Note
- This chapter kind of gets dark (mental health-wise). Dark feelings basically
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POV: Nerovsky
Leonardo, Cindy and I were sitting on a very comfy, leather couch which was in front of a very fancy, copper table. Atop of the table was a variety of Chinese dishes. On the other side of the table was the twin couch of the one we are occupying. Except it had no occupants. We were waiting for the occupant in awkward and uncomfortable silence.
Just a quick rundown of what happened before we reached the Chinese restaurant. After I was essentially manhandled into the car, Cindy quickly debriefed who Mark Rox and what he does for a living and interesting facts about him and blah, blah, blah. Couldn't give less of a shit anyway. I wanted to get to the part where I actually begin memorising the contract since I only had 45 minutes to do so. So yeah after like 10 minutes of shit I can just google, Mr. Covell had finally brought out the contract and asked me to memorise at least the key points of the 8-page document (double-sided). The ride was silent (except for the humming of the car) from that point. I had blocked everything and everyone out to zone in on the words. Luckily for me, I sometimes had to memorise information for my other job and even though I usually had a lot longer than this, there had been times where I had to mind new information on the spot.
Anyway, I noticed that Leo would occasionally look at me as if to expect a sudden burst of frustration or expect me to question him about the contract but none of that happened. I swore he looked disappointed from the lack of interaction but I was looking through my peripherals so I could be way off. Time flew by and once we reached our destination, I was once again, physically dragged out of the car and into the restaurants. Did he think I wasn't capable of walking on my own or something? I'd be a lot more annoyed but there was contact happening so I'm not going to outwardly complain. In a flash, we got escorted into some private room and was told to "wait patiently as the other party will arrive shortly."
So we sat down and I had immediately asked whether I could cram some more information into my brain but was denied since it would look dodgy if I were to be caught once he entered.
Leonardo was sitting comfortably back on the couch in a completely lax sitting position and Cindy was showing more professionalism by sitting up straight in her spot, looking serious and ready to get stuff done. I, on the other hand, was sweating bullets through all my sweat pores (my nose was so sweaty, my glasses were falling down my nose) and my leg was bouncing up and down rapidly in nervous anticipation. On top of that, I was having an internal panic attack because I didn't manage to memorise anything from the last two pages of the document. If he asks me anything from those pages, I am a dead man and Leo is a dead man and it's going to be all my fault. Oh, why didn't I just move to Alaska today? Why did I push it back? Hesitation is NEVER the answer. ALSO what the fuck is wrong with this Mark guy? Like who the fuck wants to meet someone who wrote the bloody agreement. It's bogus! Does he no friends? Is that why he's impressed about words instead of someone throwing a basket from the other end of the court? I bet he's like 50 years old. I'm rambling in my head like a lunatic again.
My internal crisis was disrupted by the door opening and the entering of a very fancy dressed man, who was very clearly Mark Rox. Contrary to my thoughts, the man actually looked like was in his early 30s. Everyone politely introduced each other with as much enthusiasm as possible, which was not a lot from my part because I was a nervous trainwreck. Why does everything have to be on my hands? Why did I agree to this? 3 favours were not worth this mental distress. I should've just asked for money or something.
Everyone then settled down in their unwritten designated seats and Rox began the very excruciatingly painful interaction.
"I'm glad to finally meet you Mr. Thomas Nickelson."
I responded with a shaky grin. Nero calm the fuck down. You look like you're about to piss yourself and all he did was say hi. "I-It is an absolute honour to be h-here Mr. Rox. (breath!) I was very delighted to find out that you had liked the proposal that I had drawn up." Hell yeah, Nero. You're getting your mojo back. Pretend this is like any other stealth mission and you're good to go. I quickly glanced at the two people sitting to the left of me and they seemed to be pleased with my response.
Mr. Rox smiled at me and replied, "Ah yes well the contract does entail some beneficiary terms for both parties. Like I've never seen such fair terms written up before. Like I didn't even need to negotiate further and I could sign it straight away. Oh like my favourite deal is where ChatMe exclusively advertises my game and we do vice versa for the limited period of time."
I felt Leo stiffen next to me but he didn't voice anything. He didn't need to say anything because I figured it out. Mr. Rox is asking a trick question, isn't he? He is right? I swear that wasn't the wording in the contract... is he playing me? He could also not be playing me. What if this was on the last page? No, but it should be with section 2. It wouldn't make sense otherwise. Come on! 5 minutes into the meeting and I'm already being played like this? I gulp and take a leap of faith. I'm going to go with gut instinct with this. It hasn't failed me. Much.
"With all due respect sir, I do not believe the contract has ever stated that before. If I'm not wrong, I had written up that yes, indeed we do advertise each other's applications without extra HOWEVER, it is not exclusive. Meaning we are free to advertise other thing but the frequency of each other's applications advertisements are increased for the period of the business deal. Further details can be found in section 2, page 5, near the top of the page."
