Chapter 58: Leverage

I closed the file and asked, “Anything else?” White replied, “No, My Lord.” Before I could answer, Helen called from the dining room, “Breakfast is ready!” I looked toward White.

“Come eat with us. You can continue working afterward.” White hesitated, so I raised an eyebrow.

“Is there a problem?” She immediately replied, “No, My Lord,” before following us to the dining table.

For the first few minutes, nobody said much.

Then Gwen looked toward White and asked, “Who is she?” I swallowed the food in my mouth before answering, “She’s like me.” Gwen looked at White again, and I added, “And she’s helping me with some things.” Gwen simply replied, “Oh. Okay.”

That was it.

She didn’t ask what I meant by like me, where White had come from, or why she kept calling me Lord.

Maybe she was saving those questions for later.

We finished breakfast, and White left to continue preparing for the meeting.

Gwen looked toward me and said, “We still have a few hours.” I nodded.

“Yeah.” She then asked, “Do you want to read about human mutation and gene sequencing?”

I paused.

Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea.

Gwen was one of the smartest characters I remembered.

If she eventually reached the same level she had in some versions, learning from her might be better than relying entirely on the teacher I had hired.

“Sure.” Her face immediately brightened, and she disappeared upstairs before returning with several books.

The moment I opened the first one, I realized I’d made a mistake.

This was way above my current level, and Gwen noticed almost immediately.

“You don’t understand this part?” I replied, “I understand some of it.” She stared at me until I finally admitted, “…Not most of it.”

Gwen smiled, but instead of laughing at me, she moved closer and began explaining it.

Surprisingly, she was good at it.

Whenever I didn’t understand something, she didn’t simply repeat the same explanation using different words.

She connected it to something more basic that I already understood and built from there.

Half of what she was explaining was still new to me, but I was learning much faster than I had with the teacher I’d chosen.

Maybe I had found myself a better teacher.

We continued studying for a while until Gwen suddenly yawned.

I looked toward her and asked, “Tired?” She replied, “A little.” I looked at the sofa.

“It’s big enough. You can lie down, or you can go back to your room.”

Gwen looked at the sofa, but there wasn’t enough room for her to stretch out properly with me sitting beside her.

I sighed and patted my lap.

“Lie down.” She looked at me for a moment before slowly lowering herself and resting her head on my lap.

Then she continued reading as if this was completely normal.

I looked down at her.

Okay.

Let’s test something.

My heartbeat was normal.

No sudden nervousness.

Nothing.

See?

I knew it.

I only reacted like that earlier because she caught me by surprise.

Completely normal.

I returned to reading, but after another twenty minutes, I noticed that Gwen hadn’t turned the page in a while.

I looked down and realized she was asleep.

Again.

I stared at her for a few seconds.

She looked comfortable.

Helen was sitting on another sofa nearby reading a book, so I called, “Helen.” She looked up, and I asked, “Can you bring a blanket?” Helen looked at Gwen and smiled slightly before getting up.

A minute later, she returned with a blanket and carefully placed it over Gwen.

Gwen moved slightly but didn’t wake up, so I returned to reading.

Eventually, White entered the hall.

“My Lord.” I looked up, and she continued, “Mr. Stane has arrived.” I checked the time.

2:15.

Fifteen minutes late.

I almost sighed.

Again?

Why did people always use the same stupid tricks?

Arrive late, make the other person wait, and act like their time was somehow more valuable.

I looked down at Gwen.

She was still sleeping peacefully on my lap.

Helen noticed my expression and said, “I can take her upstairs.” I immediately replied, “No.” She paused, and I continued, “If he can’t show me the basic decency of arriving on time, I don’t see why I should disturb Gwen just to show him any.”

I looked toward White.

“Bring him here.” She nodded.

“Yes, My Lord.” Before she could leave, I added, “And White.” She stopped and looked back at me.

“During the meeting, act as Helen’s secretary. Don’t interrupt her or speak over her.” White bowed slightly.

“Of course, My Lord.”

I leaned back against the sofa and looked down at Gwen.

If Obadiah wanted to play these stupid power games, then he could come to me.

White returned several minutes later with Obadiah Stane following behind her.

The moment Obadiah entered the hall, his eyes moved around the room, first toward Helen, then White, and finally toward me.

His eyes briefly stopped on Gwen, who was still asleep with her head on my lap, but he didn’t comment on it.

I didn’t bother standing up either.

“Obadiah.” He gave me a small nod.

“Chris.” He walked further into the room and sat across from me.

For a moment, neither of us spoke before he finally asked, “Why did you want to meet me?” I closed the book in my hand and placed it beside me.

“I think you need someone who can show everyone that Stark Industries isn’t in danger.” Obadiah’s expression barely changed as he asked, “And why would I need that?” I looked directly at him.

“Because someone important has been kidnapped.”

His face changed for only a second, but I saw it.

Helen saw it too.

Obadiah stared at me before asking, “What are you talking about?” I smiled slightly.

“Come on, Obadiah.

You really think I’m just some child who doesn’t know anything?” His expression hardened slightly, but I continued, “I thought everyone got the message after Arthur.

From what I heard, quite a few people stopped eating minced meat for a while.”

Helen’s expression changed slightly while Obadiah didn’t laugh.

Probably for the best.

At that moment, Gwen moved on my lap, so I stopped talking and looked down.

She frowned slightly in her sleep and shifted her head.

I gently ran my hand over her hair a few times until her expression relaxed and she became still again.

When I looked back toward Obadiah, I found him watching me.

His eyes moved from me to Gwen and then toward Helen, but he didn’t say anything about it.

Smart.

After a few seconds, he finally asked, “So, what do you want?”

Author’s Note (28|08|2026)

I’ve seen the comments about the direction of Chris’s relationship with Gwen and Helen, so I’m leaving the final choice to you guys.

I’m putting up a poll that will be available to everyone.

The poll will stay open for three days, and the option with the most votes will be the direction I follow going forward.

After the three days are over, the result will be final, and I won’t be taking any more requests to change the relationship direction later.

So if you care about where this goes, make sure you vote now.