Chapter 66:

Ace got into the car, kissing his grandmother on the cheek, while fastening his seatbelt. They were now going to buy clothes for the party they had to attend tomorrow. It was a formal affair, which apparently did not mean a tux, but a suit and tie. Ace did not mind, either way, his grandmother loved shopping for clothes, and they would be at it for hours regardless of the occasion. As they pulled into the first shop, a valet came and opened the door to their car. Ace thanked him, and then went into the shop along with his grandmother.

It was a boutique, and from what Ace could see, nothing seemed to be cheap, as in nothing. Even the shoelaces they were selling were 250 dollars a pop. Ace was not surprised, but he wondered who wanted such shoelaces, considering they were black regardless.

As they got into the shop, an attendant came to greet them, and as Samantha handed her a card, she widened her eyes, and left, a few seconds later, a woman that looked to be in her early forties came. She was beautiful, she had brown ringlets falling to her shoulder, and her hazel eyes shone, matching the dress she wore perfectly.

She smiled when she saw Samantha, and smiled, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek, "Samantha! It's been so long!"

His grandmother smiled back, which surprised Ace, and answered, "Hello, Katherine, we are here to outfit my grandson for the upcoming party, it's a suit and tie affair, and he obviously has to look the best."

She nodded, and as she turned to look at Ace, she spoke, "Of course, I am sure he is very - Oh."

"Exactly, I thought you would enjoy dressing him.", Samantha smiled

"Oh yes! We are going to have so much fun.", now, Ace did not have many fears, but that smile, it scared him.

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"Do not worry about a thing, usually, I have to dress putty whiners, and I can make them look good, but with you, I think we can make you look amazing. You are only fourteen correct?", she asked, and Ace nodded, not able to get even one word in. "Hmm, yet you look a lot older, good good, I will make you look your best, then, before the party, you will go to my friend Beatrice, Samantha knows her. She will do your hair and make-up, not that you need any, I will send her your clothes once we decide on them so you can prepare."

She spoke non-stop, and for the three hours, Ace was not able to say a single word, "Good, we have finished the first one, only four more to go."

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They stayed there the whole day, they ended up getting various suits, but Ace's favourite was a dark blue one with a dark blue tie. It looked simple, yet the fabrics were extremely comfortable, and they shouted out quality. The other pieces of clothing they bought were a bit too much for his tastes, but he would have to wear them at some point or another regardless.

They also gave him some brown boots to go along with the suit. They were polished, and shone like a lamp, blinding all that looked. His grandmother also bought him some cufflinks, and Ace had to say that they looked good. They were gold, with their family crest in a deep blue, they matched well with his suit.

After a day of shopping, Ace was exhausted, but his grandmother was as energetic as ever, his grandmother had something to do at the office, some Ace opened three packs of instant noodles and made them himself, the maids offered to make him food, but he could not be bothered to eat properly.

He was then on his laptop, looking over news, and then going on a stream, and enjoying watching someone playing the game he loved.

When he finished, he went to bed with the intention to read for a bit, but it was not to happen, as he laid down, he was knocked out instantly, too tired to even bother to cover himself with the duvet.

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"Sir, your grandmother called, she informed you that she would come with someone at 6 in order to make the final preparations for the party. When they finish, you will be leaving together to make your way to the Hemley estate."

"Thank you, Alissa, did you change your hair, you look even better than usual.", the maid blushed and Ace laughed, he had made it a point to talk and learn all about his house service. If he could trust them with his house, he also wanted to know about them, their lives, and any issues they faced. They appreciated it, and his relationship with all of them had improved immensely, as shown by the fact that they did not call him 'Master' or 'Young Master' anymore. He hoped that at some point the 'Sir' would become 'Ace', but it was a long way to go still.

He put down the pencil, the art piece was looking better and better, and he should be finished by the end of the week, where he would have it fitted, and taken care of, before he gifted it to his grandmother.

He walked back to the kitchen and washed his hands before taking an apple and sitting in front of his laptop, browning news and gossip. He would have to be prepared for today. It would be the meeting of the jackasses, and he was sure that someone would try something. For that reason, he contacted a few friends and asked them to get him the invite list, and things on everyone in it. He was, of course, giving a reward for the task, but it was of the utmost importance that no one caught a whiff of his plan.

He had no qualms on using anything he found, but he hoped that it would not come to that. He had nothing to hide, but they could always make something up.

Some hours later, when he was eating lunch,his phone dinged, informing him that he had received a new notification from an encrypted app. It was hidden, the notification saying that he had to collect his free reward on a game, but that was only for security.

As he opened the encrypted email on his browser, he saw that he had received a full file. They had of course found nothing on a lot of people, but those they had found nothing on were the least probable to actually try anything, since they knew that he was not as useless or defenceless as they would expect.

