Valerine has been the main helping hand of the mansion for almost four years and is someone who knows all the ins and outs of the Renner house including their family, business, and of course the house's infamous 'playboy' Ian included. She was petite in figure yet had so much strength in her to take care of an entire mansion by herself.
She, who ought to be in her late thirties, is now doubting her memory and experience with Master Ian or so as she calls him, due to his recent unusual behavior.
For the past few days, Ian has been surprising Valerine by showing a sudden massive change in the things that the previous 'Ian' had been intent on. The 'Ian', Valerine knew, ate three full meals, did nothing the whole day but enjoyed his night out with random girls, and wasted money every day in vain. It was now completely Valerine's duty to cook, wash, clean everything, and take care of the house.
It was no secret for anybody who knew them that Ian was a good-for-nothing heir to all the inheritance his parents left. Lately, the third-floor library has been his domain. Valerine's futile attempts of taking meals inside the library every six hours got rejected or were received with a short reply such as "Leave it there, I'll eat".
In the past, Valerine never cared about what Ian did, or what Ian will be doing for the rest of the day cause she certainly knew that this 'playboy' would be an utter dishonor to his father's name.
Maybe because of the fact that Ian basically grew up with his important stages of life in front of her eyes, the past few days have been quite concerning for her.
Every time she would go inside, Ian would be either reading a book, watching a movie, or scribbling who-knows-what in one of the huge piles of books that rested in front of him. This change, after all, seemed pleasant, but she feared that if he was suffering from a sudden mental illness.
At times, knowing that there aren't many people who care for him, she even tried to mention some psychologists who could help, but ended up getting a response such as "I'm perfectly fine.", but not before his signature-cold-glare.
-
It was an early morning Tuesday when Valerine was dusting the off-white cushions in the living room while sweat drops covered her body due to the slight increase in the temperature in the surroundings.
She was taken aback by the footsteps down the hall by none other than Ian. Imagine someone coming around just when you worry about them, that is what happened to Valerine. But on the other hand, her thoughts were invaded these days by Ian, day and night. Another surprise is Ian wearing a suit.
She wondered for a moment, where he found that. She herself has never seen him wearing those sorts of clothes and was ready to hit the road to find the reality of the matter. A slight gasp passed through her lips.
"Are you going somewhere, sir?" Valerine asked in her kindest voice possible, knowing very well that she will receive a cold stare back. She was just being cautious. She kept her gaze on him and continued to stare for a few more awkward seconds while Ian replied, "To the office." His expressions still remained blank as ever.
The surprise was clearly painted on Valerine's face that even a stranger could possibly understand the state she was currently in. "I won't be back till night," He added and gave a small nod while walking outside. She opened her mouth to say something, but just an "Oh," left in a small voice.
[...]
Ian, who walked past the living room door, couldn't have imagined a few days back how big the mansion really was. He stumbled his way to find places inside it, for example, the library, but now all he needed was to move his body to the place where he needed to go. Because of that, he started rummaging through his previous body owner's stuff in his bedroom, and then he found a car key. In no time, after a few wrong turns, he finally saw the garage.
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Walking inside it, he was quite stunned by seeing a Porsche Spyder. He got inside the luxurious car with all the big plans he had in his mind and started the engine. While using the muscle memory of his new body he somehow drove this car to its destination.
-
Renner Films, the production studio started by Henrey Renner-father of the former owner of Ian's body, was now barely functioning. The golden times of Renner Films left a remarkable history, which was recognized by the entire country. In the past, it had done many great movies with top stars but now is on the verge of its end.
The studio made millions of dollars with movies of various genres which fans loved. It was an accomplishment that Henrey Renner and the CEO, Mason Striver were very proud and happy of. It was worth their entire lives' hard work.
Mason Striver, who was in his late 40s, and had a tall muscular figure was one of the closest friends of Henry Renner. Even after the downfall he still tries his best to make the Renner Films work with every single cell remaining. That was mainly because of the memories Henry and him shared together.
The 'one dream' they worked together for had kept him alive day and night just to work for the betterment of the now left bits and pieces of the studio.
The most embarrassing part of it all was how the studio went from working with top stars and collecting huge awards to barely making C-graded soft porn movies. Yet, out of it all, what Mason aims for is even a slight growth of the company in which he owns only a 15% stake now.
He was in an internal conflict between the idea of trying to make the studio somehow work just like he's been doing now or selling the studio for a good price. What kept him back from taking the latter decision was all the reasons he started working in the studio for.
His assistant knocked on the door and got approval from Mason to come in. The middle-aged woman announced that a young man named 'Ian' came to meet Mason, leaving him in doubt. The assistant had never heard about anyone named Ian because she came to work in the studio around a year ago, and not once did anybody named Ian visit the studio.
Mason doubted if it was the 'Ian' he knew for a second, but approved him to come inside, while questions kept rising inside his head. Mason had lost hope in Ian to do literally anything worthwhile in the studio ever since he became a playboy and stopped valuing anything that has had to do with his father. It maintained a clear disappointment about Ian in Mason's brain.
On second thoughts, Mason suddenly got the idea of Ian wanting a loan or some sort of money, which Mason obviously was in lack of. Deciding to deal with anything the young Renner had come up with, Mason took a deep breath.
As Ian walked past the door, it was clear to Mason that the young Renner had the same body and young face just like he remembered but his entire aura had changed. The vibes he sent off gave a new feeling to Mason, due to which he doubted what exactly was happening and was unsure about what his eyes were seeing.
That was just how experienced Mason was with humans, especially his best friend's son. Most importantly what gave half of this impression was how Ian had dressed today.
"Uncle Mason," Ian addressed and sat right in front of him. Mason nodded in return but decided to get straight to the point with no short talks.
"Ian, why are you here?" His voice was full of curiosity. Doubts and unpredictable questions appeared.
"This might be surprising to you, but first I want to apologize," Ian started while his eyes locked onto Mason's. He leaned forward in his seat and continued, "I also know this is sudden, but I want to change for good. I want to work for the company." He gave a straightforward answer and completed what he was about to say, briefly.
"Are you okay?" Mason asked out of nowhere. This whole change for the good was confusing, even to him.
"Yes, I'm perfectly fine, uncle Mason. But there are a few things I need to start new, around here."
"And-" Mason was about to explain how things have been going around here, just for the reason he knew that raising Ian's hopes up would do nothing at the moment but would automatically shatter them in the end by just how the things are.
"I want to work for the company." Ian cut him off.
"But why? Suddenly?" Mason leaned back in his chair while his elbows rested on the chair arms. His thoughts seemed to never stop disturbing his peace of mind.
"This will sound ridiculous, but I saw my parents in my dreams about a week ago. And I- I think I kind of regret how my behavior was in these past years. My dad said he wants me to work for the company and make it better. Although this sounds nonsensical, I'm sure as to how my life was from weeks ago was not what my dad imagined me to have when he was alive."
A sigh left Mason's lips signaling he was understanding what Ian was trying to say. But in his mind, he wanted to know what exactly Ian really wants to do. Mason was highly skeptical about the whole idea of Ian working for the studios. Taking a few moments to himself, he decided to continue the conversation.
"So, what do you want to do?" He asked.
"I want to continue the studio, just like dad wants me to. I want to try things and change my life differently to see if I can possibly change anything about how it is right now," He declared.
All Mason knew was Ian was confessing that he needed to change and work for the company repeatedly. Which ended up increasing his doubts and adding up more reasons for his initial impression of his arrival of Ian.