I had just left the office road, still thinking about the message, when I heard someone behind me.
"Hey, you!"
I turned. Maya.
"Come here," she said.
I sighed and walked to her.
"So the boss asked you to give me the cup, and you did. You humiliated me in front of everyone," she said, her voice sharp but shaky.
"There was nothing I could do," I told her. "And I didn't even expect you to laugh like that."
Her face hardened. "You've made an enemy you'll regret. For every humiliation, I'll give you times two."
"Wow," I said, rolling my eyes. "You already know how things work in that office. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself."
She rushed at me and grabbed my hair. I gasped, pushed her off me, and kept walking. I didn't even look back. I was too focused on the message, too focused on Andrew.
A cab slowed down by the road.
"The Hollow Pot," I told the driver quickly.
"Sure. Get in."
I slipped inside. Twenty-five minutes later, I was standing in front of the restaurant.
The Hollow Pot.
The signage was old and fading. It was a bungalow with a small set of steps, and someone sat there smoking.
I went inside and met the woman at the counter.
"Hi,"
I said with a smile. I hoped she would recognize me.
"Hey,"
she answered in a friendly tone at first. Then her smile dropped.
"So where do we start from?"
I asked.
''We've got burgers, steak, fries, pasta...just tell me what you want."
I blinked, confused. "Oh, no. I'm not here for food."
I leaned closer.
"I'm here for the message you sent me. You remember me right?
where do we start from?"
"Excuse me? What are you talking about?"
she said, looking confused.
I figured she wasn't the owner.
"Oh, sorry. I'm looking for the owner of this place,"
I replied, adjusting my trousers.
"What do you want from me?"
she asked, surprised.
"See, witch, stop playing games with me. I travelled all the way from the packhouse so I could meet you,"
I said, furious. Her hands were shaking. She looked distracted.
"See, I got a message saying you asked me to come meet you,"
I added.
She looked at me, frustrated.
"First you call me a witch, second you left a packhouse. What is that? Are you okay?"
That was when I realised she wasn't a witch. So why was she scared? Who sent me that message?
I scanned the room, searching for whoever sent the message.
People ate, spoons hit plates, and the man outside kept smoking. Then I saw someone I didn't expect.
Ray.
My chest jumped before I could stop it. What was he doing here? This place wasn't his style.
He looked up and spotted me right away. he called,
"Helena, come here."
I froze, then walked over, feeling like the ground was too shaky under my feet.
The moment I stood close, we both said it at the same time
"Are you following me?"
We blinked, then gave eachother an unfriendly stare.
"I should be asking you that,"
he said quickly, eyes shining like he was enjoying this.
"Me? Why would I follow you?"
I shot back.
He leaned back in his chair, the smile not leaving his face.
"Maybe because you want to."
I rolled my eyes hard, but inside my wolf stirred. My heart beat faster, heat rushing through me.
My wolf didn't care that he was my boss, or that he was annoying. She liked his presence too much.
"Sit,"
he said, pointing at the empty chair.
"I don't want to,"
I repiled.
"You already walked all the way over. Sit,"
he pressed, his tone firm but playful.
Against my better judgment, I sat. My wolf settled like she was pleased, while I was anything but.
Ray lifted his hand and called the waiter.
"French fries and Burgers please,for Two."
he said, not even asking me what I wanted.
"Why order for me?"
I snapped.
"Because you would eat whatever I gave you anyway."
His smiled widened.
"In your dreams."
He chuckled low, shaking his head.
"See? You came here because you wanted me. Admit it."
My jaw dropped.
"Wanted you? I don't get you?"
"Admit it ,"
he said, leaning in slightly.
"you're even staring like I'm right."
I stopped looking at him instantly, angry at him, angry at myself… angry at my wolf for wagging her tail inside me like a fool.
We had only been sitting for a few minutes before the food came,burgers, fries, nothing fancy.
"Don't tell me you were one of those kids who cried on the first day of school,"
he said, leaning back in his chair like he already knew the answer.
I raised a fry at him like a warning.
"Cried? Please. I was the kid comforting the criers."
He laughed, shaking his head.
"No way. I bet you were the loud one. The teacher's headache."
I pressed my hand to my chest.
"Excuse you. I was a delight."
"A delight?"
His eyes lit, teasing.
"Yeah, a delightful disaster."
I couldn't help it,I laughed. Like really laughed, the kind that makes your shoulders shake.
And then he laughed too, not the stiff office chuckle I had seen before, but full, real.
It was so weird. This was the same man who made me pour coffee on myself,
Someone who gave everyone in the office that cold, bossy stare.
And here he was, calling me a disaster while looking like he actually enjoyed my company.
On my second day of work?
Strange. Too strange. But I moved along, because… well, I liked it.
We went back and forth about the most random things,how he once broke his arm trying to climb a tree,
how I once tried to dye my hair pink and ended up with orange.
He teased me so bad about that, I nearly choked on my soda.
Then his phone vibrated on the table. The sound cut through the easy air between us.
He looked at the screen, jaw tightening just a little, and then he stood.
"I gotta go,"
he said, casual, already sliding his jacket on.
That was it. No "sorry," no "let me drop you off." Just done.
I blinked at the empty space where he'd been, then looked at the plate he left behind. Burger gone, half his fries untouched.
And yeah, I reached for them.