Chapter 213: Give Me The Remote!

Ruby squeezed May tighter, and Patricia and Chloe stepped in right away to join the hug.

The girls immediately started brainstorming ways to keep her motivated—from Patricia offering to manage a custom diet to keep her fuel dialed in, to Ruby promising to curate the ultimate, high-energy hype playlists for every single one of her intense training sessions.

May laughed softly, shaking her head as all the heavy stress and isolation that had been weighing on her for days completely melted away. "You guys are ridiculous... but thank you. Seriously."

"Room for one more?" I smirked, stepping in and wrapping my long arms around all of them, pulling the whole group into one massive family embrace.

Laughter erupted in the center of the gym, the warm, vibrant energy of our home officially restored after the quiet chaos of the past few days.

As we finally broke apart, I caught May’s eye and gave her a firm, unwavering nod.

"You’re not doing this alone anymore, May," I said, my voice dead serious with absolute promise. "We’re building you a world-class setup, fixing the mechanics, and pushing your limits. That world record is coming right back where it belongs—around your neck."

"I know it will," May smiled, her eyes burning with that familiar, unstoppable champion fire once again.

With the group hug wrapping up and everyone heading back toward the main living area to clean up the estate, I took a quiet moment to pull up the System interface in my mind.

The blue translucent window shimmered into view, expanding into a structured training checklist specifically calibrated for May’s comeback:

[System Directive: May’s World Record Recovery Protocol]

Primary Objective: Restore Talent Rating (7.8 → 9.5+) & Reclaim World Sprint Record.

Requirement 1: Complete Facility Upgrade. A state-of-the-art private athletic compound fully equipped.

Requirement 2: Custom Zenith Sportwear Gear. Custom-engineered sprint spikes, compression wear, and aerodynamic suits tuned to her exact body mechanics.

Requirement 3: Advanced Recovery & Medical Suite. High-tier sports medicine tech, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, dynamic cryo-chambers, and tailored biological supplements.

Looking over the requirements, it was crystal clear: standard gym routines and local tracks weren’t going to cut it if we wanted to shave off those crucial hundredths of a second.

We needed a completely dedicated, ultra-modern compound built entirely around her recovery and peak performance.

I closed the system window and pulled out my phone, stepping out onto the patio as the warm evening air hit my face.

"Time to put Zenith’s resources to work," I muttered to myself, dialing up our executive contacts.

With $500 million on the line and my flagship athlete’s career hanging in the balance, I wasn’t just going to buy her standard gym time—I was going to build her the ultimate training sanctuary.

I stepped outside onto the quiet terrace, pulling out my phone as the cool night breeze hit my face. I needed to get the ball rolling immediately, and there was only one person who could authorize this level of corporate pivot overnight.

I dialed Tiana directly.

"Ethan," Tiana answered on the second ring, her smooth, mature voice instantly cutting through the speaker. "It is so good to hear your voice. How was the countryside?"

"It was good, Tiana," I said, leaning against the balcony railing before bringing my tone down to business. "But I’m calling about May. I just found out about her losing the world record."

There was a brief, heavy pause on the line.

"I wondered when you were going to bring that up," Tiana said with a soft, quiet sigh.

"Why didn’t you call me, Tiana?" I asked gently, though my voice carried a firm edge. "You’re running Zenith with me. A loss like that hits her hard, and it hits our brand hard. You should have looped me in the second it happened."

"You’re right, Ethan," Tiana replied smoothly, stepping into the accountability without making a single excuse. "May begged me to keep it quiet, wanting to handle it on her own, but as the head of this company—and as someone who cares about both of you—I should have reached out to you immediately. I take full responsibility for that."

Her calm maturity made it impossible to stay frustrated.

"It’s fine," I said, relaxing my posture. "What matters now is how we fix it. She’s back at the estate, but she can’t train on standard equipment or public tracks anymore. I need Zenith to step up."

"Tell me what you need, and Zenith will back it 100%," Tiana said firmly.

"We need a complete facility setup," I explained. "I want a top-tier, fully private training compound locked down for her—somewhere isolated with cutting-edge track tech, elite sports medicine gear, recovery setups and a full team of specialists. On top of that, I need Zenith’s R&D department to start improving her custom sprint spikes. Make it better and she’ll need new gears too."

Tiana let out a low, impressed breath on the other end.

"New gears?" She asked. "Consider it done," she said, her tone shifting seamlessly into focused mode. "I’ll have our team assembled by morning. If May has the heart to get back on that track, Ethan, Zenith will build her the fortress to do it in."

I hung up the phone, sliding it back into my pocket, and stood on the quiet balcony for a few moments as the cool night air helped clear my head. Tiana was already moving the pieces on her end, which meant the logistical heavy lifting for May’s new compound was underway.

Before I could head inside, the muffled sound of raised voices drifting from the living room caught my attention. It sounded like Ruby and May going back and forth.

I walked back through the grand hallway and stepped into the living room, taking in the chaotic scene.

Chloe was sitting comfortably on the single-seater armchair, resting her chin in her hand with a amused smirk as she watched the drama unfold.

Patricia was standing near the fireplace, trying to interject with a soft, gentle voice that was completely getting drowned out by the two girls in the center of the room.

Ruby was standing in front of the massive flat-screen TV, clutching the remote tightly against her chest like a prized trophy. May was stepping up to her, towel still draped over her shoulders, trying to reach around her to grab it.

"Ruby, hand it over! I’m not a kid!" May grunted, trying to snatch it.

"No way! You are not watching this!" Ruby insisted, ducking her body away and dodging May’s outstretched hand.

"Alright, what’s going on here?" I asked, crossing my arms as I leaned against the back of the sofa.

May huffed, wiping sweat off her forehead. "Ethan, tell Ruby to give me the remote."

"I am protecting your sanity!" Ruby protested, spinning around to face me while shielding the remote behind her back. "Ethan, the girl who broke her world record is live on an entertainment sports channel doing an interview right now! I was trying to change the channel before May saw it, because you know how those interviewers are—they’re going to say something arrogant or toxic that’s just going to her feel more discouraged!"

"I don’t care what she says!" May snapped, though the slight tension in her jaw betrayed how much it actually mattered to her. "I want to see who I’m up against."

I looked over at Chloe, who gave me a subtle ’you handle this’ tilt of her head, while Patricia looked at me with a soft, helpless sigh.

All eyes in the room suddenly turned to me, waiting to see whether I’d let May face the media storm head-on or side with Ruby’s protective instincts.