The Cold Hearted Business Woman
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Still enjoying the blissful moment, Michael closed the book and glanced out onto the street below as a long, black limousine pulled up outside his apartment. Several white vehicles followed closely behind the huge vehicle.
A procession of motorcyclists sped past like a swarm of angry ants before pulling over further along to observe what was unfolding. Their members’ gazes were locked on their leader’s penthouse while most watched from windows and balconies across the area.
He waited for them all to disappear with relish and turned back around to gaze down at who stood beside him in the glass room: Rhiannon Scott-Jones, owner/head of Jones Intelligence Holdings Worldwide Incorporated—one of the largest multinational private intelligence firms which helped maintain social order worldwide.
She currently carried herself wearing a formal suit with an unbuttoned ivory shirt hanging loosely against her shoulders but with no tie.
Her ebony hair hung straight to her waist, yet it still managed to look lustrous without a touch or even use of makeup. While she looked intimidating standing next to Michael because of his youthful looks, he knew firsthand that anything short of throwing grenades into the meeting hall would not scare this woman half as much as being on her bad side could possibly do!
And according to others, that scared pretty damned easily…
Rhiannon had never taken orders from anyone until he asked to join and start working for JIHIW. This businesswoman always remained aloof to all people in power above and beneath her, so making the offer and getting it approved by their board took time.
But after receiving approval once again, they’d known instantly when Rhiannon accepted; she brought something special with her, one, unlike any other company manager.
His very presence attracted all kinds of attention—some of it good, some bad—to begin with, but then in recent days began attracting far more interest than anyone else ever did, due to the ongoing developments surrounding him—and now her.
He couldn’t blame them though, considering how rapidly they’ve started accepting the possibility of his divinity. Most seemed skeptical initially but enough has changed now to make them see otherwise. Whether by coincidence or divine intervention, quite a few have also been talking about those who’ve come forth since earlier today claiming they’re different beings, too.
They insist that these newer ones are the real deal and possess unique abilities beyond comprehension—but regardless of whether it’s true or false, there should be proof soon enough.
For it takes two sides for a fight to become a war worth fighting…which is exactly why Michael wanted to gather witnesses willing to support himself within that massive chamber down below. That alone won’t prove it…and we both know the outcome if nothing is done to stop it beforehand, right? He forced a grin then stepped close.
“Well?” she demanded in reply with narrowed hazel eyes. “You say you need someone who can vouch for your continued existence. I suggest adding some authority, perhaps even add a senior member such as yourself…”
“What?!”
Michael barely stopped himself from grabbing the woman, causing her to yank away from him at lightning speed. So, he let go instead and cursed inwardly. The temptation to finally confront her once again about everything regarding Anna quickly overtook him but this wasn’t the moment.
Besides, despite all his rage, he didn’t want to risk angering her into revealing that she knew he’d lied repeatedly to everyone here about what really happened between himself and his sister.
Given what’s likely happening deep inside that subterranean chamber now, risking her discovering the truth isn’t worth it… Not with them going after our kind anyway. If she reveals my lies, it’ll make things worse for us.
Letting out a sigh, he realized how futile continuing down this path would turn out to be unless his newfound powers allowed him to trust her enough to reveal things such as the truth about the Church and Anna…or he learned to read people’s minds first.
Shaking his head, he responded softly. “…No.”
Raising her chin, she stared up at him without expression through her dark lashes. Then she whispered, “A powerful new individual’s emergence would mean big changes ahead. We don’t yet fully understand its implications for us either,” she declared.
“However, bringing you here will tell me whatever needs telling without needing to drag someone with clout into meetings when it isn’t necessary.
Believe me, the time spent waiting for your arrival made little sense to me considering the level of importance attached to it. Still, even I couldn’t be sure of anything else so yes…this does represent an unprecedented development.
If we’re all lucky enough to survive long enough to learn whether we’ve stumbled upon a bona fide deity or a man who simply knows many of the same tricks as those deities believed to exist, well…it certainly doesn’t get better than that!”
That drew his own breathless chuckle. As difficult as it was for Michael to stay focused while staying calm as possible throughout this entire affair, this statement finally set all thoughts aside and left him in complete silence before responding.
“There is no deity who only knows any tricks,” he murmured with strained composure, noting the sharp scrutiny his words gained from her intense gaze. “We do not forget. None of us ever forgets anything.” With that stated, he looked into Rhiannon’s brown eyes once again and explained quietly: “
But neither am I claiming myself one. I’m just trying to protect my siblings and my people. No matter who I may have shared DNA with years ago, there are still some things humans cannot comprehend, not completely at least.”
