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Chapter 158: You Can Yell My Name
🕑 Added 2022-09-01 05:01:03 +0000 UTC“What?” Tori narrowed her eyes. “We’ve been open for over a month. Why are we just being reported for this now?”
“I don’t know, however, this is an official letter from the Imperial Commerce Commission. They said that the business registration for Duel was never submitted and that we’re missing operating permits,” Mr. Somerset told her.
Tori frowned more so. “That’s impossible. Henrik and I went to submit it ourselves. What do they mean it was never submitted?”
She took the letter with the embossed seal of the Imperial Commerce Commission from Mr. Somerset and leaned back against the chair of the small office hidden behind the display shelves behind the lobby. It was a standard form letter telling her that Lions Gate Duel was missing both its business permit to run a business in Horizon and the permit to sell food.
She had until the end of the week to either submit a copy or reapply. If she reapplied, it would take at least two weeks for the permits to be issued. During that time, they could not continue to operate. Henrik had applied months ago in advance, then the two of them went for the final procedures to ensure that everything was ready before the soft opens.
“Will we have to close?” Mr. Somerset asked with a concerned look.
Tori shook her head. “No, not at all. We have copies of the permits. We can take it to the commission tomorrow.”
“Perhaps the permits were mis-filed.”
“It’s always a possibility when you’re working with so many at once,” Tori said. She let out a heavy breath and folded the notice carefully before putting it into the breast pocket of her jacket. “I will call Henrik about it.”
Mr. Somerset smiled, relieved. “That’s good. I will leave it to my lady and Mr. Skuldsen.”
They opened the door to the office and stepped out. The popularity of Duel had not waned since opening and even now, after school had started across the city, there were still plenty of people coming to play.
“The daytime crowd is mainly off-duty knights,” Mr. Somerset told her. “It’s a bit calmer than now.”
“There are a lot of students in the afternoons,” Tori said as she looked around. At least seven or eight different uniforms, including Lycée du Soleil’s were spotted in the crowd. “How are the weekend party rentals going?”
“We have bookings for equipment, supplies, and game hosts for the next four months, my lady. The Emperor has also paid to reserve a date late next summer for the Empress’ birthday banquet,” Mr. Somerset reported. “He wishes to have a deluxe, custom curated game event for Her Majesty.” The manager’s face contorted a bit with confusion. “He also mentioned something about ax throwing?”
Tori closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She mentally cursed the imperial couple and their requests. “I will take care of it.” Although, I better not get a request for Gideon’s birthday. I have things to do, dammit.
“My lady, have you considered making an entertainment parlor?” Mr. Somerset asked.
“I have, but at the moment, funding is tight,” Tori replied. “Renovations at the Lunar Pavilion are starting and due to the age of the structure, it is a very slow, laborious, and expensive process.”
Mr. Somerset sighed. “A shame. I’m sure there are many who are interested in the various card and tile games here.”
Tori nodded, distracted. “I am keeping an eye on the property around the area though. If I must take out a loan, I will if we can secure the location.”
“My lady, there is a young man here on the 403 list. He requests to see Mr. Villalobos,” one of the employees who was stationed at the lobby’s counter turned around as they reached him. Tori furrowed her brows.
She had a list made up of people forbidden from setting foot past Duel’s lobby and cafe, as well as prohibited from purchasing goods or services from Duel and the rest of Lions Gate. The list was short, but mainly consisted of Alessa, some love interests that were still clinging on to her, anyone Adrien Rosiek had a connection with that Tori knew about, and the former Duke Alvere and his mistress.
She turned her head towards the tall young man standing on the other side of the counter, looking surprised to see her. Tori resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
What was Tom expecting? This was her store; why wouldn’t she appear in it from time to time. Tori took a deep breath and put on a placid smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“Mr. Fields, this is a surprise. To what do we owe the honor?” Tori said in a droll voice as she walked over and stood across from him on the other side of the counter.
Tom drew his head back and frowned. If he wanted to say something, he had to watch his words considering he was well within her territory and with a superior social status to him and his most noble friend.
