The Duchess (Outsider #2)

Chapter 52: Prelude to Ball

Dawn became very popular in college after the IPO listing for Potaponiac Farmhand Estate Inc. Every day there were friends inviting her for eating lunch with them (and she had many friends now that she was well known), often she had dates after she finished with her internship work. On the weekends, her friends called up and ask her to go to the mall, holo-novel shows, dinners, parties... In fact, if she met Dusk, it would be late and for a late breakfast after returning home late on 6th Night.

Catherine also was busy. She was now required to go back home more often so she was in Ci'gazze and in the Dorm only few days. She would on most days, fly down from Regis in the morning and return as soon as the classes were over. Or if she did not fly back immediately, she would spend the next 3-4 hours in Tech Morning Star Building with the BHRVC team which was ramping up at a frightening pace. Plus, she had to work on the farmhand business.

In addition, Rosemary had dumped Acro-Bravadia and its subsidiaries on her as she moved deeper into Retail Business and also actively focused on the new factories being set up in Arcadia. That again took up a huge lot of Catherine's time first as she tried to understand the business and its intricacies. Dusk had warned her that she could not take any work superficially. In the end, she too, did not have time for Dusk.

Rosemary was, on the other hand, looking after a business with more than 90 Malls across the world, expanding at a rapid pace using the model that Dusk had given. They no longer needed to buy the properties and so capital constraints were less. In addition, they had rationalised the business and she had restructured it to make it more dynamic and responsive to changes in customer's demand.

Since Rosemary was not studying and had the full day for work, she took the responsibility to supervise the construction of the new factory and to some extent the new city. Though it was in Dusk's Duchy, she knew it was important to DHH and she did not mind the extra work. She knew that Susco was swamped with the work of managing all the different businesses so she could not ask her to look into the new projects also. Therefore, she also spent a lot of time away from Ci'gazze.

In the end, the 3 of them had no time for Dusk. Not that Dusk had much time herself. She had been pushed into an accelerated course by the Academic Board on the request of the Crown Prince. While most students had 2-3 hours of lectures a day, she had close to 5 hours now. Thus, though she had not even finished 2 out of her 4 years in college, both the main courses - hardware and Artificial Intelligence, had been almost completed.

She had finished her last term project and had decided to do the Hardware Term project later. Instead, she focused on her AI Project. It was an area that she had less exposure but something that was important in view of the extensive AI controlled systems used by almost all things. Both the hover-vehicles and EPACs used them, the offices used them, factories used them, even her Dorm had AI.

Both projects were critically important to her final course scores and her passing the course as the Term Projects accounted for 40% of the Hardware Course and 50% of the AI course. She had to work with a team of other students (who were senior to her) and her failure to give time would look bad. She did not want to come out as arrogant and careless just because she was the director of a large company. Otherwise, her entire reason to study in Uni-Viva was meaningless. For that matter, if she decided to drop out, no one would question her or blame her. She had enough to live all her life!

However, in spite of lack of time, she felt lonely. Even her constant (and sometimes unwanted) companion, Catherine was no longer with her more than once a week.

Pearson and Piggon tried to keep her company, force her to go shopping with them and keep her busy. But both of them had their independent lives and numerous male friends and they could not be with her as often as they wished.