Chapter 859: LOST PUPPIES
"Today, I'm calling everyone for this meeting because of the recent incident that involved one of you guys. While I'm being protected, I didn't expect that you will be putting your life in danger out there. I have no worries for the people who stay in the mansion since you rarely leave the house for an errand. However, it is not the same thing as the others.
Today, we will be re-assigning some tasks to some of the bodyguards. Take note, this is not a demotion or a promotion."
"Miss Yen, am I one of the people who will be reassigned to someone else?" Collins asked through the video conference since he was currently looking after Luiz who was having a meeting with an international brand designer.
"Let me check your name first," Cayenne picked up her notebook and looked for his name. "Yes, you are listed here. If you have any concerns regarding this matter, I would be happy if you would raise it now. I know that you are all working for me, but I don't want any internal conflict with my staff.
So, if you feel that you have someone you don't get along with, just let me know so we can sort this out."
No one said anything. Since they remained silent, Cayenne started with the re-assignment of tasks.
"Those who are looking after the houses - in Peachwood Subdivision, the house in B City, the family villa as well as the properties overseas; they will not be transferred anywhere. The changes would be the following..." Cayenne started saying the names one by one as well as the following people that they will be serving.
"At the same time, to make sure that this countermeasure is effective, Stefan suggested that my vlogging staff will be staying in a shared house. My husband already bought a property and it will be your 2responsibility to take care of it."
"A shared house? Are we going to rent it? It must be expensive," Callum commented since Stefan's taste in a house wasn't poor.
"Yes, you will be renting it at a very affordable price. If you don't want to, that is also fine. The place is in Peach Wood Subdivision, just next to the house where his grandparents live."
"Miss Yen, how affordable is your kind of affordable?" Cree asked because the rented room she stayed in was very far from the mansion and it was rather expensive for the small room. Her next choice was to rent an apartment room from Cielo's Apartment building, but it was already fully occupied by university students.
Cayenne picked up the folder that contained the detail of the house they will be sharing and handed it to Cree. "Everything's there, but if I missed something, feel free to ask me questions."
"Miss Yen, can I make a request?" Collins voiced out and everyone turned their attention to him. They want to know what kind of request he has and if Cayenne would grant it. "I'm not requesting this because I don't get along with Callum, but I'd really appreciate it if you can assign me to Addie."
Addie raised her head to look at the man when she heard his request. She didn't expect she would hear her name coming from him. Wondering what the man was up to, she turned her attention to Cayenne to see if she would agree to him.
Everyone was also looking at her.
"What? Is there something wrong?" Addie asked but they only smiled at her. "I don't really know what is going on."
"Of course, you don't know," Zaire, Cayenne's videographer, spoke with a meaningful smile and everyone could tell what it was all about except for the woman involved.
"Well, I didn't know you'd be so direct about it," Cayenne expressed and changed Callum's name to Addie. "Alright, starting today, you will be guarding Addie personally."
"Hmph! If you won't guard her properly, I will fight you to death!" Cree threatened the man which caused everyone to laugh, except for Adrianne who looked really confused about what was happening, and none of them tried to clarify things with her.
"So, Luiz and I will be getting another bodyguard?" Kyle asked when he returned from the kitchen with three water bottles for the triplets.
"Yes, you will. Martin and Rey left to test the people who will be joining the security team this week. If everything's fine, there will be six of them. I'll assign one of them to you and another one to Luiz."
"I don't really need a bodyguard," Kyle said while giving the water to his nephews and niece. They were currently inside the cot that the helpers set up in the living for them. "I'm fine with one person. I mean, I will be teaching soon and I might scare the students with my intimidating bodyguard."
"Stefan won't allow that," Cayenne retorted.
Stefan didn't like it when Cayenne worries for her brothers all the time. So, he decided to hire bodyguards for them.
"Fine. I'll agree to that, but I will make my own rules once I start teaching."
"Suit yourself," Cayenne responded and continued with another agenda. "Another thing, there will be schedules for every errand that you needed to do. I have listed the schedule already and I will be posting it on the kitchen task board for everyone to see. If it is not your day off and you are not scheduled to go somewhere, I expect you to be inside the lodging house.
If you ever have to leave, don't forget to inform anyone and you must bring one of the bodyguards to come along with you. I don't like it when other people use you to threaten me, my husband, or your family. Are we all clear?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Cool. Now, regarding Justin," Cayenne said and everyone shifted their attention to the young man who was sitting next to Kyle. "He's one of the first helpers that earned my trust. Sad to say, he won't be working for me anymore."
They were all shocked. Even Kyle didn't expect this news at all. After all, it was known how Justin tried his best to protect Cayenne when she was abducted by Jean Nikko Rule, the most-hated grandfather. They were wondering what made the child leave Cayenne's side.
"Although it is a sad thing for me to lose someone that I trust, his choice was something he pondered for quite some time. Justin will leave the country to study for his future."
"Is he going to be your scholar Miss Yen?" Carla asked out of curiosity.
