Felicia caught herself grinding her teeth subconsciously as she looked over the reports on her desk. She quickly stopped herself and began massaging her jaw, forcing it to relax. Her stomach was already sending her signals that dinner was fast approaching. If she kept grinding, she’d have a killer tension headache and then wouldn’t be able to eat because of it.

Darius was now 20. In two years, not only had he dragged King Enterprise in a completely new direction, his fame had skyrocketed.

Who didn’t know Darius King, the young genius CEO of King Enterprise? In business circles he was both respected and feared. Though it had barely been two years, he’d already terrorized the competition, swallowing them whole and absorbing them into King Enterprises, or beating them on the open market so badly they were forced to close their doors.

That sounded impressive on the surface, but it was actually really scary. The government had taken an unhealthy interest in them of late because of it. Felicia had already had several hair-raising conversations with the Pentagon. They weren’t saying it explicitly… yet... but there was a clear push to have King Enterprise work directly with the military. And if the company didn’t… Well, antitrust lawsuits were just waiting for when King Enterprise got a little too big for its britches.

On top of the government breathing down her neck, she also had to deal with Darius being too popular. This was an extremely weird problem to have and she didn’t dare complain about it because she knew she’d get laughed at for it.

But seriously.

It was a problem.

Whether in corporate or technology circles, being handsome enough to rival a movie star was rare. Darius was good looking enough he could have been a model, and these super-star looks got more intense as he matured. Even if he just stood around in a daze, he drew attention to himself. Women were scrambling to get into King Enterprises, just in hopes of catching a daily glimpse of him.

What made it worse was people mistook his disinterest as being mysterious and sophisticated. He was always extremely polite, never getting angry or acting arrogant. He didn’t sleep around with beautiful women, he didn’t get drunk or do drugs, nor did he go on expensive vacations and show off his wealth. He was humble and hardworking. Women thought he was wonderful!

Felicia watched women drool over her brother and rolled her eyes. They only saw what they wanted to see, not who he really was. It was like a much more advanced version of what happened in middle school. It would have been funny if not for the problems it brought with it.

The paparazzi tried so hard to catch him doing something dirty, but always failed because all Darius did was work. The best they could do is try and stir up trouble by saying he and Felicia were a “little too friendly for just siblings”. These kinds of terrible rumors lasted only a month before Darius had “some talks” with the various people involved. After that, they could only comfort themselves with claiming he was a closet homosexual or the devil-incarnet.

When Felicia saw a tabloid with the headline “Darius King: Could he be Satan?”, she laughed so hard it hurt. She bought it, had it framed, and hung it up in her office so she could always have something to cheer her up during the work hours.

The first time Darius saw it, he stood there unmoving for a solid minute. Finally he looked his sister in the eye and said, “And I’m the evil one?”

He got popular too fast. And, seemingly overnight, became a cultural icon. He gained fans among men and women, even getting his fair share of stalkers.

...so many stalkers...

He couldn’t go anywhere without people recognizing him. He’d be immediately swarmed by crowds if they realized he was nearby. How could a guy who’d only been working for 2 years get so popular so fast?!

Felicia had to hire bodyguards for home, work, AND travel.

When his popularity first started souring, she’d been worried and asked DARS, ‘What about Janice? What if she sees him on a magazine or TV or something?’

[She must see Darius with her own two eyes to trigger the bug in this timeline.]

‘Phew, good! I dunno if I could have stopped him from getting popular at this rate…’

Felica was co-CEO of King Enterprise, but felt more like Darius’ manager/agent/assistant. Half her day was spent putting out fires he’d caused by being tactless during a business meeting and the other half was her forcing him to eat and sleep. She was pretty sure if she wasn’t there shoving food into his hands on a regular basis or forcing him to go home, he’d have been the first CEO to die of starvation and sleep deprivation.

Today was like any other day: she was trying to figure out how to resolve a dispute Darius had caused the day before. She was in the middle of wondering if she should just find him and slap him upside the head for causing her more work when she heard a chime.

She looked up and stared around her office. Where had that sound come from?

The chime sounded again.

Baffled, she stood up.

[User, the [JJ Alarm].]

“What?!” She looked down and pulled out the necklace she’d worn so long she’d completely forgotten about. The perpetually green gem in the center of the butterfly was turning yellowish.

She quickly opened her brother’s itinerary file on her computer. Long before he’d turned 20, she’d gotten in the habit of keeping track of his work day. That way she always had a general idea where he was located at all times.

[User—] DARS tried to say but was silenced when she held up an index finger.

