Grayson continued, apparently not finished with his unexpected promotional speech. "He is also developing recipes to have culinary robots prepare similar meals. Once perfected, the entire corporation will benefit from it."

"The robots aren’t quite there yet," Neville added quickly. "The seasoning calibration is still off by a few percentage points. But we’re close."

Gloria finished her sandwich in three more bites, then reached for another.

"Close isn’t good enough. I want this." She pointed at the remaining sandwiches. "I want to eat like this every day. Eason, let me take Neville home to cook at the house."

Neville’s brain short-circuited. "I—what?" House? Grayson’s family’s house?

"I’m serious." Gloria’s eyes sparkled with an intensity that reminded Neville uncomfortably of her son when he had found a good business deal. "Come work for the family. Name your price."

"Moth—"

"Think of it! Real food! Every meal! Elara would be thrilled. Thiago keeps complaining about the standard food at the medical center. We could—"

"Mother." Grayson’s serious voice stopped her in her tracks. "Neville is my secretary. He’s essential to this company. You can’t just... poach my staff."

"I’m not poaching. I’m offering an improvement in the living and working conditions."

"His living and working conditions are perfectly fine here."

"Is it? Has he even taken a vacation since joining the company?"

"I gave him plenty."

"Without adding those necessary rest days?"

"..."

The question hung in the air.

Neville suddenly found this conversation very fascinating.

Necessary rest days? Since Grayson couldn’t refute it, it seemed that even though he had a lot of rest days, it was just and within reasonable means. Therefore, he hadn’t actually had much of a rest day that was purely for personal reasons.

"That’s what I thought." Gloria crossed her arms, looking incredibly satisfied. "You’re working this poor boy to the bone, aren’t you? Just like you work yourself to the bone. The two of you probably enable each other’s terrible habits."

"Our habits are extremely productive—"

"Productive isn’t the same as healthy, Eason."

Grayson pursed his lips after getting scolded.

Damn, he was so cute like this.

The standoff stretched for an uncomfortable moment before Grayson exhaled through his nose.

"How about this," he said, his tone carefully controlled. "Neville cooks for the family once. My sister, brother-in-law—everyone can experience his culinary skills. Would that satisfy your needs?"

Gloria tilted her head, considering. "That’s a good way to start."

"In the meantime, I’ll ensure that you will get a prototype of the culinary robot sent to the family estate. As soon as the calibration is complete, you’ll have access to similar meals."

"A prototype?" Gloria’s resistance wavered. "How soon?"

"We can arrange that by the end of the day. The current version produces results that are approximately 87% comparable to Neville’s cooking."

"87% of that sandwich would still be better than anything else I’ve eaten this month."

Neville watched the negotiation unfold with the dawning realization that he had somehow become a bargaining chip in a family dispute. His cooking skills had become somewhat of a diplomatic tool.

[This is incredible,] Shelly finally breathes after laughing too much. [Host, you’re witnessing a Maxwell family power struggle, and it’s all about whether you should cook dinner for them. Host, your life is pure comedy at this point.]

Neville was too stunned to even react to Shelly’s nonsense.

"But I’m holding you to that dinner invitation." Gloria finally conceded. "And the robot better work properly."

"I will make sure of it."

"And you—" Gloria pointed at Neville, who straightened reflexively. "Don’t let my son work you to death, understood? Take breaks. Go on dates. Experience life."

"I—yes, ma’am."

"Gloria."

"Yes, Glo—."

"Call her Auntie," Grayson said, cutting him off.

Gloria and Neville looked at him in askance.

"Think about your age." Grayson just nonchalantly pointed out, "You’re almost sixty. Have some shame."

Gloria glared at him and said, "Is that how you talk to your mother?!"

Grayson, seemingly, had had enough of these kinds of conversations, shrugged lightly, utterly unaffected.

But sixty? If Grayson’s mother said that she was really an immortal fairy, I’d gladly sincerely pray to her with worship and reverence. It really looked like time had stopped on her youth for real?!

Gloria peered at Neville and saw his sparkling eyes, all traces of the formidable negotiator vanishing into motherly warmth.

"Good boy, you can call me Auntie then. Now, Bryan—" She turned to Bryan, who was also enjoying the conversation with barely concealed glee.

Grayson cut in again and said, "—Take Hope to the prototype logistics. Make sure that mother gets what she wanted and let Hope add something special for exclusivity."

Bryan stepped forward, his professional mask sliding smoothly back into place. "Understood. Hope."

Neville, who was still a little stunned at the sudden turn of events, hurriedly caught up with Bryan out of the office.

○●○●

Now, Grayson and Gloria were left completely alone.

The silence that followed felt different. Like what happened earlier, when there were people around—was just an illusion. He had no patience for pleasantries when he could practically see the calculations running behind his mother’s deceptively warm smile.

Grayson spoke first, his deep voice cutting through the stillness. "What do you want to talk about, Mom?"

Gloria didn’t waste a single breath. "I heard outside that Bryan was dating someone."

Grayson’s brow furrowed as he thought, this again?

Still, he replied, half-probingly at where his mother was going with this conversation.

"What of it?"

"What of it?" Gloria’s eyebrow arched high. The gesture was so familiar that Grayson could almost predict the lecture that was about to follow. "If even your subordinates are finding romance while you sit here buried under endless workloads. When will it come a day that you will actually be in a relationship?"

"I have a work relationship," Grayson replied flatly.

Gloria’s lips twitched in exasperation.

"Is that so?" his mother said, her tone taking on a deliberately casual note that immediately set off alarm bells in Grayson’s head.

She continued lightly, "I heard that Neville was single."

Grayson went completely still.

Neville? Were they already close enough that his mother could call him by his name?

It somehow felt pleasant, but also felt a foreboding feeling.

And why does it matter if Neville was single?

"And then?" he asked carefully, reaching for the elegant porcelain cup on his desk.

The tea inside had long since cooled, but he needed something to occupy his hands. Something to distract him from the inexplicable tension he was feeling.

Gloria simply smiled and said, "If you’re okay with it, I’d like to introduce him to some people."

Grayson nearly choked mid-sip on his tea.