First Official Meeting

After the conversation earlier, Ethan brought Lily to Dennis who helped Lily get changed into better clothes since she was still in her uniform. He was given specific instructions to keep the look simple yet sophisticated since first impressions matter greatly in these kinds of meetings. If Lucario wants the Meyling Food Court to believe in Lily's potential, she has to look the part.

Patiently, Lucario and Lily wait for the call as they stare at the computer screen. Once the time clicks 6:00, the ringing sound shocks Lily, causing her to grab onto her father's arm.

"Are you ready?" Lucario asks, setting a hand on Lily's shoulder.

Taking a deep breath, Lily repositions herself next to her father. "I'm ready."

With that, Lucario clicks on the green answer button, and a rather large man in a stuffy suit appears on the screen.

"Good evening, Mr. Rammy," Lucario greets.

The man doesn't say anything at first. Even so, his eyes immediately shift over to Lily who follows her father.

"Good evening, Mr. Rammy," Lily imitates, trying not to show how nervous she is.

"I want to thank you for tak-"

"Pleasantries are unbearable," the man dismisses, visibly annoyed. "What is it that you wanted to discuss so badly seeing how you had your men email us nonstop for the past week."

Noticing her father slowly becoming agitated as he clenches his fists under the table, she tugs on his sleeve to get him to calm down, which he does.

"I wanted to discuss about the Johnsons and our working relationship from this point forward," Lucario states after clearing his throat.

"Ha? And why would we discuss about a relationship when we have never had dealings in the past? And why do the Johnsons matter to you? They are just stakeholders of a branch site. Albeit large stakeholders."

"I heard that the Johnsons have been causing you quite a bit of trouble for some time now."

The man stares down at Lucario with his nose in the air. "That's none of your concern."

"Child experiments."

Those two words that slide out of Lucario's mouth cause the man to become tense.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about."

In response to this, Lucario lifts up the thick folder on his desk to show the man. "I have all of the records of the child experiments that the Johnsons have done in the branch site that they invest in as well as their attempt to bring those experiments to the US under the Meyling Food Court's name in order to get investors.

"You're being absurd!" the man defends. "You can't possibly think that we know what goes on in each of our branch sites."

"Isn't part of your job as the head liaison officer to know everything that is going on in each of the sites?" Lucario counters as he opens up the folder and shows the man the thickness of each child and the experiments done to them. "Subject 135, three years old: Brain altering surgery. Part of the subject's frontal lobe was removed and replaced with that of a deceased woman who was in her 30s in order to enhance and mature thinking patterns. Died after surgery. Subject 419, eight months old: Brain altering surgery. Subject's cerebellum, more specifically Broca's area, was removed and replaced with that of a man in his 20s to hasten speech and language comprehension. Subject died six months after surgery was performed. No prominent results found. Subject 978, 30 weeks age of gestation: Experimental genome replacement."

"Stop! Stop!" the man exclaims, shaking his head. "I understand. You have done your research. Then? What is it that you want from us?"

Closing the folding and setting it on the table, Lucario clasps his hands on his lap. "I understand that you have been tolerating the Johnsons because they are large stakeholders in your company. However, I want to get rid of the Johnsons. Permanently, if possible. And I want your help with that."

"Why do you want to get rid of the Johnsons? These experiments don't particularly affect you in any way. Unless…" The man peers down at Lily who has been silently sitting listening to the conversation.

"My daughter was not part of those experiments," Lucario clears, petting the top of Lily's head.

"Dau… Daughter?!"

"My daughter was being bullied by the Johnsons' son who is in her class as well as being targeted maliciously by the Johnsons. They sent men to assassinate her on her first day of school. Take a guess of where they hired those men."

Not sure what to think, the man scratches his chin. "So you're just a doting father from what I am getting. I can see where you are coming from; however, this isn't enough to side with you at the expense of our largest stakeholder."

"This is where you are wrong," Lucario claims as he picks Lily up and sets her in his lap. "My daughter, Lillith Buenavista, will take over the family when she's eighteen or at least after she graduates high school. I want to make an impression to those who are out for her that I will not tolerate those who try to kill her. In addition to your help, I can match the Johnsons' investment, so it's not like you are losing money. If anything, you will be the first organization to side with me under my daughter's future leadership. Aren't you or your bosses curious about the first woman leader of such a beastly organization?"

The man scoffs as he leers at Lucario. "Your family will never change. Still using the girls in your family as tools, I see."

"I volunteered to come here on my own," Lily finally speaks up, coldly glaring at the man. "My father asked me if I wanted to become the next leader, and I agreed. My father asked if I wanted to help him, and I agreed. My father never does anything without asking me first because my consent is more valuable than anything to him. And stop looking at my father with those nasty eyes. You can never scare my father with such a weak stare."

Stunned by Lily's suddenly speaking up, Lucario proudly grins as he recollects himself. "You heard my daughter. I would never use her as a tool. Everything she does regarding the organization and this family is done with her permission. Are you still going to avoid joining my side after seeing such a fearsome heiress?"

"Where did you find such a bold and tenacious child?" the man asks while tapping on his phone.

"I stole her out of the hands of someone who didn't deserve her," Lucario responds, looking down at the little girl in front of him.

"I'd believe it. Give me a minute to discuss this with the higher ups," the man requests before putting himself on mute.

Doing the same, Lucario mutes his side of the call as well then lets out a deep breath. "Lily, you scared me for a second. I wasn't actually expecting you to say anything during the meeting."

Lily crosses her arms, pouting, as she leans on her father. "The ugly man was saying mean things to you, and it made me angry. I don't like him."

Lucario laughs to himself, fixing Lily's coiled curls around her face. "You don't have to like him, but we have to work with him in order to get back at the Johnsons. Can you tolerate him for a bit longer?"

"I guess so," Lily grumbles.

After a couple of minutes, the man unmutes himself. "The higher ups said that they need more time to discuss things especially since they have never heard of you having a daughter before. They want to take time to weigh the pros and cons."

"Tell them that they have 48 hours to respond back to me with their answer," Lucario commands, wrapping his arms around his daughter. "My daughter doesn't like it when things get delayed. We are still working on her patiences, so you can predict what might happen if we don't get a response soon."

"I will keep that in mind when they hold a meeting later," the man assures. "If that is all, I will end the call."

After the call ends and Lucario closes out of the system, Lily turns around to face her father. "Did we do it?"

"We will see in two days."