Chapter 408: The Start Of Everything III

And unveil, it did...

In a few day's time after her last visit, Old Sullivan's notice was known and a Monica Bellucci officially moved in.

She packed light and with the guest room available, she was set to settle in in no time.

And time made it happen, didn't it?

What it unveiled elicited differing reactions from vastly different people though.

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Milla was one of those "reactors" and she was genuinely just surprised.

This arrangement was out of nowhere, after all.

To add to it, she had a feeling that this was the second coming of Old Lady Cox, all the while taking up the responsibilities that her mom had left behind.

Then again, it got her thinking. As the self-appointed madam of Alex, how was she going to leverage this?

Shrew was an annoying exception that doesn't heed her authority at all... but maybe this lady will.

It should be good practice...

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As for Drew... well... she had her suspicions and worries. Always had ever since this secretary girl was hired.

Knowing more about relationships from all the extremity and excess of the Hollywood hangouts that she's been on, this new arrival was bad news.

On night clubs, certain guys, who are either famous or rich, always had two girls wrapped around their arms wasn't anything surprising. Bands and their groupies, mostly.

Anyways, whenever a fresh batch of groupies comes along, that dynamic gets interesting as these poor girls get shuffled.

Club-frequenter Drew always found that amusing but when she likened it to the current situation, it wasn't so amusing.

Maybe it's just the mistress being hypocritically wary of potential mistresses.

Especially when it's a more mature and curvy lady in the equation.

In any case, it is said that guys prefer younger and although she was really, really young herself... she wasn't so sure when it came to the boy she's dating.

He was too cold and too cool for her to be able to get a read on what was truly going on in that mind of his.

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Meanwhile... what's going on in Alexander's mind is really just processing this whole development.

Before he knew it, his secretary has now become his personal assistant.

It's essentially the same supporting role and sort of one of the same... but there were distinctions.

Secretaries keep schedules organized, manage correspondence, and complete clerical tasks.

Like handling customer inquiries, scheduling appointments, and managing travel arrangements.

Personal assistants alternatively are secretarial as well but there was obviously a personal touch to it.

Aside from scheduling appointments and making travel arrangements... they also manage the household, handle some of the day-to-day tasks, and generally just keep their employer's life running smoothly.

Some of them are even responsible for managing the household budget, paying bills, ordering supplies and groceries, and coordinating home maintenance and repairs.

There were some overlaps here and there and they are even often interchanged.

Still, Monica Bellucci's decision to really go for a personal assistant was saying something...

Granted, Alexander could've just as easily arrived at this conclusion, which was why he can't help but discuss things with the man that facilitated the hastened process.

"You know, grandpa. You could have skipped the theatrics and secrecy last time and told me that this was what you were going for." Sure enough, there was something peculiar about this old man's specified invitation.

Old Sullivan simply deflected. "If you have reservations, Alex, you know you could just as easily reverse my decision. She's also your employee, isn't she?"

"Well... I'd rather not." Alexander found that quite awkward. Miss Consigliere just moved in with probably quite the determination to see through it.

"Also, it's counterproductive. I was going to offer this career shift to her anyways." After all, this whole secretary thing was always Alexander's ploy for a replacement... and a more career-assisting caretaker.

Miss Galina's chauffering and catering were good and all but someone that can be an all-rounded help with his business matters goes a long way.

Obviously, there were reasons for calling her Miss Consigliere instead of Miss Secretary and it's not just her being Italian and knowing some law like The Godfather's Tom Hagen.

It's a process though and he even had a probationary period and all that before he'd suggest it.

It's just that Old Sullivan blew it, so Alexander said. "I really hadn't factored in the fact that you would speed things along."

"I had to since it's long overdue." Old Sullivan reasoned and he had to add some sternness to it. "Aside from that special driver of yours being called back by Pierce for some reason, you've gone too far on some things that you need proper supervision."

The delay for a replacement was truly an oversight on his part.

