[Bonus chapter]Pre-Meeting Excitement

To Lucario's surprise, Billy is able to set up a meeting with the Meyling Food Court's correspondent just the day after Lily agreed to help her father. There is a lot to prepare in regards to the meeting topics since Lucario knows that the correspondent might not be cooperative at first.

"Has Lily made it to school safely?" Lucario asks Angelo after he enters his boss's office.

"Ms. Lily has safely entered the school. Ethan was waiting for her by the school gates, so there is nothing to worry about, Father Lucario." A bit nervous, Angelo watches a different side of his boss crack his harsh surface as a self-reassuring smile crosses his face. "Is there anything that you want me to do aside from the usual tasks?"

Lucario waves his hand to dismiss Angelo but stops in his tracks. "Tell Ryan to come to my office. It's regarding what information Lily needs to know before the meeting this evening."

"Yes, Father Lucario." As quietly as he entered, Angelo slips out of the office.

A few minutes later, Ryan knocks on the door and lets himself in the office. "You called for me, Father Lucario."

Throwing a notepad across the desk, Lucario turns to face Ryan. "I have to start creating meeting topics to discuss with the correspondent. However, since Lily will be there, I don't know what I should and should not say in front of her."

"If you are asking for my advice, I would recommend not censoring the conversation because then Ms. Lily will become confused and the correspondent will find the discussion tiresome since we can't control the way he will word his answers."

"The topic regarding the Johnson's will come up," Lucario reminds, crossing his arms as he gets relaxed in his chair. "The Johnson's child is in the same class as Lily. What if she becomes aware of his family's involvement and confronts the kid?"

Ryan takes a seat in front of Lucario's desk and opens the notepad. "Then, as the adults in the room and the people she looks up to for answers, we should explain that the Johnson's are going to be talked about before the meeting starts and the reason why. She has shown a desire to learn how to run the family which means that we should take it upon ourselves as her mentors to be as honest as possible with her. Sugar coating things will only complicate her learning process, and she might begin to doubt the things we teach her due to hiding certain information from her."

Lucario rubs his chin and leans back, looking up at the ceiling. He wonders how fast Lily should be introduced to the family business. Since she is only seven, he knows that there are only certain things that he can show her. On the other hand, he doesn't want his daughter to lose trust in him which means that he has to be upfront and honest with her.

"Ryan, when Lily and Ethan come back from school, have them come to my office so that I can explain everything to Lily. Ethan is smart but can also think on a child's level, so he can help interpret things that I say to Lily if she gets confused."

"Yes, Father Lucario," Ryan responds, lowering his head. Peeking up from between his brows, Ryan finds his boss in a mentally distraught mess as he scratches the back of his head. "I'm sure Ms. Lily will understand the situation once you explain it to her, so try not to worry too much."

Letting out a long sigh, Lucario gestures for Ryan to lift his head. "I get it. I get it. Let's just start focusing on what I have to discuss with the correspondent this evening."

—

Later that afternoon…

"Are you excited for your first official meeting, Ms. Lily?" Clyde asks as he turns down the road to go to the Buenavista Estate.

Kicking her feet, Lily widely smiles and nods her head excitedly. "I'm really excited because I'm helping Daddy! I'm gonna do my best to make Daddy look good and learn a lot at the meeting."

Ethan reaches over and sets his hand on Lily's hand, calming her down. "You'll make sure to tell me all about it tomorrow at school, right?"

Hesitant about Lily telling Ethan at school, Clyde and Angelo glance over at each other. Since Jeremy is in their class, he might overhear Lily talking about it and tell his parents which could complicate the plan.

"Ms. Lily," Angelo interrupts before Lily can answer, "How about you tell Ethan after school instead? That way class doesn't disrupt your conversation."

Getting the hint, Ethan joins in. "That's right! We can talk about it while on the way to your house tomorrow. Since it is also a Friday tomorrow, I will be staying over, so we can talk as long as we want."

"Okay! We can have a sleepover in my room and talk about what happened!"

"No!" Angelo accidentally shouts before slapping a hand over his mouth.

"No? Ethan can't sleep over in my room?" Lily questions, confused on why Angelo shouted.

"Ah… well…." Unable to find words to say for the first time, Angelo becomes flustered and turns red in embarrassment, leading Clyde to chuckle to himself.

"You will have to ask Father Lucario if Ethan can sleep over in your room tomorrow night, Ms. Lily," Clyde explains, saving Angelo.

"But we are just going to talk and then go to sleep… We can't do that?"

Lily's innocence fills the car, causing the three guys to sulk in their guiltiness as they can't bear to explain the reasoning to such an angel.

After a couple of awkward minutes, they arrive at the estate, relieving them of the tense atmosphere.

"Ms. Lily, Ethan, welcome home," Ryan greets from the doorway.

"Ryan!" Lily yells as she jumps out of the car and runs over to him. Lifting her arms up, Lily giggles as Ryan smiles to himself then picks Lily up after removing her backpack. "I'm home, Ryan!"

Following closely behind, Ethan stops short of Ryan. "Pardon my intrusion," he says before walking inside the house.

"You know that you are qualified to say 'I'm home' as well, Ethan," Ryan comments, grabbing the boy's blazer collar. "You're a member of the organization now, so the Buenavista Estate also acts as your second home. Not to mention that you technically live here on the weekends."

Glancing up at the man who is still holding on to his collar, Ethan shakes Ryan off of him then looks back down. "I'm still not used to it yet. Maybe in the far future I'll say it. Anyways, why did you stop me from walking inside?"

"You and Ms. Lily are needed in Mr. Lucario's office, so joint practice is canceled today," Ryan announces, readjusting Lily in his arms. "You will have your specialized training after you're finished talking with Mr. Lucario, though."

Clicking his tongue, Ethan walked inside the house. "I got it. I got it. Let's hurry up and go already."

"This cocky child," Ryan mutters under his breath as he trails behind Ethan.