Author's note: this is from Jonathan's point of view

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~ London ~

It was past midnight when Magda returned from her night out with the girls, and I watched her stumble over her own feet.

She was drinking again.

Sure, Saturday evenings are for partying, but Magda does it on weekdays as well.

It must be nice to spend life shopping and partying without a care in the world.

It's not that I can't frequent nightclubs and parties, but wherever I (aka the next CEO of the Giantshade Industries) go, people swarm me in order to suck up to me and I find that exhausting.

As much as I enjoy people kissing my ass, that is not an environment where I can relax and enjoy the party. They are all snakes in human skin, looking at my every move, waiting to exploit any weakness and create rumors in order to make themselves feel better.

My sister is lucky that she is completely separated from our business. People see her as a rich socialite and nothing more, and her bitchy reputation prevents anyone from messing with her. Actually, most of the rumors about Magda are the ones she created herself. She always craved to be the best and at the top, even in useless things like trending topics on local forums.

Magda froze when she saw me in the living room.

Her eyes darted around nervously while searching for something. Or someone.

"Father retreated for the night. It's just me.", I confirmed.

Magda tilted her head, trying to conceal how intoxicated she was. "Why are you awake?"

"I'm waiting for you."

"Why?", she asked reluctantly.

I never wait for her, so she has a reason to be cautious. It made me wonder what mess she started tonight in order to be so jumpy.

"I thought you wanted to hear updates about Drago Orsini without delay.", I said.

Magda blinked rapidly. "You have something on him?"

Father was sleeping, but the staff is always lurking around. I didn't want witnesses for what I was going to say.

"If you want to hear, follow me into the study."

Magda nodded and maintained two steps distance between us.

Did I keep an eye on Drago Orsini? Not really.

Drago is just a businessman whose company started a few years ago and he is not significant enough to get on my radar.

My eyes were on Seraphina Mezzanotte, the mysterious heiress of Notte Pharmaceuticals who keeps a low profile. Now that IS a woman worth my attention. Seraphina made waves by appearing about three years ago, and any news about her since then (albeit rare) is only solidifying her reputation as beautiful, smart, and impressive.

Seraphina picks which events she will attend, and she is not a party animal like my sister. Seraphina is sharp and focused on things that matter. How can I not be interested in a woman like that?

As an added bonus, Seraphina is not associated with any man, I was surprised to see her name next to Drago's as a donor for some charity.

It seems that mysterious Miss Mezzanotte is not an ice princess as the rumors say.

How can that guy be so lucky?

With that information, I asked my men to get a few more bits on Drago so that it appears to Magda I was focused on the man she is set on pursuing. It's beneficial for me if Magda thinks that she owes me.

"What do you have?", Magda asked as soon as she closed the door behind us.

"Drago Orsini boarded a private plane on Friday afternoon, bound to Frankfurt."

"And?", Magda asked expectantly.

"That same evening, he attended an event organized by a company called Triamgene."

Magda frowned. "How is that of any use? If you told me that before the event, I would secure an invitation."

"What makes you think that you can appear at the event of a company that is making breakthroughs in the pharmaceutical industry with the help of artificial intelligence?" Magda made a face like she smelled something nasty, and I couldn't wait to crush that snobby confidence she has. "There was no way to know this in advance because Mr. Orsini was not on the guestlist. Be happy I found out this much."

Magda was visibly confused. "If Drago was not invited, how did he attend?"

"As plus one."

It took Magda a few seconds to understand my words. "You are saying that he went as someone's date?"

"Mhm…", I confirmed with a hum.

"Whose!?", she hissed.

"That… I'm not sure, but I have something else that might interest you."

I put a piece of paper on the table; it's a printout of the webpage belonging to the Rasiel foundation where names Seraphina Mezzanotte and Drago Orsini are listed as the biggest donors for the archeological expedition headed for the Northern Forest Complex Of Myanmar.

Magda's eyes widened as she stared at the paper.

"Joint donation?", she asked in disbelief. "They donated together? As one?"

"My sources tell me that Miss Mezzanotte was on the guestlist, and she came with a date. The likelihood that your Drago was her date is very high."

"Can… Can you get video footage as confirmation?", Magda stuttered.

I didn't see the point. "Even if they didn't enter together, it's obvious that their relationship is good if they decided to make a joint donation. Considering that Drago Orsini doesn't associate himself with women, this is big. Don't you agree?"

Magda's eyes snapped at me. "And you are fine with it?"

I shrugged. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I thought you are interested in Miss Mezzanotte. Isn't she your target for conquest? Beautiful, smart, capable. Right?"

Ah… now I understood where Magda was going with this.

"You want me to meddle into their relationship so that Drago stays away from her?" I narrowed my eyes at Magda. "Don't try to manipulate me to do your bidding, Magda. I'm no one's pawn."

Magda pressed her lips into a line and left the study angrily.

Well, this was more enjoyable in my mind than it turned out in reality. I love pushing Magda's buttons, but this episode left me with a sour aftertaste.

I hated that Magda was right.

I want to get close to Seraphina, but she is like a ghost.

I would love it if Seraphina is available and interested in me, but I have no intention to play according to Magda's tune. If she needs a pawn, she will need to look elsewhere.

Drago Orsini is one lucky bastard. I should keep an eye on him and look into his history to find out how did he manage to get close to Seraphina.

…

I've got down to the dining room for breakfast.

Our father insists on Magda and me joining him for breakfast every Sunday morning.

Magda usually oversleeps and that makes the old man irritable because he sees her lack of presence at the table as a sign of a rebellion.

My steps halted at the door when I saw Magda and father chatting enthusiastically.

After wishing them good morning, I applied jam on my toast and our father was kind enough to fill me in.

"Magda is growing up into a fine young lady."

I did my best not to frown as this sounded like an introduction to something I won't like. "What makes you think so?"

"She has a good suggestion for our next acquisition.", our father said with an amused smile on his face, and I wondered if I'm still dreaming.

Since when is Magda interested in business? And did father say that Magda has a good suggestion?

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