The bed looked like it had been made from clouds from Olympus. The silk sheets brushed against Luna's skin like a silent compliment to her good taste.
After hours of insane gaming, my brain still throbbed with echoes of sound effects and whispers of victory.
She stretched out like a lazy cat and pulled the blanket up to her chin. "Finally, peace..."
PEN
The cell phone vibrated beside the bed.
@Matthew: "Are you awake?"
Luna stared at the screen, eyes narrowed and an expression of pure disgust.
"Seriously, Matthew? At three in the morning?" he grumbled, before typing:
@CheiroDeTerraPósChuva: "Unfortunately, yes. Surprise me."
The answer came within seconds.
@Matthew: "We received a call from the president of your Malroth Foundation. They intend to launch a humanitarian aid task force focused on communities below the poverty line."
Luna's eyes widened. "Now he starts talking like an Excel spreadsheet..."
She rolled over on her side in bed, propped her chin on her hand, and typed.
@CheiroDeTerraPósChuva: "Matthew, are we flirting or trying to write a UN treaty?"
But Matthew didn't seem to get the tone.
@Matthew: "I believe helping the poor is a noble gesture. I also wanted to know if you would authorize Diamante Tycoon to be included as a sponsor of the project. It's optional, of course."
Luna sighed. "His EQ is so low that he might be a diplomacy NPC, activated by keywords like 'humanitarian aid' and 'infrastructure'..."
But, curiously, she didn't end the conversation.
In fact, instead, it continued.
The conversation slid to less formal topics.
He commented on the dubious taste of noble banquets.
She mocked the old-fashioned style of diplomatic clothing.
He said he thought the name "UltraClean LUX™" was a bit dramatic.
She threatened to sue him for defamation.
They laughed.
They criticized global CEOs.
They remembered the dance at the gala.
And, without them realizing it… 5:59 in the morning.
Luna looked at her watch with a "this can't be happening" expression.
@Matthew: "It was nice talking to you. Good night… or good morning, perhaps?"
@CheiroDeTerraPósChuva:: "If I sleep now, I'll only wake up in 2070. Bye, Sleep Ambassador."
She threw her phone onto the pillow, covered her face with her hands, and groaned softly. "Ivy… remind me never to talk to diplomats after midnight again…"
As if summoned by her name, the hologram appeared with the punctuality of a Swiss watch. "Good morning, Miss Luna. It is 6:00 AM sharp. Your meeting with Amazon Global shareholders will take place at 10:00 AM local time in Austin, Texas. The helicopter is ready on the mansion's helipad for takeoff in twenty minutes."
"...Austin?" Luna sat up, disheveled. "Seriously, Amazon isn't headquartered in New York like every sensible company?"
"The main headquarters has been located on the outskirts of Austin since the merger with X-Mart Cloud 47 years ago. The architecture is sustainable, and the servers are kept under a climate-controlled dome in the basement."
Luna looked at the ceiling.
"How did I end up in this world where owning billion-dollar stocks forces me to wake up before 7 a.m.?" he muttered, stumbling to the bathroom.
Quick shower.
Toothbrush.
A practical ponytail.
Suit from the Tycoon collection.
In the mirror, she still looked like she would argue with the wall if it dared reflect her sleepy face.
But elegant, powerful… and in control.
Always.
"Ivy, make me some jasmine tea and remind me to never again accept a Tycoon system that promised to make me rich."
"Noted. But your fortune has already been declared on seven continents, Miss Luna."
"...Was that a joke?"
"A touch of logical sarcasm."
"I like that."
Moments later, Luna walked to the mansion's private helipad, the sun still rising on the horizon.
The helicopter, matte black with gold accents, waited with its blades spinning slowly.
She walked in, put on her noise-canceling headphones, and murmured, "Come on, Amazon. Surprise me... or bore me. It doesn't matter."
The helicopter took to the skies.
— A week later —
The sun reflected off the crystal clear waters of the pool as if even it respected Luna's sacred rest.
Wearing a minimalist white bikini and sunglasses from the "Imperatrix Summer Edition" collection, she swam with feline laziness, gliding through the water like a millionaire mermaid on economy mode.
