Skaydal - Hybrid's Omega

19

Amani

I was tempted to look at my hands, but I had to force myself to keep eye contact with the people sitting around the large table. I had just finished presenting my ideas to not only Grayson and Zack, but to Conrad and Callum as well. The twins were extremely good-looking, and I had fumbled over my words when I had started. However, once I got into it, I managed to push aside that silly little crush and focus.

“I have to admit, I am impressed,” Zack said as he broke the silence, and I breathed out in relief.

“Right?!” Grayson said with a large smile. “What do you boys think?” he then asked the twins, and they shared a look before they turned their attention back to me.

“Honestly, we had been looking at a couple of machines that could help us out. No one realizes just how much work there is with wine,” Conrad said. Or was that Callum?

“But we were sure how our workers would feel being replaced by a machine,” the other twin said. Now that I wasn’t sure who was who, I realized that I couldn’t ask. Surely there had to be a difference between them and I quickly wished I had paid more attention when they had arrived. “But from the way you explained it, they wouldn’t be replaced,”

“No, they wouldn’t,” I quickly agreed. I was tempted to go back to a few points in my presentation, but I had already covered everything, and I didn’t want to sound like a broken record that was stuck on repeat.

“But the funding…” the twin on the left stated softly and I relaxed as I glanced over at Grayson. While I had touched on funding, I hadn’t revealed the other part of the presentation. Grayson gave me a subtle nod and I didn’t waste another second.

“The funding is easy,” I remarked, but I could see the twins were going to need a lot more than that. “Grayson is prepared to fund all of the new machinery,”

“Really? Is that wise?” Zack questioned Grayson, who chuckled.

“Listen to her,” he said, and Zack looked back at me.

“By investing in new machinery, it will not only help productivity, but it will also give you the speed you need to produce more,”

“Productivity and speed,” one of the twins muttered, and I eagerly nodded.

“Exactly. Think about it like this…let’s say it would’ve taken ten hours to produce the beginning stages of making wine,” he scrunched up his nose and while I knew I wasn’t necessarily using all the right terms, it didn’t matter. “So, ten hours spent doing one job, but then you invest in a machine that completes that job in…let’s say two hours. Ok, so in ten hours, let’s say you can make up to five hundred liters,” I still wasn’t using the correct terms, but they seemed to be following me without a problem. “That would mean that if you took those same ten hours…five hundred liters for every two hours that would give you…” my voice trailed off as I waited for one of them to work it out.

“That’s two thousand five hundred liters!” one of the twins exclaimed and I nodded.

“Exactly! Plus, the bonus is that you can switch on certain machines to run during the night so that in the morning when your staff come in, they don’t have to overwork to get the job done,” I was on a roll, but I could see that I wouldn’t have to do much more convincing. Grayson finally stood up and silently demanded our attention.

“I know there are some finer details that still need to be sorted out. After all, this is still just an idea, but if you agree, then Amani can start working on an actual business plan,” he said, and the twins once again looked at each other before they stood up.

“We are in,” one of them said and it was driving me nuts.

“Which one are you?” I asked the one that had just spoken. He immediately smiled while his twin scoffed.

“Seriously Amani, you cannot tell us apart?”

“No, I mean, I can clearly see the difference, I just don’t remember who is who,” I admitted sheepishly.

“The one with the teardrop tattoo on his left hand is Conrad,” Zack offered, and my eyes immediately dropped to their hands. The one on the left was Conrad and he looked smug.

“Don’t forget it, sweetheart,” he teased before they launched into another topic of conversation with Grayson. I excused myself so that I could get to Josiah’s place. He may not know it, but today he was going to learn how to wash his own clothes using the washing machine that sat in his kitchen. I was actually looking forward to it, but I was also curious about how he planned on teaching me how to use basic magic. By the time I parked the car, Josiah was standing in the doorway. He smiled as I approached him, and my heart skipped a beat.

“Hello Amani,” he greeted with a smile.

“Hey Josiah,”

“Pray tell, little one, what have you got planned for me today?” he asked as he pulled me into his arms once I was close enough.

“Time to do some laundry,” I said as I breathed in his scent.

“I don’t have any laundry,” he pointed out before he kissed my forehead.

“That is beside the point,” I said as I went past him and entered his place. I immediately noticed the dirty dishes and the thin layer of dust. He hadn’t used his magic to clean up and I was impressed. “I see we are making progress,” Josiah blushed as he looked around the living area and I couldn’t help myself as I gave him a quick kiss before I headed into the kitchen.