26 026

Norman spent most of the night in relative silence, most of the people living in the mansion had slept without even noticing anything.

During the night there were fires in various parts of the city something that although it was not very usual, could not be considered as something extremely unusual, but it was very likely that these fires were a cover or a distraction from what really happened.

Something that caught the Osborn's attention was the fact that most of the fires were in Chinatown, of course, maybe he was just being paranoid, but he simply could not ignore that fact and along with Ducard's warning it was clear that there was something else going on in the city.

Norman was on his way to the vehicle with which he would go to the company, he had finished having his breakfast with Harry, so now he needed to get to work.

Before leaving the mansion, he met Bernard: "Be careful sir, the sun has risen red, blood has been spilled at night" he mentioned to him relatively calmly, but his tone indicated absolute seriousness.

Norman only nodded at his butler's words, it seemed that he was more sensitive than he thought: "I will" he replied simply and went on his way.

Bernard just watched Norman's figure moving further and further away, until he could no longer see him and simply went back to doing his job.

Once Norman arrived at the Oscorp building he walked straight to his office, this time he had some paperwork to do and once he finished it, he would take a look at the different departments and areas of the company.

Maybe even chat a bit with some of the people who belonged to the departments, things like that gave him an image of a good boss who cares about his workers, which can cause the work rate of the employees to increase.

Of course, despite that he had to maintain his dignity as a boss, since treating them as if they were friends would simply cause a reaction that would be the opposite of beneficial.

Once he was done with all that, he would head to Dr. Curtis' laboratory where he would probably just analyze the progress of the experimental subjects and then go with Stacy to help her to make her father understand the importance and role of his daughter in the laboratory.

It would certainly be a day when he would have a lot to do.

Norman was on his way to the newest section of Oscorp, he had already visited all the other departments and had a few words with the employees of each section, he basically praised the work that they were doing and in that way and with a few words he had lifted people's mood.

In a few words he simply applied some positive reinforcement and that way he got most of his employees to see him in a good light and work with more enthusiasm, this action was beneficial for both sides.

Unfortunately, he could not pay a visit to the department that was developing the OZ serum, so he would have to take some time these days to go and see its progress, of course he read the reports that the people in charge of the research gave him, but he still thought he needed to take a look at it.

With a quick step, he arrived at his destination, the office or rather the floor he was on had a different look to most of the others Oscorp had, the most considerable difference was that unlike laboratories this one had mostly computers and a resting area with different furniture such as couches, chairs, or even sofa-beds.

This was the entertainment section of Oscorp, Norman had not created a subsidiary for the moment, as he wanted to see if the things he planned to do would be as successful as he thought, otherwise it would just be a waste of capital and while it wouldn't really be a bad thing, he would rather not be an idiot spending money like it was nothing.

As soon as he arrived most people looked at him with curiosity and a few others with terror, almost instantly a man in his early 30s arrived along with the Osborn, "Mr. Osborn tell me how can I help you?" he mentioned briefly, but his nervousness showed.

"I have come to see what progress is being made on the projects that have been commissioned," Osborn replied calmly and simply.

At that statement the man just nodded his head and adopted a more professional attitude: "Of course, follow me please" he said before starting to walk in another direction.

What followed that was basically the man whose name was Mark showing him a tour of the entire floor, showing him his progress in the various areas that the Osborn had requested.

But the most important thing was to see the first console that a team under the name Oscorp had created.

The problem of the world he was in related not to the fact that there were no resources to create a console, the problem was that not many people had thought of it, there were only two companies that had that idea and basically had a monopoly of the market, but their products left much to be desired.

The console Norman was looking at was a bit unusual at least visually, since it was just a cube with black color and its control was a bit big and gave the image that there were two parts holding it.

"Oscorp Game Cube?" asked Osborn when he saw the console's logo.

"It's the name it was given, of course it may be changed in the future, but for the moment it's its provisional name" Mark answered with a smile as he looked at the console.

Norman shook his head he didn't like the sound of the combination of those two three words, "What process is it in?" asked the Osborn.

"It's actually in its final stages, but we'll only be able to see its potential once we start testing," Mark replied.

"What video game will be included with the console?" asked Osborn again.

"At the moment it has not been decided, the team is between two titles that have been created, but nothing has been finalized, besides that, we must consult the Marketing department" he answered sincerely.

In the end Norman stayed a little longer while asking a few more questions, after being satisfied with the attitude of the staff and with his progress, he started to head towards Dr. Curtis' laboratory.

Norman was currently on his way to Gwen's residence, with the blonde sitting in the passenger seat as she was making a call with whom the Osborn assumed was her mother.

After a goodbye Stacy hung up and proceeded to look a little at Norman: "You can speak your mind" Osborn mentioned to her.

"I want to apologize for asking for something as sudden as this" Gwen told him after a brief silence, "I know you have a lot on your hands and probably don't have enough time to do something like this, so I hope you will forgive me for asking for something so troublesome" she continued.

"Gwen" called the Osborn, as he knew Stacy would continue with her words if he didn't stop her, calling her by name seemed to work, as she immediately kept silent and looked at him with a bit of surprise and curiosity.

