Handler XX: Stock Maestro

"W–Wanda?" Anton stuttered, stretching his hand forward for the phone.

Wanda fell silent for a while before speaking,

"What's this about, Trent?"

Anton's expression fell— sadness was written all over his face

"Y–You don't recognize the voice?"

Sh exhaled,

"I know about it" Trent muttered, looking up, at Anton's face.

"About what?"

"Stop feigning ignorance" he snapped,

"W–Wan---"

"You're still a big baby, huh?" She sighed, chuckling.

Anton's eyes widened as his expression softened.

"Was he just about to cry?" She laughed, asking Trent

Trent was silent for a while.

Was this a joke to her?

"You're not taking this seriously" Marie muttered, walking closer, her jaws tightening.

"...You must be the wife" Wanda mused.

"You---"

"How have you..." Anton paused, glancing at Marie.

"I–It's not looking good, Wan"

"Of course it's not" she scoffed,

"Did your dumbass tell them?"

"N–No---"

"He didn't" Trent cut in,

"And you---"

"It's happened" She interrupted,

"The jig is up"

"You... don't feel anything?" Marie asked, eyes trailing at Trent's face

"Honey..." Wanda exhaled,

"You're smart enough to have figured it out... That's what we're trained to be, no?"

"You---"

"Mom of the year" Trent scoffed, lowering his head.

"You're going to understand---"

"That you did it for my good?" He interrupted, laughing in a dry tone.

"I understand that" he muttered

I wished I didn't.

I wish my intelligence wasn't enough to keep me calm and know that it was a choice they had to make.

I wish I could get angry at them like a normal person

Fuck.

He stared at Anton.

Look how miserable he looked, lowering his head like that.

"I'm going to pass your number to him so you can continue talking"

"N–No... We could---"

"I'm very sorry it happened like this, Trent" Wanda cut in, interrupting Anton.

"Well..." Trent stood up,

"It's happened"

"You're..." Marie stared at him.

Why's he taking all this so well? Too well...

"Now we have to think about how you'll pull off any penalties the 5 years will give" he added

"Oh. I'll sort that out" Wanda sighed,

"Y–You're sure everything's---" she stuttered,

"It's alright" he cut in— sharper tone than he'd intended.

He looked towards the door as Xander returned,

"Just---"

"Prepare a room for him" he ordered, hanging up before she could complete what she wanted to say.

"We've got a movie night to have, mo chéri" he turned to Marie with a smile

She scanned him for a while and exhaled.

Now's not the time for a movie, is it?

Well. If it's going to make him feel better

"I've curated a playlist" she smiled, glancing at Anton.

Anton just watched them as they left and staggered towards a chair to sit.

Stars.

He stared at the ceiling.

"Sir..." Xander called out, snapping him out of his thoughts,

"I'll lead you to the room" he smiled, dropping the tray of wine and glasses on the table at the center of the room.

"A–Alright..."

_____

"You..." Marie turned to him as she closed the door,

"I don't want to..." Trent paused, exhaling— just standing, expressionlessly.

"It's not alright" she walked closer, staring at his back.

"You're not alright" she touched his back, with both hands.

"I–I'm---"

"Don't lie to yourself" she muttered, softly, rubbing his back gently.

His expression softened as he felt her hand on his back

Lying to myself, huh?

"Let's watch the movie" he stuttered,

"You need to wash off, first" she removed her hands and walked to his front,

"You reek of alcohol"

He stared at her face for a while.

Why---

"I'm your wife" She chuckled, as if reading his thoughts,

"Fake or not"

"Right..." He scoffed, shaking his head

"And I certainly don't want some broken psycho sleeping on the same bad with me" she huffed.

He chuckled, eyes trailing from her face to the bag of snacks at the corner.

"I'll go wash off... You should set the movie up" he glanced at the TV.

"As you should, Golden boy..." She chuckled,

"Should it be my Prince?" She teased, curtsying

"Ugh" he huffed, taking his clothes off

"Can't believe I still ended up getting married to a Prince"

_____

He looked at the TV, and then to her as he stepped into the room with the towel on his head.

"Come here" she tapped on a spot on the bed close to her.

"Yes, Ma'am" he chuckled, opening the wardrobe.