She reached for her phone and quickly dialed Darius’ office number since his itinerary said he should be there. But he didn’t answer. She called his secretary, but he didn’t pick up either. She tried several different places he ought to be, but he wasn’t there. She then called home. He didn’t answer again.

“Oh. My. God. Why of all days did he decide to up and disappear?!”

[User—]

But Felicia ran out of her office in a panic, ignoring him again, opening the door so hard it caused the wall to vibrate. “WHERE’S DARIUS KING?!”

[...]

Carry, who’d been in the middle of writing an email, actually jumped in her seat. She stared at her boss, shocked. This was the first time she’d seen Felicia King flip out.

“Miss King?”

“Darius, the CEO, where is he?!” Felicia grabbed Carry by the shoulders and shook her. “He’s not in his office! Or with the Board! Or with R&D!”

Carry’s whole body was thrown back and forth, her neatly styled hair becoming a mess.

Between being swung back and forth she managed to say, “I think— I saw— him— leave— with Carl Snyder.”

Felicia stopped shaking Carry and paused, “Carl Snyder? What’s he doing with that loser?”

Carl Synder was a former classmate whose family ran several big manufacturing plants. They hadn’t been doing well lately, having lost some big clients to outsourcing. They were trying to strike a deal with King Enterprise in hopes of gaining back their lost income.

In theory, Felicia had no problem working with the Synder family. After all they were local manufacturers. By keeping their doors open, she was also helping hundreds of families put bread on the table.

It was just…. the Synder family had sent their oldest son, Carl, to do the negotiations. It didn’t say a lot about them that they thought Carl was competent enough to successfully negotiate anything, much less the future of their family business.

To be fair, typically alma maters did show favoritism in both social and business dealings to anyone who attended their school. This kind of thinking was especially prevalent in an elite school like theirs. It wasn’t exactly out of line for the Synder family to think Darius might be more predisposed to make a deal with them by sending Carl, a former classmate.

But Carl was… well, he was a terrible person. He somehow straddled the line between being an overzealous bootlicker while also being insufferably arrogant. Felicia was reminded of a saying she once heard from the Chinese side of her family in her original world: “Bully the weak, fear the strong”. It perfectly described Carl Synder’s attitude towards people around him.

Every time Carl Synder was in the building, she got complaints from women about his aggressive flirting— which was borderline harassment. Though men didn’t come to her, she did hear about how Carl acted like a genuine aristocrate, demanding people do things for him like they were servants. The only people who he showed any kind of civility to was Darius and Felicia.

And even Felicia wouldn’t stay alone in a room with him. Sometimes she’d catch him looking at her with a little too much interest. Yu—uck!

“I— I think I heard Mr. Synder say he’d buy Darius dinner—”

“Dinner? Where? Did they say?”

Carry shook her head, eyes wide.

Felicia’s eyebrows pinched together in annoyance. She and Darius both moved out of the mansion a year ago to avoid Kim. They lived in the same apartment building on different floors in the city where King Enterprise headquarters was located. They typically had breakfast and dinner separately, though they often ate lunch together because of work. Since they hadn’t planned on eating dinner together, Darius would naturally be eating on his own.

Usually this wasn’t a problem. She just forgot how persistent Carl could be and how Darius was extremely tolerant of people who other’s might be inclined to choke to death as long as it was for business.

Running back into the office, she dialed the number for the car phone in the vehicle she hoped Darius was using. Car phones weren’t like cell phones in her time. They were attached to the car and the reception was very hit or miss.

When she heard someone pick up, she hollered into the phone louder than intended, “Where are you?!”

There was a pause on the other line, probably the person was in shock and slightly deafened.

“...Sis?”

“Oh thank God.” She almost cried. If Darius was still in the car, they hadn’t arrived to where Janice was yet. Clutching the necklace that had already turned completely yellow tightly in her hand, she tried to steady her voice. “Darius, go out to dinner with me.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Today.”

“I’m already on my way out to eat with Mr. Synder.”

“Then bring him along.”

“...you want me to bring *Carl Synder* along for dinner?” The incredulity in his voice was expected. Darius knew she didn’t like him much.

“Yes.”

He was quiet for a moment and Felicia held her breath. She was about to find out what 15 years of blood, sweat, and tears was worth in this moment.

“What about meeting up with us—”

“No. Won’t do.” She added, “You have to come back and pick me up. Personally.”

“...why?”

“I miss you… No wait, who would believe that? Ah! My car is broken!” She silently cursed at herself, her panic was making her stupid, but it was too late to back out now. “Yes, my car is broken. You have to pick me up.”

“What on earth has gotten into you?”