“Countess Guevera, I heard that Mr. Villalobos has moved here to work. He has helped me a lot when I was in Presidio and I wanted to greet him,” Tom told her.
It was a legitimate answer, and Tori felt there was nothing alarming about it. Mr. Villalobos had told her that Tom worked with him and had good things to say about the love interest. There was a pleasant relationship, and it wasn’t abnormal for a former employee who left on good terms to come and greet a work mentor.
Still, Tori didn’t answer immediately. She held her ground and eyed him until he avoided her eyes and showed some discomfort. Satisfied that he didn’t seem to want to try anything questionable, she looked over her shoulder.
“Call Mr. Villalobos,” Tori said. The employee who had stood to the side nodded and rushed to the back room. Tori looked back at Tom. “He’ll be out in a moment, Mr. Fields. Please wait here.”
Tom nodded his head, his face red as if embarrassed to be there. Tori glanced back over her shoulder and gave Mr. Somerset a knowing nod. He gave her a stoic one in return, and she slipped out of the counter and headed to the cafe. She sat at a corner table that had a good view of both the cafe and the lobby.
She didn’t bother to hide the fact that she was watching Tom. Mama J’s son saw her sitting and came with her usual iced coffee and a small plate of puff pastry with meat. Tori glanced down and paused.
“Is this new?” she asked.
“Yes, my lady. It’s a puff pastry with beef tenderloin, dry-cured ham, and duxelles.”
“Beef Wellington,” Tori muttered to herself. Tobias gave her a curious look and she smiled and picked up one of the small bite-sized pieces. She bit into the warm meat pastry and slowly nodded. “I like it. Good job, Mr. Jager. Did you want to add this to the menu?”
“To the pre-ordered catering menu. They’re not difficult to make, but it is necessary to procure the mushrooms,” he replied.
Tori nodded. “I’ll make a note and have it added to the spring menu.”
Tobias gave her a bright smile. “Thank you, my lady. Shall I pack some for you and Lady Agafonova?”
“Please do.” Tori ate another one and looked towards the lobby. Mr. Villalobos came out, still in his apron, and laughed as he saw Tom. He extended his hand and reached out to embrace Tom as if seeing an old friend. Tom looked happy to see him and his joyous expression didn’t falter as Mr. Villalobos led him to the cafe.
Tori lowered her eyes and continued to eat her bite-sized beef Wellingtons. They were not surprisingly addicting. Mr. Villalobos and Tom sat close to the windows, so Tori couldn’t hear them, but she did look up occasionally to try to get any physical clues on what their conversation was about.
The first few minutes were likely catching up and following up on where the other was now. Then Tori noticed Mr. Villalobos’ smile falter. He was nodding his head, but the earlier excitement on his face had faded.
It’s getting good. Tori sipped on her drink; her eyes fixed on Tom’s back. After about half an hour, Tom seemed to lower his head. Mr. Villalobos gave him a kind smile and leaned forward to pat his shoulder. He said something comforting to him and then stood up. Tom followed and Mr. Villalobos brought him to the door.
Tori heard some parts of the conversation including some encouraging words to Tom before the young man left.
Mr. Villalobos lingered by the glass door and watched the young man’s back disappear into the night. He let out a heavy breath and turned around. He saw Tori seated there and gave her a tired smile.
“Did he say something to upset you?” Tori asked. The old man shook his head and came forward.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t be upset with what he said. In most cases, it would be quite flattering,” Mr. Villalobos replied.
Tori squinted her eyes for a moment before enlightenment filled her face. “He tried to recruit you.”
Mr. Villalobos nodded. “It doesn’t seem that he knew that I was a former knight and that my position here is related to being a Guevera knight.”
Tori pursed her lips. “The practice of retraining knights for other occupations after their service isn’t common in the Central Corridor. Did he at least offer a lot of money?”