Stories had already begun to circulate about his deals with mobs, and the fact that his grandmother trusted him to do so. Along with his school ranking and popularity, it was enough for most to realise that there was something peculiar about him, but there was always a dumbass that thought he was just milking off his family's media control and power.

Ace could not care less about what others thought about him, it had no impact on his life, and if they did try something, he would grind them to dust, leaving no room for mercy.

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"Come on let's go", his grandmother prodded him, and led him to the car.

The party began at eight, and while his grandmother was done by the time the clock hit 7, Ace had multiple attendants rushing around him, dressing him and doing his hair. He did not allow them to put any makeup on him, and the only reason they agreed was due to his 'flawless' skin and 'd*amm good' looks. The whole thing had been incredibly suffocating, but Ace did his best to hold any complaints, even if he did grumble once or twice, something that made the attendants and Beatrice giggle.

Regardless of his struggles, he understood the reason for the need for such 'perfection' and attention to detail. This was a party, yes, but it was also a meeting place for the heads of influential families and corporations. Deals would be made tonight, and Ace would be surprised if marriage accords were not drafted either. He had his grandmother's promise she would not try to marry him off to the highest bidder, which was good enough for him. But she had already told him that she would arrange dates for him if she thought someone was a good match. Ace tried to convince her not to, but it was a longshot. She would do whatever she wanted, and for now, Ace would have to go along with it.

They got to the gate of the house, where it was promptly opened, and as they got inside the compound, Ace could barely recognise it. Everything seemed new and clean, even the grass seemed fresher, and every bit of material used for the building seemed to have been scrubbed to death. They were led inside by a butler, where they were greeted by the hosts, the three women of the family, the two sisters and the mother, were wearing the same purpura dress, it fit all of them perfectly, and matched them exquisitely. The father, a tall man with some muscle, wore a suit in the same colour, but not as shiny or vibrant. Ace noticed that all of them were standing perfectly, as if it had been practised, with smiles adorning their faces.

His grandmother came to say hi, she was wearing a pantsuit, in the same colour of his suit, but one of the sleeves seemed cut, and a gold piece seemed to swirl from her middle finger up to her elbow. It was honestly a beautiful piece of jewellery, and it matched her earrings and eyeliner.

They both looked extremely good, and as they were greeted, they drew quite a few stares, and not just for who they were it seemed. Ace noticed at least four young women, the two young Violets not included, where he seemed to have caught their fancy. He was safe for now however, he would not be traded for secrets or goods, and no family could force his grandmother to do anything, something he was more than a bit thankful for. He had heard the stories, and had no plans on becoming a 'boy toy'.

"Good evening, thank you for coming, to both of you.", the mother greeted them, and the others widened their smiles.

Ace and Samantha reciprocated, and she replied, "Thank you for inviting us, we are both honoured to be here."

They exchanged pleasantries for a few more minutes, before a new set of people came in, and Ace and Samantha moved out.

"Goal?", Ace asked

"Get information, especially on any potential deals going on between families and organisations. We need to be prepared for the next step of the plan to backfire. Also, if you deem it necessary, you don't have a curfew, so do whatever you want.", she then left, leaving a dumbstruck Ace.

His grandmother had pretty much insinuated for him to have s*x in order to get information. At least he had a say in the matter, he had no plans on doing so, but truthfully, it all depended on what he found. His grandmother would grease the gears, but it was up to him to get down and dirty with the younger generation, seeing what it was that they knew.

Usually, they tended to underestimate them, and that was good. Most of them were looking to get attention from anyone, and they believed that the attention was worth a few secrets, something Ace capitalised on.

He walked around for a bit, getting faces to names, and figuring out what he knew about each one. He had come somewhat prepared, but his grandmother had also told him of a few things to watch out for.

As he walked around, he got a coke with ice and a slice of lemon. He then spotted Sophie, and made his way to her, she was speaking with two other girls and a guy, and as he got close, she spotted him and smiled. "Hey Ace! Amy told me you were invited, but I had no clue if you were coming."

Ace smiled, and looked at the three others, the girls, looked at him appreciatively, but to his surprise, the guy did as well. Ace understood the situation and cringed inwardly, he would flirt with people for his grandmother, but he most definitely did not swing that way.

He made eye contact with each one then bowed his head and introduced himself, "I am Ace Goldsign, pleased to meet you."

They smiled back, and greeted him, they then introduced each other, there was Matilda, Bethany and Saul. Saul took Ace's hand and kissed, surprising Ace slightly, even if it made the others laugh.

"Sorry for that, Saul is a bit headstrong when it comes to his advances, but he knows you are not interested, he is only messing with you."

Saul grinned, and let go of Ace's hand, "You really are pretty… Sorry, I'm a bit of a slut, or so they say, but I have to say, your skin is amazing. If you ever feel like batting for the other team, call me, I would be more than interested."

Ace was more than a bit creeped out, but he answered nonetheless, "I don't think I will, but I would be happy to call you a friend regardless."