Nobody knows a daughter like her father. Cicely remained silent, and Creighton wasn't expecting any other answer from her. He gazed at Cicely, musing for a moment before slowly saying, "School's starting again, you'll be a senior, and that boy, he should be a sophomore in college now, right?"
"Yep."
Cicely couldn’t skip senior year. No matter how hard she worked, she'd only managed to close the gap by a year. At least there were two more years of college ahead to spend time together.
"Being a young man, he shouldn't be idling his summer away anymore."
Creighton's words took a moment for Cicely to understand, and she looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
"What do you mean by idling away?"d2
"He's got a lot of responsibilities to take on in the future, he's not a child anymore, it's time he learned to manage the family business."
Cicely paused, her eyes shifting, gradually lighting up with a hint of laughter. "I want in on that too."
Creighton looked at her somewhat mockingly, "I never saw you take an interest in the family business before."
Cicely nodded unabashedly, "Yeah, I'm only interested in Seth."
"Shameless."
--
Creighton dialed Patty's number. He never quite understood why Patty had always been reluctant to let Seth get involved in the business. So he didn't beat around the bush. If Patty agreed, he was sure there would be no issue on Seth's end.
"Let Seth start getting involved with the business this summer?"
"Not to manage it, just to get his feet wet. I don't believe even the brightest person could manage a company right off the bat. Running a business is serious, and it's time he learned."
Patty fell silent for a moment, "Can't it wait another two years? At his age, he should be carefree, enjoying college life."
Creighton chuckled, "I don't know what you're really thinking, but that can't be the real reason. Seth, at his age, doesn't have the luxury to talk about carefree college experiences anymore. If this continues..."
Creighton was blunt, "The kid will be ruined."
His words caused Patty's face to darken. She was silent for a long time.
"I suppose no matter your reason, it can't be more important than Seth's life. I won't be in charge of Diaz International forever, just like I can't run the Ellis family's affairs forever. While I still have the energy, hand Seth over to me."
Patty's grip on her phone tightened, "Hand him over to you? Creighton, do you pity us, or is this about something else?"
Creighton frowned, "No matter the reason, it's all to Seth's benefit."
There was a second of silence on the other end, then a small laugh, "Right, you're correct. Alright, I'll leave Seth to you. I appreciate you taking this on."
Creighton didn't linger on the call and hung up to call Seth.
Seth had been eager to get involved with the company for some time. He didn't hesitate when Creighton called. Now that Creighton had the Diaz family's business down to a science, Seth was not too proud to learn from someone with experience.
"Good, I've cleared it with your mother. You'll come to the office tomorrow."
Cicely's eyes brimmed with excitement, "He agreed?"
Creighton nodded, "As expected."
A smile spread across Cicely's face. "I'm going too, then."
Creighton gave her a look, "You'd only be there to cause trouble. I'm sending him to learn, not to play around. Do you think he'll have time for you?"
Cicely didn't like that, "Anyway, tomorrow is his first day, and I can't miss it. At the very least, just for one day."
Creighton shook his head, resigned but not refusing.
Before long, there was noise on the stairs, and Danielle's figure rushed down. She clutched the expensive fabric of her dress, her eyes red and accusing. She glared at Cicely, "Is Seth going to study at the company this holiday?"
Cicely couldn't be bothered with her.
Danielle then turned her gaze to Creighton, "Did you arrange this?"
Creighton pursed his lips, nodding, "Yeah."
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