Seeing that Lucas has more or less locked up after the offer, instead of giving any sort of audible response, Jonathan decides to show some spine.
"We'll, we'll take it. We were just, uh, worried before that it would cost too much for a, um, whole floor. Tha-thank you. Ehehe, you should see Lucas's face." As Jonathan attempts to lock in the bargain, he can't help chuckling when Lucas's blank expression gains a bit of surprise from Jonathan's words rather than from Mark's offer.
Rather than being disappointed by the offer being claimed, Miss Calculated simply nods her head a few times, all is as it should be.
"Ahem, yeah, exactly. Since you're being so... Generous, maybe once we've grown and start actually using a bunch of electricity and have lots of people coming and
While the overall energy of the room makes it feel like someone is going to pull out a bottle of champagne any moment now while Jonathan should start giving an acceptance speech, Lucas suddenly claps twice to get everyone's attention."All right, enough of that. Those bastards don't deserve any more of our time, even for this." As Lucas cuts the celebratory atmosphere short, Jonathan's expression sobers up a bit, but he does nod repeatedly in agreement."Ri-right. It's great that it's done, bu-but it's not like it really changes anything..." As Jonathan backs Lucas up, he sinks into the cushy couch he is seated on, completely undoing the prim and proper upright posture he was temporarily maintaining. Having fallen back into a neutral expression, there are no remaining traces of the bright enthusiasm he had mere moments before
With two down and one to go, Miss Calculated has settled back down into her previous location next to Willy, sighing before continuing further."As you may have guessed when you were filling it out, the paperwork for registering pets as part of the family roster is a bit over-the-top to try to dissuade people from registering each and every last goldfish and hamster they decide to raise. And, since animals aren't even expected to have ID chips, I'm gonna have to double down when proving he isn't already registered to someone else, and if he is, then we then have to go through a whole other set of procedures to change that fact, even if they are deceased." While bemoaning her pending busy work, Miss Calculated taps her index finger on top of the closed folder resting on her lap a few times. Towards the end of her statement, Willy's tail abruptly stops wagging when she mentions being
While Alley Cat and Miss Calculated are both happily laughing together through the phone call, Miss Masher and Miss Chievous are both mostly unresponsive, seeming not only uninterested, but also unsurprised."Well, to answer your question, I have been considering expanding my soup kitchen recently, maybe add a few more other services as well. It just so happens that that big ol' apartment complex next door that the owners wanted to try running an insurance scam through was declared condemned before he got the chance, so he abandoned the project completely. Since he didn't actually have any plans for it once it was gutted, he even said he'd sell it for less than it's worth, since he doesn't want to even bother clearing it up to do something with it. But, with as much fun as I've been having with being altruistic, I'm a bit limited in terms of liquid assets for the time being, which I
Thankfully, before anyone else has a chance to notice, Lucas manages to control his facial expressions. He's already annoyed enough without having to explain why.Once the call has ended and Miss Calculated shares Lakshmi's contact details with Lucas, she can't resist chuckling a bit while thinking it back over."Really, nothing should be a surprise anymore if it involves Lakshmi. Sometimes I can't help but think that they actually have the most powerful and impressive power in the world. On more than one occasion it has proven to be rather far-reaching, if it even has any restrictions at all, and it's all passive to boot. For all we know, everything that happened this morning was just leading up to you becoming a source of funds for them. For example, Something as simple as Mash deciding not to follow me to work today would
"Well... Guess we're off to I4 then... Together..." As Lucas gives his hesitant parting, Willy fetches his three inexact supe likenesses from where they were neatly placed on the shelf under the coffee table, leading the way out of the door that Lucas holds open for those whom are leaving.Miss Calculated has set about gathering her belongings and cleaning everything up, giving a nod of farewell to the doggo and three people on their way out the door.On the other hand, her twin has decided to express solidarity with the rotating blocks she controls, pivoting her own position on the couch. She settles down with her knees resting on top of the backrest, her bent legs hanging freely down the back, her hair stretching to try to touch the fine carpeting of the floor. She merely gives a grunt of acknowledgment to the fact that the
"Well... I don't know about RIVAL, we basically just met. Uh, anyway, Hi Nat, this here's my sidekick, Jackknife, and... Well, my dog, Willy." As Lucas tries to widen the interpersonal relationship gap between himself and Miss Masher, she snorts, crosses her arms, begins to sneer, and gives a condescending chuckle."Well then, I guess if you want to just admit that you're not as strong as me, then I guess it wouldn't be fair to call you a rival, after all." Making a verbal below-the-belt jab, Miss Masher deals a critical hit to Lucas's alarmingly fragile ego, getting the exact kind of reaction she wanted."I WILL KICK YOUR ASS IN AN ARM-WRESTLING CONTEST RIGHT HERE AND NOW! LET'S FUCKING GO!" When Lucas immediately pounces on the very obvious bait, Jonathan facepalms with an audible smack, an
Misinterpreting Jonathan's shy awkwardness as being polite, Natalie gives him a brilliant smile before typing away on her tablet, going through what little remaining work is left for her to do after Miss Calculated did the vast majority of it for her already.If Lucas had noticed the slight hitch in Jonathan's breath or the fact his heart practically skipped a beat, there would have been a 0% chance of him resisting the urge to mock him right then and there, so Jonathan's lucky in that regard, at least.Shortly after Natalie shifts her attention to a drawer she just pulled open and began rummaging around in, a different employee-only door than service bot #18 had originally left through noisily creaks open.Now wielding a tall rectangular four-legged end table, it duti
'Uhhh, that didn't sound so good.'[I fear this table isn't long for this world. If you are going to insist that the positioning at the moment it breaks determines the victor, you should do what you can.]'Oh, good idea. Let's go!'Realizing that this match will be decided by an inch and is going to be getting cut off very shortly, Lucas musters up all of the strength he can possibly bring to bear, offsetting Miss Masher's advantage and even claiming a tiny bit of his own.As she had been caught off guard at first by this sudden burst of vigor, her elbow almost lifts when she shifts slightly to attempt to reclaim her lead. Legitimately wanting an accurate result from the contest, she directs so