Scary Brothers-in-law.

Dearest Readers, I'm so sorry for the late update. For that, I made a super long chapter today! I hope it appeases your anger.

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"Yes Sir! I will make sure to get tangible news on The Jordans by the end of today." Raymond promised, hanging up on the call as soon as he received the sound of affirmation from his Boss, at the other end of the line.

Slipping his phone into his breast pocket, he stared up at the building he had sneaked in the other day. This time around, he was coming here with his head held high!

With that, he soon found himself on the fifth floor, Cyprian's apartment floor, but he didn't knock on her door. There were four other doors too which he presumed were for her four brothers, so he knocked on the door closest to the elevator, and waited.

The door opened in a second as if the owner of the house had been expecting him, and he was looking up at his scary future brothers-in-law.

"Hel— Good day Sirs!" Raymond exclaimed, bowing slightly to them. Were this guys criminals? Why did they always look scary and on guard?

He looked back up at them and clasped his hands together at his front, like a student looking up to their scary principal.

One of the brothers finally talked, looking Raymond up and down.

"Isn't this Raymond, the college idiot?" He asked, and the other brothers nodded.

Raymond, who was still confused at the nickname he had just been called, stared from one brother to the other, his face not betraying his feelings.

"Come in! Let's see if you were really a college idiot or a college playboy." Another one of the brothers boomed. He didn't wait for Raymond to agree before pulling him inside the house, with his necktie.

Back in the Villa.

Ethan was sitting on the couch while Ruthlyn was sitting on the chair directly opposite him, not in the way in which an assistant would sit before her Boss, but in a more relaxed posture. Like people who had been familiar with each other, for a very long time.

"You wanted to say something?" Ethan broke the silence between them, which had existed since he had dropped the call with Raymond.

"I contacted Dr. Alexander this morning, and he said he would make sure to come here before today ends." Ruthlyn informed. Though her tone seemed finalized, her face showed that she still had something to show, and Ethan was quick to notice that.

"Anything else?" He asked, his eyes probing. He knew both Ruthlyn and her brother, formally and informally, and he could tell whenever they needed something from him.

"That's all..." She trailed off, looking down at the tiled marble floor. If she could summon courage and inform her Boss first, then telling the others would be a minor task. Taking in a deep breath, she looked at her Boss and sighed,

"Bro—"

Ethan interrupted her, mistaking her hesitation for something else. There was only one matter that could make Ruthlyn hesitate while requesting something from him. And that was the engagement between her and Enoch, his brother. He could tell that she wanted to ask for his help to break the engagement, just like she had been doing for the past four years since the both of them got engaged.

"It's alright, Ruth. I won't blame you if you decide not to honour the deal between our parents, since Enoch seems stupid compared to you anyway," He said, watching as her head shot up to look at him. Why did she look more surprised than usual?

He continued, "Enoch will be 25 in two months. You will be able to break the engagement if you wait till then."

Ruthlyn shook her head. This was not her request, but since there was nothing she could do, she kept her mouth shut and rose up to her feet.

"I gave you two the day off, and Raymond is utilizing his time already. Will you be going out too?"

She nodded,"I have an appointment with Enoch, but I will be back early."

"You don't have to, since I won't need you here."

Ruthlyn acknowledged him and walked away from her seat, but his voice stopped her before she had walked far.

"Ruth... It's alright to make friends, even if Mignon is no longer here. Also— Get me chocolate flavored Ice Cream on your way back."

Ruth nodded slightly at his instructions before a small smile broke out on her lips,

"Alright Sir! But Sir, what will you be doing, alone at home?" She questioned. Though they rarely got days off, the few they got were always spent with Ethan at the DeLoach's mansion. Especially now that the nightmares came back, she wasn't sure if it was safe to leave Ethan at home.

Ethan could perceive her worries, and he knew the cause.

"I am not a little boy. I have the matter of the disobedient board members at Anderson Corporation to sort out and also, the man who made Shikera smile in the garage. I need to show that Ethan DeLoach isn't asleep." Saying that, he stood up from the couch and walked over to the stairway, leaving Ruthlyn behind.

The lady who was left behind raised her brows in surprise. When did he start calling his wife by name? First, the Ice Cream and now, calling her by name. She knew without anyone telling her, that Ethan DeLoach was falling for the girl, for the second time.

★★★

Preston TV Station.

The new additions to their Team had made the seating arrangement different so Shikera was no longer sitting beside Cyprian, but beside Erica Jordan now.

Cyprian, on the other hand, was sitting beside another new member called Jaden Smith, while the rest of their team members, Atlas, Josh, and Vicky, were sitting with the other new members, Lucas, Paul and Jacob.

Formerly, Shikera and Cyprian were the main reporters of the team, but with the new members, Jaden and Erica, the main reporters became four.

"Everyone!" The voice of their Team Leader, who had just walked in from her meeting with their CEO, made them raise their heads from their respective assignments.

"Yes ma'am!" They chorused.

"Just a brief announcement for everyone. Since, we now have new members in our Team, the CEO had decide to increase the projects assigned to us. And that means, our main reporters will be working mostly on field from tomorrow on." She paused, examining the faces of her team members, particularly Shikera's and Erica's. Her attention was mainly on the both of them.

She continued, "That also means you don't have the right to complain on wherever I assign you to! Apart from that, Anderson and Leigh will be taking some project assignments home today, so I expect you to wait behind. The rest of you can go when it's time for you to sign out."

She took her seat when she was done talking and the rest of them chorused their acknowledgement to her words, though Shikera did so grudgingly. Today, the feeling that her Team Leader was after her, had grown so much that she couldn't discard it anymore.

Did she offend this woman in her past life or something? Or did her mother offend this woman while working in Preston TV, in her own time?

Not wanting to stress her already tired brain, she discarded the thoughts to the back of her mind and stood up from her seat. It was time to sign out anyway, so she could as well go to her Team Leader and know whatever assignment the woman had for her.

She bid Erica, her new desk mate, goodnight and walked to the Team Leader, closely followed by Cyprian.

"You both are here? Follow me to the news room."

They followed her to the News room, and she brought out two boxes filled with brown colored files.

"This are Code Z cases so you have to be very careful with them, especially you, Anderson."

"Yes ma'am." Shikera replied, rolling her eyes as she extended her hand to carry one of the box.

"You should keep the boxes in Anderson's house so that I can be assured that it's kept safe."

"Alright ma'am."

"Lastly, you both should not mention anything on your private lives, at work. Understood?!"

The two younger ladies nodded again, wondering why today's sermon was unusually longer.

"Then you can go, I don't want to see you having any team dinners today!"

"Yes Ma!" The two of them hurried out of the room, their ears already full of instructions.

"Why's she getting worse by the day?" Cyprian whispered, looking over her shoulders to make sure no one was listening to them.

"You should ask her yourself. My concern is why she's suddenly bothering herself with our Team dinners." Shikera whispered back.

Back at the News room.

Team Leader Zuresh watched the backs of her two subordinates as they walked away, her eyes reflecting the affection she held for them.

"If only you won't be so innocent, Cupcakes...If only you won't."