Mr. Villalobos cracked a wide smile and laughed. “I wouldn’t say that it’s a lot, but certainly well above the average pay rate of a master printer.” His smile faded a bit. “However, I have no desire to work for the Golden Cow.”
Tori nodded in understanding. “He came here to poach my workers,” she said, looking out towards the window in the direction Tom had left. “It’s good that he’s on the 403 list.”
“I wish it wasn’t necessary, but considering the amount of intellectual property in Duel and their popularity, it does make it an appealing target for knockoffs.”
“We can’t keep it a monopoly forever. Eventually, other companies will develop their own games to compete with us. We can only continue to evolve and stay relevant to our customers,” Tori replied.
Mr. Villalobos nodded. He paused for a moment and cocked his head to the side. “My lady, Tom mentioned something when he was trying to convince me to join the Golden Cow.” Tori furrowed her brows and gave him a look telling him to continue. “He said that he came because he heard Duel was closing.”
“What?” Tori frowned at once. “We opened just a few weeks ago and sales have been steady. Where did he hear that?”
“There are likely those jealous of Duel’s success. It’s fairly common to speak ill of competition,” Mr. Villalobos told her as he rubbed his chin. “I asked Tom where he heard such news and he said that someone at the print shop where he works said that the city will close our doors as we’re not authorized to operate. That was why he came to recruit me.”
“I can accept that he’s kind enough to want to ensure you have a job. After all, you taught him when he was in Presidio. However, a regular employee usually wouldn’t have such insight into the business operations of another shop....” Tori lifted her hand to her breast pocket and frowned.
“My lady.” Mr. Somerset rushed into the cafe with a concerned look on his face. “Mr. Skuldsen is calling and says you aren’t answering your comcry.”
Tori frowned more so. “Tell him I’ll call him right now.” Mr. Somerset nodded and turned around. Tori gave Mr. Villalobos a dismissing nod and reached for her comcry. She swept her finger across the crystal. “Call Henrik Skuldsen.”
Henrik answered almost immediately with a ragged voice. “Tori, we need to increase security at the shops.”
“Wait ,what? What’s going on?” Tori frowned and sat up straight.
“My house was broken into, and my room in particular was torn apart,” Henrik said, breathless. “I think I’m being targeted.”
Part of Tori didn’t want to immediately make the conspiracy theory that the missing permits from the Imperial Commerce Commission and the break in at the Skuldsen residence were connected, but it was what her mind came up with as soon as Henrik told her.
It just felt like too much of a coincidence for it to happen all at once, and Tori couldn’t help but think about what Tom said about Duel closing. From what she knew, he wasn’t in a position where he could find out the business status of other companies. Someone must’ve fed him that information.
That also meant that someone knew before her that permits were missing.
This made the missing permits from the Imperial Commerce Commission suspicious.
“You think they were intentionally lost?” Ilyana asked as she sat in the carriage with Tori and Henrik. The carriage was surrounded by a half dozen imperial knights sent to guard Tori. For usual errands around the city, security detail wasn’t necessary, but something was off about this entire situation and Tori didn’t want to take any chances.
In the case that whoever was plotting against them grew desperate, having guards was useful. Desperate people were dangerous people.
“It’s just too much of a coincidence for me to accept,” Tori replied. “Misfiled paperwork is understandable. It happens. But Henrik’s family’s house is broken into and much of the damage is done to his room.”
Henrik scowled. “My mattress was pushed off the side and there are cuts in the fabric. My clothes were strewn about from their drawers and wardrobe. Every book I own was likely opened. No other room was ransacked like mine was. Even my father’s study wasn’t torn apart. I’m certain they were targeting me.”
“Not you, but our documents,” Tori said. “Which would include copies of the business and operations permits.”
“This is ridiculous.” Ilyana frowned. “Even if they found and destroyed our permits, we can easily reapply.”
“But we’d have to close down the stores during the reapplication process,” Henrik said. “And it takes a few weeks to get the approvals.”
