friends and sorrows.

Raimon cranked up the music, blasting a long classical Star Wars piece along with some of his favorite songs, like the He-Man intro, mixed with some current music. Now he felt like the bogeyman, the one who carries out acts for his mafia boss, who always turns out to be a dangerous and fearsome person.

-Watch out, here comes the bogeyman! - Raimon yelled, feeling grandiose in his role as the bogeyman. His vehicle sped at 120 km/h on the highway, but he slowed down upon approaching the police zone, veering off the road for quick trips.

The deep sonatas of classical music resonated energetically from at least a thousand hits.

He sang along delicately until he reached the University of Berkeley. Fortunately, he had Pizza Box's mobile number and, as a frequent customer, had four pizzas to go. Alice's favorite was the Neapolitan with extra tomatoes. She liked grated cheese as an extra topping, along with the herb mix.

He arrived content, his ridiculous Batman car, and his shirts—this time, Superman made an appearance. He wore a long shirt and some worn-out jeans, with boots matching Superman's colors, which contrasted sharply with the typical attire of a company's operations director. He entered without problems into the women's west wing, searching for Alice's room, which he found after taking two laps around the wing.

He knocked on the door. Alice opened it, her eyes like balls, red and swollen.

-Raimon! What are you doing here? - Alice asked.

-I came to see you so we can curse Billy together. The idiot couldn't make it; you know how he is, - said Raimon, entering the room, surprising Laura.

-I brought your favorite pizza with extra cheese, herb mix, and our favorite white chocolate with caramel filling. They weren't easy to get; apparently, the brand has been facing financial issues. I'll ask the company if we want to expand the branches to sweets, although I doubt it'll work out that way, - said Raimon.

Handing over a whole slice of pizza, Alice's stomach growled, and although her pride was great, there was some truth in the fact that seeing Raimon, someone who was constantly called strange, made it easier to take a bite of what he brought.

-For a moment, I thought you were Billy, - Alice said.

-He's not coming; he has a flight. His grandfather was going to die, and he had to travel to Kansas. Thomas has been pressuring him to visit, but the company has been quite busy, " said Raimon.

Surprising Alice.

-Richard is going to die? - Alice asked.

-Something like that, maybe I exaggerated a bit, but he's very sick, - he looked at Laura, who was observing Raimon. He added, - I didn't know Alice had a friend, but I can share my pizza with you. -

Incredulous about the three pizza boxes on the table, Laura thought, 'Now I see why he's so fat.'

-Thanks, - Laura replied. - If Billy Carson isn't coming, why did you come? -

-Isn't it obvious? Skipping work. I was bored of checking the most boring accounts for weeks. I've even lost touch with Doom, so I decided to escape from the company with the excuse of helping Billy. Anne won't mind; she has a lot of work. Well, Billy is taking a flight for tomorrow; no one will care what I do or don't do, - said Raimon.

-Can you believe I never knew he ran multiple companies? Because he just didn't say anything; nothing would change. I'd be more understanding with all the work he had to do, - said Alice, eating pizza with chocolates.

-I feel the same way; he's been hiding things from me that he didn't want to say. He's a complete jerk. He missed the premiere of The Lion King, and I dressed up as Mufasa to surprise the audience. He promised to come with me, but the perfect gentleman had things to do. I forgave him already, but one day I'll stop playing video games with him, and he'll see what the cold shoulder is, - said Raimon.

Alice laughed. Raimon was one of the quirkiest friends she had ever had the opportunity to meet; the stark contrast with Billy made them opposites!

-I never thought you were the operations director, - Alice said.

-Wait, you're the operations director of Lux Animation, - said Laura, surprised, as the company was among the top 20 successful companies in California during the 90s, along with exponential growth in logistics and operations—a case study in constant growth was made public just a month ago.

-Well, yeah, but the position isn't a big deal. I'm co-director since I share the position with someone else, - said Raimon.

-Forget it, I'd hate to be employed by that jerk, - Laura said.

-He's a good boss. Our salary might not be the best, but we provide other benefits like health insurance, pension, paid vacations, yearly raises, disability benefits, employee discounts, flexible hours, and year-end bonuses. Although Anne is the one who makes sure everyone does their job, she's strict; she's almost as lenient as Billy when it comes to family matters, workplace support, and health, - Raimon said.

-Boring, - Alice said.

-Sorry, it's my habit to pitch the company, - Raimon said. Adjusting for the day's final surprise, he pulled out a DVD of -The Phantom of Love. -

-I brought something you'll like, - he said, showing the DVD.

-We don't have a DVD player; we use VHS, - Alice said.

-I already had that in my plans. I'll be right back; I'll bring the Sony equipment I have in my car. You never know when you might want to watch a movie, - Raimon said.

**************************************************************

The legal arena has been completely crowded with multiple lawsuits—some ridiculous, others more serious, and some despicable ones that lacked any legal sense and seemed more like a mockery. Counterclaims were swift, and when the law firm Roy & Associates from San Jose filed a counterclaim that bankrupted a small comic house, lawsuits for intellectual property theft ceased.

Then came the troubles with Warner.

-They canceled the conciliation process, claiming they're going all out. They've documented all the paperwork, and it's better to negotiate, - Larry Morrison, the lead lawyer on the Warner case, said. He had been working on the case for two years but had been relentlessly used by Lux Animation. The hiring of two firms dedicated solely to the case had surpassed common barriers.

-Yeah, withdraw the lawsuit. We don't need it anymore. Let's pay damages; it's just money. Now we have other things to worry about, - Grum, from the entertainment department, former assistant to Bob Daily, commented. However, he wasn't promoted due to what he called nepotism and remained as a director's advisor. The love for the company was lost in that move, unaware that Bob Daily couldn't choose the people who were appointed.

-Are you sure? - Larry Morrison asked.

-Absolutely, or else we have minimal chances of winning the case, - Grum asked.

-Minimal, - Larry confirmed.

-It's better to end now and focus on the money we can make by making a deal, - Grum said.

-Alright, we'll negotiate and pay, - Larry said, concluding the case. He still doubted that by paying damages, the Lux Animation company would earn more than what it spent on legal fees.

It wasn't a lie. Legal fees in the trial amounted to six million dollars, and punitive damages were assessed at 4 million, with the attorney's percentage factored in; it was simply a disproportionate expense.

...