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40. Lovely Burdens.
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- A Month Later -
"Take it from me, they'll be eating out of Charles' hands." River raises his glass at Sebastian.
They sit before the view of Manhattan on colorful pillows, legs crossed, enjoying a game of chess with wine involved. They'd met many nights like this in the past few weeks. Stealing whatever time they could, to be alone before other responsibilities needed their attention, which was quite frequent.
"He already pitched the proposal to the board. Now he just has to do that with shareholders, investors, everybody involved in the Merit Global operations." Sebastian makes his move, though absentmindedly.
"Wasn't the merge final a couple months ago?" River chances a look in Sebastian's direction.
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-From the air, a black helicopter descends, lowering to the landing spot behind a vast villa, designed like a modern mansion. Twenty or more small towers form a protective barrier all around the villa, connected by enormous, thick walls made of brick and concrete."It's even big in the sky," Cairo beams scanning the place's entirety and ornate windows scattered around the walls in a symmetric way."Still looks like a good way to get lost," ever the skeptic, Caleb adds with a bored voice.Like the two boys with their heads pressed up to the window, River watches in awe. He shakes out of it when the landing gear hits the pad, and Sebastian steadies his shoulders."It has a pool," Cairo shrugs and Caleb's face perks up. "We've never had a pool."
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-- Two Weeks Earlier -The nearly inaudible ding of the no-smoking and seatbelt signs sound, pulling River's attention from the file he reads while seated in the first class cabin. The lights above each seat becomes illuminated, causing a certain unrest in River as he sits up and closes the file. Seconds later the light in the first-class cabin dims, and River fastens his seatbelt. His hands fidget as he fiddles with the strap around his waist, feeling a sense of confinement. He failed to decipher why he felt trapped, but he knew all too well that his fear of flying had already begun to weigh down on him.It was mere hours after takeoff, and the lit signs above the passengers heads clicking on meant they would soon arrive. River remains calm, as his stomach feels stirred and bothered by the shaking of the aircraft. No Flight Attendants could be seen, but he could hear them in the lower cabins speaking to unaware passeng
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Color Me, Black 48. Battles.
-River's eyes fly open, startled awake by the loud ringing of his cellphone. He quickly shuffles to sit upright, grabbing the gadget from the bedside table to answer."Yes, h-hello?" His voice cracks,"Mr. Kennedi, thank heavens you're awake! I've been trying to call Sebastian all morning, but he won't answer." Grace informs River, who is still half asleep and groggy.After his confrontation with Sebastian, River retired to his room to avoid the face-to-face with the man. He had busied himself with the Merit Global merger files, in hopes of distracting himself. Fortunately it had worked, and River fell asleep after preparing his own presentation since Charles didn't show up, nor did he hear anything else about the man returning. He didn't see nor hear a peep from Sebastian since their last conversation.
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