“We also don’t know if our permits will be ‘delayed’.” Tori made little air quotes as she glared downwards and then tapped her fingers against her arms. “We don’t know if this was all an accident or premeditated, but let’s act as if it was. It would mean that someone out there lost our permits and that someone must be an employee.”
Henrik closed his eyes and let out a low grumble. “We don’t know who that employee is, so they can take advantage of their anonymity and delay, perhaps even reject, our application.”
“We have our permits with us, we can’t let them out of our sight,” Tori said. She paused and sat up straight. “Give them to me.” She brought down the table in between the benches and slid the velar crystal out of her bracelet, then dug out a piece of paper. “Paper can be lost, torn, or burnt, but I can change that.”
Somewhat skeptical, Henrik removed the relevant documents that they’ve brought, and Tori spent the rest of the ride to the First District writing out some sort of code on the edges of each sheet and a ‘master charm’.
She closed her eyes and activated the charm and the pile of papers just as they came to a stop in front of the Commerce Plaza where many departments relating to business and labor were located.
Tori handed the pile back to Henrik and they waited until the papers were carefully tucked back inside his satchel. When it was secured, Tori swept her hand over a small white crystal on the door. A moment later, the footman opened the door, and they stepped out.
The Commerce Plaza was essentially a series of two- and three-story buildings that housed offices. There was a central plaza and smaller plazas surrounding it. It was the workplace of hundreds of people and to blend in, Tori made Henrik and Ilyana change into what she considered Soleil business attire: a pressed suit for Henrik and an ankle-length A-line dress with a bolero for Ilyana.
While they had a legitimate reason for being there, wearing their Lycée uniforms would not only make them stand out, but could make whoever would assist them treat them as naive school children and not business owners. Clothing could be used to change the perception others had, so Tori didn’t hesitate to wear the fancy clothes of someone with money and influence.
“Sir Lloyd, Sir Granger, please remain with the carriage,” Tori said as Henrik and Ilyana stepped out of the carriage after her. “The rest of you, please follow us. Sir Dobchek, please lead the way to the Imperial Commerce Commission.”
The knights gave her a bow of their heads and Sir Dobchek walked about a step-in front of Tori. The Imperial Commerce Commission was the first building to the left and they went to the window dealing with Horizon commerce.
Tori took the lead and approached the counter. There was no line, so the young man at the counter greeted her.
“Good afternoon, miss. How can I help you today?”
“Good afternoon. We have an appointment with Mr. Harrison today.”
“And the name?”
“Victoria de Guevera, Henrik Skuldsen, and Ilyana Agafonova.”
The young man at the counter snapped his head up. His eyes were wide as he stopped flipping through a schedule book. His jaw dropped and he almost stumbled back off his seat.
“Excuse me for a moment, Countess.” He gave her a low bow and headed towards an open doorway behind the counter.
Ilyana and Henrik exchanged looks with Tori. His reaction was not promising. Tori couldn’t hear what was being said in the room and she suspected there was a silence charm of the sort working. It made sense for there to be something of the like in a government office.
“Countess Guevera, good afternoon.” A woman’s voice came from the doorway and Tori barely contained her narrowed eyes and disapproving frown. She recognized the woman who was in her twenties and wearing a dress suit uniform. “I can help you with your request.”
I think the fuck not. “Miss Moore, if I remember correctly,” Tori said with a small nod of her head. She kept a distant smile on her face. Instructor Ignatius’ ex-girlfriend was on something if she thought Tori would just hand over important documents to her. “Thank you for the offer, but I have already scheduled an appointment with Mr. Harrison this afternoon.”
“Oh, did you? I’m afraid he’s unavailable now.”
“Do you know how long he’ll be busy?” Tori asked calmly.
Miss Moore gave her a pleasant smile that made Tori’s skin crawl. “I’m afraid not. I can help you.”
One of the last things Tori wanted to do in such a situation was to become that person whom she loathed in her original world, but this was an important matter, and she didn’t trust her paperwork to the peon who called her a whore.
Tori swallowed her pride.