"Give me a minute"

He quickly picked a shirt and climbed the bed

She pulled him closer, startling him,

"I'm just taking care of you" she smiled, staring at his face

Taking care...

Yes.

She gulped, turning her face away from him.

"Let watch the movie"

He chuckled, shifting very closer to her and leaning against her.

He could see her face blushing even in the dim light.

"Which movie are we watching"

"It's a movie, written by my favorite author"

"You've got a favorite author? I thought you'd have favorite swords---"

"Ow..." He chuckled as she hit him

"Just because I can kick your ass doesn't mean I don't read, nerd boy"

"Kick my ass?" He laughed softly,

"You wish"

Kicking my ass with the strength I have right now would be hard

"Let's spar sometime, Prince..."

He huffed, turning to the screen

"As long as the movie's good"

"10/10 on TRates, buddy... Arnie Pearl is just that author"

"Alright, alright... Let's watch" he leaned closer against her.

He could feel the heat of her breathe.

He glanced at her face.

Oh stars...

What a---

"What's with that expression?" She chuckled, glancing at him,

"Don't be weird tonight and get the snacks"

"...Alright"

He stood up and fetched the snacks.

"Can we get started now, mo chéri?"

"What's with that?" She chuckled,

"Icardenian... You should start learning"

"Why?"

"You'll find out soon"

"...If you say so" She scoffed, "Let's get this started"

_____

He turned to her side of the bed as the sound of his alarm woke him up.

Yesterday was... beautiful

He stared at her for a while, ignoring the alarm sound.

"You should turn that off" she grumbled as she opened her eyes

He chuckled and turned to turn the alarm off.

"Last night..." She sat on the bed, leaning against the bed post as she rubbed her eyes

"Did I do..." She paused,

"Did I say anything stupid?"

"Oh" He chuckled.

They'd told Xander to bring a bottle of strong whiskey while they were watching the movie.

It was a really romantic movie with lots of emotions.

Hmmm...

Should I tease her a bit?

"Depends on what you call stupid" he mused with a grin.

"Hah..." She exhaled, lowering her head between her thighs.

"That was some pretty interesting things" he continued, chuckling

"...I shouldn't have played that game with you"

He laughed, looking at her,

They'd played a drinking game.

Wrong choice for her really

"You didn't say anything" he exhaled,

"You just passed out from getting drunk so I had to arrange you on the bed"

"Damn..." She chuckled raising her head.

"Thank the Stars"

"Glory to them" he scoffed.

He turned to the door as he heard a knock.

"Come in"

Xander walked in as he heard the voice.

"Good morning"

"Good morning, Man... What's up?"

Xander and Marie exchanged greetings as he walked closer to the bed with his phone.

"Something big's happened" he passed the phone, excitedly

"You sound excited" Trent chuckled as he collected the phone.

Damn...

Felix Umber was trending in all rankings.

Did they seriously get it sorted this fast?

And what's this?

His eyes widened

Different disastrous scandals— political agendas, supporters, sex life, bribery, corruption and so much more.

"There's no way he's crawling out of this one" he muttered

"Exactly" Xander chuckled,

"Was this what you meant"

Trent nodded, scrolling through the phone. He glanced at Marie as she tried to look at the phone.

"Isn't that Felix Umber?"

"Yeah... He's been bugging me so I had some help to sweep him off"

"That sounds dark..." She chuckled, glancing at his face

"And all these... How did you pull this off?"

"Exactly" Xander added,

"I was so surprised. At this point, he's practically done"

"Yeah" Trent giggled,

"With this... They should learn to behave— those group of snobby, rich bastards..." He growled.

"This is more than a message. It will make things easier for us with all our enemies hiding their faces"

"They should learn to hide properly" Trent passed the phone to Marie as he stood up

"They will" Xander chuckled,

"Learning will be much easier than suffering a fate such as this'

Trent glanced at him as he picked his phone,

"Now... We have to focus on getting the company listed. The SEC approval should be an easy thing to get now"

"Yes. I'll speak with them again. With all these happening and with a good intel on their side, they should be scrambling to help us"

"Good..." Trent chuckled, walking off towards the bathroom,

"They should know that no one messes with Trent Ackerman"