Chapter 33 The Dowager Empress vs. The Goat
A/N: @Sandhya2003. This chapter is for you. Thanks for the comments.
The silence that followed Arielle’s invitation to milk a goat was so thick you could have sliced it and served it as a side dish.
?Madam Beatrice Cross—the woman who once stared down a hostile board of directors until they collectively apologized for existing—stared at the plastic bucket in Arielle’s hand as if it were a biohazard.
?"A bucket?" Beatrice whispered, her voice like ice scraping against a tombstone.
"Arielle. Look at me. Do I look like a woman who handles.
.. udders?"
?"Well," Arielle said, taking a casual sip of her coffee and leaning against the fence.
"You always said the Cross family was built on 'raw effort' and 'getting one's hands dirty.
' I just thought you’d want to lead by example.
"
?Behind Beatrice, the four sons were lined up like a firing squad.
?Rhett: (Whispering) "Is Grandma going to explode? I feel like there’s a 70% chance of spontaneous combustion.
"
Zayden: "I’ve already alerted the local fire department and the insurance adjusters. We’re covered.
"
Emrys: "I hope she does it. I want to see if the goat survives the glare. "
?At that moment, the barn doors creaked open.
?Lucian and Lu Wei emerged.
?It was.
.. a sight.
?Lucian was still sparkling.
The glitter had settled into his hair and eyebrows, making him look like a very stressed-out fairy prince.
He was wearing a village-issued apron over his ruined suit.
?Lu Wei followed, smelling faintly of sun-dried tomatoes and holding a pitchfork like it was a prop from a Shakespearean tragedy.
?"Mother?" Lucian croaked, squinting in the morning light.
?Beatrice turned. Her jaw didn't just drop; it practically hit the mud.
"Lucian? Is that... are you shimmering?
"
?"It’s a long story," Lucian muttered, avoiding her gaze.
?"He’s transitioning into his true form," Arielle chimed in.
"A disco ball."
?Lu Wei stepped forward, trying to maintain his leading-man dignity.
"Madam Cross, it is an honor to—"
?"Be quiet, you colorful peasant," Beatrice snapped, not even looking at him.
She turned back to Arielle. "I came here to stop this circus and bring my family home.
This 'reality show' is a stain on our heritage.
"
?"Actually," Arielle said, checking her watch.
"It’s the most-watched show in the history of the network.
Your 'heritage' is currently funding the village’s new library.
Also, the cameras are live. Wave to the fans, Beatrice!
"
?Beatrice looked at the drone hovering overhead. Her eye twitched.
?The Director, who had developed a death wish over the last few days, skipped forward.
?"In honor of Madam Beatrice’s arrival, we have a special 'Legacy Task'!
The Dowager Empress will team up with the four fiancées to prepare a traditional village feast!
If they fail, the Dowager Empress has to.
.. participate in the village folk dance.
In a flower crown."
?Beatrice looked at the Director.
The Director turned into a pillar of salt (metaphorically).
?"I accept," Beatrice said suddenly.
"I will show you how a real woman of the Cross family handles a task.
And I will do it without getting a single speck of dust on my Chanel suit.
"
?Arielle grinned. "I’ll get the popcorn. "
?The kitchen was a battlefield.
?Beatrice stood in the center, barking orders at the four fiancées as if they were interns.
?"Clara! That onion is uneven! Serena!
The water is boiling too aggressively! Elise, why are you smiling?
Cooking is not a joyful act; it is a tactical maneuver!
"
?Arielle walked in, followed by the sons.
?"Girls," Arielle said, ignoring Beatrice.
"Remember what we talked about last night?
The 'Personal Freedom' clause?"
?The four fiancées stopped.
They looked at each other. They looked at Beatrice.
?"Madam Cross," Clara said, her voice surprisingly steady.
"We’ve decided that we don't want to cook the traditional way.
We want to do a 'Fusion Feast'."
?"Fusion?
" Beatrice gasped. "We do not 'fuse' in this family!
We dominate!"
?"Actually," Serena added, putting down her knife.
"Arielle said that a leader who doesn't listen is just a loud person with a crown. We’re taking a break. We’re going to go do yoga with Arielle.
"
?The four girls walked out of the kitchen.
?Beatrice stood there, alone, holding a bag of flour.
?She turned to her grandsons. "Well?
Don't just stand there! Help me!"
?Rhett: "Sorry, Grandma.
I have a... leg cramp."
Darian: "I have to go.
.. categorize my socks."