The week had been a chaos of suits, contracts, high-level diplomacy, and dinners with executives that reeked of figures and ego.
The meeting at Amazon Global had been the pinnacle of corporate gymnastics.
Literally.
Flashbacks came like a water movie in Luna's mind:
She, in an impeccable white suit, sat at the head of the oval table.
The CEO, smiling nervously.
And Luna, with her soft voice and lazy eyes, said, "You put UltraClean LUX™ in Amazon's global catalog... or I'll put my stock where it will be better cared for."
It was said gently.
But there was ice and knife behind every word.
Of course they accepted.
"Willingly."
Who in their right mind would say no to one of the company's largest shareholders?
Back in the pool, Luna dove in, wetting her hair like a goddess of luxury dissatisfied with the world.
As he emerged, he saw Ivy appear in the air, floating holographically above the water. "Miss Luna. Non-interference agreements have been sent to all companies in which you hold equity."
Luna rested her arms on the edge of the pool and smiled slightly. "Finally… peace. This means I can skip all the meetings from now on, right?"
Ivy blinked, her expression artificially hesitant. "No. The contracts guarantee that you will not make direct executive decisions, but your presence at board meetings is still mandatory to maintain your veto and majority shareholder voting rights at strategic moments."
Luna's smile died like a Wi-Fi going out in an important meeting.
She yawned in pure frustration and rested her forehead against the edge of the pool. "Isn't there any way I could... hire a body double? An emotional hologram? A corporate ghost?"
Ivy shook her holographic head. "Unfortunately, the bylaws of all millennial companies require physical or digital presence synchronized with biometric registration of consciousness."
"...They really anticipated every possible way to escape a meeting, didn't they?"
Ivy added, "Trillion-dollar companies don't usually make things easy for lazy billionaires."
Luna looked at the sky.
"Tycoon System... I just wanted to get rich without trying. Why give me an entire empire to run?" he muttered sarcastically.
Ivy thought for a moment before saying, "Perhaps because you're the only one capable of transforming laziness into a new global economic philosophy."
Luna smiled wearily. "Okay… that was good. But I still want to sue all the Amazon founders for forcing me to socialize."
She sank her body up to her chin in the water, as if she could melt into it and become one with the pool. "Let me know when it's time for the next meeting. I'll meditate on the futility of billionaire existence until then."
Smiling, Ivy said softly, "We have a conference call with Stellar Investments in thirty minutes."
Luna let out a muffled scream into the water.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, or more precisely, in the Phoenix Empire...
At the top of one of the most sophisticated buildings in the imperial capital, a roof of glass, marble and golden steel reflected the privileged view of the city.
Inside, Victoria sat on a modern sofa, a new-generation MacBook propped up on one crossed leg and a holographic tablet to her right, where messages, graphs, and employee faces appeared and disappeared in a chaotic rhythm.
She wore a white satin robe over silk lingerie, trying unsuccessfully to maintain CEO composure as her patience melted faster than ice in a volcano.
"Imperial News just declined the interview, Ms. Lancaster—I mean, Ms. Victoria," the fourth employee that day reported, his voice trembling over the video feed.
Victoria closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her left eyelid twitched slightly. "Them too?"
"Yes… and PhönixVision said they received… 'orders from above' not to get involved with newly formed companies without official imperial history."
She almost laughed.
But it was the kind of laugh that preceded a bottle of wine being opened at 10 in the morning.
She ended the call with a tap and tossed the tablet onto the coffee table with a light thud.
"Perfect scoundrels," he muttered, staring at the ceiling. "They'd rather lick the Lancaster boots than position themselves as independent media."
The notebook beeped with more email notifications and administrative tasks.
Ever since Diamond Tycoon's explosion at the auction, the business world had turned its eyes to them...but now the noose was tightening.
The influence of the Lancaster family, even without her being a part of it anymore, was still a shadow cast over every closed door.
The holographic imperial phone rang.
"What now?" he answered, tiredness dripping from his voice.
It was Jasmin, one of the first employees hired for the public relations department.
