"Wow, talk about living in style," Stacey commented as the group entered the VIP suite on the top floor of the hotel that had been arranged for them by Matriarch Maiya's office.
"They're certainly going all out," Adam said as he looked around the large living room that had enormous windows that looked out over the city below.
"It just goes to show how much they value both Lorelie's performance at the opening ceremony and her new genre tour," Rowena replied as she slumped down on one of the large couches as if the room was nothing special in her eyes.
"There's even a rooftop pool," Tephe, who had run off to explore the suite as soon as they arrived, called from the suite's second-floor balcony.
Lorelie turned to Adam and cupped his chin before saying in a sultry voice, "Stick with me, baby, and this will become the norm for you."
"As long as you're with me, I don't care about that," Adam replied as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.
Lorelie's sultry demeanour cracked as she blushed before turning her head away with a pout while saying, "Bully."
"When did I bully you?" Adam asked.
"You won't even let me act cool in front of you."
"You don't need to act cool in front of me, I already think you're cool… along with probably most of the universe," Adam replied as he kissed her on the cheek, making her smile.
A notification sound suddenly echoed in the suite, breaking up their moment and causing Adam to look around and ask, "What was that?"
"A notification to say that someone is calling the room, it's most likely the front desk," Rowena replied before she leaned towards the table that sat before the couch she sat on, revealing some of her ample cleavage, before she pressed a flashing icon on the embedded console.
"Hello, this is the front desk. We apologise for the interruption, but Dive Lorelie has a call from the matriarch's office. Would you like us to put it through?" A voice asked after Rowena pressed the icon.
"Please put them through," Lorelie said as she reluctantly moved away from Adam and straightened her outfit.
"Of course, Diva Lorelie," the voice replied before ending the communication a few seconds before a large holographic screen appeared on one of the walls, showing a female Leonian sitting at a desk.
"Diva Lorelie, thank you for taking my call," Maiya said with a smile as she saw Lorelie.
"Of course, Matriarch Maiya," Lorelie replied with a smile as she sat on one of the couches before adding, "Thank you for the lovely suite you have arranged for us."
"It was no bother."
"So what can I do for you, matriarch? I was not expecting to speak to you before the opening ceremony since you are no doubt busy making final preparations."
"That would indeed have been the case if this matter hadn't arisen, that I thought I should notify you about personally."
"Matter? What kind of matter?" Lorelie asked curiously as the others in the room listened in.
"I regret to inform you that a group of bounty hunters made an attempt against the ship you are travelling on earlier today."
"They did?" Lorelie asked with surprise while shooting Adam a look, who shook his head to show he knew nothing about this.
"Indeed, however, they ended up attacking a different ship by mistake. Allow me to explain what happened," Maiya said before she began to explain everything that happened.
"Haha, they ended up disabling the Dwarfinian delegation? Bounty hunters aren't what they used to be, haha," Rowena asked with a laugh after she heard the story.
"So it would seem," Maiya replied with a smirk.
"That can't be all you called to inform us about personally? Something that minor could have been relayed through your assistant or someone else." Lorelie asked.
"You are correct, I just got out of a meeting with Kuxau, the leader of the Bounty Hunter Guild in the Felidae Galaxy. I warned her to control the bounty hunters and that they are not to do anything until after the opening ceremony.
While I would have preferred to have been able to stop them from doing anything while you're in the Felidae Galaxy, I'm afraid the end of the opening ceremony is the best I can do."
"I understand and thank you for doing as much as you already have and also for the advanced warning," Lorelie replied with a smile before continuing, "I understand that bounty hunters as a whole are very independent, and it's difficult for a single branch to control them all."
"I am grateful for your understanding," Maiya said with a smile and was about to bid her farewell when another voice suddenly cut in.
"One moment, please," Adam said before he appeared in the holographic screen that Maiya was viewing and stood behind Lorelie, who looked at him curiously.
"I apologise for interrupting your conversation with Lorelie. My name is Adam, and I was hoping you could pass a message on to Guild leader Kuxau."
"Adam Spencer, is it?" Maiya asked with interest as she studied the man who looked like a rather plain Terran, trying to understand what Diva Lorelie saw in him.
This man was famous, or perhaps infamous, would be a better term, since he was the man who managed to win Diva Lorelie's heart and steal her away from all the other men who wanted her, all while already dating Diva Rowena's granddaughter.
However, amazingly, until now, Maiya had never been able to see his appearance because he had always stayed out of shot whenever the divas appeared on The MMM Show, or when videos or photos of the group had been taken, his appearance was always somehow blurred, making it difficult to identify him.
"If it's within my power, please ask away," Maiya replied.
She wasn't sure if this man was worth building ties with; however, the fact that she didn't want to upset Diva Lorelie made her act polite towards Adam.
"Thank you, Matriarch Maiya. My message is rather simple. I have no issue with the Bounty Hunter Guild coming after me, after all, I was the one who killed many of their members and blew up their guild hall on Terrana Five."
"Hey! I was the one who blew up their guild hall," Stacey complained; however, Adam ignored her and carried on.
"However, if the Bounty Hunter Guild on Felinia Seven doesn't wish for their building to end up like the one on Terrana Five, they had better keep my friends and those I care for out of our quarrel, and this time I wont be so kind as to give them a warning beforehand."
Maiya stared at Adam in surprise while Rowena smirked as if hoping the Bounty Hunter guild would be stupid enough to try something for entertainment.
"I will be sure to pass along your message. I just hope you have the balls to back it up if you need to, unlike another streamer I'm familiar with," Maiya remarked with a smirk.
"She's totally talking about Prime, isn't she?" Tephe asked Stacey with a smirk.
"One hundred per cent," Stacey answered with her own smirk.
"Cough, cough, yes, well," Maiya coughed and remarked at Tephe and Stacey's comments before continuing, "As a Leonian, I prefer strong men who can back up their claims and stick to their word to protect their mates and get revenge for them if necessary, even more so as the Matriarch. Don't disappoint me, young man."
After she finished speaking, she ended the holocall.
"Is it just me, or was she flirting with Adam at the end there?" Lorelie asked.
"She totally was," Stacey replied with surprise.
"Looks like you made an impression," Rowena added with her signature smirk.
💫💫💫
"Who the fuck does that bastard think he is?" Director Drot said angrily as he ended the holocall he had been on.
He had just called Kuxau, demanding an explanation after hearing about the botched attempt some bounty hunters in the Felidae Galaxy had made by accidentally attacking the carrying a Dwarfinian delegation. It was then that Kuxau had informed him that Maiya had passed on a warning from Adam.
"It seems the few small victories this brat has gained have inflated his ego and given him an overinflated ego. Well, if that's how he wants to play it, then how about we make his execution more public," Drot muttered with a dark look before accessing his uniband and searching for a contact, which he promptly messaged.
[[I agree to your conditions]]
[[About time, you almost missed your chance. Remember, I want triple the bounty reward as I will be blacklisted after doing this]]
[[Fine, just make it public]]
[[That was the plan all along]]
"Hhahaha, I didn't originally want to do it this way since that bitch Diva is bound to call me up again and have a moan about this, but you just had to push my buttons, didn't you, brat?"