“Arg!” She’d just checked the jewel and it was starting to turn from yellow to red, the chime getting more insistent. “Just come pick me up Dee! Right now!!!”

“Alright, stop screaming at me. Driver— turn around, back to the office— yes, thank you.” There was a pause and Darius finally said, his voice filled with exasperation, “There, we’re turning around. Can you calm down now?”

She stared at the necklace for several seconds, and only when it was clearly going back to yellow did she feel safe again.

“Felicia?”

Felicia jumped, startled. She’d forgotten she was still on the phone.

“Ah, yes, I’m fine. Just… I’ll… I’ll be waiting in the front of the building…”

She hung up abruptly and sank to the floor, her hands shaking.

‘Fri——ick that was close!!!’

[Good job. User has succeeded in getting close enough to influence Darius’ decisions.]

‘Where the hell was he going that Janice would have seen him?’

[A nightclub.]

She was speechless for a moment.

“That was definitely Carl’s doing…” No way would Darius’ willingly go to a nightclub. He hated noisy places!

[Correct. User….]

When DARS didn’t continue, she looked up at him. He had a small—yes a small—question mark on his face.

‘What?’

[Carl Synder likes to go to places of questionable taste.]

‘Hah, no surprise there…’

[Darius needs this deal with the Synder family. However, continued interaction with Carl substantially raises the risk of Janice seeing Darius.]

‘Okay… and?’

[User needs to tell Darius not to go along with anything Carl plans that is not strictly business. This includes going out for meals or accepting… gifts.]

‘The meals I get but what’s with the gifts?’

[Women of the night.]

“Oh god…” She gaped at her round companion. ‘He wouldn’t really—?’

[Carl thinks all men are like him and easily won over with women and alcohol.] DARS glowing circumference pulsed. [Originally, he spent quite a lot of time trying to use this method on Darius. Though it failed 99% of the time, it’s how Janice meets Darius the first time.]

‘Huh, so it was Carl’s fault… wait, what about that 1% success?’

[A year from now, if you don’t stop it, Carl Synder will realize that loud, crowded places and hookers don’t work on Darius but actually annoy him. He will then try his last resort: The Gentlemen’s Club ‘Kings of Diamonds’.]

She raised an eyebrow.

[This particular place is very high end, elegant and difficult to gain access to, not at all like the places Carl Synder had tried taking Darius before. Kings of Diamonds serves wealthy clientele and values privacy and cleanliness. Darius was surprised: the experience was pleasant, the women were not overly pushy, and the food and wine was good. Because it wasn’t bad and sometimes the girls were somewhat to his liking, Darius was willing to return.]

‘Dee used— my brother actually used—’ She could barely think the thoughts she was thinking. ‘That little turd! How could he do something so disgusting!’

[Though he did not go very often, he did go occasionally as a way to relieve stress. Janice was by then his most ardent stalker and somehow found out, even managing to get hired there..]

Felicia covered her face and groaned. ‘That’s how she got him with his pants down… literally… But really, Dee, little bro, how could you fall for one of Carl’s tricks and keep going back to a place like that? Even if you didn’t have me there, did you lose your ever-frickin’ mind?!’

[No man is perfectly immune to the desires of his body.] DARS “…” scrolled across his face. [Also, they have sweet, pure types of girls there.]

With her hands still on her face, she rolled her eyes. Lowering them, she huffily asked, ‘So if I keep him away from places… like that… can I keep him away from Janice?’

[Yes. The user need only do so until Darius is 22 years old.]

‘What happens when he’s 22?’

[It is calculated that without Darius to obsess over or a child holding her addiction in check, Janice will overdose on drugs around that time.]

Felicia’s mouth fell open.

‘Oh.’

She closed her mouth and frowned, ‘Why didn’t you tell me all this earlier?’

[User… has not wanted to talk to me unless necessary for many years now.]

The room got uncomfortably quiet.

Felicia rubbed her forehead and felt regret vast enough to fill an ocean. There was no one to blame but herself. The grief over Mr. King’s death had faded but never gone away. She spoke to DARS only when she felt she needed to and he, in turn, did not bother her except when required. They did not often need to say anything to each other, so conversation was sparse. Sometimes she forgot he was around and lived like he didn’t exist.

Biting her lip, she glanced at the strange little machine being that had been her companion for so many years and realized she’d been a fool.

“DARS, I… I’m sorry.” She whispered into her empty office. “I’ve been punishing you this whole time for something that wasn’t your fault. I… I need your help though. I can’t do this on my own.”

DARS circumference flashed a pure white light and then returned to normal. He floated down to her shoulder and bounced on in it gently.

