6. Project Partner > I hide in a corner at the library for the rest of my day. I am usually not this timid, but after recent freakout and flashback incidents; I have been a little on edge. I’ll be fine in a few days. I need to distract myself. I am sitting in a padded booth, immersed in my book, when I hear someone whisper-shout, “Why were your clothes on the bed?” My head turns. Is that Ashley? My traitor project partner. I get up and walk out to see Natalie is sitting in the booth next to mine. Ashley is standing in front of her. The Library is huge. I hadn’t realized Natalie was sitting so close to me. “Seriously? you couldn't wait until evening to talk about it?“ Natalie says with a haughty expression. “I am sick and tired of you!“ Ashley, or Ash, as we call her, is Natalie’s roommate. Right now, she is reprimanding Natalie for not maintaining her standards of their dorm room. Natalie has told me many times that Ash is A First-Class-Bitch. She is us
7. Gym Routine > “Daddy… Where are you, daddy?” Jessie’s voice booms over the baby monitor. “Coming, my girl…” I put the last batch of pancakes off the heated pan onto the plate and walk towards her room. Today she didn’t wake up too early, and I could cook in peace. Even better, she didn’t wake up crying. It’s hard to manage her if she cries first thing in the morning. I could hire a cook, but I enjoy doing it by myself. “Where are you, daddy… where are you?” She repeats her cute little voice until I open her bedroom door. Earlier, I was worried that she’s speaking way less for a 2 and a half year old. Now I am both delighted and surprised. “Daddy!!” she exclaims and opens her arms wide. I pick her up from the crib and hug her tight. “We will brush our teeth. Then we will eat food,” I tell her and she blinks at me. “Brush our teats,” she repeats and I stifle my laugh. “Teeth not teats.” She gets offended if she feels someone is laughing at her. …
8. Credit score > I step out of shower and wrap a towel around my waist. Camilla steps in after me to take a bath. I glance at the clock and see it’s been an hour. After sex, we worked out. I am feeling much relaxed right now. I love Jessie to death but a bit of personal time without her feels refreshing. Kids are hard. Which reminds me I need to hire a new Nanny. I think to myself and grab my phone to check the profiles Emma had sent me a few days ago. After a few minutes, Camilla steps out and says, “Jeez, Miko! Give yourself some slack.” I look up and see her taking a dress out of my closet. I shake my head in amusement. When did she put her clothes here? “I am not working!” I mutter. “Seriously, you sometimes nag me like a mother,” I say, and she laughs. “So, what are you doing?“ “Jessica’s nanny has quit. I am trying hard to find a new one.” It’s been two weeks and I haven't found anyone good enough yet. Maybe I am being too picky. “Why? She was with you
Almighty Jonas: ‘Waiting outside.’ I smile and grab my bag to walk outside. “Bye!” I tell Ira and Natalie. “Enjoy!” Natalie says without taking her eyes off Ira’s laptop. I shake my head. I am sure they are off their online research on Mikolaj and Jonas right now. Whenever a topic starts, they love to dig for every information available online. By information, I mean genuine things. Not just gossip, but achievements, scandals, lawsuits. Odd choice of entertainment. Natalie has a nag for snooping too. A hacker trait? And she is being a bad influence on Ira. … I walk out of the Dorm building and look around to spot Jonas. My eyes fall at a Porsche Carrera GT. He roars the engine loudly and all heads turn at the car. I open the car door and whisper shout at him, “I have friends here Jonas and they talk!” He laughs. “Oh Riley… They already think you are dating me. Let me show you off a little.” My cheeks turn red with embarrassment. Once we started working on our projec
I prod my finger into it and pull it out. My jaw goes slack when I see what’s inside. It’s a small gun drawer. There are two handguns and an assault rifle. There are some files too. A small laptop along with two hard disks. A fancy looking flash drive grabs my attention. It’s tiny. Do people still use that? I think to myself and pick it up. “WHAT THE FU-K ARE YOU DOING?” A voice roars behind me and I flinch. …. I think I peed a little. I put the pen drive back and shut the drawer close. When I turn, I see an angry man striding towards me. He is in a freaking towel. Where the hell are his clothes? He covers the distance in 2 seconds. I yelp and step back in surprise. My back hits the wall. “I… I am sorry.. I shouldn’t have…” I tilt my head to look at his raging face. My first realization. It’s Mikolaj Josef. He is tall and my head barely reaches his shoulders. My second realization. I fucked up bad. Such a terrible first impression. Little did I imagine, it was only
10. Panic.> .SLAP!My face tingles with warmth where her palm landed. It takes all my strength not to grab her by the hair and set her in place.I turn my face and fix my gaze at her. I can see uncertainty in her eyes as realization crosses her mind. “You can't ask me to do that. No one has any right to ask this of me,” she says in a quivering voice. Her big round eyes are simmering with tears. It doesn’t faze me. I have seen many cunning personalities hidden behind innocent faces. Does it work so often that Garrett has sent his own daughter into a Lion’s den? I will make him pay for this. “You are standing in my office with my safe compromised. I will decide what to do with you, Little Riley.”She lets out a little gasp.“You know me,” she accuses. “Yo-You know I came here with Jonas…” Her plump lips tremble as she fumbles, trying to form words “Th- then why-““Shut your mouth,” I tell her in annoyance and move away from her. I think hard. Of course, I got the
11. Ride>It takes me a while to get the goddamn keys of the conference room. I didn’t know it could be locked. I guess it’s a cue to get a detention room in this building for such cases. After today’s incident, we are upgrading security and changing protocols, anyway. I unlock and open the door, but don’t see her inside. A chair is away from its spot. I walk towards it and see a small figure curled up on the floor on her side.“Fuck,” I mutter and rush toward her. “Riley!” I put my hand on her shoulder to shake her a little. She doesn’t bulge. I put my fingers on the base of her neck to feel her pulse. It’s slow. She is in a deep slumber.I brush her hair aside to see her face. Her skin is cold to touch and her makeup is smeared with tears. I sigh and sit next to her with my back on wall. It’s pointless to wake her up. I am sure I am the last person she would want to see. But do we have any choice?I remove my jacket and put it on her. Then I put her phone on the ta
12. Olive Branch>When I get out of the lobby to get into my Uber ride, I notice the car assigned by Mikolaj is still waiting for me. A middle-aged man gets out and walks towards me.“Ms. Riley,” He says and I instantly feel bad about the man.“I had told Mikołaj I won’t need your car,” I justify myself. Why is he even waiting?He smiles and nods.“I wanted to inform you that I have been instructed to escort your ride till you reach home.“Oh. His loud voice clarifies that he wanted the cab driver to hear this. I don’t protest and get inside my ride. It doesn’t make me feel great. But Mikolaj was right. Accepting his help in the middle of night would have been a better idea. But after what he did, I am not willing to accept any olive branch from him.I fall asleep in the cab and the fact that someone is escorting this car makes me feel a little safe. …I reach my room after an hour, then slump into my bed. The room is empty. Looks like Ira and Natalie didn’t come back.