy like a newborn baby's. The smug smile on her face made her look like a kid, an excited kid on her first day of the new semester.
"Looks like you enjoyed your time in the mansion." Adam chuckled at her smile.
"It was everything I hoped for and more." Fubuki took her time to check out the pool, gym, and sauna there, after completing her job. Even the car and clothes she used today came from there.
'He must've told the staff there to let me use all the facilities.' She looked at him working behind the counter wondering what sort of lifestyle he had.
She couldn't notice it yesterday, but his clothes looked custom-made. As someone who was a frequent at luxury brands, she could tell it must've cost a fortune. Not to mention he had a fit body and an appealing face.
"Want a Latte?" He asked.
"I stay on a strict diet, so no." Fubuki sighed.
"The calories won't count if I make it." His words made her blink. She tried to process the words, but no matter how she thought of it the answer remained the same.
"I'll take two!" She almost jumped over the counter.
"Ok, just a minute." Adam was quick to make the lattes for everyone and placed them on the table.
Fubuki once again felt the incredible power of sugar that spread across her tongue. It was a rarity for her, as to maintain her figure she had kept a strict control over what she ate. But, it seemed like now she could be a bit more flexible if the craving acted up.
'It is good that he is taking this partnership seriously and treating me with respect. He knows how to get someone to work fo-with him.' She coughed over her own thoughts betraying her because of Grayfia's gaze, the silver lining was that it didn't appear as hostile as yesterday.
"It is good that you liked it. Now let's get to the main point." Adam stepped away from the counter and sat at the same table as her.
Hearing his words Fubuki's ears perked up. Time for business had come so she set the latte aside.
"So, what is next? An expansion of the workforce? Getting support from the Hero Association? Or securing more customers? I have made detailed plans for each of them if you would like." Lily stood behind her, ready with several folders in hand for different things she mentioned.
But, he shook his head catching her in the moment.
"Neither of those. What I have is a task for you." Adam said with all seriousness drawing her in. Since it was specifically for her, Fubuki thought of what an important and big job she'd get as the main partner in this project.
"Before the Hero Association comes in and tries to help us with setting up the other branches in the different cities. We have to move first so they don't have too many places to interfere with." His words got her even more excited.
Fubuki had contacted the execs of the Hero Association herself, but she knew that many of those corrupt guys would try to get money out of their business. So, Fubuki too had been trying to think of ways to reduce their interference in this. What she wanted was their distribution network and name, not them trying to capitalize on their work. That was why she came up with so many plans to fill in the gaps before the others could notice them.
'As expected of my partner, he noticed it too.' Fubuki smiled satisfied with herself for seeing his potential.
"So, do you want to leave the scouting of locations to me? I can certainly take care of that." She asked leaning forward.
"No, I'll do that. But, I have an important job for you." Adam said drawing her in further.
Half an hour later, Adam got ready to leave with Grayfia, and on the way out he stopped by the counter.
There Fubuki and Lily stood in white pants and a shirt with a logo on the breast pocket. The logo was bright red with the name of the shop etched in the middle with golden letters.
"I am counting on you, Partner." He smiled at Fubuki and left the shop.