| 003. Coexistence |

  One workout later, and Xenia was pleased by Neil's recovered mood. That wasn't to say he didn't continue with a prolonged series of restrained protests — pointed sighs, passive-aggressive remarks about space allocation, an unnecessary inventory of shared resources. Xenia allowed them all to pass unchallenged.

  She understood negotiation when she saw it.

  By late afternoon, the flat had settled into an uneasy equilibrium. Xenia had quietly reorganised her bedroom, and had tried to leave minimal signs of her presence in the rest of the house. There was no need to wage an all out war over the bookshelves.

  The move-in process had been so efficient that by the afternoon, she had very little to do.

  "Well, you might as well meet the neighbours," Neil said, throwing on a jacket and tilting his head. His blue eyes were assessing in a brotherly way - the kind of look that said she'd better not embarrass him. "How much do you already know about them?"

  She grinned.

  "I've done my research," she said, ice blue eyes glimmering with amusement. "But most of it obviously came from father." Neil nodded. Their neighbours belonged to families with wealth, assets and corporate structures that had been the focus of several of her father's lectures over the years. It was never too early to learn about the competition.

  Neil knew what was coming. From the very moment she moved in, it was inevitable that she would be interested in one particular individual. The rivalry between the Ishizaki and Vitto corporations was well known. His uncle was forever trying to outcompete the Vittos, but rarely succeeded. The Ishizaki's various companies were all stuck in the bitter position of second place. He could see Xenia practically vibrating in place at the thought of meeting her destined foe.

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  “Malachi,” Xenia said shortly, seeing that Neil was already thinking along the same lines. “I’d like to meet him. You’re friends, aren’t you? Can you make that happen?”

  Neil leant against the doorframe and regarded Xenia sternly. There was no point in trying to delay it. They'd meet sooner or later, and wouldn't it be best if he could get her on her best behaviour at the time? Ideally without onlookers.

  “Please don't do something weird.”

  Xenia hesitated, stuck in a thought.

  “I don’t know,” she said. He balked at her, and she elaborated with a shrug. “I have no idea how I’ll act around him.” Neil snorted.

  "I get it, I know your dad has ranted about his family for years. But you could just be normal about it. You can choose to be chill."

  She laughed. It sent a shiver down his spine. But she also seemed to be anxious about the meeting. As anxious as she would let show, as she was trying to school her expression.

  "That would be the optimal outcome," she agreed, blinking under his scrutiny and nervously moving her hands behind her back. "I'd really like to get it over with."

  "Okay," Neil agreed, slowly nodding his head. He couldn't explain why he felt the meeting would be awful. Xenia had been a notorious ice queen in her youth. Unruffled. Piercing. Seeing her swallowing down nerves was making his own heart race nervously.

  The fact that their fathers were in competition shouldn’t be relevant to the way the two of them would interact, but Xenia often confused networking with making friends. Maybe it really would be for the best if they met somewhere Neil could keep an eye on them. After all, they were all stuck with one another for the next three years. It would be nice if they could get along.

  There was no way it would be that easy. But Xenia was right. If it was going to be dreadful, at least the dreadful deed would be behind them soon, and he could focus on damage control after the fact.