[Apology accepted.]

‘I know it sounds like I’m apologizing just to get something from you… I’m sorry for that too...’

[User does not need to feel guilty. I am here to guide the user. Whatever is within my ability, whatever is not restricted, I will naturally give to the user. Even without an apology, I will do this.]

She gave a short laugh, ‘Then should I not have apologized?’

[It is preferable if the user apologizes.]

Felicia squinted at him. ‘Hey DARS…’

[Yes?]

‘How much do you feel? Can you feel at all? Sometimes I think you do, and sometimes I can’t tell...’

A question mark flashed across DARS face so fast it almost didn’t seem to be there.

[I do not know.]

‘Don’t know? Which don’t you know?’

[Whether I feel, and if I do, how much.]

‘That’s… how can you not know—’

A gentle knock on the door distracted them both. A muffled, “Miss King?” could be heard on the other side.

Felicia immediately stood up, patting herself off quickly and arranged her hair. She walked over to the door and opened it.

A concerned Carry was standing on the other side.

“Miss King, is everything alright? Did you find Mr. King?”

“Ah.” Felicia slapped her forehead. “Right! My car!”

“Huh? Your car???”

“Call a tow-truck.”

“Did something—”

“Yes, something happened to my car.” Felicia gave Carry a knowing look. “If anyone asks, it broke.”

“....it…. Broke…?”

“That’s right. Especially ESPECIALLY if my brother ever inquires. You tell him it broke!”

Carry nodded slowly, walking over to the phone and began to dial. She paused, “Miss?”

“Yeah?”

“What… what do I say is broken in your car?”

Felicia thought seriously for a moment. “Just say it went guur guuur plunk and stopped working.”

Carry raised her eyebrows, skepticism all over her face.

“What? I don’t know anything about cars. If I make it sound too specific, I’ll definitely be found out!”

“Oh, that’s true!” Carry nodded. She didn’t know anything about cars either, so would likely describe a car problem in a similar way.

“Good, right, okay.” Felicia put her hands on her hips. “I’m going to dinner now. When you’re off the phone, go home yourself.”

“But the tow-truck…”

“Just have them come tomorrow morning, I’ll hitch a ride with Dee.”

“Got it boss!”

“Good night Carry!” With that Felicia waved her hand and headed towards the elevator.

The clock-out rush had already passed, with most people leaving around 4pm, so the elevator was empty.

‘DARS?’

[Yes?]

‘What about Jenny? Where is she?’

[Jenny is currently in a small town to the south of here. As far as I know, she is not scheduled to leave that town any time soon.]

‘Phew, okay. So it’s just Janice I have to worry about right now?’

[Yes. And Carl.]

‘That stupid Carl…’ She scowled and then looked depressed. ‘I’ve got to eat a whole meal with him staring at me…’

[User, be careful. If Carl is too aggressive with you, Darius may cut ties with him, and by proxy the Synder family.]

She pursed her lips. ‘You mean I gotta be nice to that creep?’

[No. It is better to intimidate him. He is scared of strong women, they remind him of his mother. If you remind him of his mother, he will not want to have anything to do with you.]

Felicia instantly cheered up, ‘Really?!’

[Really.]

She gave a wide evil grin, and chuckled.

Darius’ car showed up less than 10 minutes later. If possible, Darius would have driven himself around. But his driver also served as his bodyguard. Though the luxury sedan he used could comfortably sit 4 adults, 3 of those seats were currently occupied.

If she sat in the back, Carl was sitting in the front, because Darius knew she didn’t like him. But that meant she was sitting next to Darius. Who was by now likely extremely curious about why she momentarily lost her mind. She wasn’t sure she could bear under the long stare she’d get.

Therefore, before the driver could get out, she hastily walked to the front passenger seat and got in.

While buckling her seat, a lazy voice asked behind her, “So your car broke down?”

She froze, but only for half a second.

“Yep.”

“What happened to it?”

“Dunno. Just went guur guur plunk and then didn’t work.” After buckling herself in, she primly placed her purse on her lap. “Carry is calling the tow-truck to pick it up tomorrow. Do you mind dropping me off at work since I won’t have a car?”

“Hmmm.”

She could almost feel his stare boring holes into the back of her head.

“As for dinner, let’s go to that nice Italian place on Main.” It was better to move the conversation along before he interrogated her further, “The one that does shrimp so well.”

“Oh, I’ve been there!” Carl spoke up, leaning forward slightly, “It’s really good, that’s an excellent choice Miss Felicia.”

“I changed my mind.”

“Huh?”

