97 Family Holiday

Alex scrunched his face as he stared at his father's straight back that was in front of him.

Wasn't this supposed to be a family holiday?

A holiday meant having fun.

Going out to do fun things.

Having a spot check at one of the Smith Industries subsidiaries was NOT what Alex would consider 'fun'.

Going out to beat some bad guys, perhaps.

At least, he and Max could bring down some overly confident adults who thought a boy and a 'dog' was hardly a threat - even though Max, in his 'devil' disguise, was scary.

It was highly satisfying to be punching the guy on the ground while Max was happily biting off chunks off of him.

Not his.

Not only did he have to obediently follow his father, he, himself, had to be dressed up like some penguin.

Be more formal, father said.

Be more dignified, father said.

Alex snorted in his heart, thinking that he was only 8 years old and what normal 8 year old would be wearing a suit to follow his father to a company?

He thought of the fact that his mother was taking his sisters Ariel and Aurora to a spa.

Girls' day out, she said.

No boys allowed, she said.

This was why father decided this impromptu visit would be his version of 'boys' day out'.

What the heck?

Couldn't he think of something more fun?

Alex's inner complaints were non-stop throughout the entire walk from the entrance to the elevator. They had been met at the entrance by the company's CEO and personal assistant, who had appeared rather nervous but smiled widely nonetheless.

As they walked to the elevator, Alex was busy surveying the area.

Since he was bored to death, he might as well practice.

To check out the people. The escape routes. Any suspicious people; that is, those who looked like they should not be there or was acting out of the norm.

The last was the hardest for him as his father had taught him that the way to observe people was to take note of their gestures, their facial expressions, their eyes - and that was the worst. How the heck was he supposed to be able to see their eyes??!

Alex cursed his young age and height.

Still, it didn't mean that he didn't try.

Doing it while not being seen doing it, was tricky. For now, what he could do was only observe the more obvious ones. Exaggerated movements, clear facial expressions and eyes that were not really hiding anything.

These were things he would concentrate on and learn, to be able to remember such blatant clues that when it became subtle, he would still be able to notice them.

However, the problem was - the more he observed, the more he wanted to either rolls his eyes or gag.

Maybe even vomit.

Alex noticed that they, naturally, were the object of curiosity. After all, the company's CEO was there to greet them personally which meant that he and his father were important guests.

Alex surmised that they would know his father's identity, that is, the CEO of Smith Industries - one of the biggest companies in the world. So the awe was expected.

But what Alex didn't understand was the surprise on some of their faces as they took several surreptitious glances at his father.

Some faces were even red.

Blushing?

Were those women blushing?

Sure, he knew his father was good-looking (he was told that often enough), but to warrant such a reaction was too exaggerated in his opinion.

These were grown women, for goodness sake.

He knew how some of his au pairs seem to fall for his father, but none of them had such a blatant look of ... what could he call it? Worship? Shyness?

Derange-ness?

Was there such a word?

Whatever it was, it was weird and it was beyond his comprehension.

Worse, whilst they looked at his father with stars in their eyes, when their eyes landed on him, there was - first, obvious surprise and then ...

They would smile, giggle and some even hid their mouth behind their hands.

Alex knew they were laughing as their eyes crinkled or became smaller.

His expression became even gloomier, thinking that being in this penguin suit made him even more of a spectacle and people were laughing at him.

Why would his father make him come to this place and become a clown for them?!

Alex was actually half correct. They weren't laughing at him because he was dressed up so formally, but because his expression was completely different from his father.

He was obviously a carbon copy of the older man, yet, at the same time, so different.

The older Smith's strikingly handsome features seemed to be magnified with his serious expression and aura. There was this 'X-Factor' that made him stand out from the rest. The way he looked at you with his intense blue eyes making you feel like his attention was on you 100%, his voice that was deep and mesmerizing, his gestures that were somehow gentle and refined...a serious man who was seriously handsome and utterly dreamy.

The carbon copy seemed like a miniature version physically but a very rough version. Instead of a serious expression, he had a grumpy one. The same intense blue eyes that were captivating not because the person was paying full attention to you, but because it was just ... staring at you like he was studying you intensely.

In short, a serious little man with rough edges.He was just too cute!

Everyone could imagine the older Smith being just like the little one and they couldn't help but giggle at the little serious man.

He was just too cute!!

All of them were going 'kyaaaaa' in their hearts.

✿ Author posts on WN and neovel ✿

As expected, Kyle's visit caused the entire top management to go into a panic.

They didn't have time to prepare, and the news was too sudden.

Brian, the CEO of the company, nearly had a heart attack when his very pale personal assistant came to his office with obvious trembling hands to tell him of that Mr. Kyle Smith was coming in 30 minutes ... for a visit.

A visit he said, but Brian didn't think it was a simple visit.

It had to be an audit disguised as one.

Having Smith Industries sending auditors suddenly to check their subsidiary companies was a well known fact. It was never told in advanced for the sole purpose that they were to be prepared all the time.

Brian, who had always done things above board, wasn't worried that they could be audited.

It wasn't to say that he was confident that his company was worry-free or bribe-free. There would surely be one or two discrepancies that he may have missed as there would inevitably be some employees that were a little bit too greedy; but overall, Brian felt that the company was in good shape despite this.

It was negligible as it didn't affect their cash flow or business too adversely.

Didn't mean he would let them go if he catches them, of course.

So yes, Brian wasn't worried to be audited.

However, this was a different matter entirely.

To have the actual CEO come to check them out?

That was beyond what his mind could accept.

Brian had heard about their 'big' boss.

Youngest CEO and the most terrifying auditor when he was younger and in training. Beat the crap out of the older and more experienced ones, too.

Everyone had been extremely relieved that once Kyle became the CEO, he never did do the audits again.

But he was here now.

Brian broke into a cold sweat just thinking about it.

Even after knowing that he was bringing his son along didn't alleviate his fears at all.

Kyle was the youngest ever CEO, so having an 8-year old tag along didn't seem weird. Surely, the next heir was to be trained, right?

The thing that made Kyle so famous wasn't just what you heard about him - but also what you didn't know about him.

As in, everyone knew that Kyle Smith was young, good looking and capable but there was not a single picture of him anywhere.

Well, except for that time he acted in the John Wick 4 movie when he was still a teen.

Which was about 12 years ago.

Surely the man would have changed a lot, right?

He was in his late 20s now, so undoubtedly that fresh youngster that made girls - and guys - fawn over would have degenerated a bit, right?

Brian was floored to discover that not only was the CEO still being the object of desire of many people, his son was most likely to be following in his footsteps too.

Though ... while Kyle was smiling amicably, his eyes was sharp and there was a dangerous glint to them as tey talked.

The son?

The eyes were just as sharp and the dangerous glint was there as well. The only difference was, there as no smile.

Brian felt like he was being pierced twice.

More sweat trickled down his back.