“I want to speak to your manager.” Oh my God, I feel dirty. Tori kept a cold look on her face, refusing to let her horror at having become that person in a customer interaction be known.
Miss Moore looked taken aback for just a moment. “My manager?”
“Yes, I’m afraid we have time sensitive documents, and they require additional attention,” Tori told her.
Miss Moore’s smile faltered a bit. “Our manager is currently in a meeting.”
This is bullshit. “Is that so? Do you know when he will be in?”
“It may take a few hours, Countess Guevera. He will be in meetings for some time.”
Tori didn’t flinch. “We can wait.” Before Miss Moore had a chance to stop her, Tori turned around and gave her friends a nod. “Let’s take a seat and wait. I’m sure Miss Moore will notify her manager as soon as she can that we had an appointment with Mr. Harrison, and he has become unavailable.”
She ushered her friends to a small parlor a few steps away. Ilyana looked confused as she took a seat. She leaned towards Tori, who remained standing, and lowered her voice. “Do you know her?”
“She’s Instructor Ignatius’ ex-girlfriend.”
Ilyana sucked in a sharp breath and Henrik’s eyes widened. “The one who called you a whore at the Three Queens?”
Tori pursed her lips and nodded. She glanced back at the counter and saw Miss Moore talking to the young man also behind the counter. She didn’t pay attention to the woman before, but remembered she had some government office job. She didn’t realize it was here, which only increased Tori’s suspicion that her permits being lost was done on purpose.
“I hate to have to do this, but we’re likely not going to get anything done with her,” Tori said. She reached into her pocket for her comcry. It looked like she’d have to go through her connections to get this done.
“Are you going to call Prince Piers?” Ilyana asked.
“No, he has something today. Besides, he doesn’t have as much pull.” Tori walked off to the side and swept her finger across the crystal. She kept her voice low as she spoke, silently hoping that they’d answer.
“Countess, good afternoon. Is that damned dean bothering you again?” Princess Vivian started off cheerful and quickly got annoyed at the thought of the other dean.
“Good afternoon, Your Highness. No, I’m not anywhere near Université right now. I was calling to see if you’d be able to get in touch with Prince Emil for me. I don’t have his contact information and we’re in a bit of a dire situation at the Imperial Commerce Commission. I was hoping that perhaps he could contact someone to help us since he works nearby.”
“Say no more,” Princess Vivian said in a firm voice. “I’ll have him come to you immediately.”
“Wait, no, that’s not necessary. If he can just make a call or-”
“Just wait for him there, my dear! He won’t be long!” The call ended and Tori stared at her comcry.
“What’s wrong?” Ilyana asked with a worried look. “Are they not able to help?”
Tori’s knit brows eased a bit as she looked at her with some lingering dismay. “No...it’s quite the opposite.”
Her friends gave her confused looks. Tori thought that if Prince Emil were coming, he would take a half hour or more, as she assumed he’d need to finish some work before coming.
The silver-haired man swept into the lobby of the building within five minutes, looking happy to be there.
“Countess Tori! Oh, Lady Agafonova and Mr. Skuldsen are here, too. This must have to do with Duel,” Prince Emil said as he greeted them with two imperial knights as his escort.
Ilyana and Henrik rose from their seats to bow and greet him. “Good afternoon, Your Highness.”
Prince Emil chuckled gave them each a small nod of his head. “Vivian called me and let me know you were here. Piers had called me yesterday asking me to be prepared in case you called. I would’ve waited here, but didn’t know when you’d arrive.”
Tori wanted to wince. “Your Highness, I apologize for calling you out here. I don’t want to waste your time-”
Prince Emil waved his hand once to dismiss the thought. “You have worked hard to prepare those rings for my family, Countess. This is a small matter that I am happy to assist you with. Tell me,” he said in a regal voice. “What is the problem?”
Tori glanced towards the counter, where Miss Moore was watching them carefully with a crease across her brow. Prince Emil was a well-known figure; she was sure Miss Moore recognized him.
