CHAPTER 149 (Second-Gen)

CHAPTER 149 (Second-Gen)
The kitchen's buzzing with the usual morning chaos, and Nadia stumbles in, gravitating towards the coffee machine like a moth to a flame . Her family’s already digging in, and she’s surprised Peyton’s not up yet the guy’s usually a human alarm clock . “Has anyone seen Peyton?” she asks, yawning.

Kimberly pipes up, “He’s still sleeping, I think.” The table quirks an eyebrow – Peyton’s the first one up, always brewing coffee like it’s his job.

Nadia joins the chatter about breakfast, and just as she’s settling in, Peyton and Axel stroll in, looking like they just rolled out of a morning breeze. The room does a double take.

Allen looks around, confused, “Who the hell is this?” He glances between Peyton and Axel, trying to piece together the sudden appearance.

Peyton and Axel take a seat, and Peyton says, “This is Axel, Nadia’s secretary. He stayed over last night.”

Kimberly’s eyes light up, “Axel… oh, that Axel,” she says, wiggling her brows at Nadia. Nadia quickly slices her hand across her neck. Kimberly giggles, trying to stifle her grin.

Raymond jumps in, “Wow, Nadia, I didn’t know you brought your employees over to the house. You let your employees stay over? What’s going on here?” He looks amused, like he’s sniffing out drama.

Nadia rolls her eyes, “Shut up, Pennywise.” Axel’s head snaps to Peyton, confusion written all over his face. “Pennywise?” he asks, looking between Nadia and Raymond.

Ryan chuckles, “Yeah, we call him Pennywise because he’s like the clown – loves messing with people, gets a kick out of pushing buttons. He’s always pulling pranks, making us crazy.”

Raymond nods, grinning, “I like to think of it as ‘cultivating chaos’. It’s fun, trust me.” He leans back, clearly proud of his reputation.

Peyton shakes his head, “You’re a menace, Raymond.” The table laughs, and the nickname makes sense – Raymond’s antics are legendary.

Nadia tries to steer the conversation back on track, “So, Axel, how was your first night here?” Axel smiles, “It was great, thanks for having me.”

The chatter continues, but Axel keeps glancing at Peyton, clearly still curious about the Pennywise thing. Peyton just smirks “You’ll get used to it.”

The dining room was filled with laughter and the of cutlery, and for a moment, everything feels normal.

"So, Axel" Seraphina smirked. "What brings you here to our beautiful home? Are you, and Pey a thing or something?" She asked and everyone's gaze turned to Axel.

He shifted uncomfortable on his seat, and looked at his plate of pancakes. He was about to speak but Peyton beat him to it.

"That's none of you concern, Sera"He said, making her scowl.

"I don't remember asking you. So why the fuck are you speaking for him as if he doesn't have a mouth?!" She spat at him.

Peyton clenched his jaw, and was about to stand when Axel held his wrist. Peyton turned to him, and he smiled.

He turned his gaze towards Seraphina"Like he said it's non if your concern "He replied, and everybody on the table burst into laughter.

"Looks like someone finally met her match "Ryan chuckled, and shook his head.

Seraphina scoffed" The fact that he gave on stinky reply doesn't make him legendary. Stop exaggerating "She rolled her eyes.

"Still got what you deserved "Nadia smirked, and took a sip of her coffee.

She huffed, and folded her arms" Yeah, whatever "She grabbed her bowl of cereal, and stood up. She stormed out of the dining room without saying anything.

"Can't remember the last time I saw Seraphina let a comeback get to her "Allen said with a grin.

"That's because it's the new guy. Innocent face, but not so innocent mind"Ryan said, and chuckled.

After breakfast, Peyton, and Nadia took Axel home. They parked at the entrance, and glanced at Axel who was in the back seat.

" You know if you're not feeling like it you can stay at home and recuperate. You don't have to come to work" Nadia suggest looking concerned.

Axel grinned "No can't do. I like going to work, and besides my employees contract stated that I can only get a day of after I've worked for 18 months." He said, and unbuckled his seat belt. " I don't want the rest of the workers to think that I'm getting special treatment. I'll be at the office within an hour "He added, and stepped out of the car.

Nadia glanced at Peyton who raised in the air.

" Don't look at me. He's old enough to make his own decisions, and if he chooses to go to work then so be it. And he's not wrong, he's still your employee "He said, and shrugged.

Nadia glared at him, and sighed. She started the car, and drove out off.



Work was over in no time, and the office started to clear out. Nadia was seating at her desk, while flipping through files. She yawned, and rolled her shoulders.

She brushed her soft curls back with her fingers, and continue with her work. She yawned, and reached for her coffee mug.

A knock came at the door, and Axel walked in. and Nadia looked up from the files, a light smile on her face. "Are you done?" she asked, and Axel dropped the papers in her palm.

She opened it, and scanned through the document before nodding. "Looks good enough. Send an email to the board of directors for a meeting Monday morning at nine am" She instructed, and yawned.

Axel furrowed his brows" Are you good? "He asked, and tilted his head to the side. A flash of concern on his face" You've been at it since you got here at eight? I'm a bit worried "He said , and Nadia smiled.

" Always makes me happy knowing that there are people who care about me"She chuckled "Don't worry" I'm fine. I just had a lot of work to do today "She said, and Axel sighed.

" If you say so"He muttered.

Peyton walked through the door at that exact time, and Nadia's face lite up like a childs on Christmas morning.

She sprung up, startling Axel in the process "Jesus" He raised a brow, and smirked "I know that you're happy to see him, but calm down, Miss Knights" He joked, making Nadia to roll her eyes.

"Just go shut down your computer. We're leaving in ten" She said, and Axel blinked.

"Again?" He asked.

"Yes, again. Now go before I change my mind" Peyton who had been quite finally spoke, and spinned on the swivel chair across Nadia.

"So, nobody's gonna tell me where we're going?" He looked between them.

Peyton shrugged "I promise not to say" He asked, and fished for his phone. He started scrolling on it, clearly trying to ignore Axel.

Axel glanced at Nadia. She smiled, and giggled "It's a secret"

The next thing he knew, they were walking through the gates of an amusement park. Axel's expression was priceless – a mix of shock, excitement, and utter confusion.