98 A Phone Call

Sitting in his office, Will was currently watching the footage of the room in which the Mayor and his granddaughter were sitting.

As he saw Liz stride out leaving the two alone, a small smile unwittingly came on his face.

The way she had handled this entire thing impressed him highly.

He was someone who handled high-profile individuals daily for the company, but he doubted whether even he would have been able to handle this matter so delicately.

All the parties were happy, and she had actually brought together two family members who had drifted apart.

Thinking on this, Will couldn't help but think back to his own childhood and life so far.

What Liz had done here was heal the two he was seeing on the screen, and this was evidenced by the way the two hugged each other and cried for a few seconds first after they found themselves alone in the room.

Will had half a mood to switch off the feed, but something made him want to keep watching.

After a lot of tears flowed, the two shakily put their hands on the metal box with the button together.

As they pressed it at the same moment and watched the demolition of the house, the Mayor kissed his granddaughter's forehead, and smiles spread across both of their faces.

All it had taken was someone to understand them.

Could Liz understand him the same way, too?

This thought appeared in his head, but it disappeared barely in a second, smothered by ice around his heart which was, of course, still there.

Switching off the display, he bent back on his chair and tried to distract himself, but he couldn't get the image of that woman out of his mind.

Twice now, she had made him mesmerized by her pure emotions.

What was so special about her?

He asked himself this at least 10 times each day, but he was no closer to an answer.

However, one thing had at least been established: he loved spending time with her.

With this thought, the memories of last night appeared in his mind, and along with them, a grimace covered his face when he recalled the words spoken by his 'adversary'.

Picnic.

He still couldn't believe that last night had actually ended in a draw, and he focused on this even though there was also the nagging question in his mind regarding why he had behaved in that way in the first place.

As a sudden idea came to him, he took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Keren, how's your casino coming along in Seattle?"

"Not even a greeting for your sister? Where have your manners gone, Mr. William?"

"Keren-"

"Fine, fine. It's not ready yet, or I would be in the US, busy shopping for the opening. I'm thinking about-"

"How long till it's ready to open?"

"Humph, someones in a hurry. 2 weeks. Why?"

After taking a deep breath and getting an expression of resolution on his face, Will said, "I don't care how much it costs, but I want it to be ready by the weekend."

"Will, that's only 4 days! I would have to double the workload, and the workers!"

"Do it. I'll pay."

"It's not about the money, dear brother. Tell me the reason, otherwise I'll say no, even if you send a planeload of money to Europe."

Slight frustration appeared on Will's face, but he answered, knowing that it would be revealed in a second anyway.

"I want you to invite Liz too. Remember her?"

Silence came from the other end of the line, and Will had to check the phone to see whether the line had been cut.

However, when a shrill voice suddenly screamed in his ear, he almost dropped the phone in shock.

"OH MY GOD! YOU LIKE HER! YES YES YES YES YES! I KNEW IT THE SECOND I SAW YOU TWO! TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT! DO YOU LOVE HER OR LIKE HER? ARE YOU SERIOUS ABOUT IT? DO YOU NEED ME TO BE YOUR WING-"

"Sis, calm down!"

As Will shouted in response, Keren stopped shouting, but he could hear her huffing and puffing on the other end.

Taking a few breaths, she said, "Oh, come on, you can't blame me for getting excited. Tell me! Do you like her?"

With a sigh, Will replied, "I…don't know. Just invite her because you two are friends."

"William, you better tell me more, or there's no way I'm doing it."

There it was, his sister's annoying quirk of not letting something go if she caught it.

Knowing that she would keep asking, he said, "I went to dinner at her house last night, and there was…a contender. It was a draw. I don't like being challenged. That's all you're getting now."

In a grumpy voice, Keren replied, "All right, fine. I'll hasten the work and invite her. I honestly can't believe there's someone who made you feel threatened in anything! He sounds interesting…Anyway, I told you not to close yourself off due to one bad-"

"Ok, thanks sis, bye."

After having gotten the answer he wanted, Will hung up, as he was in no mood to hear that lecture again.