Haley and Alex climbed the stairs to Vince's room, both wearing slightly puzzled expressions.
'What does he want with Haley?' Alex wondered, eyeing her sister—mostly at the knees. 'Her brain must short-circuit from all the circles she runs around boys.'
Meanwhile, Haley mulled over the situation. 'What does he want with me? Alex, I get—two nerds sticking together, makes sense. But me?' Her eyes widened. 'Gasp! He must want to be cool! And obviously, the coolest person he knows is me. He's probably going to say it in front of Alex to make her realize it too. And then he'll ask me to unnerd them both!'
Alex, watching the rapid shifts in Haley's facial expressions, scoffed. "What are you preening about, you glorified shampoo commercial?"
Haley first looked at her confused, 'Preening?' Her mouth automatically replied, "Imagining you less dorky but I can only see the world exploding with everything fading away."
Not to be outdone, Alex shot back, "Wow, your imagination actually works on things other than a guy's abs?"
"Oh My God!" Haley gasped.
Alex snickered as she pushed open the door to Vince's room, finding him at his desk, eyes glued to his computer screen.
Hearing them come in, Vince turned around with a raised eyebrow. "And what happened to knocking? Monica Geller would be so disappointed."
Ignoring him Alex immediately zeroed in on Vin's screen getting pretty in his space, "What is this?"
Vin seemed a little frazzled, "Hi, Alex. I see your American instincts are thriving, invading my personal space."
Haley waltzed in and immediately sprawled across Vince's bed, pulling out her phone and texting.
Vince glanced over. "And hello to you too, Haley. Need some tortillas to complete your bed fiesta?"
Haley, half-listening, looked up from her phone. "What's got you all sour with no cream, Vinny?"
Before Vince could reply, Alex asked once again, "What type of application is that?"
Vince sighed. "That," he said, gesturing at the screen, "is the entity frying my brain with all the things I have to do over and over."
Alex squinted at the screen, her interest piqued, while Haley's attention evaporated the moment the conversation turned nerdy.
"It looks like a bunch of random numbers and letters. What, is this your secret language for talking to robots?" Alex asked.
Vince smirked. "Close. It's called Bitcoin mining. My computer solves ridiculously hard math problems, and in return, I get digital gold."
Alex crossed her arms. "Sounds like a nerd's get-rich-slow scheme."
Haley groaned from the bed. "Ugh, can we talk about something that doesn't require a math degree? Like, I don't know—actual gold?"
Vince chuckled. "Give it a few years, Haley. You'll regret not paying attention."
Alex narrowed her eyes at the screen. "So… you're telling me this random code can make money?"
Vince grinned. "Yep."
She considered for a moment before deadpanning, "And people call me a nerd."
Then, tilting her head, she added, "So what's got you going all Candace about this? Seems like the computer's doing all the work."
Vince turned toward his desk and picked up a hard drive. "Well, for starters, I have to download everything onto this every few rounds and then check my code to make sure nothing breaks."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "Wait—you wrote a program for this?"
Vince smirked. "What, you thought I just pressed a button and let the computer handle everything? I made it way better than the normal ones. They're super slow. Mine's fast."
Haley let out an exaggerated groan from the bed. "Oh my God, you two sound like you're flirting with the computer."
Alex ignored her, still staring at Vince's screen. "So, let me get this straight. You made a program that lets your computer do math for you, and in return, you get pretend money that you swear will be worth something?"
Vince nodded. "Yep."
She exhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose. "And yet, somehow, Mom still thinks I'm the Milhouse of the family."
Vince smirked. "Well, it's the number of friends… and the glasses. Mostly the glasses."
Alex narrowed her eyes and pinched his ears.
"OW—ow—ow! Okay, okay!" Vince yelped, wincing, swatting her hand away.
Alex ignored his protests, gripping the chair handles and leaning in. "Get to the point—why are we both here?" Her eyes narrowed further. "What are you planning?"
Haley, previously disinterested, now had her ears trained on the conversation.
Vince raised his hands in surrender. "Whoa, whoa, whoa—why does this sound like I'm the bad guy?"
Alex didn't break eye contact. "You're like if Ferb started acting like Dr. Doof but still had Perry's sneaky moves."
Haley pointed at Vince. "Yeah! And don't think we forgot the time you tricked Mom into taking us all to the waterpark—on a Tuesday. So, spill it, Vinny."
Vince shook his head. "Man, y'all really have zero faith in me."
Both sisters scoffed.
Alex smirked. "Talk to me about faith when your horns fall free."
Vince pouted. "Not fair! You guys always team up on me."
Haley stretched out on his bed, scrolling on her phone. "Then stop being so schemey."
Vince crossed his arms. "Fine, fine. Have you noticed how Mom and Claire keep acting all snooty with glee? One of them always stirs the pot, you see."
Haley rolled her eyes. "Uh, yeah? That's literally every dinner scene after a glass or three."
Alex crossed her arms. "And? What's that got to do with me? It's more fun to watch than dumb shows on TV—oh no, stop rhyming, please!"
She groaned while Vince smirked, and Haley burst into giggles.
Vince's laughter gradually faded as he caught Alex's glare. He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, not messing with you anymore."
Clearing his throat, he straightened up. "Listen, Mama and Claire are fighting, and it's going to get ugly."