Everyone was dead silent, no movements occurred. Mark Rox was looking at me with a blank look, giving way no emotion whereas Cindy and her boss were blatantly gaping at me. Oh fuck. I messed up, didn't I? I totally messed up. Fuck! I bet this information was on that last page. My luck is the worst. I should run out of here... that sounds feasible. I'll just throw the food in the air as a distraction and then bolt for the door. I'll book for Alaska while I'm on the run.
With that plan in mind, I was ready to pick up the soup and spill it everywhere. Except I was stopped by a sudden outburst of laughter. I looked to the opposite side to find Mr. Rox practically roaring with laughter and I'd never been so confused in my life. My companions also seemed to be in that state as they had the same bemused look. Rox seemed to pick up on it and calmed down. He was still grinning when he merrily stated, "You are absolutely correct, Nickelson!"
I blinked rapidly in disbelief. "I-I am? I mean yeah obviously. I wrote the damn thing. I mean it was me who wrote up the contract."
Luckily, Mark just brushed over the little slip-up and continued. "I was just testing you. To see whether you actually wrote up the contract or had some underling to do it. Also to see if you understood the content."
"Oh. Well, I'm glad I passed your test?"
"Hahahaha. As you should be. Come now. Let us have some food while we discuss minor details. The attention is going to be on Mr. Covell unfortunately, Nickelson."
An involuntary sigh of relief escaped from the depths of my tension. "Oh, sir. I do not mind AT ALL."
I glanced back over to my left to see both Ms. Secretary and Leo grinning at me like they won the lottery. It's too bright! I could see in Leo's eyes that he was extremely relieved but more importantly, proud of me. It gave him a softish look, which as a consequence caused the tips of my ears to heat up (luckily, it is partially covered up by my shaggy hair). Holy shit, I practically worship the dude. I don't want to be like a groupie. Instantly, I dropped the cheerful mood and I began scolding myself internally for simping too much (while feasting at the same time. I'm not going to say no to free food), which meant I wasn't paying attention anymore.
Luckily, boss sir put all his attention to the man in front of him and distracted him for the next half hour.
♤♧♡♢
Half an hour later, the table in front of us was topped with empty, china plates and half-filled glasses. Throughout the feasting, Mr. Rox asked me some more questions but all of them were more about how I got about the contract so I made some bullshit up. Each question answered helped me release the tension in my shoulders and by the time we were done with the food, I was leaning back against the couch. Right now, the two important businessmen were doing some formalities shit and were about to sign the contract. I'd kind of been zoning in and out so I honestly had no clue what's going on.
I would've continued blankly staring at the tapestry on the other side of the room except I felt a vibration from my left back pocket. Which immediately got me to straighten up and my immediate thought was, something bad happened. I'll tell you why. The phone that was ringing was my other phone. The one dedicated to my night job. It had confidential and dirt on different targets. More importantly, it only had one contact. My partner in crime. Said partner in crime never calls me during my day job hours, only when I'm out for our other job. So if he does calls now, it means there's most likely an emergency.
I got the eccentric, folding smartphone out of my pocket (Aiden got it for me. He said something about partners having the same gadgets or some shit. I honestly would've been fine with a Nokia brick phone. I'm pretty sure that would've been safer as well but Aiden wouldn't let me have a say in it. The asshole even called me a boomer for my lack of knowledge of the tech world. I sulked in the corner for half an hour after that... after kicking him into the floor.) and looked at the missed call on the lock screen. Another notification came up immediately with a message saying to call back as soon as possible.
I looked over to the rest of the company in the room and see they were still discussing business stuff. I don't think my presence is really needed anymore. With that thought in mind, I stood up, (phone in hand) which caught the Rox's and Leo's attention. I saw Leo's attention went from my face to my phone, which puzzled me a bit (Does he want this bullshit phone too?). "An urgent call came up. Could I possibly go pick it up? It won't take too long."
I got unanimous nods from both men so I left the room, out into the empty, cold corridor. I dialled the contact named as 'A' and patiently waited for the line to be picked up. It took the second ring before Aiden immediately informed me, "I've got another target."
I closed my eyes in exasperation. In a disparaging tone, I responded, "Did you seriously call me in the middle of work to tell me about another target?"
"Yes I did... except I feel like this is a bit urgent to be left till later today."
"Ok... why?"
I noticed Aiden's breath hitch in hesitation. Aiden never hesitates unless it's really bad like serial killer level bad or... if I'm going to be affected by it negatively... "Before we um get there. Let me give you the name and a tiny amount of background information."
"Fine. Quick. I'm still at work here and I don't have the liberty of lazing around whilst keeping my job."
"Then stop interrupting me, you midget."
I'M ONLY EIGHT CENTIMETRES BELOW AVERAGE! I glared at the opposite wall but said nothing.
