Amanah stewed all the way home. How dare Romeo turn her down! And her sister, the arrogance of Serenah, pissed her off even more. She saw Romeo first! He was her prey to do with as she liked. Angrily, she sped along the highway until she turned off onto the mountain road leading to High Knob forest.
Her raging anger slowly gave way to the icy, cold, calculating, scheming thoughts of retribution against her twin and the human male who dared to rebuff her. By the time she parked in the garage, Amanah had decided on a plan to increase her sibling's suffering.
She went to her father's office, knocking once before entering. "Father, Serenah caused trouble for me today at the internship," she whined.
She covered her smirk with her hand when her father rose from his desk with a growl. His eyes were blazing with anger at her sister. It was so easy to goad him into blaming her twin.
"What the hell did she do now?"
"She made me look bad in front of the Lancasters," Amanah replied with a pout. "They had us working in different departments because of her."
"What?" Her father's eyes narrowed, his fury a palpable presence in the room.
That's it, she thought. She only needed a little more to push him to where she needed him to be.
"And I don't know what she told them, but Romeo told me that I disgust him and that he doesn't want me at the dinner. He said that Serenah was more beautiful than me and he preferred her."
The lies easily rolled off her tongue. The truth didn't matter to her father. She had lied for so long that she didn't consider it wrong. It was the best way to achieve her goals and screw over her twin. This was why she always triumphed over Serenah. Her sister was too honest and righteous for her own good. Serenah still hadn't learned that such people would never last in the real world where ruthlessness reigned supreme.
Her father's enraged snarl was music to her ears. Serenah was in for a rough time when she came home. Amanah was thrilled. She enjoyed her twin's suffering at the hands of their father. Perhaps Father would allow her the honor of punishing her twin again. She had enjoyed Serenah's screams and tears last time. A repeat performance would be enjoyable.
Amanah made herself focus. She wasn't finished yet with her scheme. She acted hurt and said with a tremor in her voice, "Serenah is so vicious. She didn't need to turn Romeo against me. Father, please can you call the Lancasters and ask if the dinner can be a formal one? I want to dress up and show Romeo what he's missing out on."
Her father agreed with a nod. "That is a good idea. Humans are foolish creatures. They don't always do what benefits them unless they are smacked in the face with it." He returned to his seat behind his desk, his gaze calculating. "I'll call before I deal with your sister. Spend as much as you need to make sure that the boy only looks at you and not your twin."
"Oh, thank you, Father!" squealed Amanah. She grinned, her expression malicious. "Can we make sure to have Lady Lilian dress Serenah?"
"That is an excellent idea. Lilian knows how best to put Serenah in her place socially with the correct dress for the occasion."
"Yes, she is very talented that way," agreed Amanah. Of course, they paid a hefty sum to maintain Serenah's "inept and useless" image among the nobility. "Oh, and Father, is Serenah going to fix her mistake?"
"Fix her mistake?" her father asked, his head tilted to the side, his expression confused.
"Sorry, I should have explained which mistake. After all, Serenah makes so many," Amanah stated mockingly. "I'm referring to my grades."
She covered her mouth to hide her grin at her father's rage rising once again. "You didn't forget that she brought my GPA down with her malicious tricks, did you?"
"No, I had not. I will address that, too, when she gets here. Now, off you go. I have a phone call to make."
Amanah curtsied, left the office, and gleefully cackled all the way to her room. Her thoughts filled with malice and sadistic pleasure at the thought of the mess her sister would soon find herself in.
~***~
Once Amanah left his office, King Bayrel picked up the phone. He waited for the call to connect. At Lancaster's "hello," he wasted no time in getting right to the point.
"Good afternoon, Mark. Hope I'm not troubling you?"
"No, not at all, Ben. What can I help you with?"
Those were the words Bayrel was waiting for. "I have a request for the dinner date for our kids."
"Oh?"
"Yes, if it's not too much trouble, let's make it a formal affair. Give the kids a chance to dress to impress. It's good practice for what they will experience in the corporate world."
He didn't break the silence that fell as Lancaster pondered his offer. The one to speak first would lose.
"I don't see why it should be a problem. We can change the venue, too. My son had chosen Stormi's for dinner, but if we're upping the dress code, we don't want them to feel out of place."
"I'm glad we agree. We can send them to Ashtin's Heart. The owners are a married pair of world-class chefs. They've been open only three months but have rave reviews," suggested Bayrel.
What he didn't tell Lancaster was that he owned the restaurant and that the chefs were merchant nobles in his imperial faction. They owed him a favor for giving them funding to run their business in the human world.
"I've heard of them. Been meaning to visit them," mused Lancaster.
"Then this works out well. The kids can go, and Romeo can let you know what it's like. I guarantee you'll become a devoted patron. Their cooking is top-notch."
Lancaster laughed. "High praise indeed from you. I look forward to my son's report. I'll let my son know about the changes. Thanks for calling. I hope you have a good rest of your evening."
"You, too," Bayrel said and disconnected the call. One problem taken care of. One more to deal with. He tapped on the tracking app, opening it to see where Alastar and Serenah were.
They were halfway home. Exiting the app, Bayrel went back to his paperwork as he waited for his daughter's return. He was looking forward to the conversation they would have.