Is this destiny?

~ Los Angeles, Mediterranean villa ~

June 21

4:43 PM

Jeff is getting ready to leave Los Angeles and join JoAnna with Alice and Jayden in Eastern Europe.

Felix, Lia, Adam, and Valentin will come along for the trip, as well as nannies.

They are all excited to meet with JoAnna and Sophia, as well as with Stella and Edward, but there are some things that need to be done beforehand because they are not sure how long they will stay in Eastern Europe.

Sarah and Aiden got in touch with them, and based on current estimates, the tournament will last for about one week, after which Aiden will need time to get settled in his new role and create a team. They have no idea how long that will take, but their best guess is at least two weeks. Probably a month.

Jeff summoned people to his house, so that they can agree on handling different areas of work in his absence.

Oscar offered his help, and Jeff said that Leah and Pam will contact him in case Jeff is not able to handle it remotely and it's something urgent.

Needless to say, Jeff is still not over the fact that Elanor and Oscar allowed the Voronin family to infiltrate White organization and business and that they set up Aiden to fight for a position in the Voronin family, without consulting with them first.

Back to the present…

In Jeff's study are Felix, Steve, Gabriel, Charlie, Mike, Leah, Pam, and Ben.

Bridgette, Emma, and Tiffany decided to meet at Emma's place and to treat this time as girls' time. Denise is with them.

Felix left Lia, Adam, and Valentin home with their nanny. He plans to head home and pack as soon as this meeting is over, and if he brought the kids, it would be difficult to leave because Lia and Adam always want 'five more minutes' of playtime with their cousins, and that easily stretches to several hours because Felix can't make himself deny them anything.

Ben brought with him his daughter Becca and Oliver because Penny was busy with online meetings related to her hotels and Ben felt guilty leaving kids on their own since they gave Oliver's nanny a day off. Becca was excited to tag along and see where Ben's boss lives, and she loves taking care of Oliver.

While grownups were in a meeting, Oliver was playing with Alice and Jayden. Becca was in the room with them, fiddling with her phone. Ten minutes later, Oliver refused to let Alice dress him up and decided to explore the area, leaving Alice and Jayden with their nanny in the playroom.

Jeff told Becca that she is free to explore any area of the villa and property, and that she should not worry about men in black (aka security) who are there to protect them. Becca waited for Oliver to get restless in the playroom so that she has an excuse to check out the place.

Becca was two steps behind Oliver, making sure he does not touch something he shouldn't, and she was curiously looking around. This was Becca's first time in such a massive house that is not a museum.

When the meeting ended, Felix, Charlie, Mike, Leah, and Pam went to take care of their own business.

Steve wanted to talk with Jeff about a few details, so Ben and Gabriel left the study together.

Ben saw that Gabriel is troubled and he guessed that it's related to Victoria because at the end of the meeting they discussed how Jeff, Steve, and Charlie handled people who attacked them three weeks ago.

Victoria is locked up in the mental institution owned by Dr. Siltanen, and Dr. Siltanen believes that Jeff is unfortunate to know so many people with psychological issues. 

Ben has a good opinion of Gabriel and he decided to offer a few words of encouragement in the hope to raise Gabriel's spirit.

"That place where Victoria is… it's not bad. My mother in law is there."

Gabriel half-smiled. He knows that Ben means well and for some reason, Gabriel felt that it's OK to open up. "I am glad that we found a way to prevent Victoria from doing harm without putting her in jail or killing her, but that does not change the fact that she used me. This was not a one-time thing. It was going on for a long time and I was clueless. I am such a fool. I don't know if I will ever be able to trust anyone."

"Don't go that way. Look around. There are plenty of available nice ladies."

Gabriel shook his head. "Three weeks ago, I found out that the woman I wanted to grow old with, lied to me for more than a decade. I need time to get over it."

Ben exhaled and looked at Gabriel seriously. "Let me tell you from my experience. No amount of time will heal that wound. I found out that my wife cheated on me and for nearly a decade I drowned myself in work, and off-hours I would drink until I pass out and I wake up next to an unknown woman only to repeat the cycle. I believed that if Stephanie didn't love me, no one would. She didn't destroy only our marriage, she destroyed my confidence and my self-esteem. I would still be spending my days wailing in misery if I didn't meet Penny. Penny's love showed me that I deserve more... that I deserve to be happy."

"You are telling me that I need to find a woman.", Gabriel summarized with disapproval obvious in his voice.

"I'm telling you not to give up on yourself. Keep your eyes open and don't allow darkness to consume you. You are young, with a promising future. As long as you don't shut yourself down, you will find a woman that will help you heal, and she will show you that there is such a thing as a bright future."

"What bright future? Everything around me is reflecting my depression. Things that used to be fun, are not fun anymore."

"You spent a lot of time with Victoria and it's normal that your everyday life reminds you of her and that is deepening your sadness. Maybe it's time to find other things that will make you happy." Ben patted Gabriel's shoulder. "Trust me on this. Stay open to the possibilities, because when you least expect it, you will find a woman who will make you smile. When you meet her, don't let go."

Gabriel was about to respond, but Steve came from the study.

"Jeff is on a call, so I came out. Ben, do you have a minute? I would like to ask you a few things about the latest update to the security system."

Ben was fine with it. "Sure…"

Gabriel felt like an extra. His mood was off, and he was not mentally capable of holding a business conversation. The last three weeks were horrible, and he is confident that if he does not have a history with Steve, Steve would fire him as the most useless assistant on the planet.

"I will be in the garden, let me know when it's time to head out.", Gabriel told Steve.

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