~ San Antonio, the Opulence hotel ~
It is late, so the whole group decided to stay in the Opulence hotel overnight.
Penny's etings with people from the managent took first half of the day, and with all the corruption they found, it will take longer than expected before they clear things up. Penny decided not to go to the second hotel until she cos up with a plan for this one.
Penny will et with Marcy after dinner, in a coffee shop nearby Opulence. She wants it to be as private as possible, or at least away from Opulence (and anyone who can notify Mrs. Swalwell of this eting). Ben will join Penny, while Jesse and Oni will follow them from the distance. If all goes well, tomorrow they will have their lunch at the next hotel.
Bridgette is not happy to spend the night away from Steve, but it's not practical to fly to Los Angeles and then to co back in the morning. She thought that they will finish earlier.
Until tomorrow, there is no need for Ron, Zula, Allen and Julius to stay alert. All the equipnt is installed, and Eve is watching the whole hotel. Eve will notify them if there is anything suspicious going on.
They all had dinner together in the French restaurant on the second floor of the hotel.
"What are your plans for tonight?", Sarah asked kids.
"When we are back after Penny's eting, we will go to a nightclub…", Jesse said.
Jesse does not want to go, but everyone else does and he feels that if he lets those five go without him, they will cause trouble. Especially the girls, the two of them are attractive young ladies and even if they just stay still, trouble will co their way. Of course, Zula will be with Ron, but Oni… he will make sure she stays safe. Jesse is not confident that Allen and Julius can keep Oni safe.
Sarah looked at six people around the table. Only Jesse is above age 21, but the other five look eager to go. She knows that Nala told them stories about the nightclub she went to with Haru and they are all super-excited to see all that craziness in person.
"You have IDs?", Sarah asked in defeat to confirm if they got their fake IDs which show that they are all above 21 years old. She would be the evil one if she tries to stop them from going to explore the city, and they already know that they have the night off.
Seeing that they all nodded vigorously, Sarah started with her advices: "Be careful. Don't split in less than two. Watch each other's back. Wear ear studs. Don't start trouble, and don't let anyone bully you…" She looked at Ron: "Take care of Zula. She is the youngest one."
"Of course!", Ron exclaid and squeezed Zula's hand under the table excitedly.
"Jesse…", Sarah sighed. "It's not fair to ask you to be in charge of them on a night off, so just take care of Oni. OK? Don't leave her side. Other four will take care of themselves, it will be a good practice for being alert in a crowded space."
"Don't worry…", Jesse assured Sarah. He was not planning to leave Oni's side anyway.
"Allen, Julius…", Sarah addressed the last two. "You two stay together. In case you pick up so girls, make sure you stay safe."
Allen and Julius exchanged awkward glances before nodding shyly, making Sarah stifle a laugh. She found it super-cute that two seventeen-year-old boys are acting so bashful. Such a difference from Ron who is the sa age as they are.
"Do you have things to wear for a night out?", Aiden asked.
They all nodded in confirmation, but Aiden was suspicious. "After dinner, show . If it's not good, we will arrange sothing…"
Penny and Ben watched Sarah and Aiden interact with their kids and smiled. Ben was surprised to see Sarah so 'parental', because he only saw her in office (on those few occasions when she showed up), and he never saw Sarah and Aiden at ho.
"Is it OK if I join you?", a deep male voice ca from behind Bridgette.
Aiden nodded in agreent.
Sarah smiled. "Of course!"
Bridgette saw that both Sarah and Aiden are looking at her while grinning and she turned around slowly. "Steve! What…? How…?" She could not finish any question. She was too surprised to see her boyfriend. Ah! He changed his voice slightly and she didn't recognize him! She leaped off from her chair and hugged him tightly.
"I thought I will be apart from you…", Bridgette whined while pressing her face on his chest.
Steve kissed the top of her head. "I heard that you will stay overnight, and Jeff gave his jet. I can stay tomorrow with you and work from here."
"Oh, oh…", Bridgette was not sure what to say to this, but her big smile told Steve that she is happy.
Steve joined them for dinner, and Bridgette could not be happier.
Penny and Ben went to their suite first, so that Penny can rest before her eting with Marcy.
In the suite…
Penny laid on top of the bed, and scooted closer to Ben, placing her head on the biceps of his outstretched arm.
"Today was tiring…", Penny admitted. "One more eting to go."
Ben kissed her forehead. "You did amazing. I am impressed. The whole day was an eye opener."
"Tell about the eye opening things.", Penny demanded while her eyes closed lazily.
"All the corruption. How is it possible that almost all of the managent is involved in this?"
Penny responded without opening her eyes: "We went through the inco sources I got from my parents. Things like stocks, bonds and rentals are for making money, while hotels are for prestige. As long as hotels didn't lose money, my parents didn't care about the details. Over the ti, people tried small things and when they saw that they can get away with it, they moved on to bigger ones."
"You will be a great business owner.", Ben voiced his thoughts to Penny.
She smiled. "What else surprised you today?"
"Sarah and Aiden."
Penny opened her eyes and glanced at Ben. "What about them?"
"They treat their security like family."
Penny saw Ben's confusion and she smiled while talking: "They ARE a family. You should co to the Cliffside Villa and see how all of them are… happy. I admit that when I got there for the first ti, I needed an adjustnt period."
Penny's smile faded when she continued: "I grew up with parents who saw as a chip that can be used to increase their status. Bodyguards and maids surrounded , but they didn't show any humanity, they were like robots, executing orders of their master, and none of them had as their master. It was… depressive."
After a brief pause, Penny continued in a better mood: "At the Cliffside Villa, everyone has a voice, and everyone gets respect. It is an amazing balance of people supporting each other while not intruding on each other's privacy. There is about forty people there and everyone is… welco. included. They have people visiting them all the ti because of that. The Cliffside Villa is like a magnet. Friends, family, even animals… everyone wants to stay there. It's like they have so positive energy that attracts good people. No one is scheming or evil, they are all genuinely happy for one another and in the middle of all that are Sarah and Aiden. When I saw that, it was lifechanging."
"You are right. I need to see that.", Ben admitted. "I ca from a broken family, and my first attempt at family was not successful either. Penny, I want us to work out and be a happy family."
Penny smiled. "Sarah told that what makes her and Aiden work, is that they talk about things. They see each other as partners. And I like that. Partners."
Penny turned and looked at Ben seriously. "Don't try to keep things from and think that you are protecting . I want to know that you value as a person, as an equal. And I will do the sa with you."
Ben smiled. "Sounds like a plan."
Penny inched closer and sank into Ben's embrace.
"Mmm…", she humd drowsily. "I will sleep off like this."
"Feel free to. I have an alarm set up…"
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