She frowned deeply and rose from where she stood. “Then whose bloodline could this belong to? Which is another way of asking which race possesses that much power within it?”
Rhiannon and the rest were referring to what she thought had been claimed by Father Frost on Earth and how their mutual father could very well hold ties to demons even if he appeared human… Just like every other being within the collective known as humanity did. Truthfully, it’s something I never intended anyone to figure out. But they might be getting closer!
Frozen in place momentarily by her accusation, he became quiet until it took Michael several seconds to catch himself and speak up. “Not necessarily,” he replied with faint doubt in his tone. His heart pounded furiously as he asked hesitantly,
“Given the extent to which your people believe themselves superior over others, how unlikely would that notion be to find a confirmation? Perhaps, especially if it proved to be more advantageous…even within the Church itself?”
And thus, in full force, was the ongoing war between angels and their kin unfolding amongst Michael and his allies. As of that very moment, these were undoubtedly the most important terms that defined and formed all existing factions.
With that thought foremost in mind, he understood exactly why he should bring both Elisabeth and Regan back here too. They alone among them were capable of forming allegiances that defied the usual conventions established across each faction.
It might be one thing to avoid openly fighting against other angelic sects because of fear of furthering strife or simply finding common ground together. Yet, given how far beyond the norm these two individuals tended to be, working in secret or with less-than-perfect clarity inevitably opened them up to being caught up in webs spun entirely according to others’ interests.
Though I’ve always trusted that Regan somehow comes with a greater risk versus reward equation—
“I can see how things appear right now,” Rhiannon informed him. “It would help immensely if someone in authority present confirmed those claims since they tend toward credibility due to your present circumstances and the rather overwhelming evidence supporting them.
It also stands to reason that none of us involved has firsthand knowledge concerning such matters. Furthermore…” She paused and narrowed her eyes, letting her focus sink back onto the issues at hand as though seeing herself standing atop Mount Olympus while casting a thoughtful gaze on her subjects.
And then she realized just how ironic that was. There wasn’t anybody here present who needed her approval, to begin with. Only hers…alongside that of Gabriel and Raphael’s allowed these men and women to come close enough to participate in our internal discussions…though admittedly, the latter two no longer actively participated in that particular struggle anymore. At least not as directly.
“Even if one believes you are an honest individual deserving to live under normal conditions, what sort of future could possibly await those children and young adults born beneath the care of someone so unusual as yourself?”
As silent once again as a statue, Michael allowed Rhiannon’s probing to make its rounds without interruption. He knew every member of this council had seen and heard plenty during his recent long stay on Earth. Indeed, all but a few members held intimate secrets about that time period that likely offered more than enough reason to question everything about the events that transpired here.
Knowing this made the sheer fact that they believed in him and remained willing to lend aid despite the dangers such actions placed upon them all quite commendable in nature. However, as I already mentioned earlier, trusting my followers isn’t really an issue. In this case, however, trust must flow equally outward…else everyone ends up stuck with nowhere else to turn.
He grimaced at the realization for he’d inherited a legacy of deceit. While it was true that he did his best to hide certain aspects of this new existence, a whole host of misdirections meant nothing when it came down to doing whatever was necessary to secure the safety of what mattered most: those beings standing behind him.
Like countless angels before him, he wouldn’t willingly abandon any living creature just because it was inconvenient to do otherwise.
Such ruthlessness was something to behold, though they would probably call it coldblooded at the very least. However, there was more than one good reason not to fully embrace that label either… For even his own kind didn’t know about him when the day finally arrived on Earth, nor would his story have changed much after the fact.
This entire experience also begs the question of what precisely his motives might truly be based on. After all, we don’t just recruit our soldiers into the fray. We also empower many individuals throughout Heaven and Hell to oversee their training and progress; assign them specific tasks as need be.
These include responsibilities related to policing lesser angels and establishing appropriate hierarchies whenever possible. Some even end up settling in specific locations where their work could actually support a small community from that perspective.
That said…the same cannot always be done by any angel regardless of rank. As much as Archangel Michael wished his people hadn’t started focusing solely on a conquest to fuel the fire of their worship, it remained to be seen whether or not they ever would change course and look towards peaceful resolution instead.
If not, this means the number of potential adversaries would continue steadily rising until the situation devolved completely out of control and ultimately imploded along a truly massive scale.
Then again, perhaps things like that never really happened anywhere else aside from this world anyway. Maybe once peace becomes reality within Ea, it will spread through the rest of the universe eventually—
However, even granting those theories the benefit of the doubt seemed impossible right now.