As the weeks went on, Conor found himself drawn once more to the community center. Since Cara had left on her trip, he felt the urge to visit more often. When he arrived, several of the kids rushed out to greet him.
Little Hannah piped up, "Did you bring us anything, Mr. Conor?"
Conor couldn't help but chuckle, "Not this time, but perhaps you will let me play with you some. How does that sound?"
Hannah giggled and grabbed his hand, "You should see my drawing!" She led him over to a wall where she and another girl, Maggie had been drawing with the chalk he had brought last time. As Conor looked over the wall, he saw large wings drawn with blue chalk. Several figures stood below, each in a different color.
"And who are all these people?" Conor asked, pointing to the figures.
Hannah proudly proclaimed, "This one is Mr. Johnathan. These two are Miss. Cara and Mr. Peter... I miss them. And this one is you." She indicated a figure directly under the wings.
Conor looked closer and asked, "Who is next to me?"
"The lady with the green eyes."
"The... who? What lady with green eyes?" Conor asked bewildered.
"Eibhlin," little Hannah insisted.
"Eibhlin? Have you met this Eibhlin lady before? Does she come here?"
"No, but I see her in my dreams. She is always by your side."
Conor studied the figure on the wall, and notices Hannah had changed the chalk for the eyes to green. Behind him, Conor began hearing voices. He spun to see two men looking at the warehouse beside the community center. Conor wondered over, asking, "Can I help you gentlemen with something?"
One Conor recognized as Ezra Harden. The other Conor assumed might be an acquisition agent of some kind. "No, but you can leave us alone." Mr. Harden stated firmly.
The agent looked taken aback but stuck out his hand with a card in it, "I am Tobias Golan. I am the commercial acquisition agent for Jinstain Real Estate Group. Mr. Harden here is considering buying some of these old factory buildings."
Conor frowned, but shook Mr. Golan's hand. "You likely have worked with Anna Brooks then, right?"
"Anna? Of course. It was quite the loss when she left our office. I hear she works for a new firm, Vokrizin?"
"Yes, she does," Conor paused to consider. "Mr. Harden, you are planning to buy this unit?"
Mr. Harden glared at Conor, "I don't see how it's any of your business, but yes. I do intend to buy up this whole area. Now leave us be, I have a very tight schedule."
Conor held up his hands and backed away, "I just thought it would be helpful to know that most of the buildings in this area are likely not for sale."
As Conor returned to where the kids were playing, Johnathan came over, "What are they up to?"
"They claim Harden Group is looking to buy up the factories in the area. I have seen that gentleman before."
"Conor, if they plan to start up factory work here again, they will likely try to take the community center as well. As it stands, the building is mortgaged with Jinstain bank. If they chose to sell our debt, there is not much I could do to stop them," Johnathan's eyes were wide with worry.
Conor considered. He was already stretched thin with his attempt to buy out Jackson's and while he wanted to help the community center, he was not sure what the best plan would be.
'Celia?' he thought
'Talk to Nuri. If the kids are willing to relocate, perhaps there is a trade possible."
'Trade?'
'In time, child, in time. For now, speak to Nuri and see what he can do to slow things down around here, you need time more than anything.'
Conor looked up at Johnathan and said, "I need time. Perhaps you can help stall any negotiations on these buildings and I will see if Mr. Nuri might be able to slow them down with legal codes and zoning permits."
"I will certainly see what I can do. I still have some friends in high places."
"Johnathan, it might be best to prepare the kids to find a new location, but if I can do anything, hopefully by the end of the new year I can get something sorted."
"I understand. Be safe, Conor." Johnathan left Conor then to tend to the kids. Conor thought about his options before returning to Vokrizin.
The next day, Anna come to find him in his office, a huge grin on her face. "I got it!"
"It?"
"Your new home silly! I got the keys today! Because it is vacant, the owners are thrilled to get a contract from Dreadnaught and agreed to let you move in today!"
"Really?! That was fast."
"It will still be another week before the official papers can be signed to list it under your name, but you are free to move in!"
"Fantastic! Shall we go take a look again?" Conor asked, eyes aglow.
"Sure!"
A few minutes later Conor and Anna walked into the new flat, and Conor stared around at the open spaces. He rubbed his neck, "Well.... I guess I am going to have to go shopping... they didn't leave any furniture..."
"Ah, yes... good thing you work at a furniture store..."
"Well, apparently I got laid off, remember?"
"Oh, right... sorry. When do you take over ownership then?" Anna asked.
"Abby told me it would be complete by Monday. I suppose a few more nights in the office are not going to hurt anything."
"Aww, I guess I will have to wait till I get back to see this place furnished then," Anna said, a tinge of regret in her voice.
"Well, maybe you can help me at least pick out furniture?"
Today was not a shift Conor normally worked at Jackson's, so he was curious about how the management team operated. It wouldn't be a bad idea to visit as a customer and see what the overall experience was like. More than likely, some of the staff would recognize him but he didn't think many had been told about his plans to take over the store.
