【 Stranded 】 Miguel O'Hara

Part 3

Dressed in casual clothing Miguel and Lori made their way down the busy Manhattan street. Despite the chilly autumn breeze that assaulted them, Miguel was donned in a short tee over his suit, and sweatpants that were much too small for his stature. It wasn't flattering, but they were the only men's clothes that Lori had left in her home, kudos to Glen.

Thankfully the mall was only a few blocks away from Lori's apartment. But they weren't going there to get more casual clothes, as much as Miguel may have needed them. They were going there to get a suit for Miguel to wear at the exhibition.

"I'd never thought that in my life I'd be forced to rent a suit from a mall." He grumbled.

Lori snorted. She had guessed that he was some sort of rich billionaire in his dimension and now he'd pretty much confirmed it.

"Hey, I don't love the idea either. It's coming out of my pocket." She said. "But if you're going to be an interested stakeholder then you've got to look the part."

It was crucial for their plan for the exhibition in two days. Miguel would pretend to be a wealthy investor attempting to network with Harriet about their stock regarding Tritium. And being the businesswoman that Harriet was, there was no way she could turn him down.

"I'm really not liking the fact that I'm having to owe you more..." Miguel grumbled.

Lori smiled. She loved it, as It gave him a reason to tolerate her.

"Should we do a count? Let's see, two days' worth of rent, the coffee from earlier this morning, and the suit has to be pretty expensive too..."

"I promise, as soon as I get this fixed you'll have your cash and more." He tapped on his broken watch.

"I'll expect no expense spared then." She winked. But in reality, she didn't care much for the cash. She was quite enjoying her time with him.

Suddenly a soft buzz resounded from Lori's pocket. Curious, she checked her phone, surprised to find multiple texts from her older sister, Angela. The messages read: "Where are you? I have a work emergency. Can I drop Ami with you for today?"

Lori sucked in a breath, weighing her options. Angela would at times have work emergencies on weekends, and when she did, Lori became the go-to person to look after her daughter Ami. Lori loved watching over her though, she was a really sweet kid. But she had to admit It wasn't the best timing, since technically the two were still on spider duty. And Miguel didn't really seem the type to like kids.

"What's wrong?" Miguel asked. He stopped further up the path, waiting for Lori.

She cringed as she looked up from her phone to Miguel. "So... I kinda have to watch my niece."

His brows furrowed. "What? Now?"

"Possibly..." Lori said slowly, to which Miguel gave a slight groan. "Look, It's fine! We can take her to the mall with us. She's really easy to manage."

It wasn't a lie. Ami was already seven and was a pretty calm kid, she wouldn't be a bother. Besides, they were only going to buy clothes, the operation wasn't exactly a top-secret sting. At least not yet.

Miguel simply sighed, but his eyes showed he had something else on his mind. "You do what you need to do."

Lori grinned at his affirmation. Perhaps he didn't mind being around kids after all.

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Lori and Miguel didn't have to wait long outside the mall before Angela had shown up with Ami. Angela was clearly in a rush, dressed in her suit and smelling of hairspray. Even so, she thought it appropriate to question the unfamiliar giant standing next to Lori, eyeing him up and down with a raised brow. Ami hadn't even realised his presence though, as she had flown immediately into Lori's arms.