Tori turned back to the old prince and explained to him the situation. Prince Emil looked interested and slowly his face pulled down in a frown. His eyes narrowed at the end of Tori’s explanation.
“We don’t know when he’ll be available to assist us, but we wanted to wait for a chance to be seen,” Tori told him. “The documents are time-sensitive and should be approved. Last time we were here, I was told that only the manager and above can approve them.”
Prince Emil nodded. “Yes, only particular levels can approve and execute a document.” He lifted his hand with a slight beckoning motion and one of his knights stepped forward. “Find out what happened to Mr. Harrison.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Prince Emil gave Tori a pleasant smile. “Give me a moment, Countess. I just need to make a call.”
Tori bowed her head. “Yes, Your Highness.”
One of his knights left and Prince Emil walked further away to make a call. Ilyana moved closer to Tori. “Do you think he can help us?”
“His Highness should have a good deal of influence here,” Henrik said in a low voice. “I think he can.”
Tori nodded, but still drew her lips into a line. “I hate to have to call in favors and not follow standard procedure for this, but I don’t want our paperwork to get into her hands.” She looked back at the counter and glared at Miss Moore.
The older woman pretended she didn’t notice.
“Tori, you said that you saw her at the Three Queens with the Cowman,” Ilyana whispered. She narrowed her eyes. “Do you think he might be involved in our lost permits?”
Not think. Know. “I don’t have any proof. We can’t go around accusing him without any proof,” Tori said. She let out a heavy breath. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll deal with this today regardless of what she does.”
“Countess, Mr. Devereux will be out in a moment.” Prince Emil made his way back towards them and Tori tilted her head.
“Mr. Devereux?”
“The chief officer of the Imperial Commerce Commission,” Prince Emil said, looking almost smug. “Since the manager of this division is busy, I’ve contacted his boss.”
Ilyana’s face lit up and Henrik nodded. “It’s good to know people....”
Tori lifted her hand to her chest and bowed. “Thank you, Your Highness-”
“Your Highness, my apologies for the delay!” A booming voice filled the parlor and Tori snapped her head towards the counter. A large man with a thick beard almost seemed to storm out of one of the offices. He shot an annoyed look at Miss Moore and the young man still stationed by the counter and Tori took a bit of pleasure watching them pale.
“Jonathan, are you understaffed?” Prince Emil sounded both annoyed, but amused. “Two of your employees aren’t seeing guests and one of them had an appointment with them.”
Mr. Devereux’s face reddened. “I’ll make sure to speak to them. Where is the Countess?” He looked towards Tori and her friends, and she stepped forward to greet him.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Devereux. I’m sorry for bothering you, but we have-”
He lifted his hand to stop her and nodded. “Prince Emil has already told me. Please follow me and show me the papers. I apologize for my department’s negligence, my lady. This should not have happened.” He led them back to the counter and took the first available seat behind it.
Tori motioned for Henrik to produce the documents and laid them out in front of Mr. Devereux. The bearded man scanned the documents, reading all the information quickly while nodding. He checked the dates and Tori watched his brows furrow.
“Is something wrong with the documents, sir?” Henrik asked, carefully. Mr. Devereux shook his head.
“Jonas!” He called over his shoulder, but didn’t turn around. The young man named Jonas rushed forward to look at the numbers on the paper that Mr. Devereux pointed out. “Check for these files again. The permits should already be filed.”
Jonas seemed to hesitate, but nodded and rushed back.
“Will we need to re-apply if the documents are missing?” Henrik asked.
“No, as you have a copy, I will prepare a mirrored form with the information and refile it myself. Be sure to keep these copies with you as reference,” Mr. Devereux told them. He frowned. “This shouldn’t be missing from our archives. I’m unsure why you received a letter about missing paperwork.”
“Sir,” Jonas reappeared with a small folder. “The permit to operate is here, but the number assigned to it is for another business.”
At this, everyone frowned. Tori narrowed her eyes and Mr. Devereux reached for the folder. He opened it up and sure enough, the identification number matched with Duel’s paperwork, but the name of the company, the address, and the owners and partners were different.