Zayden: "I’m busy calculating the trajectory of your inevitable failure.
"
Emrys: "I’m with Zayden. Also, the goat looks lonely. I’m going to go talk to it. "
?Two hours later.
?The "Feast" was a disaster.
Beatrice had tried to cook everything herself, but turns out, being a billionaire doesn't mean you know how to work a wood-fired stove.
The chicken was raw, the rice was charcoal, and she had accidentally seasoned the soup with laundry detergent.
?The Director checked the "Taste Test" (which was just Arielle taking a bite and immediately spitting it out into a napkin).
?"Failed!" the Director shouted, sounding way too happy about it.
"Time for the folk dance!"
?And that is how the world got the footage of Beatrice Cross, the iron lady of the East, wearing a giant crown of sunflowers and being spun around by a 70-year-old fisherman named Old Man Chen.
?She looked like she was planning ten different assassinations per second.
?Lucian and Lu Wei sat on the sidelines, watching in horror.
?"Should we help her?" Lu Wei whispered.
?"If I move," Lucian said, "she’ll see me. If she sees me, she’ll remember I’m the one who didn't stop this. I’m staying perfectly still.
I am a tree. I am a sparkling, glittery tree. "
?Late that night, after the cameras were (mostly) off, Arielle found Beatrice sitting on the porch, aggressively ripping petals off a sunflower.
?"You hate me," Beatrice said without looking up.
?"I don't hate you," Arielle said, sitting next to her and handing her a glass of actual, non-detergent wine.
"I just think you've forgotten that people are more than their titles. Your son is a mess, your grandsons were robots, and you’re wearing a flower crown.
"
?Beatrice took a long sip of wine. "The crown is quite heavy.
"
?"So is the empire," Arielle replied.
"Maybe it’s time to let someone else carry it for a while.
"
?Beatrice looked at Arielle. Really looked at her. "You’ve changed, Arielle. You used to tremble when I entered the room. Now, you look like you’re waiting for me to trip so you can live-stream it.
"
?"I would never live-stream it," Arielle winked.
"I’d sell the exclusive rights to a documentary filmmaker.
Higher profit margins."
?Beatrice actually let out a short, dry laugh. "God help us. You are a Cross."
?As they sat in silence, a black car with tinted windows pulled up.
A man in a suit stepped out and handed Beatrice a folder.
?Beatrice opened it, her face going pale even in the moonlight.
?"What is it?" Arielle asked.
?Beatrice handed her a single sheet of paper.
It was a legal notice from the Cross Global Board of Directors.
?NOTICE OF EMERGENCY MEETING: Due to recent public 'unprofessional behavior' and 'reputational damage' caused by the current CEO and the Dowager Empress on the reality show 'Everyone Has Eyes,' a vote for a New Chairperson has been called.
?Beatrice looked at Arielle. "They’re trying to stage a coup.
They’re using our 'comedy' to take the company.
"
?Arielle looked at the paper, then at her sparkling ex-husband, then at her chaotic sons.
?She stood up, her eyes burning with a new fire.
?"Well," Arielle said, smoothing her hair.
"It looks like the reality show just got a corporate spin-off.
Beatrice, get your heels. Lucian, wash off the glitter.
Boys, get your laptops."
?"What are we doing, Mom?
" Rhett asked, appearing out of the shadows.
?"We're not just going to the meeting," Arielle smirked.
"We're going to buy the board. Zayden, how much liquid cash do we have between my 'Arielle Personal Fund' and your secret crypto-stash?
"
?Zayden grinned, his fingers already flying across his tablet.
"Enough to make them regret they ever learned how to vote. "
?[SCREEN FADES TO BLACK]
?THE COUP HAS BEGUN! ????
Arielle just went from "Reality Star" to "Corporate Warlord"! And she’s teaming up with her Mother-in-Law?! This is the alliance we didn't know we needed! ??
?Highlights of this chapter:
?Lucian is officially a "Sparkling Tree." ???
?Beatrice survived the Folk Dance of Doom. ????
?The Fiancées have joined the revolution! ?
?Then: Arielle is about to take over the entire company?!
?I NEED YOUR ENERGY FOR THE BIG CORPORATE SHOWDOWN!
??
? VOTE if you want to see Arielle fire the entire Board of Directors!
? COMMENT "CEO ARIELLE" to show your support!
? FOLLOW me for the next chapter—it’s going to be a "Face-Slapping" masterpiece in the boardroom!
?Your comments and votes are the only reason I keep writing these long, chaotic chapters??????