I was already in a bad mood when I entered the office in the morning.
Lily had stolen one of my socks again.
And I had spent thirty minutes chasing a rugged, three-legged rescue cat with my eyes barely open, trying everything I could to negotiate.
Two pieces of my burnt, leftover cooked fish, which was going to be my lunch today, but she wouldn't take it.
That cat is too smart for its own sake.
So, now I was wearing a mustard-yellow sock, which Emily probably got for me on my last birthday, and a black formal one I had bought for the college thing.
I continued walking, ignoring the glances in my direction.
Though I could probably convince my nicotine-chewing boss that it was some new fashion trend.
By the time I reached Miss Alonso's office, there was a small crowd gathered in front of the revolving door.
The question in my head got answered before I had a chance to shout it out aloud, as a rather loud and angry voice echoed across the hall.
Definitely not Alonso.
The voice came out louder this time as the bunch of pretty boys shoved each other around while grinning.
Whoever was getting yelled at was definitely not popular around here.
My eyes closed as Alonso's face reverberated in my mind—a sad, little stricken woman standing as a small, mousy man towered over her.
The memory involuntarily sent a small pang of disappointment in my heart.
It must have been the project.
The project she worked on till late at night, while I was playing Candy Crush on the laptop, while pretending to help her.
"Hey," I said to myself, "don't make me sound like the bad guy here. Remember the shit she did?"
It's still your fault.
"Fuck, fine."
Wonder where all this guilt went when I shot down a father last week in front of his two teenage daughters?
I elbowed a few guys around. To be fair, they were puny. I finally reached close enough to the handle.
I pressed against it.
Craig was standing there, as I had expected, his back turned to me in his annoying velvet green jacket, his cheek muscles tensed. He moved slightly to pick up his pile of papers from the table, and I finally saw the poor woman.
It was Mei.
I felt a sharp set of gasps behind me. So, clearly, I wasn't the only one bamboozled.
"Mr James," Craig acknowledged, finally turning towards me.
I had put my hand in the mouth of the sleeping dragon for nothing.
"Good morning, sir," I said as cheerfully as I could muster.
"Good morning." His voice was stern as he X-rayed me from behind his stupid glasses. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I asked you a few questions."
"Sureeee," I said, immediately shifting my gaze to his shoes.
"What were you doing with Miss Alonso in the office last night?"
Huh?
I'm sure my mouth must have fallen open as Craig now stared at me incredulously.
That wasn't the least bit what I was expecting.
"We were working," I said, my face reddening.
Why the fuck was I turning this into something it wasn't?
"I'm sure you were..." I swear I could feel the sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Why did you guys then bother with switching the cameras off in the office?"
My eyes widened in realization.
Because that bitch was masturbating in the... shit.
"That isn't true." I could feel my voice coming out as more of a stutter. "There might have been something wrong with the cameras."
I could feel Craig's stare boring into me, but there was nothing else I could do.
He slowly put the papers back on the table.
"This is a last warning, Mr James." His voice was final. "I'm letting you off this time because there is no proof. However, you will have to attend an HR meeting. Relationships between employees are strictly forbidden in this company, especially between senior-junior roles."
He picked up his files, gave me one last look and walked out.
"That was it?" I said, not even bothering about how loud I was.
"Yeah?" Mei replied, looking a little surprised.
"This is your first time in a corporate job?"
"Yeah, but I was expecting a lot worse."
"I mean, you could have gotten a write-up or been fired," Mei said. "It's not like they're gonna shoot you dead or something."
Uhhhh...
"So?" she started again, and I immediately felt a little annoyed at how talkative Mei was. "Did you guys do it on the glass table?"
"What? No!"
"Oh, I had it wiped by the janitor for nothing."
Mei sounded a little sad. "Bet you guys have it in you, though."
"There is nothing going on between the two of us."
"Sureeee," Mei imitated me from not so long ago ,"Honestly, I would be surprised if you guys were doing it. She's married to her work."
Oh yeah?
And speaking of which, where the fuck even was she?
"Not this one, though," she laughed. "She hates this job more than me, which in itself is a miracle. She has some other side business from which she earns most of her money."
"Oh?" I asked, myself confused about why I was so surprised. "Is she rich?"
"She's extremely rich," she looked around. "Don't tell anyone, but sometimes she gets dropped off by really expensive cars two streets over."
"So her side business is OnlyFans?" I asked, grimly.
"To be honest, she seems more like a person who'd hire gigolos." Mei jerked her head.
She looked up, checking the time. "You should probably head to work now. It's only your first day, so it'll just be training."