“One of these permits is fraudulent,” Miss Moore said suddenly. Tori wondered why she was standing around, but it seemed she was waiting for a moment to interject. Miss Moore met Tori’s eyes. “Countess Guevera, are you certain you submitted the permits and that yours are real?”
“Yes,” Tori said with a raised brow. “How would we make a fraudulent permit?”
“Doesn’t Countess Guevera have another store? It is possible that you copied the format from an existing permit,” Miss Moore told her.
Tori resisted rolling her eyes. “Oh, very astute. That is quite a possibility. Mr. Devereux, are the number assignments made in order according to the date of application or approval?”
“They are assigned upon the submission of the application,” Mr. Devereux replied, looking at Miss Moore as if she were an idiot.
“I thought so. Therefore, I have a question for Miss Moore who thinks my document is fraudulent,” Tori said. “The dates on my permit and this permit found in the archives are the same. If our permit weren’t submitted at that time, how would we know what number should be assigned?”
Henrik straightened up and frowned. “We don’t know how many applications are submitted per day. If we tried to guess based on our other permits, there would be little chance that the dates would match.”
Tori nodded with a knowing look. “However, it would be very easy for someone who works in the department to switch out permits in the archives.”
“Countess Guevera!” Jonas gasped and Mr. Devereux frowned more so. “How can you accuse us of something like that without any evidence!”
Tori shrugged. “It wasn’t so much an accusation as it was a statement of a possibility. Can you assure us that such a thing is absolutely impossible?”
“I can!” the young man said.
“Based on what?” Prince Emil asked with disapproval. “Your word?”
“I’ll issue an immediate permit to replace your permit while keeping the original date. I’m sure there is a mistake,” Mr. Devereux said with a dark look on his face. He reached under the counter and took out some papers. He looked over his shoulder at Jonas and Miss Moore and gave him an annoyed look. “I will have this situation reviewed.”
“Mr. Devereux, you can’t side with Countess Guevera because of her status. We have strict processes regarding our archive. Her permit is obviously a fake.” Miss Moore insisted.
Tori gave her a dull look. “Is this the best you can do?”
Miss Moore shot her an annoyed look. “What are you talking about?”
“Miss Moore and I have some animosity. In addition to her personal opinions of me, none of which are positive, she also was in a relationship of some sort with Adrien Rosiek, the owner of the Golden Cow who happens to be our largest competitor,” Tori said without any hesitation. “If there was a motive to replace our permit, there it is.”
Miss Moore’s face turned red. Her brows shot up. “How dare you! I’ve worked here for years, and I’ve never made such a mistake, nor would I use my position against others!”
“How much is he paying you?” Henrik asked. He raised a brow. “Is he paying you?”
Ilyana lifted her hand to cover her mouth as her brows rose.
“Countess Guevera, rest assured that I will review the situation and find out what happened,” Mr. Devereux told her as he copied a form for a new permit under the unflinching gazes of Sir Dobchek, Prince Emil, and Henrik.
“In particular, I would like Miss Moore investigated for misconduct,” Tori said. If you had kept your personal opinions personal, I wouldn’t touch you at work. But here we are, and I’m going to be a bitch and get you fired. I have no fucks to give now.
“What?” Miss Moore jerked her head back. “I’ve done no such thing! Countess Guevera, my personal views would not affect my professionalism.”
“I would hope not, considering you slandered me because you’re jealous.”
Miss Moore choked back a cry. “Jealous? Me? Of you?”
Tori counted the instance off her fingers. “Jealous because I was able to eat at the Three Queens and you were kicked out. Jealous because I got to eat at the rooftop dining room. Jealous because of Instruct...Benedict.”
The other woman’s eyes widened. “Then you admit it! You did seduce him! I knew he wouldn’t pick crystals over me!”
But he did, though...? Tori shrugged. “What does it matter now? You were the one who broke up with him.”