When they arrived, Conor walked in, hand in hand with Anna. She clung to his arm, her grip tight. "Don't worry, you are only going away for a month, right?" Conor whispered.
"Doesn't mean I want to let go."
From the back, Conor noticed his least favorite manager making his way over. Mr. Henly seemed to have a deep desire to see Conor gone, and now he was grinning from ear to ear as if he had won a lottery.
"Mr. Brantley, what brings your disgraced self in here today?"
"Hello, Mr. Henly. I am actually here to buy some furniture for my new place."
"Ha, as if you can afford our stock. You know how much these pieces cost. Now that you are finally no longer my problem, go ahead and take your business elsewhere. And Miss, you would do well to leave this loser. I don't know what he told you to catch your attention, but he cannot even hold down a job, so I doubt he can support you," Mr. Henly sneered.
"I would watch your tone, Henly, if you want to keep your job. Miss. Brooks here is the Vice President of Real Estate Acquisition at Vokrizin and has direct access to the CEO. You may not have heard, but as of Monday, Mr. Matthews will have sold 50% ownership to Vokrizen," Conor winked at Anna before turning his glare back to Mr. Henly
"Ha, as if the old geezer would ever sell to a company like Vokrizin."
Anna stepped forward with a glare of her own, "And what is that supposed to mean? A Company like Vokrizin?"
"Vokrizin is nothing but a paper company. A fancy name, but in truth is nothing but a shell. The way I hear it, the Benedict Corporation is about to buy out everything they have anyway, so as long as I stay on good terms with the Benedict representatives, there is nothing some executive from a fake company can do to me."
"That's an interesting rumor. It begs the question if Vokrizin is really fake if they have drawn the attention of the Benedict family already," Conor pondered. "Though it may have more to do with the fact Vokrizin has already been approached by Dragon Corporation, so the Benedicts are just scared they might miss out on something."
Mr. Henly frowned at that but said, "This is all irrelevant. Get out of this store. I am not selling you anything on credit, as you likely will never pay it back. Good luck finding a job, because you will not be getting a good reference from here."
"If that is how you want to be, I will let Mr. Matthews know he needs to find a new manager by Monday." Conor pulled out his phone and sent a quick text, before turning to head out with Anna. A light scent of apple cinnamon caught his attention and he turned to see a figure wearing a scarf around her face and a knit cap pulled low. However, there was no mistaking those green eyes. "Kerrigan?"
"Hello, Brantley."
"What brings you back to Jinstain?" Conor asked.
"Oh, I am thinking I might have some more serious business here in the near future. I need to scope things out. I may even try to find a place to live nearby."
"You know trouble seems to follow you, however, if it's real estate you might be looking at" Conor squeezed Anna's hand before saying, "You should really come by the office sometime in person. Anna here is a good one for you to get to know as Volkrizin's real estate expert."
"No wonder you decided to work there," smirked Kerrigan as she sized up Anna.
"Well, I guess after the rude greeting we received, we must be off. Oh, and word of advice, this place will be under new management by Monday, so you will not need to deal with that bore of a man after that."
"Hey now! Don't be slandering me with false claims!" shouted Mr. Henly as he made his way over to Kerrigan. "Miss, ignore this ex-employee. He is just mad about his termination. How can I help you?"
Conor just smirked as he led Anna back outside.
"I am sorry we didn't get to pick anything out today," Anna said, hanging her head.
"Never mind that, I still heard some interesting rumors, and we got to run into Kerrigan. You really should make sure that there is a team ready to help her. I think we are about to do some serious business with her," Conor explained.
"Kerrigan? That woman? Who is she?"
"Anna, that is none other than Kerrigan Lokir, of Dragon Corporation."
"Lokir?! How are you on first-name basis with the Dragoness herself, the freaking superpower of the business world?" explained Anna as soon as they were in the car, eyes going wide.
"Our paths have crossed a few times. She has always felt familiar to me. I am sure she had to have been around the temple when my mother was high priestess," Conor explained.
Celia rumbled a deep chuckle into his mind at that but chose not to say anything.
"Is she friend or foe?" Anna asked wearily.
"Not jealous, are you?" Conor chuckled before continuing, "I am honestly not sure yet. However, there is no reason for us to not seize the opportunity to make money if she and the Benedicts are willing to spend money. When we get back, please contact your team. I would like our agents to be the first ones, if not the only ones, the Dragon Corporation even considers using. If we can also get the Benedict contracts, all the better. In our executive offices, I would like a map created, and have the agents start logging every purchase either group makes, even if they don't use us. Let's see just what they are planning."
"We can do that. Agents talk all the time. I will make sure before I leave that all my agents know to focus on those two groups and win their business."
"Good deal. Let's get back and check in with Mr. Nuri and see how everything else is shaping up before you have to get out of here," Conor said as they turned toward Vokrizin.