THE ALGORITHM

12.

Bilal tried to conceal his smirk, but he couldn't help but fold his arms. His dimples deepened as his smirk grew bigger, but he eventually wiped it away when his father began to speak.

"Actually, we decided to hire more help," Greg announced, shocking a few people.

"Wait, what?" Regine furrowed her brows in disappointment. "Help from who? This is a family business. It's always been this way. We don't hire outsiders."

"That's not true." Greg shook his head, disagreeing with his daughter. "We've hired outsiders before, and they still work with us. Hell, we have several people working for us who aren't family. Housekeepers, cooks, soldiers."

"Not when it comes to handling the finances and the real estate."Regine countered.

"True." Greg nodded, agreeing with his daughter. "That's why Suzanne is joining the team." He glanced at his wife, who sat to his left. "She'll be the supervisor. I trust my wife with numbers, and I know she'll do a fantastic job with the paperwork."

Regine glanced at her mom, who didn't bother to speak. She just kept a slight grin on her face.

"You hired...mom to handle the numbers and paperwork." Regine trailed off, "That's basically my job. W-where do I fit into this?"

"You're not listening to me clearly," Greg responded calmly. "You're too busy talking. Ray, you don't understand what I'm saying. Your mother will be supervising you."

"I have to be supervised by my own mother?" Regine didn't seem amused by the changes. She batted her lashes and pushed her hand away from the frame of her face as she eyed her parents. "I'm forty-two years old, I don't need to be monitored."

Greg shot his wife a look, but he didn't say anything.

"I started this real estate business...well, Valerie and I did." David paused as he thought about his deceased wife. She'd been dead almost six months now. He still struggled with being alone, and the thought of her made him sad. Instead of pulling away, he gathered his emotions and said, "My wife and I started this business so many years ago. Valerie always kept up with the numbers. She made sure they were accurate." David continued as he eyed his granddaughter. "You replaced her as the transaction coordinator, and everything has been off. I've sat you down and talked to you several times about this. Regine, you're neglectful, and I can no longer risk my company. We have way too much money invested."

Regine scoffed as she toyed with her wedding band on her finger. She was upset with her family's decision. She didn't want anyone looking over her shoulder and assisting her.

"Stop pouting," Greg instructed his firstborn as he tapped her hand. "You'll be fine." He diverted his attention toward his son and said, "Any more announcements?"

"I have one announcement to make." Cecil declared, stealing the spotlight. "I spoke with uh, Neal." He added, scratching at the corner of his right eye, "He was able to get the shipment past customs, so we don't have to worry about that issue anymore."

"Good." David nodded, thinking about the art dealer. "I'll reach out to him soon. A very good friend of mine."

Greg nodded and asked, "Looks like we're done here."

"Not quite." Bilal objected as he grabbed his papers and riffled through them before landing on a specific page. He sighed and scratched his brow before murmuring, "I have a few updates to report."

"I hope there isn't any bad news," Suzanne spoke lowly, but loud enough for some of the people in the room to hear. Decon sat back with his arms folded as Cecil pinpointed Bilal, who wore an unreadable expression.