Chapter 24: Contract Terminated

Adrian's brow creased slightly. He reached out and pulled Toby, who'd hovered three steps back, closer. "Tell me the rest first."

Toby swallowed hard. "Mom's fireworks studio has to move. Could you help her find a new place for it?"

Adrian's eyebrow lifted. "Her studio's moving?"

Toby nodded, emphatic.

Something flickered in Adrian's eyes enough that Toby fell quiet, watching him carefully.

Then, with visible reluctance, Toby dug into his pocket and produced his entire fortune: one, two, three pieces of candy.

He set them on the desk in front of Adrian.

"That's everything I've got," he said solemnly.

His entire net worth, handed over without hesitation, if it meant helping his mother.

Something tugged at the corner of Adrian's mouth, whether he meant it to or not.

Then, almost as quickly, his expression shuttered, gaze going distant. *Did Lily send him to ask this on purpose?*

He reached out and ruffled Toby's hair. "Did your mother tell you to ask me this?"

Toby shook his head.

The boy sighed, an expression somewhere between helpless and endearing on his small face.

He did his best to explain. "I was staying with Great-Grandma, and Mom was on the phone with Aunt Chloe. I heard Aunt Chloe say it's really hard to find a new place everything's either too expensive or too far away. I figured you're amazing, Uncle. I bet you could fix it."

Adrian's fingers tapped once against his knee, thoughtful.

So that's the shape of it.

Direct help clearly wasn't the way to go. Lily might come across gentle, but underneath that softness sat a spine of pure stubbornness she'd never accept a handout, not from him.

Toby patted Adrian's knee with his small hand. "Uncle? Why aren't you saying anything?"

A faint, reluctant amusement crossed Adrian's face.

"I'll take care of it," he said. "But this stays between us."

Toby had no idea why it needed to be a secret.

As long as it helped his mother, though, he'd have agreed to anything.

He nodded rapidly, hair bouncing with the motion, like a hatchling pecking at feed.

Adrian's eyes narrowed slightly.

An idea was already taking shape.

The next morning, Lily had breakfast with Eleanor and spent the rest of it sorting through old client files.

Chloe called. "Hey! You free right now? I found a place in the creative district the rent's shockingly cheap. The agent mentioned something about the space being 'unlucky.' Apparently no company that's leased it has lasted a full year. People say the feng shui's terrible, so nobody wants to touch it."

Lily blinked, then let a slow smile spread across her face.

Bad luck, huh.

Nothing about that space could possibly outdo the bad luck she'd already lived through this year.

"Set up a viewing," she said without hesitation. "I'll go this afternoon."

That afternoon, Lily met with the agent. Both sides seemed equally nervous the other might walk away the lease was signed within half an hour. One-year term.

The agent handed over the keys and left.

Lily and Chloe wandered the new office, circling it twice.

"Look at this," Chloe said, delighted. "South-facing, floor-to-ceiling windows, tons of natural light. I bet the feng shui's actually incredible the last companies just couldn't hold onto their own luck here. We're a fireworks studio, we run hot, we've got the energy to make this place work for us."

Lily smiled and nodded.

Chloe spun around again, practically glowing. "And the build-out's already solid. We barely need to touch anything. I'll line up movers tomorrow and start mapping out the floor plan tonight."

Lily looked at her, a flicker of guilt crossing her face. "I posted the job listing but nobody's applied yet. And with everything going on with Grandma, I'm stretched thin. I hate leaving so much of this to you."

Chloe waved it off, laughing. "This is nothing. I get to help build this place up from scratch alongside you. I'll basically be a founding employee. Honestly, this feels like winning the lottery."

Back at the hospital, Lily found Nathan already there, chatting with Eleanor.

Eleanor had his hand clasped in hers. "I'm an old woman, I don't want to meddle in your business. All I want is to see the two of you happy together."

"They say young couples grow old side by side. You and Lily have known each other since you were children, you've got a foundation most people would kill for. Don't waste it."

"A marriage stays strong because each of you keeps the other one in mind. You want me happy, I want you laughing. Isn't that how it should work?"

Nathan nodded. "You're right, Grandma. Even if nobody else sees how I feel about Lily, you do. You remember how many times I got down on my knees just to convince you to let me marry her."

Eleanor sighed, thinking back.

When Lily brought Toby home, it was because she'd married Jonathan Ford in the first place to help fund Nathan's business.

She'd always privately worried men could be petty about that kind of history that someday, in a bad moment, Nathan might throw it back at Lily like a weapon. That worry alone had almost made her push against the marriage entirely.

But he'd knelt. Repeatedly. And Eleanor had raised this boy with her own two hands she liked to think she knew his character better than anyone. He wasn't the type to flip-flop, and he'd genuinely doted on Lily since they were children.

That was what had finally won her over.

Still she'd noticed something off in Lily these past couple of days.

Which was exactly why she felt the need to give Nathan a gentle warning, just in case.

His answer, though, had been flawless. Eleanor relaxed. "You've been married two years now. Time to think about a baby."

Nathan nodded, not a trace of reluctance in his voice. "Absolutely. Let's make that a priority I'd love for you to hold your great-grandchild soon."

Eleanor laughed, thoroughly charmed.

Lily pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Nathan rose immediately. "I'll stay with Grandma tonight. Go home and rest you've been here for days straight, and you're starting to look worn down."

"Okay," Lily said.

He crossed to her, tone gentle. "The car's already at the house. You can drive it here tomorrow."

She hummed in acknowledgment.

Eleanor scolded lightly, "I've told you a hundred times, I'm perfectly fine. Stop moping. Nathan bought you a car and you still look like someone stole your sunshine."

Nathan slid a hand onto Lily's shoulder, turning to Eleanor with an easy smile. "Grandma, you know you'll always come first with her. I'm used to playing second fiddle."

Lily shrugged the hand off and stepped away from him.

"I'll head out, then," she said softly. "Take good care of her tonight."

She left the hospital quickly.

She didn't go home, though.

Instead, she met with a former studio client a wedding planning company owner named Mr. Clarke.

She waited half an hour before he showed up.

"So sorry," he said, breathless. "It's wedding season back-to-back bookings lately."

Lily nodded, gracious. "That's a good problem to have. Word clearly travels fast when the service is that good."

He chuckled, pleased.

She ordered food for the table.

While they waited, she said, gently, "I noticed our contract's up in a week, and you're not planning to renew with Starfall. Would you mind telling me why?"

Clarke sighed. "Honestly, Mrs. Pierce, the reason we originally chose Starfall was the Pierce Group backing. Felt like a safer bet."

"But now that you're independent, running your own profit and loss from a business standpoint, I think we need to look at other partners."

"The affiliation was always just for tax purposes," Lily explained. "We handled every project independently even then, and our safety standards haven't changed one bit. Nothing's actually different now."

Clarke looked uncomfortable. "To be honest, Pierce Group just launched their own electronic fireworks studio. Cheaper, greener, safer. I think that's where the industry's heading."

Lily's brow creased, sorrow flickering across her expression. "Electronic displays don't carry the same atmosphere, though or the same symbolic weight. Most couples wouldn't blink at a difference of a hundred dollars for something with real meaning behind it."

"We've already committed," Clarke said. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Pierce."

She let out a quiet breath and offered a gracious nod in return.

"Mom!"

Toby came barreling down the aisle. "Mom! Uncle brought me here to eat are you here to eat too?”