“Because of you!” It was as if Miss Moore forgot that they were in an office building. Her voice filled the area and several people looked over. “You stole him from me!”
“I did no such thing,” Tori said, lifting her hands. The corners of her lips turned upwards. “He came to me.” Which was technically true, as Instructor Ignatius did come to her to ask to live on an island like a mad crystal scientist-hermit. However, Tori didn’t mind being vague if it made the woman lose her head.
Miss Moore seemed to twitch with anger. “He was going to marry me!”
“Well, now he’s not.”
Miss Moore slammed her hands on the countertop, trembling. Her face was red and her breath was ragged. “You...you!” She was so consumed with fury; she couldn’t seem to think straight.
It was the perfect opening to set her off.
“Miss Moore, please,” Tori said with a smirk. She leaned forward, lowering her voice so that only the other woman could hear her. “You can yell my name. It’s what Benedict does.”
The documents to the side were suddenly swept off the counter. Mr. Devereux looked up, red-faced and furious. Before he could open his mouth to reprimand her, Miss Moore grabbed a handful of papers.
Ilyana cried out and Henrik took in a sharp breath, reaching out to stop her. Miss Moore grasped the top of the documents and pulled them apart.
Tori stood in place with a smug look as the papers twisted and almost stretched, but didn’t tear. Prince Emil and Mr. Devereux both looked surprised as Miss Moore tried to tear the sheets apart, only to awkwardly fail.
“What...how?” Jonas choked in a stunned voice.
Tori smiled pleasantly. “Did Instructor Ignatius tell you I was skilled with crystals? That often overshadows the fact that I’m also quite good with charms. I was worried you’d try to destroy our paperwork, so I put a protection charm on them. Looks like I was right to be worried.”
Miss Moore stood in place, shaking with disbelief.
“Miss Moore,” Mr. Devereux said in a low voice trembling with fury. “Did you mismanage Countess Guevera’s permits?”
Comments
David Hall
An absolute delight from beginning to end. Perfect, no notes.
Banks 94
How in the world do these idiots think they can win against Tori. I’m not even worried when these things happen anymore because Tori just sidesteps them with ease. I love how she handled that by the way lol.
Bookwyvren
SO GOOD!
Mistress Araenidae
SUCH a villain(ess)
Radosty
I'm still going with Nicole a spy and Adrien opportunistic. I agree that most other businesses would taken a hit and never bounce back. To tackle him would require to cut of his support (Nicole) and then slowly bleed out his business - All in the finest villainess manner.
lenkite
" but the name of the company, the address, and the owners and partners were different." [Cow Man] likely got his name or one of his stooges as the owner. And the folks in middle/low-level managerial positions are important since few people pay attention to what they do. He is actually quite dangerous. We know that he took over several businesses magically and drove his competitors out. How many times has he used this tactic to get control of a competitors business and property ? Stupendous corruption and Soleil apparently doesn't have any oversight or redressal for this in place. Tori had to use her extraordinary influence to get out of this trap. Ordinary folk wouldn't be able to.
lenkite
"You can yell my name. It’s what Benedict does.” [Super Villainess Taunt] activated.
Allora Lee
YOU CAN YELL MY NAMEEEEEE
Nobody
The Cow man seems really good at recruiting middle and low level people to his side, he can't get anyone high powered in his pocket (most likely that was Heart's job and she's mostly failed with the biggest fish but it was hinted she might have had some success with nobles outside of the school who haven't seen or heard of her escapades).
Lou Gar
Simple answer, a pretty girl asked a young fool. Think of how Alissa does it..., with a bit of finesse instead of magic compulsion.
Cymi
I wonder how Jonas was induced to be a part of it - he certainly was as he stopped looking for their appointment upon hearing their names. I guess Moore fed him a story? or is he the one who did it and Moore was set up as a red herring so if an investigation happened it would be inconclusive? hmmm tinfoil! so much tinfoil!
Torauth
Ooooo that's a proper villainess taunt right there. Love it when Tori gets vindictive
Lazy Lemon
Wild !
