Dog

Jasmine was in front of her Laptop again, staring into the nervous face of Rayfus Peyton, a second time.

"Ms. Reign," he offered her a slight bow. She nodded her acceptance. Laura wasn't even surprised when he didn't spare a glance in her direction. "For a start..."

Laura put her hand up. "Can I say something, Peyton?" He pursed his lips in disapproval, but nodded still. Laura turned to Jasmine and pointed accusingly, "what did you do to Tyler?!"

Jasmine quirked up a brow. "Who the fuck is that? Your Dog?"

"Tyler isn't a Dog!"

"That's what a fellow Dog would say." She muttered to herself, loud enough for them to hear her through their Bluetooth.

Laura sprang up in rage, saying as she kicked back her chair, "what did you just call me? What did you call me, Madam Reign?!"

"That's exactly how a Dog would bark." Jasmine said, causing Rayfus to stiffen a smile as he straightened to control the raging girl. 

He hated that she was always disrupting any conversation, but it seemed uncontrollable.

When she did bounce back on her chair, she was fuming from her ears.

Jasmine couldn't care less.

"I think the only thing really holding this Case," Rayfus started, "is Dylan Smith." Laura eyed him intensely.

"How is he…"

"Maybe if you keep quiet and let me explain, you might get a sense or two." He cut her off, sharply. She swallowed, settling on her chair. Rayfus turned to Jasmine again. "Since there is no other Breach found in the contract, the only thing we have to do is find out if Mr. Smith is Okay with the decision you have made concerning his Employee, since the two of you are the major decision takers."

Laura could have jumped for Joy, but she was too worried about her Lawyer to.

Where was he?

-----

At the place Ian had just evacuated.

Tyler was walking around the heavily lit room in awe, the initial panic slipped out of his nerves. 

The place was awesome. With the lot of antiques he was seeing there, it must be owned by a millionaire.

The fire-place glowed brightly with the embers of the fire dying down as the Weather turned less chilly, as if they had minds of their own.

He went to sit in front of it and couldn't help thinking now.

Where were people supposed to watch him?

Or wasn't this a kidnap?

He had not seen a single soul since he got here, and the time he made an attempt to open the door, it pulled without hesitation. 

Only, he couldn't find his way to down the stairs.

The house was complicated.

In the short amount of time he had gone to the Kitchen to get food, there was no locating it.

He sighed as he looked around again.

What would Laura be doing?

-----

"Voice Mail." Laura said after trying him for a number of times. She got the same result every time.

Jasmine glanced at her clock. "Then we're done here. Rayfus, get your Dog a leash, will you?"

"Of course, Ma'am." He smiled, then paused. "But, I don't have a Dog… Oh!" His eyes went to Laura.

Jasmine had someone bring her coffee before she went down the stairs. 

Hazel got up the moment she saw her approach. 

"Jasmine!"

She set her mug on the table. "Mother."

Hazel pursed her lips as she said, "you didn't go to Work?"

"No, I was occupied."

"At… Home? What are you doing?"

Jasmine slumped on the couch, eyeing her with a frown. "What are you? My personal Investigator?"

"As your Mother," Hazel said, sitting by her, "I am qualified to be as much as I can in your Life."

"That's so eww. And you're seriously mistaken." She shook her head, moving to create space.

She just found sharing body warmth, disgusting.

Hazel stared at her for a long time. "Laura's Lawyer is missing." Jasmine sipped her Coffee noisily as Hazel paused. "Do you know anything about it?"

A notification popped up in her Laptop.

'I'll be taking the Leave now, Ma'am. Already informed Jan.' Gemma.

But, hadn't she said after the Season?

Jasmine typed quickly. 

'As far as everything is in order, you're good to go. And how is Briana coming up with all the data?' Jasmine.

'She's lagging behind a bit. There's still a ton of those things on her Laptop.'

She gave Briana the work to handle 3 weeks back. 

"Jasmine."

Why was she still on it?

Briana wanted trouble, it seemed.

For her incompetence.

"Jasmine, do you know anything about that Tyler of a guy?"

'Before you pack up, inform her I want those files in a Week. That, or she's getting her Query.'

Gemma's brows shot up.

She had only wanted to be honest. Though she knew trouble for Briana was unavoidable, she didn't think it would be so bad.

She cursed herself internally before she typed, 'I'll keep her posted.'

It was no big deal.

She was going to help…

'She does it alone.' Jasmine.

Her shoulders fell.

"Jasmine!" 

She looked up languidly at a pissed Mother. "What?"

"What. Jasmine, you're asking me 'what'." She said. Snatching the Top from Jasmine's Lap, she threw it on another couch, trying to reason with her Daughter. "I've been here for the past half hour, waiting patiently for you to finish up the mess you got yourself into out of your selfishness, you come down and all you have for me is 'what'! Jasmine, what is wrong with you? I'm here, asking you questions, and all you do is type-away, ignoring me completely. Do you even have an inkling of respect for me?"

Jasmine had been listening to lots of rubbish talk, this was nothing. She just continued to look at her Mother, stuffing her fingers in her ears to muffle the noise.

Hazel slapped them away when she noticed. "Are you even listening to me?" She asked, causing Jasmine to sigh.

"You think I'll tell you if I am not, so you are going to continue yelling my ear-drums out? No, you're welcome."

"Oh, my God," she breathed, letting her face fall in her palms, "what happened to you? Or have you been like this and it's just getting obvious now?" She questioned in fatigue, her tone muffled.

Jasmine shrugged. "Who will I ask if you ask me?"

"That's not the point!" Her face shot up. "You're just metamorphosing into something so crude, that I don't know you anymore. Do you ever think how your actions affect others?"

"Why should I? Does this look like the expression of someone who cares?" She faced Hazel.

Her features were all laid back. 

Bored. 

Stoic.

Screaming wasn't a way to stop someone who looked like that; like she didn't care nothing about the World even if it was sinking.

Yelling her lungs out wouldn't even move Mountains, how then could it move an ice Mountain?

Hazel stooped to cup her face gently. "No," Jasmine drew back, "you're different from 'my own Daughter'."