Behind her, Penelope's own personal assistant stood. You didn't know much about the full-figured girl, as you'd only seen her once or twice. She was in her mid-twenties, with dark-chocolate hair, dazzling blue eyes, and deeply tanned skin. Her full pantsuit set probably would've been modest, had the girl not been extremely curvaceous training her clothing at her bust and butt. She reminded you, startlingly, of Mari, which was a horrifying mental image.
You tried to recall her name, and eventually settled on Althea Silva, daughter of someone named Lillian Silva, who you vaguely remembered being somehow connected to the CTC. Perhaps Lillian had been an old higher-up who crumbled into obscurity after Quinn Wallace's bombshell and the subsequent CTC restructuring? Hopefully Althea didn't have some sort of chip on her shoulder because of that...
The only other person in the room was a woman you didn't recognize at all, but for some reason she was oddly familiar.
The woman looked to be in her early forties, and she was tall, lean, and toned, having a fairly subdued but still quite pretty physique. Her skin was exceptionally pale, and her close-cropped black hair framed her refined face and really brought out her hazel eyes. The more you looked at her face, and at her pale skin, the more it felt like you were really supposed to know this woman, and it bothered you that the revelation was on the tip of your tongue.
Thankfully, the woman walked over to you, Jenna, and Madilynn, hand extended.
"Hello, everyone. Thank you for coming." She said, her voice a slightly deeper octave than you were expecting, and again had this sort of breathy quality that sounded just like someone else you knew.
Jenna shook the mystery woman's hand. "Our pleasure. I'm Jenna Jacobs, and this is my assistant, Madilynn Doxon. As well as my brother, Matthew Jacobs." She gestured down to you. "And who might you be?"
The woman's eyes flashed to you in slight surprise, then went back up to Jenna. "Oh, my apologies. I got ahead of myself. My name is Zara Reed, head of the CTC's Pharmaceutical and Genetic Engineering Department."
Your eyes practically popped out of your skull, and before you could stop yourself, you blurted out. "Any relation to a Zoey Reed?"
The woman again looked at you in surprise, and with a faintly dismissive glint in her eyes, like she either hadn't expected your question, or more likely hadn't expected you to speak up at all.
The woman, Zara Reed, recovered quickly. "Y-Yes, I'm her mother. Zoey is my daughter."
Your understanding of the world exploded.
For the longest time, Zoey had been a mystery to you. She'd seemingly just shown up one day back when your daughters were in elementary school, and had quickly become friends with Riley but inseparable best friends with Juli. Ever since, she spent hours upon hours at your house during hangouts, sleepovers, or literally just crashing at your place for days or weeks on end. She was almost your unofficial daughter, and you loved having her around, particularly because she had a heart after the safety and respect of tinies, and was a godsend at rescuing you from your oft-forgetful and oblivious wife and daughters.
But, it had always been just a little bit strange that Juli never once went over to Zoey's house. For that matter, you never once learned a thing about Zoey's parents or home life. You'd seen her home when you and Mari would drop Zoey back after a hangout or sleepover (and it was a pretty impressively sizable house), but you'd never once glimpsed the girl's parents for all that you'd known her. If pressed, you would've had to confess to not even truly knowing if the girl had parents, or lived with rich relatives, or a freaking robot butler for how little you knew about her.
And now, you'd finally met her mother, and a thought came to you.
Has Zoey...been embarrassed by who her mother is, all this time? The fact that she works for the CTC? You internally mused. Or is there some other secret going on here?
Jenna's voice shook you from your thoughts. "Nice to meet you, Miss Reed. Your daughter is a good friend of my brother's daughter, and I consider her to be an exceptional young lady."
Zara smiled warmly, the visage of a proud mother. "Oh, thank you so much! I love my little angel with all my heart. My 'Sweet Spitfire', I used to call her, back when she was a wild little child!" Zara let out a long sigh. "Not that...we talk at all anymore. I try and reach out, over and over, but she rebuffs me each time."
Jenna put a hand to her chest (obviously, the opposite side from where you were tucked into her pocket). "I'm sorry to hear that? Is there a reason for the disconnect?"
Zara shook her head, smiling like whatever the reason was, it was something silly. "It's all because of this little thing she's just too young and stubborn to really understand. It had to do with her older sibl--"
"Excuse me!" A haughty voice called out, cutting the conversation to a close. It was Penelope. "As lovely as all this catching up is, I had been under the impression we had important business to discuss. And I'd really like to finish in time to get back to Weston. Some of us have other important jobs, and can't wile away our hours looking at clothes, or whatever."
Jenna gritted her teeth at the dismissal of Just Jacobs, and claimed a seat across the table from the CTC group. Madilynn sat beside her, and Jenna pulled you from her pocket and set you on the table in front of her. Across the way, Zara claimed a seat on one side of Penelope, and Althea Silva took the other. For some reason, Althea kept eyeing you with an almost hungry, desirous glare that sent shivers down your spine.
Jenna cleared her throat. "So, do you mind telling me what this meeting is about? Your letter didn't say."
Penelope smiled a Cheshire-cat-like smile. "My letter said 'a friendly chat', and that's really what this is. Assuming you acquiesce to our request, of course."
Jenna stilled. "What request?"
Penelope's smile only grew. "See, we here at the CTC are a bit offended at your organizations recent advertisement, claiming that the CTC is 'corrupt' and 'awful' and 'hurtful to affected kind'. That, frankly, all sounds slanderous to me, and if I was a more vindictive woman I'd feel well within my rights to take your little organization to court."
Jenna scoffed. "Y-You wouldn't have a case to stand on! It was just an advertisement. It falls within free speech." Beside her, Madilynn placed a comforting hand on her boss' shoulder.
"Would you care to test that?" Penelope inquired. "I happen to know a woman with a long career in law who I am quite certain could win the case for the CTC. She was born into taking over her mother's old lawyering firm, after all. I'm fairly certain she could tear your Fair Tiny Treatment Foundation to dust." Penelope said that last bit in a mocking tone. Beside Penelope, Zara looked quietly pleased, and Althea's unsettling smirk widened as she chuckled darkly.
Jenna seemed poised to retort, before Madilynn spoke first. "Look, we're prepared to settle this out of court. Whatever your request is, we're prepared to discuss it and possibly accept it, for the good of the FTTF." She turned her warm but firmly devoted eyes on Jenna. "Right, Mrs. Jacobs?"
Knowing her assistant was right, and knowing that she might need to concede to Madilynn's much more firm attitude than her own soft heart, Jenna nodded wordlessly. Down on the table, you gently stroked your sister's arm, hoping she could feel your comfort.
Across the table, Penelope clapped her hands. And you couldn't help but notice the way she was staring at you. Her eyes bored into you in such an intense way that a part of you wondered if this entire meeting had hinged on Jenna bringing you with her. Like Penelope had planned whatever she was going to say next all for the purpose of going back to old times and tormenting you, but with the added 'benefit' of Jenna suffering by proxy as well. But...that'd be crazy, wouldn't it?
"Wonderful." Penelope smiled. "Then, let me just lay out the terms of our request. It's quite simple, really. You see..."
1) "...we're running a new advertising campaign of our own, promoting the newly improved usage licensing process. We'd simply like someone from your organization to help promote it. Like, say...Matt?"
2) "...Zara here is on the cusp of some truly revolution new genetic engineering developments, and just needs to run some final tests with a willing volunteer. I'm sure Matt would be up for the task!"
3) "...I'm looking for a new personal assistant, just temporarily, and I strongly feel like Matt would fit the bill. Of course, he'd have to be trained first, but Althea here is more than eager and willing to assist in that regard."
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