"As I was saying. The name is Chad Murphy and he is the vice-president of The Hane Group. They sell a bunch of high-end contraction machinery. The man is 37 years old and is currently single. He doesn't stay single for long though. He usually gets a girlfriend within two months of breaking up with the last one. Also, I forgot to mention. This is a request mission rather than our own. It's from one the victims and she said she's going to pay as much needed."
"Right. So what did he do?" I leaned against the wall, quite lax.
It was silent on the other side for about 3 seconds before Aiden bluntly answered (with an undertone of worry), "He uh abuses his authority and easily gives away high paying positions to specific individuals. Those specific individuals are all female and he doesn't give it away, he only gives it when they give him sexual favours for a month. Not only that, he also sexually harasses other women without any rewards and the victims cannot say anything against him as he uses his power to shut them down. He hasn't um gone as far as uh rape but it was near that stage with one of the victims. The only reason they didn't get that far was because they were about to get caught. He also uh abused his power to do other illegal shit but they're more minor compared to this. He's pretty good at hiding everything as well. There is no accusations or even rumours of his actions online. I had to look pretty deeply into him to dig up everything. If we never got the request from the woman, he'd probably do this bullshit for a lot longer."
By the time Aiden finished, my entire body was tense against the wall and I felt my free hand faintly trembling, in both rage and fear. My eyes were closed and I was taking deep breaths in and pushing them out just as hard. My heart was racing and my head was beginning to throb. My PTSD kicked in. A scene from then flashed into my mind and left just as fast but the afterimage was left behind, leaving me breathless and scared. Fuck, I need a smoke ASAP. Aiden was content with the lack of response for a bit before quietly asking, "Are... are you ok? I told you now instead of later so the chance of getting nightmares when you sleep will be lowered. I hoped the rest of the day will be a distraction of some sort... I know it's hard but..." He trailed off but I know what he was trying to convey.
I took a shaky inhale and nodded my head, even though Aiden couldn't see it. I attempted to reassure my best friend. "Yeah... I... yeah I'm fine... I'll be fine. Just... how urgent is it?"
I could practically hear the frown of unease and he doesn't bother hiding the concern when he ignored my question. "Are you sure, Nero? We don't really HAVE to do it if you-"
"Aiden. How urgent?"
The man grumbled incoherently before saying, "As soon as possible is preferred but we can hold it off for 3 days maximum. He's due for another girl soon and I predict he's going for another by the end of the week."
I released an unstable exhale and declared with a little more life, "Yeah ok. I can do 3 days. I'd do it tomorrow but... I-I just need some time. To get myself under control. Meanwhile, get all the information ready to leak after I confront him."
"Will do, boss."
"And Aiden?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for telling me and not hiding it from even after everything that happened to me... I appreciate the lack of pity."
"Of course Nero." His soft tone caused a tiny smile of appreciation to bloom on my face. "Anyway best friend, I should let you go back to work now while I get paid for telling my co-workers how shit they are at their jobs. Bye!"
I chuckled a little. "Goodbye, Aiden." I cut the phone first and slid the phone back into its designated pocket.
I stared at the curves and swells design of the opposite wall while continued to feel distressed, anxiousness, sorrow and utter fear settled onto my body. I felt my hands were trembling but my legs were also shaking like a young deer taking their first steps. My breaths became shallower as I began to mull over my past and that time. Snapshots from then came and went through my mind. I tried my best to block it out by thinking of other things. Happy things. Like Aiden or dancing in freely to music. But the images kept coming back and they just won't stop. They kept piling the emotional pain and I could not stop it. I felt myself becoming a tad bit insane and becoming lost. Nero. Breathe. Calm down. Not here. Not now. Not in front of people. Later. Do it later. Alone. Where there is no one. Where you have no one. I started regaining control of myself. I constantly repeated in an endless cycle, it's over. You're fine. You're safe. Not here.
I was so bewitched with my mantra that when I felt sold warmth on my shoulder, startled so hard, I jumped to the opposite wall and yelped. I faced the perpetrator and stared at him like a deer looking at headlights. Heck, I feel like a newborn deer right now. Instead of headlights, I was met with something similar. Bright, golden eyes etched with concern. His eyes were addicting. I was bewitched again. The handsome man also had his eyebrows furrowed and his smile was turned upside down. Why does he look so worried? He should turn the frown upside down. He looks really pretty like that.
I stared at his lips, appreciating the light pink tint when it finally hit me that he was speaking to me. They look very kissable. It also registered to me who the handsome man was. It was Leo. Leo was in front of me with a seriously anxious face and was speaking to me. The words weren't registering to me because I'd been so far gone. I literally shook my head to shake off all the nightmarish thoughts. It was enough to finally register the sound around me which was surprisingly silence. It seemed Leo wasn't going to repeat what he just said (probably from the sheer befuddlement and lack of knowledge of knowing what the fuck to do), so I quietly ask,
"...Leo? What are you doing here?"