Foolishly thinking that Alex can take care of himself in the meantime.

And the boy did. It's just that he went overboard when it came to Milla and Drew.

That was Old Sullivan's nominal granddaughter and a new Alex friend he had introduced as a meet-cute.

All in all, it backfired badly and Old Creed had to put a foot down on some things. "Obviously, I am not free from the blame here but you also need to be kept in line, Alex."

"I get what you mean, grandpa. But we're already here, aren't we?" Alexander registered what was being implied, shrugged at what he had done, and questioned. "Besides, what good will Miss Consigliere's early job shift do, anyways?"

Old Sullivan could only sigh at that... and sigh some more when he registered what he just heard. "The young lass is meant to keep you in place but hearing you say that I just sped some things along and early job shift really got me thinking that I may have shot myself in the foot."

This boy actually had the vision to make this all happen eventually and it goes to show how far he could think ahead and his true goal for hiring the sexy lass.

At this point, it is what it is already and after easing his stern demeanor, the elderly Creed whisperingly asked. "Even after little Milla and Drew, do you actually have ulterior designs for your secretary as well?"

"It's not what you think." Of course, Alexander denied that by pointing out. "You really make me sound so scheming, grandpa."

"That's because you are." To which, Old Sullivan affirmed with a point of his own. "Especially with what you've done with Marvel."

"What about it?" It's a weird jump from what they've just talked about but Alexander was all for it.

The topic from earlier was getting a tad uncomfortable for him, however, he was at ease when it came to something like this.

Same for Old Sullivan, who just wanted to move on from his earlier sternness and discuss familiar business with his grandson, which was why he expounded. "It's the new year already and I've heard that Marvel fans have gotten discontent with the fact that their favorite publisher's publication hiatus is still staying strong as it was last October."

"Even I am starting to believe the rumor that Alexander Creed brought Marvel Comics just to bury it and further Creed Comics' cause." The Old Creed mused but at the same time not. "Then again, I know that with all that money we've spent to acquire the whole thing, this hiatus is damaging to us as well."

"It can't be helped, grandpa." He reasoned. "Aside from the managerial restructuring I've already told you about, I'm aiming for an overall content and story restructuring along with it."

When it came to Marvel, there's just a lot that bothered him.

Like the fact that they will have one hero yet run ten storylines about said hero at around the same time.

Exaggerated or not... pandering and hiring excessively multiple creatives that are gunning for the same popular character was truly stupid.

Then there's the annoying caveat wherein each story contradicts something that was established in the other.

Of course, these creatives had their artistic visions and they want to stand out, not caring for the mess it brings.

Then there's the practice of canceling the good storyline because it didn't sell enough and continuing the atrocious storylines because it shockingly had good numbers.

Business-wise that's good but really just damaging in the long run.

Then there's the fact that the secondary market and the trading of old issues are pretty much going to be the reason why Marvel looks good in market graphs. Not exactly because their direct production and performance.

Clearly, the Big Two were the Big Two because they had published quite a lot over the years and that just accumulated into the market's circulation.

Of course, there are a lot more inherent problems that come to Alexander's mind.

But it was clear as day that he didn't like how traditional American comics were operated and given that he had a shot to fix one of the biggest purveyors of that, he didn't want to mess it up.

He had to cut all these confounding fanfic-esque storylines, organize the truly good ones, fix what should be fixed, and streamline everything from there on out.

Sufficed to say, this executive decision didn't just piss the fanbase that only saw a prolonged pause.

It aslo pissed a lot of these so-called Marvel insiders like comic writers, artists, inkers, and editors. The collective of creatives as a whole.

Then again, they could go with all those old incompetent executives, board members, and managers for all he cares.

All in all, it compounded into something quite radical. Something Stan Lee and Jim Shooter repeatedly reminded him about.

But it was all necessary in Alexander's opinion.

For even those were just the start...

The start of everything he's envisioned Marvel will come to be.