A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop. Also, there will be four chapters posted today instead of two since next weekend I won't be online due to other commitments. Thank you for understanding, and I hope that all of you have a good evening/afternoon/morning ^-^! 

Exploring Kaleb's parents' company, Platinum Investments, led to ... well not much. If anything, it made (f/n) eat her bites of ice cream a little more aggressively. Lee didn't comment, but he found it very entertaining. Truly, his expressions not being seen were a benefit some of the times. The company webpage was laid out decently, and information about receiving an investment from them was easy enough to follow. It was a perfectly planned out website, and the list of accomplishments they had in helping businesses succeed was ... quite a bit.

All of the businesses that had their help left positive reviews. There wasn't a single nugget of information that might hold any of them in a bad light. Instead, she had to stare at Kaleb and his parents smiling proudly. She wanted to punch the smile off of him and was almost tempted to leave a review that would ruin his name. Unfortunately, that probably only would make her look bad, and Kaleb would be able to pinpoint it back to her most likely based on their past interactions unless he pissed off others.

Ultimately, that was what she needed. She required someone to say something bad about him. See if he had tried to do what he was doing to her to anyone else and see if he had succeeded in doing so. He had money, so he could've paid the person to keep quiet, but she didn't know. There was a chance that someone had written something awful about him that was true. With his personality, he must've pissed off others besides just her; he must've used others like he was with Anita.

When she was finished with her ice cream, she set the spoon down and roughly combed her fingers through her (h/l) (h/c) locks. Her elbows rested on the table, and she groaned. "There's nothing on there. Probably anything negative they erased," she muttered, annoyed. "Of course, it wouldn't be that easy."(F/n) glared at the screen before she grabbed her laptop and slid it closer to her. Lee made no motion to stop her. Instead, he began to work on a note, but (f/n) didn't pay that any mind currently.

Proceeding to look up the company but not going directly to the company site, she tried to gauge if there were any negative reviews somewhere else. It'd take longer, but she knew that there had to be a negative review out there somewhere despite the money that the company possessed. First, she went to a job site to see what employees said. That'd be a good start. Maybe, Kaleb had hurt one of them. (F/n) knew that was a horrible thought to have, and it'd be better if he hadn't, but her mind was desperate for something despite it being only the first day of beginning her plan against her ex best friend, Anita's boyfriend and Tristan.

All of the comments on the first couple pages were positive. She even checked what position the people held, and they were at all levels in the company. Maybe, they faked the reviews. That wouldn't surprise her. Before she could get any further, Lee slid his note over to her. Briefly, she glanced at it. Maybe, it'd be helpful also to think of how they plan to remove your ownership of the café. You both co-own it after all, right? If you think of that, it might lead to where some d*mning information might be against Kaleb that'll convince Anita to cut off her ties with him.

Pausing, she gave the note some thought before she sighed, and an annoyed, disgusted frown touched her lips. "Well, Tristan's part of that. If I willingly work for his company and quit here, I'd be giving up my share of Rose Tea." A rough sigh left her. "Anita and I made our co-ownership so that if one of us leaves, the other takes control of the company." Her expression became painfully bitter. "It was our dream ... Or at least, I thought it was. So if the other left, it was breaking that, and we thought that was a good consequence for leaving."

And, that didn't ring any warning bells for you? That demonstrates a lack of trust to me. Her eyes glanced over to his, and she didn't answer immediately. He leaned back on his seat and crossed his arms, waiting for her to reply. Perhaps, it was a good thing as it made things harder on Anita's part. (F/n) would have to leave in some capacity for her to own the business completely and let Kaleb in with no problems. At the same time, it made him wonder just how far Anita and Kaleb would go when their plan with Tristan didn't work.

Admittedly, he was somewhat worried. It'd be like losing a partner a second time, though; this time, it wouldn't be from betrayal. Instead, it'd be because he had let his partner down. Of course, success of the plan would be on her as well, not just him, especially since it was her plan, but he didn't like to think of those three winning over them even if he didn't know what would become of (f/n) and his partnership once they dealt with them. He had to remind himself that they'd win, not the others. This was his second chance, and he wouldn't lose.

