Chapter 288 - 287: My Conscience Won’t Hurt If I Don’t Have One

Caleb Lowell knew a storm was brewing with their mother. He was terrified that one wrong move would have her raining down lightning until there was nothing left of him but a pile of ash.

So, he tentatively suggested,

"How about I have Ian Miller deliver the robot directly to the house? We have a basement there, too. If you need any tools, I’ll get them for you right away."

Yvonne Lowell snapped her laptop shut and turned to look at him suspiciously. "Why? What’s the difference between Tidalview and the house?"

’And he’ll "get" them for me? He’s a CEO, for crying out loud. Why does he talk like some kind of gangster? I wonder who he picked that up from. It certainly wasn’t me.’

"Didn’t we agree we’re going home for dinner? That’s just a few hours from now. Besides, you promised you’d help me with my work, and you haven’t even touched a single file."

The more Caleb spoke, the more righteous he sounded. He even lifted his chin, gesturing for her to look at a stack of documents that was, impressively, even thicker than his nerve.

Yvonne’s lips twitched. "I’m about to inspect the robot, and you still want me to go over your files? Doesn’t your conscience hurt?"

’Besides, I don’t think I ever actually agreed to that, did I? I distinctly remember saying we could talk about it *after* dinner! And even that wasn’t a firm "yes"!’

"My conscience can’t hurt if I don’t have one," Caleb Lowell said with sage-like calm.

"Perfect. Ian Miller just said he’s on his way, so I’ll just tell him to go to the house. We can head back now. I’ll get Dad to take on some of it first. Once you’re done inspecting the robot, the rest is all yours."

"And don’t go back to Tidalview tonight. Just stay at the house. Stop hanging around with that Grant kid all the time. He’s a bad influence."

’I wonder if that Grant fellow is done with his work yet. He’s probably still trying to cook up an excuse to stay away tonight.’

’Now, after just a few digs from me, he gets a get-out-of-jail-free card.’

’Meanwhile, I’m the one who gets branded as the unscrupulous older brother. Grant the Dog is totally making out like a bandit on this one, isn’t he?’

Leo Grant: ...So I’m supposed to thank you for that? For talking smack about me?

"But Leogryph is still there by himself," Yvonne said, feeling she could still push back a little.

"Oh, right! Leogryph! Perfect. We’ll go to Tidalview now, pick him up, and go together. He’s never been to the house anyway. Plus, we can grab your tools. Two birds, one stone!"

Caleb wasn’t giving her an inch.

’Fine... So he’s willing to skip out of work early just to press-gang me into being his grunt labor, is that it?’

Yvonne chugged the rest of her coffee, forced a smile, and said through gritted teeth, "Of course. Whatever you say, big brother."

"Okay, wait for me for a second. I’ll just pack up and we can go. Those coffee beans are on the shelf, help yourself. Take anything else you like, too."

With that, Caleb turned to clear his desk.

Yvonne took a deep breath. ’So, coffee beans in exchange for my labor, is that it?’

’Alright then. In that case, I won’t hold back. Only a fool passes up a freebie.’

The siblings, laden with bags big and small, had just reached the elevators when Andy stepped out of the staff elevator, running right into them.

"Boss, are you heading out?"

Andy wore his usual refined mask. He then turned to Yvonne Lowell and gave her a gentlemanly smile.

"Hello, Miss Lowell."

A smile touched Yvonne’s lips. She nodded at him, betraying no sign that anything was amiss.

’Inside, though, she’d already beaten the son of a bitch to a pulp a thousand times over. You bastard. Of all the times to show up, you wait until I’m leaving just to be a pain in the ass.’

’She hadn’t even uncovered the full truth yet, but her impression of this asshole had already hit rock bottom.’

’Bring it on! Let’s act! We’ll see who’s the better actor!’

’The people she managed were A-listers who worked directly with Hollywood. There was no way her acting skills were worse than this nobody’s!’

"Andy? Do you need something?" Caleb asked, his expression as impassive as ever.

"Oh, yes. That report you asked me to expedite this morning is ready. If it looks good to you, you can go ahead and sign it."

Andy politely handed the file to him.

Caleb took the file without opening it. "Alright. I’ll have someone bring it down to you tomorrow. I have to go now."

"Of course, Boss." Andy stepped aside.

Caleb glanced at the staff elevators, all of which were descending. He then said to Andy,

"Ride with us."

A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Andy’s face. "In that case, as they say, ’To be respectful is better than to obey.’"

"Pfft."

Yvonne coughed lightly, suppressing a laugh. "Apologies. The saying is, ’To obey is the best form of respect.’"

"Oh, is it? How embarrassing! Aurelian culture is truly vast and profound."

Andy followed them into the elevator and stood in a corner, making himself as inconspicuous as possible.

Caleb and Yvonne chatted as if no one else was there, completely ignoring him.

When the elevator reached the floor for the tech department, Andy lowered his gaze to hide his thoughts, gave the pair a smile, and stepped out.

Once the elevator doors closed again, the siblings exchanged a look and shrugged in unison, saying nothing more.

...

After returning to Tidalview to pick up the laptop and toolbox, and grabbing Leogryph, the two headed back to the Lowell family’s villa.

Charles Lowell was in the living room with Wendy Sutton, watching a cheesy soap opera. He was surprised to see the siblings and was about to make a sarcastic comment when he spotted the big creature behind them.

His eyes lit up. "Leogryph, you’re here! Come here, let Grandpa see if you’ve lost any weight."

"ROAR!" ’I got fatter! I’m all chubby now!~’

Leogryph padded forward to start its performance. Truly, life was hard; a poor creature had to busk for its keep.

Yvonne’s lip twitched. ’As if I would ever let his precious grand-pet starve.’

Instead of responding to him, she went and hugged Wendy Sutton. "Ms. Sutton, tonight I’m craving Mom’s special braised short ribs."

"Alright, Mom will make them for you. I’ll go get the ingredients ready."

Ms. Sutton playfully pushed her daughter’s arm away. Before heading into the kitchen, she made sure to pat Leogryph’s head. "And I’ll make something yummy for our Leogryph, too."

Yvonne: ...???

Caleb cleared his throat. "Dad, there are some work-related issues I’d like to consult you on."

Charles Lowell was about to fire back with a sarcastic remark, but seeing the serious look on his son’s face, he stood up. "Let’s go to the study."

Sensing Caleb’s glance, Yvonne waved a hand. "I’ll stay here. I’m waiting for Ian to deliver something."

Charles Lowell’s gaze shifted suspiciously between the two of them. ’The kids are speaking in riddles,’ he thought. ’Something’s definitely up!’

He didn’t press the matter, however. He just turned and headed for the study, making sure to bring Leogryph with him.

In the study, Caleb told his father what had happened that day, including Yvonne’s reaction.

Charles Lowell mulled it over for a moment. "So you suspect this Andy might have been an old enemy of Nola’s? And that he’s deliberately come after her as part of some long-standing plot?"

"More than that. I’m even starting to suspect that story Nola told me—about losing her memory when she was eleven—was a lie. Maybe before we adopted her, she went through things she can’t, or won’t, tell us about, because she’s afraid of how we’d react."

Caleb looked up at his father, his face heavy with concern.