Family Holiday (III)

Alex also studied the faces of Brian and Simon, the PA.

Both seemed completely oblivious to Karen's dopey looking face each time she took a peek at his father.

Which was most likely why Karen kept on doing it, probably thinking that no one noticed.

Until she happened to look at him.

Alex gave a smirk when he saw her face go noticeably paler, a sure sign that she realised that he knew her shameful secret.

Though he had to admit, she recovered pretty quickly by taking a few deep breaths and managed to keep a steady eye on him.

Alex shrugged, his evaluation of her rising a bit.

Just a bit.

A tiny bit.

His look of disdain and displeasure intensified when he glared at his father, though.

Why was his father continuing his talk with Brian like nothing was out of the ordinary? No wonder Mum had a lot of work, getting rid of the fleas around his father.

Alex snorted to himself.

There was no way he was going to subject his future wife to this ridiculous task. He, himself, would swat those pesky flies away.

Alex's respect for his mother rose even more whenever he thought of how she would deftly get rid of those who seemed to stick to his father like blood-sucking parasites.

He used to think that his mother was sometimes taking it too much to heart as his father was obviously deeply in love with his mother – but, having been following his father just for one morning, he was amazed that she was so patient.

Just one morning was enough to make him feel so agitated that he wanted nothing more than the squash all those people flat.

✿ Author posts on WN and neovel ✿

Meanwhile, the object of admiration and respect at that moment was happily having a wonderful Mother-Daughters Spa Day.

Royals Spa was one of the few spas that had specialised spa treatments for children as young as 4 years old, and the luxurious setting was geared towards treating its clients like royalty.

When Sayuri entered the luxury spa building, her two daughters were walking slightly behind her, with Ariel holding Aurora's hand. Reaching the registration counter, Sayuri gave a warm smile as the receptionist welcomed her to the spa.

Taking off her sunglasses, Sayuri pointed at the list that was in front of her and stated, "I'll be taking the Family Luxury Spa Package."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said the amicable lady as she glanced at the two young girls behind Sayuri, "But this package requires parental consent for children below 18 years old."

Sayuri's smile became a little bit wider as she replied, "That's not a problem."

"Ah," the lady nodded, "Will your mother be coming later to sign?"

Sayuri leaned over a bit and said, "No, my dear. I am the mother that will be signing for my children."

The lady was gobsmacked for a second, as she looked at Sayuri that looked like she was only in her late teens or early twenties at the most and then at the two children where one looked like she was six? Seven?

She got out of her daze when her colleague stepped up and said, "I'm sorry, Ma'am. It's just that you looked too young to have children that age."

"Yes, yes, my apologies," stammered the first receptionist as she then handed Sayuri a list of available treatments, "You can either choose the standard set, or customize it according to your needs."

Sayuri reached down and picked up Ariel, then pointed at the list as she also looked at Aurora, "Facials, massage, manicure, pedicure?"

Aurora nodded while Ariel just blinked without comprehension.

She tilted her head to look at her mother, who then explained without being asked, "Facials is when they will gently clean your face by using special wash and rhythmic facial massage before putting on a nice moisturiser."

"It will then be followed by a massage where they rub you in all the right places. We'll be having a full body massage which means scalp, neck, shoulder, back and feet. It will be nice and relaxing."

"After that, it'll be pampering of doing our hair and nails. Manicure means doing the nails and pedicure means doing the toenails."

Ariel had this big 'O' with her mouth and her eyes were as big as a ping-poing ball.

"This will be your first spa session, and it won't be your last," Sayuri told Ariel, "We women need a special day to be pampered."

Ariel looked puzzled then asked, "But doesn't Daddy already pamper us?"

Sayuri smiled and laughed a bit, "Well, yes, but this is a different sort of pampering. You don't need to go to the spa often when you're this young, but as you grow older, you may wish to. For now, it'll just be for special occasions for us to have our mother-daughter day out."

Ariel nodded, "Okay!"

Ariel didn't really care what it was, as long as she was with her mother and sister.

"But why couldn't Daddy and Brother Alex be here?"

The two receptionist, upon hearing this, almost fell to the floor. There was another kid? This was a mother of three?

Just how young was she to have had three children?!

And truth be told, she didn't look like she needed a spa for any sort of treatment. Her skin still looked so smooth, her hair didn't appear dull or had any split ends, and her figure?

For a women who had three children, it still looked very good.

At the question, Aurora laughed, "Can you imagine Alex here? Daddy, maaaayy-be, but not Alex for sure."

"Why?" Ariel continued to ask.

Sayuri put Ariel down, who then obediently took Aurora's hand.

"Let's do the spa first, then you'll understand why," was all Aurora would say.

"Oh, okay," replied the innocent Ariel.

Once Sayuri filled in the forms and did the initial payment, the first receptionist rang the bell. A kind-looking young woman appeared.

"The Royal Treatment," said the first receptionist, "Room 202."

The young woman nodded and faced Sayuri, smiling at her and then to Ariel and Aurora, "Welcome. My name is Melinda and I will be your Spa Lady for today. This way, please."

"Mummy, what's a Spa Lady?" asked Ariel.

"She's someone who is responsible to make sure we have a good time," Sayuri answered simply.

"Oh," Ariel replied, nodding, "Okay."

Aurora smiled and swung her hand that was holding Ariel and said, "Just follow along and enjoy the experience."

"Have you been here before, Sister Rory?" Ariel asked, puzzled. Wasn't this their first time at this place?

"Well, not here, here. This is the first time we're in Country U," Aurora replied, "But this is not my first time in a spa. Mummy has brought me to one before."

"It's a holiday," Sayuri told them, "So we can have some fun and relaxation."

At this, Ariel who had appeared contented and happy then had a frown. She looked at her mother aggrievedly then asked with a slight pout, "So why is Daddy and Brother Alex working? Shouldn't they have fun, too?"

Sayuri laughed at that and rubbed Ariel's head, replying, "Oh, they're having fun in their own little way."

Yes, she knew that Kyle would certainly be having some fun and this was his way of getting Alex into it as well. Though whether or not Alex would appreciate it at this point was another matter entirely.

One of Kyle's perverted little joy was to create havoc in a company. It wasn't so much the fact that he enjoyed seeing how certain restructuring plans would revitalise a company - that was only a small part of it.

What made it fun was the fact that he liked to shock people with his knowledge of anyone he met and what they did. Plus, pointing out the weaknesses in a flash and firing people he had already identified and seeing their faces were added bonuses.

He had enjoyed it immensely when younger because people had always underestimated him and him waving his power about was a huge power trip.

Face slapping at its finest.

In fact, it was Sayuri's idea for Kyle to do the auditing and have Alex follow him. After all, Alex had only seen his father work as Ice, but not his other persona – and it was time for Alex to also have a look at this side.

It wasn't to say that she wanted to groom Alex to be the next Smith Heir but rather, have it as an option. Whether he took the path or not, would be entirely up to whether Alex had the capabilities – and whether he wanted to.

Unlike other companies, to inherit the mantle of the Smith Industries was not based on father-to-son. Anyone from the Smith Family can be the Smith Heir.

It actually lay upon two things.

First, one would need to know the workings of the company from a young age and if he showed aptitude, they would then be subjected to the Smith Test. If he passed it, then he would be named the Heir.

Sounds simple, right?

Hardly.

If it was so simple, why weren't there so many Smith Heirs lining up?