"... I guess so." The words left her lips lifelessly, and she stared down to the keys on her laptop. A bitter chuckle left her. "Maybe, she had set that up in the beginning with the goal of getting me to leave eventually, and I ... listened. I let her tell me that it was further proof that we'd stick together for the rest of our lives." Her shoulders slackened. "I'm such an idiot," she muttered, her fingers curling around her pajama pants.

No. She is. She thinks that you're going to go along willingly with all of this. We're proving her wrong. Lee sat up a bit straighter. But, you need to think of the lengths that Anita and Kaleb will go. They're working together. If Tristan doesn't work out, what will they do to convince you to work for Platinum Investments or remove you from the picture entirely?

"I don't know with Anita. But, she's proven that she'll stoop to a low level already. And, Kaleb ..." She frowned deeply. "He'll probably do whatever it takes. He's an a**hole who has no limits when it comes to what he wants, and I shouldn't have let Anita convince me to try and think of him differently."

They'll no doubt be large thorns in our sides. He crossed his arms, stating the obvious as he allowed his mind to think of something to prevent those three from doing any further harm at the moment. Be vigilant. If Anita took one picture of you without you knowing, she can take more even though you're aware of what she did. While she's here, I only can be in the kitchen until my new outfit arrives, and you both move me to the entrance or wherever you're planning.

(F/n) nodded, a shiver traveling up her spine at the thought of another picture of her finding its way into Tristan's hands. Unfortunately, she'd need to keep acting around them. "I'll continue ... to play innocent. Act like I don't know anything. That's also my best bet right now, which means ..." She groaned and felt sick. "Tristan, I'll probably have to go along with this 'double dating' right now."

Yes, that probably is for the best. If you push Tristan away, they'll move onto another plan to remove your co-ownership, and we're not aware of what that'll be, only that it'll be terrible. He folded his hands together on the table and stared ahead in thought. His eyes glanced over to her. So, we use the time that we have alone to our advantage, like we're doing now. Lee moved his chair closer and turned the laptop so that he could scroll through the reviews now.

Very slightly, a smile touched her lips at the action. He was right, and it was nice knowing that she didn't have to feel annoyed by him being so. They had a deal, and it seemed to be working out well so far. Like she had said, though, he'd have to keep proving himself to her. But, he was doing a good job for the first night.

Leaning on the table, she read over the comments with him. All positive. It wasn't until they got to the fifth page that a review finally came up that wasn't five stars. Immediately, (f/n) rested her hand on top of Lee's to stop him scrolling, but he already had. It brought an amused smile to Lee's lips, and he only pulled his hand away when she did.

As for the review, it was a former employee. Naturally, it was anonymous like all the other reviews, and the comment wasn't too long. It was three stars. Company nice. But, some coworkers made it hard. Great benefits, though. The review started and ended with something positive almost as if that would hide the comment between them, as though it'd decrease the impact of the three stars. Maybe, she was looking too much into it, but it felt off. Almost like the person had been scared even to write that their coworkers were difficult.

Before she said anything, she took a screenshot of the picture and saved it on her laptop. She reminded herself to change her laptop password too before she turned it off. Anita couldn't know what she was researching for obvious reasons. "Let's keep scrolling. There might be more." Lee nodded, but before they could go any further, both of them heard a key turning in the lock. (F/n) froze.

There was no way for Lee to move out of the dining room in time. He'd be in the entrance hall by the time Anita walked into the café, and she had a feeling that he realized that too. Instead, he put himself in a simple sitting up position with his hands on the table as though that helped to support him upwards. (F/n) exited what she was doing and pulled up her movie streaming service. The front door opened, and heels clicked against the flooring.

Why was Anita back so early?! Had she seen her go into The Iron Clipper and just decided to wait a bit?! No, that couldn't be it. Anita had gone to the hotel, so had Kaleb and Tristan. She needed to calm down. Act normal. Her (e/c) eyes glanced over to Lee. Right ... Him being right there wouldn't be odd at all.

Not even locking the door, Anita stopped and turned towards (f/n) and Lee. She raised an eyebrow before a smile pulled at her lips. "Well, isn't this an interesting sight? Feeling lonely after the date already?" she teased, a smirk on her lips. (F/n) turned and mustered her best characteristic frown that she could, which only caused Anita to giggle in response. Good, Anita didn't see through her.