"Mrs. Victoria, I'm sorry to bother you, but... the 'Solarium Broadcast' channel has also canceled. They used the same excuse as the others. Some 'informal' block coming from the patriarchal families."
"Of course," he muttered. "How dare four young billionaires try to create a corporate empire without the stamp of approval of the musty patriarchs?"
She massaged her temples with her fingers.
"Jasmin, send a formal letter to the telecommunications chief's office. We demand a hearing. If they're going to stop us in the shadows, let's expose them in the light."
"Yes, ma'am."
When he hung up, Victoria fell back against the back of the sofa with a long sigh.
She looked around her modern penthouse.
It wasn't his old mansion, which had been tastefully returned to the Lancaster family, along with all the ghosts that came with it.
Now... this was his territory.
"If they think they're going to break me..." he whispered. "They're going to need more than closed doors."
His gaze found the rooftop balcony.
The evening sky of the Phoenix Empire seemed to burn with perpetual fire.
Perfect.
She got up, went to the balcony, opened the glass doors...
And he shouted to the sky. "I am the damn Phoenix! And I am reborn by spontaneous combustion, you scoundrels!"
Inside, the tablet beeped.
One more email.
Another refusal.
Victoria sat down again.
And this time... He started laughing.
Low.
Crazy.
Determined.
He took out his iPhone and opened the girls' group.
But this time, I didn't want hearts, or laughs, I wanted results.
She took a deep breath, bit her lip, and dialed straight to the only person who could move mountains with a yawn and a wink.
"Calling..."
Luna's holographic image appeared, reclining on a couch with a fluorescent green smoothie in one hand and the smart home remote in the other.
"Hey, drama queen. Is the burning phoenix cry over yet?"
Victoria rolled her eyes with a tired smile. "Funny. I need a favor."
"If it's about Swiss rosé wine, there's not a drop left. I drank it all yesterday."
"It's about the Lancaster family. They're using every connection they have to stop Diamond Tycoon from breathing here in the Empire. And since you have a certain... goofy prince falling for you..."
Luna arched an eyebrow. The smoothie stopped in midair. "Are you asking me to use my charm on Matthew?"
Victória gave a devilish smirk. "Exactly. Put on that little act, speak in that angelic voice of yours, put him in tomato mode, and… boom, ask him to intercede with his father. Maybe we can lift some of the political deadlock if the emperor intervenes."
Luna snorted so loudly that even the smoothie bubbled.
"This is emotional blackmail… I like it."
She gave a Machiavellian smile and sighed as if she were about to sacrifice herself for a noble cause.
"Okay. But if he freaks out and starts stuttering, it's your fault."
She hung up on Victoria, threw her smoothie on the counter, stood up, and... ran her hand through her hair like a heroine heading out on her secret mission.
A few minutes later...
On the mansion's sunny balcony, barefoot and a white silk robe fluttering, Luna answered the call to Matthew.
On the other side, Matthew appeared with a background full of papers and a secretary in the background dictating diplomatic commitments.
"Luna!" he smiled. "What a nice surprise... is everything okay?"
Luna tilted her head gently and spoke in a voice that would make even the sun linger in the sky.
"Matthew, honey… are you busy? I was thinking… maybe we could talk for a bit. I need a very small favor."
Matthew raised an eyebrow. The secretary in the background began to freeze.
"A-a f-favor?"
Luna smiled with a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Actually... you know Victoria? Her situation with the Lancaster family has gotten quite complicated. And it seems like your emperor daddy could resolve this little impasse with the stroke of a pen..."
"Do you want me to... talk to him?" Matthew laughed softly.
Luna approached the screen, her skin glowing in the sun, her eyes narrowed in casual charm.
"Just a little diplomatic chat. You're so good with words… Matt." She said his name as if it were an intimate secret, a spell.
And it worked.
Matthew coughed lightly and said in a deep voice, "I'll go talk to him right now."
Luna smiled victoriously, but kept her tone sweet. "Thank you, Matt."
He hung up, probably heading straight to the imperial wing.
Luna hung up the call and flopped back on the couch, sighing loudly. "The world runs on two engines: power... and testosterone."