Since (f/n) had first started to learn about toy making from Edgar, three weeks had gone by. Over the course of those weeks, she had finally started to get the handle of making some of the toys. Granted, they were the simplistic ones like the stuffed animals. She had been able to craft a few toy soldiers but carving wasn't exactly an easy thing to master. So, her toy soldiers were small and had a few unsmooth edges. Of course, Frederic hadn't learned of how long it was taking her to make the toys due to her false reports. Apparently, he was satisfied with just showing him a few stuffed animals and saying that everything was going well.

While she had been deceiving Frederic and was continuing to do so, Edgar, in his free time, had been calling several of his contacts in order to guard his place in the company. (F/n) didn't know what strings he had been pulling, but he had told her on multiple occasions that everything was going well and not to worry. In addition to this, Edgar had still made her leave his workshop on a day to day basis, so that he could work on the doll.

At the moment, though, (f/n) was sitting in the workshop and was working on making a new toy soldier. She only had a few minutes left before she would need to leave so that Edgar could on the winter holiday doll. Regardless, she was being incredibly careful not to mess up the edges like on the last ones. Edgar was relaxing on the bench by the window and was just observing her as she worked. It was a little stressful to just have him looking at her, but she knew that he was waiting to see if she would need help. So far, she didn't require any.

Thus, as she moved the blade of the chisel carefully across the wood, she made sure to the give the soldier a rounded left shoulder rather than a jagged one. When she had successfully accomplished her task, she moved onto the right shoulder. As the wood molded to the chisel's touch, she felt the blade get caught in the wood. Cursing at herself, she was relieved to find that there was still quite a bit of wood to carve, so it wouldn't cause any damage to the soldier's shoulder.

Once the stress of chiseling had finished, she set the blade down on the workshop desk and examined her work. The shoulders were perfectly rounded. Smiling to herself, she peered over at Edgar to see him stand up and walk over to her. He took the toy soldier from her and inspected it from various angles.

"Nicely done, (f/n). This is a great improvement from your last one, though; you forgot to carve the soldier's head," he commented before setting the toy down in front of her on the desk.

"I know, but I'll be working on it tomorrow. So, there's no rush to finish it today," she responded, as she ran her right fingers over the smooth surface of the wood. She added, as she drew her hand back onto her lap, "I suppose that I should leave, so that you can work now, and go talk to Frederic about the progress of his plan."

"Before you go, (f/n), I want to mention that everything will be ready in a few days time. The auction for the doll will occur as well as my brother's announcement to expand. So, some of his business connections will be there. With this in mind, you'll only have a few days left to deal with my brother, so I thought to give you the good news."

Standing up from her chair, she smiled at him before replying, "Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep the meeting between him and me short." With a little more excited tone, she continued, "I'm looking quite forward to seeing the doll, though. Just being able to view its form, covered with a sheet, for the last six weeks hasn't been easy."

"That will make the unveiling all the more thrilling, then," Edgar commented, as he walked her to the door of the workshop.

"Of course, it will. I'm eager to know what I inspired."

Edgar didn't say anything, however. He just gripped her chin in his right hand and pressed his lips to hers. Words couldn't describe what she had brought out in him, and he doubted that the kiss could either. Still, it was something positive to give her before she met with his brother. When he pulled away, he noticed the delightful pink hue spread across her cheeks before she said her goodbyes in a stuttered manner and left his workshop.

                                                                               ~~~~~~~~~~

Sitting in the red cushioned brown chair, which was facing Frederic's desk, (f/n) waited for him to finish the paperwork in front of him. She had mentioned that she could come back later, but Frederic had told her to stay. Reluctantly, she had done so, but now she just wanted to leave his office. Already, she had been in the room for fifteen minutes, and they hadn't even discussed anything. Lazily, she glanced around the now familiar office. It seemed that every day for the past three weeks she had been in this room. Thankfully, it was every other day but even that was too much. This room lacked the charm of the rooms on the west wing of the house.

The office had dark cherry wood paneling all along the walls, and thick chocolate brown curtains covered most of the window in the room, which caused little natural light to flow into it. Such limited illumination, however, still managed to provide Frederic enough light to work on his papers. As for the furniture in the room, it matched the paneling in hue, while the floor was covered with chocolate brown carpeting. Overall, the color scheme made the room feel like a small cave. Frankly, the only source of varying color in the room was Frederic and the books on the bookshelves.

"So, I take it that Edgar still doesn't know anything about our plan," Frederic voiced, now setting down his pen and looking at her.

Glad to see that he was finished, she answered, "He hasn't even had any suspicions, and his lessons will have me knowing how to make all the toys in his workshop within the next several days. There won't be anything to worry about."

"Good, since the auction and my announcement will occur within the next few days. After my announcement we'll start the expansion, and you'll travel to the first location where we'll set up the company's second shop. Edgar will probably have to be locked up in his room for awhile, though, since I'll imagine that he'll be unstable. He'll either be too devastated to come out or so enraged that he'll try to injure someone."

"I know. That's why I want to settle this as soon as possible. I'm glad that it will occur in a few days and that this secrecy will be behind us. If that's all, I'll be heading out now," she mentioned, starting to get up from her chair.

"That isn't all, (f/n)."

She raised her right eyebrow before relaxing back into her chair. "Why? What else is there?"

"You'll need to know that you won't be able to take care of Edgar when he's locked away. Part of his anger will be directed at you, and I can't have my new business partner getting hurt. You'll need to be away from him until he cools down if he ever calms down. Honestly, I think it would be better if you broke if off with him. It will save you from a lot of trouble down the road."

"Frederic, I'm not interested in you like that. I've already told you that, so stop trying to convince me to get away from Edgar after the night of the announcement. It's not going to happen."

"(F/n), you're a wise and caring individual. You have remarkable potential to thrive in this world, to receive recognition for your hard work. Working with me, you can achieve that. You can attain that even more if you give up my brother. Right now, you're making the right steps to get away from him, but he's still holding you back," he explained, getting out of his chair.

Moving around his desk and over to her, she tensed slightly and watched him carefully. He turned her chair to face him and rested his hands on the armrests. "I would hate to see you get hurt because my brother has manipulated you into staying by his side," he remarked, his eyes bearing an expression of concern.

"Frederic, the only reason you want me to date you is because it will give you reason to get rid of your brother completely. The only reason you're not throwing him out of the company after the announcement is because you need my help and keeping him is the main reason why I'm agreeing to this. You want that burden gone and that is all," she responded, pushing his hands off her chair and standing up.

He didn't make a move to stop her, but there was a small smirk on his lips. "That's why I like you. You don't fall easily for my charm. Still, I'm serious about Edgar. I've already warned you before about his behavior, and I'm warning you again."

Before she opened his office door, she responded, "You're still wrong. I'm making my choices, not him. He's not manipulating me; he wants me to succeed as a master craftswoman. He's giving me something that's very near and dear to him. That's hardly manipulation. Rather, he's displaying a level of trust in me that shows me how much he cares." With that, she left Frederic's office, not waiting for any reply of his.