Haley and Alex exchanged a glance before Haley shrugged. "I don't think we have to do anything, Vinny. I mean, they fight for a minute and then go back to being all... condescending besties."
Alex's head snapped toward her. "You know what 'condescending' means? A-And you used it correctly in a sentence? Did rhyming unlock your brain's full potential?"
"Uh!" Haley's mouth fell open, offended.
Vince ignored them, pressing on. "Well, Mama's taking it seriously this time. And I don't want her fighting with her new family."
Seeing the seriousness in his expression, both sisters exchanged looks.
Haley sighed, nodding. "If you're sure about that… I guess I don't want to see Mom and Gloria fight either. No matter how hilarious it would be."
Vince nodded in appreciation, while Alex turned to Haley, looking at her like she'd just grown a second head.
Haley crossed her arms. "What?"
Alex shook her head. "Nothing. Just… didn't expect that level of emotional maturity from you."
Haley scoffed. "I am so mature."
Alex deadpanned, "You once thought the moon was following us home."
Vince cut in before another fight could break out. "Okay! So, we're all in agreement? No epic mom battles?"
Alex rolled her eyes but smirked. "Fine. I'm in."
Hearing both sisters' agreement, Vin rubbed his hands with a smirk, "Well, let's talk strategy."
[An office suite, 2000 Avenue of Stars, Century Park Complex]
A man in a perfectly tailored suit stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing out at the city below, a glass of amber liquid in hand.
The soft click of heels echoed as a striking redhead stepped through the glass-paneled doors. Taking in the scene, she smirked. "Still measuring it up to New York, I see."
Harvey turned, smirking at the skyline. "Gridlock that makes a class-action lawsuit look speedy, sidewalks jammed like a hoarder's closet, and the people…" He let out a dry chuckle. "New York's finest—ignoring unhinged insanity like it's a Tuesday."
Donna smirked, crossing her arms as she leaned against the doorframe. "Sounds like someone's getting nostalgic for the chaos."
He chuckled, swirling the drink in his glass. "I wouldn't call it nostalgia. More like... begrudging admiration."
She raised an eyebrow. "For what? The rats playing tag in the subway or the fact that a guy in a full Spider-Man suit can run through Times Square and nobody even blinks?"
He exhaled through his nose, amused. "For the energy. The feeling that anything could happen. LA's got its own version of that, sure. But it's different."
Donna walked over, plucking the glass from his hand and taking a sip before handing it back. "Well, if you miss the madness that much, I can always arrange for someone to scream at you on the street for no reason. Maybe throw in a guy selling 'authentic' Rolexes for fifty bucks."
He grinned, shaking his head. "Tempting."
Her expression softened as she looked at him. "Settling in, Harvey?"
He glanced back at the skyline, the city stretching out beneath him. It wasn't New York. It never would be. But it was growing on him.
Harvey turned to Donna with a smirk. "Let's just say… the jury's still out."
A beat of silence.
Then, he added, "So, did you need something, Donna? Or did you just come to watch me brood over the city like I'm Batman?"
Donna smirked, stepping closer, adjusting his tie with practiced ease. "Why? No time for the hot redhead who keeps your life from falling apart?"
Harvey slid a hand to her waist, voice dropping to a whisper. "Nothing like that—just don't want the janitor catching an eyeful and starting rumors."
They lingered for a moment before Donna pulled back suddenly, leaving Harvey slightly puzzled.
"There's a guy from RCA Records here," she said casually. "Wants to talk about that little savant you picked up."
Harvey raised a brow. "And you waited until now to tell me because…?"
Donna turned as she reached the door, glancing back with an amused expression. "Well, he came in hot—called me 'sweetheart' like it was still the '90s. Real Hollywood type. Demanded I get his 'urgent' meeting with my boss right away."
She smirked. "But since he looked like he was running on five espressos and a questionable life choice or two, I figured I'd let him sweat it out a little."
Harvey chuckled, shaking his head as she disappeared through the doorway. Turning back to his desk, he leaned back in his chair, amusement still playing on his face.
A few seconds later, a man in his forties strode through the doors, a forced, fake grin stretched across his face—whiter than Wall Street's cocaine supply. One look up and down, and Harvey could tell the guy had work done on almost every visible inch of his face.
He stood up from his chair to shake the guy's hands and gestured to him to sit down opposite to him.
"Mr. Specter, it's a privilege," the man declared, his voice dripping with rehearsed charm. "Chase Remington. I've heard nothing but marvelous things about you." Somehow, impossibly, his grin widened.
Harvey resisted the urge to sigh. 'Great. One of those.'
Maintaining his usual cool, he gave a practiced nod. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Remington. Apologies for the wait—but as you said, I'm a busy man."
"Oh, I'm well aware. Word is, no one closes a deal quite like you." Remington either missed the subtext or chose to ignore it. He leaned back with a smirk. "And that secretary of yours—impressive. Must've taken some effort to find someone like that. Care to share your hiring secrets?"
He chuckled at his own remark, but growing tired of this charade, Harvey let out a breath through his nose, schooling in his features, he said, "I didn't hire her—she found me. Now, let's get down to business, shall we?"
"Of course, Of course." Remington smiled as he got down to the business.
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