“I heard there’s a new Pakistani restaurant that opened up on Willhill Road. Umm… Flavors of Saffron, I think it’s called.” She glanced at the confused Carl. “You haven’t heard of it?”

“I’ve… I’ve never had Pakistani food before…”

“Excellent, let’s go there then!”

Carl leaned back into his seat, feeling something was off but not quite sure what.

The Flavors of Saffron, while a nice restaurant, wasn’t what would be called “refined dining”. It was a sit down place and the food was on the pricier side… for ordinary people. The customers were typically middle class couples and families looking to eat something unique.

Certainly no one, from the wait staff to the other diners, expected people as wealthy as the King family to drop by. If it weren’t for the burly man giving everyone the stink eye, people would have attempted to talk to Darius throughout the entire meal. But thanks to the bodyguard/driver, they were too intimidated to try.

As for Carl, he spent the entire meal in progressively higher and higher states of agitation. Not only had Felicia King interrupted the good time he’d meant to have, she dragged him to some trashy hole-in-the-wall to eat. He didn’t even get to order, she ordered for the whole table. When his food arrived, it looked and smelled strange and turned out to be so hot he almost screamed. As it was, he made a fool of himself trying to drink away the spicy heat burning his throat.

The entire time Felicia was unsympathetic. She even took a nibble of the Dish from Hell and said he was just overacting. She smiled the whole time as he suffered, like she was watching a really funny skit.

That was when Carl knew this woman was out to get him. He usually liked women of Felicia’s shape, but he hated any woman who was vindictive and domineering. If his family didn’t need the King Enterprise businesses, he’d have beat this woman to a pulp already.

Darius watched the entire debacle without commenting at all. This only further frustrated Carl. He knew that no matter how terrible Felicia King was being, Darius King would never tolerate Carl retaliating against her. Even if she very clearly deserved it.

When he was dropped off and there was only Darius and Felicia in the car, Darius turned to her and finally asked, “What was that about?”

“I don’t like him.”

“It was unprofessional.”

“Why should I be professional if he isn’t going to be? Do you know how many complaints I get every time he comes to the office?!”

Darius frowned.

“Did he touch you?”

“What?”

“You only get this aggressive if a guy either touched you, or tried to touch you, in a way you didn’t like.”

“Oh God, no no… he hasn’t… I wouldn’t let him get near me enough for that…”

“Then what is going on?”

Felicia made a face, unsure how to explain.

“He’s… a really bad influence.”

Darius' eyebrows rose. “Do you think I’m unaware of his… questionable character?”

“...no…”

“Then do you think I’d be so easily influenced by him that I’d turn into someone like him?”

“.....no…..”

He sighed, obviously perplexed, and for a while neither spoke.

“Where was he taking you this evening?” She suddenly asked.

“He wanted to surprise me.”

“Heh.”

“I thought I would give him at least one chance.”

“Don’t give him chances, Dee. And don’t accept any gifts from him either.”

“Gifts?”

She shuddered, “That guy is a scumbag. You think he’ll give you anything good? He’d probably drug his own sister and throw her on your bed if he thought you’d like it. So no matter how he pushes, never accept a gift from him.”

“I realize he’s bad but.. you think he’s that far gone?”

Felicia tapped the side of her head, “Don’t think, know.”

He frowned again.

“Perhaps the negotiations should be called off—”

“Ah, no need to go that far. I don’t mean to say don’t work with him. His family’s manufacturing plants will be useful to us in the long run. Just don’t… don’t let him try to take you places and socialize outside of work. If he’s not willing to take others from the office too, men AND women, then he’s not taking you to a… good place.”

Darius looked frustrated, as he said pointedly, “You are being very confusing right now.”

“I know.” She paused. “But have I ever asked you to do something that didn’t work out for you in the long run?”

He blinked and then shook his head.

“My instincts don’t always make sense, but they’re rarely ever wrong.” She gave a wry grin, showing she realized how ridiculous she was being. “Can you trust me… for old time’s sake, if for no other reason?”

Darius looked down for a long time after that.

When they pulled up to their apartment complex, he finally turned to her and said, “I trust you. If you don’t like someone in the future, just tell me. I’ll do my best to avoid them.”

She reached out and ruffled his perfectly styled hair, completely destroying it.

“Thanks Dee. I promise your trust won’t be in vain.”

“Even if it proved to be in vain, it wouldn’t matter.” He said while trying to arrange his hair back to its original form.

“Really?”

“Mmm, in this world you’re the only family I’ve got. If I don’t trust you, who can I trust?”

The next day, when Darius saw a tow-truck pull away his sister’s perfectly functioning car, he wondered if he’d spoken too soon.