"You don't need to apologize, besides in the end the decision rests on me and I accepted it, so there is no need for an apology or for you to feel that you are a nuisance" he explained calmly, "You are not a nuisance, you are an important member of the team, so taking time out of my day to do this is not a waste of time, do you understand?" he asked after explaining his thoughts about the situation.

Gwen just remained silent for a moment probably processing the words said by Norman: "I do" she replied as she nodded her head and a soft smile adorned her face.

The place of residence of the Stacy family was in the Battery Park City neighborhood, quickly Osborn maneuvered the car until arriving at the building where Gwen's family had a condominium.

With a quick and calm step Gwen took him through the building, it must be said that they received a good part of the attention of the people who saw them, but well, considering that Gwen seemed to be relatively well known, and although they could not recognize Norman as the owner of Oscorp, his appearance was enough to attract the attention of people.

Osborn could already get an idea of what people were thinking when they saw them together, but he just shook his head at that fact.

Soon they arrived at the door that was the entrance to the home of Gwen before entering Gwen spoke: "I just want to say that Dad can be a bit strict and Mom is a little enthusiastic, but you should not take it wrong is just that this is their character" she commented.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind" replied Osborn and without further ado Gwen opened the door and both adults walked in.

Norman really understood what Gwen meant when she mentioned that her mother was enthusiastic, it wasn't a bad thing, but ultimately for many people it could be irritating or tiring.

Gwen's father was on duty as an officer, but Helen assured him that he would be along shortly, on the other hand Gwen seemed somewhat embarrassed by her mother's attitude or at least that's what Norman thought.

Regardless of that fact the three people were chatting while waiting for George's arrival in turn Helen was checking from time to time the dinner she had prepared, according to her, it was a way of thanking Norman for taking care of Gwen at work.

As Helen mentioned it wasn't long before the door was heard, Norman could soon see a man maybe 40-45 years old in a police uniform.

The newcomer's eyes only glanced for a second at the people in his house, pausing a little at Norman and Gwen who was standing next to Osborn, then he brought his gaze to his wife: "I'll go and change" were the only words he mentioned before he started walking.

Before Gwen could go and have a few words with her father she heard her mother speak: "I'll go, honey" she said as she started down the same path as George.

After a few minutes, both Helen and George returned and the older woman took her daughter's hand before leading her into the kitchen leaving the two men alone.

For some reason Norman thought the situation was very similar to when a daughter brings her boyfriend home for the first time, but he quickly shook his head to push that kind of thought away.

"Gwen mentioned that you wanted to talk to me" mentioned George by way of a statement.

"That's right" replied the Osborn, "Ms. Stacy mentioned your insistence on getting her to stop working at Oscorp and since you wouldn't listen to her, she asked me to have a talk with you which led to this" he explained.

"May I know why you don't want your daughter to work at my company?" Norman asked in a direct manner.

George was silent before he began to speak, "Originally I had no problem with that fact, but in the last few months Gwen has been on a constant non-stop, her day consists of her college classes, then her tutoring and lastly there is her job at Oscorp, basically she is busy all day long, and I have noticed that she doesn't get the rest during the nights or at least not what she needs" he began to explain his reasons.

"That's why my insistence that she stop working at Oscorp, I wasn't mentioning it in a permanent way, but maybe I didn't know how to explain myself and caused all this misunderstanding, but I consider that Gwen needs to get some relaxation before her body collapses because of all the pressure she is exposing herself to" he finished saying, but the Osborn could feel his concern in the last words he mentioned.

Norman nodded understanding George's words: "Gwen" called Osborn and in a few seconds the blonde arrived: "I know you were listening, don't try to deny it" Norman told her: "Is it true what George says?" he asked her.

Gwen nodded her head, "But I am aware of my situation and really don't find it a problem" she began to explain.

"Regardless of that fact, having so many things to do you are under pressure that probably even you can't notice" Osborn interrupted her.

"Now taking that fact into account, I consider that you need a break as your father says" pointed out Norman: "From now on and until I deem it necessary you will have fewer hours in the lab and if George tells me that even that way is too much for you then you will be banned from Oscorp" declared the Osborn: "Do you understand me?" he asked.

Gwen looked like she wanted to reply, but with the look Norman was giving her she didn't dare: "I do" she replied reluctantly.

George was surprised by what his eyes were looking at and didn't even notice his wife's arrival at his side, "Surprise you right?" said Helen to him and George just nodded.

"Good!" suddenly exclaimed Helen: "Now that the matter of my daughter is settled then it's time for dinner, and you can't refuse Norman" declared Gwen's mother.

Norman just gave a smile as he shook his head.

Norman was driving towards the Osborn mansion, he had had a nice chat with all the Stacy family, but for obvious reasons after a while he had to leave.

Before arriving at his destination the Osborn began to slow down and after a while completely stopped the car, shortly after a silhouette of a man appeared in front of him.

Norman got out of the vehicle with his cane in hand and stood in front of the man: "Well?" he asked "To what do I owe your visit Ducard?" he added quickly.

avataravatar
Next chapter