By Zephyria “Hello, Mr. Miller. Good morning.”
As always, the security guard greeted the man who got out of the van in a friendly manner. The man with the flamboyant platinum blonde hair was incredibly tall and had a physique to match, enough to intimidate anyone just by standing there. Despite seeing him almost every day, the guard reflexively tensed up and forced a smile, but the man simply nodded expressionlessly.
The man’s face had strikingly defined features that were so delicate they seemed unreal, but he had no expression. He didn’t show any emotion, which often made people feel a sense of unease. The man handed his car keys to the parking attendant and immediately walked towards the elevator.
After confirming that he had taken the private elevator and was heading to his office at high speed, the security guard quickly picked up the phone at the front desk and contacted the secretary’s office.
“Yes, I understand.”
Having been informed of her boss’s arrival, the secretary quickly checked the office and returned to her desk, straightening her posture as she watched the door.
“Good morning, Mr. Miller.”
As always, the secretary greeted her boss, who appeared precisely on time, in a businesslike tone. A dry lightning bolt struck in the gloomy sky at that moment. The secretary felt a chill run down her spine as she saw the light briefly illuminate the gray sky through the front window before disappearing.
The man simply brushed past her and entered the office. After confirming that the door was closed, the secretary quickly moved to the pantry. The coffee she had set to brew on time would be ready by now. She was busy preparing the tea to take in with the documents when she suddenly heard a knock.
Who could it be at this hour?
The secretary unconsciously frowned and looked up, only to make an even more troubled expression when she saw who had entered the office.
*
Knock, knock, a quiet knock was heard. Ashley, who had just taken out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, lit it as he waited for his secretary to enter. As expected, the secretary who opened the door and entered was empty-handed, without coffee or documents.
“Um, Mr. Miller.”
The secretary spoke with an unusually troubled expression.
“It’s unexpected so early in the morning, but… a guest has suddenly arrived.”
“A guest? Now?”
The secretary immediately answered her boss, who frowned and checked the watch on his wrist.
“It’s 9:10. I told her that unscheduled appointments were difficult, but she insisted that you would approve if you heard her out.”
The secretary added, seeing the cold gaze that was fixed on her without a word.
“She’s a woman, and she says she’s a high school classmate and only needs a moment of your time. She said it wouldn’t take long, about ten minutes.”
Ashley, who had heard the name, sighed with annoyance.
“Send her away.”
He said as if she wasn’t even worth considering, but unlike other times, the secretary didn’t act immediately. As if she had expected this reaction, she cautiously continued.
“Um, she said she has something to talk about regarding ‘Koi.’”
It was only a few seconds, but the secretary noticed that her boss had clearly stiffened. It was the first time she had seen him react like this, but there was no time to be surprised. Ashley, who had slowly opened his mouth, was glaring at her with a terrifying expression she had never seen before.
“Why didn’t you say that from the beginning?”
“Th-that’s.”
The secretary, who had unknowingly stammered, quickly regained her composure and adjusted her tone, but there was still a faint tremor in her voice.
“Ms. Abbott said that if you told me to send her away without meeting her, I should say that.”
“…Ha.”
This time, he let out a sigh of disbelief. The secretary fidgeted and looked around, feeling self-conscious under Ashley’s gaze, who was looking at her from across the desk as if he were dumbfounded.
I should have just sent her away.
Belated regret washed over her, but it was already too late. Above all, she felt a sense of shame that she had been defeated by the other person’s confidence and overwhelming force.
She looked at her boss, unable to hide her bewildered expression, but Ashley no longer looked at the secretary. He inhaled the cigarette smoke deeply, so much so that his cheeks hollowed out, as if he were lost in thought. He slowly exhaled the smoke, and after some time had passed, he finally opened his mouth.
“…Let her in. No tea needed.”
The secretary, who had managed to make out his low, somewhat hoarse voice, quickly answered, “Yes,” and hurried away. Soon after she left the office, the door opened, and an unwelcome guest appeared.
“Hello, Ash. It’s been a reeeally long time. You seem to be doing well.”
Over ten years ago, the high-pitched and energetic voice that had tirelessly shouted slogans flowed from her mouth unchanged. Ashley stared at Ariel’s face, which was smiling brightly as always, without even flinching.If it were him in the past, he would have smiled back and greeted her, but it was different now. Ashley’s gaze, staring at him with a blank face, was filled with obvious annoyance. Ariel didn’t expect him to welcome her either, so she wasn’t hurt or even upset by his reaction. Rather, she liked that he was displeased, and Ariel couldn’t hide her smile as she looked around the office.
“Impressive. My entire apartment is probably only as big as this one office. To use such a big office all by yourself, you’ve really made it, haven’t you? You must have made a fortune in fees from this trial, right? Is that one plant worth that much?”
She spoke with a lot of sarcasm, but Ashley was unfazed. Well, he probably gets cursed at all the time, so this is probably nothing to him. Ariel easily accepted this and moved on.
She readily sat on the sofa, habitually crossing her long legs and leaning comfortably against the backrest. Seeing Ariel like that, Ashley deliberately checked his watch. He didn’t intend to give her even a second more than the 10 minutes she had mentioned. Three minutes had already passed while she was bluffing.
As Ashley looked away from his watch, Ariel finally opened her mouth.
“Would our friends back then have imagined that you’d be sitting in an office like this, clinging to just 5 or 10 minutes while squeezing the blood out of poor people?”
At the somewhat dumbfounded question, Ashley openly sneered at her.
“I doubt you came all this way this morning just to talk about old times.”
“Of course not. I like that you’re so quick on the uptake. So some things haven’t changed, huh?”
Ariel retorted as if she had been waiting for it, then frowned.
“But aren’t you going to offer your guest some tea? You make so much money, yet you’re so stingy.”
“6 minutes and 2 seconds,” Ashley said indifferently, reciting the remaining time. Instead of being flustered, Ariel chuckled and finally got to the point.
“I heard you met Koi?”
Instead of answering, Ashley just stared intently at her face, so Ariel continued.
“He’s going on a date with someone else, and you’re buying him clothes and giving him advice? What’s going on? What happened to the guy who went crazy when Bill wiped some sauce off his lip?”
Ashley frowned and then opened his mouth, pointing out a significant error.
“It was his chin.”
Ariel couldn’t help but look dumbfounded. But Ashley’s face didn’t change much. Ariel agreed with him for now.
“Okay, his chin. Anyway, that’s not the point, is it?”
Ariel smiled brightly, then glared at him with narrowed eyes.
“Tell me honestly, Ash. What are you really up to? I don’t think you sincerely want Koi to be happy at all. Koi still seems to trust you, but I don’t.”
At her fierce tone, which was different from before, Ashley responded with a relaxed attitude.
“That’s too much. To doubt my sincerity. Even though I’ve changed a lot from before…”
“No, you haven’t changed in that respect,” Ariel interrupted him. Seeing him frown, Ariel continued with a confident tone.
“Koi was special to you, wasn’t he? So special that you only kissed him during the entire year you dated.”
A heavy silence, different from anything before, fell between them.
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