"No, he's not," Cayenne wanted to tell him that Justin's father had come to take his son home, but everyone here knew that Justin was abandoned, and saying that the man returned after a long time would surely create a ruckus. She didn't want the child to hear negative things about his father from other people.
If Justin wanted to tell them about the reunion with his father, he could have said it to them already, but he never did.
Only Cayenne and Stefan knew about it.
Cayenne talked about so many things to make sure that she didn't miss anything. After she was done with the helpers, she dismissed them and asked her vlogging team to stay. She still needed to further discuss with her team the house that they would be sharing if they agree to it.
Addie looked at the information in the folder once again before she spoke about what was really on her mind. It wasn't every day that they'd get to do this, so she would take this opportunity to the fullest. "Miss Yen, I'm worried about something. Is it possible for you to impart some suggestions if you have any?"
"What is it?"
"I'd really love to stay with everyone for maximum security, but I have my old parents to take care of. Since you work with a lot of charity foundations, do you know the best home for aged people?"
"I know! I know!" Callum said with his hands in the air. Realizing what he did, he could only scratch the back of his head while Cree glared at him. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."
"It's fine," Cayenne said followed by a series of faint laughter. "I remember that you work for Happy Home of Elderlies or was it something else?"
"Yes, I worked there for quite a while. It's really a good place for the elderlies," Callum answered, but didn't elaborate his words that much since it was a place that he least likely wanted to recall.
"O-okay. I'll check on it. While I'm at it, you can decide first if you want to stay in this house."
"I'm taking this suggestion," Cree stated since she could save more money with this option. She'll have a bigger room to stay at a very affordable rental price. There was a kitchen, a living room, and a garden where she could exercise or play as well. She'd be a fool to refuse such an offer.
"I'll choose this place, too." Zaire expressed with no hesitation. When he heard about the shared house earlier, he already made up his mind to grab this chance.
Renting a good place in the heart of A City wasn't cheap at all. Plus, he needed money to find the whereabouts of his father. He needed to send money to his mother as well.
Callum didn't have to give it another thought. He nodded his head in agreement as he spoke, "I don't like to freeload at my uncle's place anymore, so I'm in."
[Now that I have observed my team, did I actually pick some lost puppies?] Cayenne thought and started shaking her head at the sudden idea. That was rude to think that her team was lost puppies. However, no matter how much she tried to deny this thought, it was really a fact that the people in her vlogging team were kind of alone in this cruel world.
Addie was abandoned by her husband and recently, this man even abducted her. Although there was a couple that she recognized as parents, this couple was actually her grandparents. After her mother gave birth to her out of wedlock, she vanished without a word – only leaving a child in front of her parents' home.
Zaire came to A City to look for his father, which by the way, was still unknown if the man was dead or alive. He wanted to ask Stefan and Cayenne for help when it comes to finding the whereabouts of his father, but he felt awkward since he just started working for them not long ago.
Callum lost his grandmother three months before he applied to be part of Cayenne's team. Although his father was still alive, he rarely sent money to him and most of them were taken by his uncle since he was living with them. His mother had another family, and he guessed that his father must have another family as well. He didn't bother to ask. He was old enough to stand on his own.
The one with not-so tragic background story was Cree. She was from the Sworza family, known for being influential in J Country, and owned a lot of private schools. The only problem was her gender preference. Her family was known for their religious devotion and they believe in male-female gender only. Unfortunately, Cree grew up with her adoration for women.
When she came out of the closet, her family kicked her out.
"I have a great team," Cayenne commented that embarrassed her staff. They thought she was making fun of them, but when they looked at her, she was genuinely smiling at them. "I hope that our cooperation would last long."
"Likewise, Miss Yen," Cree responded with a wide smile. "I would never exchange your beautiful smile for someone else. You are the apple of – aw!" She glared sharply at Callum once again. "This is why I hate men! They only know brute force!"
"I'm surely not that type of man," Kyle commented before walking back to the kitchen to return the water bottles.
"My husband is not that kind of man either," Cayenne added which everyone nodded.
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Mini Theater
Zeki was playing with the alphabet blocks inside the cot with his siblings. Jahzara was drinking water with Kyle helping her while Aziel waited for his turn.
Aziel: Why are they taking so long? (Came out gibberish)
Jahzara pushed her uncle's hand away and talked in baby language that only the triplets knew. "Shall I cry again? I'm sure Mommy will stop to take care of us."
Zeki looked at his siblings in disbelief. "Don't cry. It would be fine if there are no outsiders looking at us, but there are so many people now. Just so you know, you look ugly when you cry."
Aziel: That is right. I think you should only cry with our family around. At least, even when you look ugly, they would still say you are pretty."
For the very first time, Jahzara experienced what it was like to have a broken heart, and the culprits were her brothers.
At the same time, while watching them, Kyle couldn't help but wonder. "What are you guys talking about? Zeki only makes gibberish noises when the three of you are together."
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