"Oh, right."
My brain suddenly remembered something. "You go. I'll be right on out."
I slowly picked up the file of loose papers on the table, as Mei closed the door behind her.
If we mess something up, this is all your fault.
Fine, dumbass. Now get to it.
......
There was a knock on the door, just as I closed the file.
Perfect timing. That bitch was going to be so happy.
I stopped in my tracks.
Not that it matters.....
I was more than disappointed when I opened the door to a rather disgruntled stranger. He looked at me for a long moment, before opening his mouth.
"Mr Craig has asked you to go check in on Miss Alonso in the cafe as she's not responding to any calls."
"She never responds to calls," I grunted, not even bothered that it was allowed.
"Tell him that I'll report to him in forty-five minutes."
My phone kept buzzing the entire ride there. I checked in and it was mostly messages from the underboss trying to contact me.
I ignored them all, knowing that I would definitely regret it later.
I put my hands in my hair, deliberately clawing through them as a strange kind of itch generated inside me.
Something was wrong, really wrong.
My eyes kept scanning the nearby area, trying to get some relief by looking at the normalcy, but the pit in my stomach just kept growing bigger.
I just needed to see her face.
Now.
My car halted suddenly as my eyes widened at the scene in front of me.
Police barricades.
Oh, fuck no.
I could feel the adrenaline hitting my throat, as I rushed out of the car, not even caring that the key was still inside. The place was swarming with an overwhelming amount of blue-clad police officers and passersbyers.
My head was throbbing so hard that I felt I was gonna pass out.
"Get the fuck out of my way," I yelled, shoving aside a man who was blocking the exit.
I felt hard arms across my chest as the police officers grabbed my arms and legs, whispering shit I could not decipher.
Please be okay....
I finally managed to push through the door and stumbled inside, my heart nearly dropping at the scene inside.
The white tiled floor was covered with reddish-dark footprints, and somewhere near the corner, I could see a pool of blood where the footprints were emerging.
And then I finally saw her.
She was on the floor, unconscious, her arm covered in blood. Another man was sitting behind her, vaguely Greek, holding her against his chest as he desperately tried to tie a piece of cloth around her arm.
I froze for half a second.
"Shayna."
I didn't know why I shouted her name like that or why my head suddenly felt like it would explode.
I grabbed the idiot and shoved him away from her.
"Get the fuck off her."
The man stumbled back, but he recovered almost instantly and came at me.
"She's bleeding out!" he snapped.
I didn't care. I shoved him again, my eyes already going back to Shayna.
Her head had fallen to the side, more blood seeping out and staining the carpet. I immediately bent and swooped her up.
My breath hitched for a moment as I realised that the Greek was still staring at me, and through the corner of my eyes, I could see the outline of a gun in his front pocket.
His expression calmed when he saw my face.
"Take her," he said quickly. "Take her to the city hospital. I will take care of the man."
My hands were already under Shayna's back.
I lifted her.
Her blood immediately soaked into my shirt.
Fuck.
"Go!" he ordered.
I didn't need to be told twice.
.....
I stepped out, a small smile still stretched out on my face from our earlier banter.
Rocco being involved in the entire thing was particularly confusing to me. As far as I knew, he was a piece of selfish shit who would never risk himself for this kind of job.
So him taking a task with the whole Russian mob out to get us?
Guess, I'll have to just do a deep dive on this businessman. Probably had some past in the mafia?
Or maybe just for the money?
And if I didn't get anything, I could just hunt his puny ass down and get answers to my questions.
He wasn't gonna get away with this.
I stopped again, my mind feeling slightly clearer after the earlier ruckus.
Why the fuck was I feeling so overprotective all of a sudden?
If I asked Julian, he'd probably start his whole love nonsense and shit. He just wants to see me miserable alongside him.
I was never gonna be like that.
Hmmmm, what should I get her to eat though?
Porridge?
No way in hell is that witch gonna like porridge.
Maybe some bread and soup?
Should I just.....
I had turned around in the midst of my thoughts just to see the door being closed. I would have probably missed it if I had turned a moment later but unfortunately I had seen it it, clear as day.
That Greek moron entering Shayna's room and closing the door behind him.
So, she did know him?!
Was he her boyfriend?
Must have been, from the way he was straddling her in his lap?!
My eyebrows contorted in fury.
She must have been meeting him in the stupid restaurant while she was supposed to be with that motherfucking businessman.
That must why she lied to me.
My phone started ringing again, and I finally picked it up, ready to fucking take the ear out of person on the other end.
ROCCO IS DEAD?!