FRED
We stood outside the door for some minutes, trying to come up with ways to step into her office without making it seem like we were looking for her, and we found it. The director must have been tipped off by the nose-bleeding lady, since we saw him running towards us, with an apologetic smile on his face. He was sweating buckets and his shirt clung to his body.
“Imelda informed me she has concluded the tour. Was it to your liking?” He grinned, looking like he was just moments from sweeping the floor, to please us, should we give the word.
“Imelda?” I tilted my head to the side. “Who is she?”
He looked shocked by the question, but concealed the expression so fast, it made it seem like I had imagined the look. He smiled,
“Pardon me, sir. Imelda was the one who took you on a tour. She was once the best journalist in the company before Miss Bella rose to the position.”
“Oh.” I exchanged looks with Blue before I smiled at the man, who blinked when he noticed it. He looked like he was imagining the smile on my face as he took a step back, still gaping at me as if he had seen a ghost.
“Hello?” I waved my palm to my face, causing him to blink. “Are you okay?”
“Yes!” Gulping, he nodded his head frantically. “I’m good, sir. Pardon, this worker of yours. I was just taken about by your angelic face.”
Blue snickered while I rolled my eyes at that. Clearing my throat, I gestured towards Bella’s office, still keeping the smile on my face. “Is this the office of your best journalist?” I questioned, acting like I didn’t know that was her office.
Like I said earlier, we were looking for how to get into her office, without making it seem like we were seeking her out.
“Yes, sir.” He nodded, a frown gracing his face as he inquired, “Is there anything wrong?”
“No, not at all. We just want to know who owns the office. We thought it would be better to visit each worker in their offices, to know how effective they are. The tour guide only took us to other places, but not the offices. Do you mind if we check them out?” I asked in my best professional voice, looking at Blue, who gave me a thumbs up.
For things like this, Blue had always been the one to speak for us, which was why I looked towards him, to know if I was getting it.
“Not at all, sir.” He rubbed his palm on his head as he apologized, “Pardon this employee of yours for not thinking about this. If you please.” He walked over to her door and knocked thrice before he opened it, gesturing for us to step in.
Smiling, Blue stepped in, and I followed, grateful we found a way to get inside the office without making it seem obvious.
Bella had her gaze on her computer screen when we entered. It seemed she didn’t hear the knock earlier, not with her focus on her work. The director cleared his throat when he noticed has was still busy with work. With a puzzled expression on her face, she looked up, shocked, as she scrambled to her feet, her gaze going to us before it moved to the director.
“Pardon me, sir. I didn’t hear your knock. Is everything alright?” She gulped, looking at us before tearing her gaze away.
From the door, I could tell she was crying. Her eyes and cheeks were red. Though she kept a smile on her face, I could see she wasn’t happy.
Instinctively, I made to take a step towards her, to ask if she was okay, but Blue stopped me.
‘The director is here.’
He said through our mind link when I looked at him, puzzled.
Clearing my throat, I paused.
“There’s nothing much. The bosses are taking a tour of the offices. I hope you don’t mind?”
“Not at all.” Once more, she smiled, her gaze on the director instead of us.
I gritted my teeth at that, sending a dark glare at the director, who was smiling back at her. I’d never felt this intense desire to get rid of someone as I felt at the moment. Just looking at him, I had already imagined a hundred ways to kill him and make it look like an accident.
“Sirs, we will -”
“Can you give us a minute alone with her?” I asked, the question not coming out as one. It sounded more like an order, and he could tell.
Gulping, he nodded before he looked towards Bella. “Will that be okay?”
I lifted an eyebrow at that, wondering why he would ask her if she was okay when we were the ones asking to be alone with her.
“Yes, sir.”
Nodding at her reply, the director left the office, closing the door behind him, after telling us to take our time.
Finally.
I sighed the moment I heard the click of the door, announcing his exit.
We stood in the same spot until he left, not uttering a word until we were certain he wasn’t close by.
“What do you want?” Bella was the first to break the silence, glaring at us like she was about to fling us out through her window.
“Is this what you say to us after not seeing us for a week?” I took a step towards her, my brows raised in question.
She scoffed at my words. “What else do you want me to say to you? Last I checked, you wanted nothing to do with me, right? Are you through with your tour? Did you enjoy it?” Her words were biting, and her face was tight. There was no trace of a smile on them as she looked at us like we kicked her favourite pet.
“Oh, we did. We enjoyed it so much we wished to snap her head off,” Blue replied before I could. “I know it’s coming late, Bella. But….” He inhaled, looking back at me before he faced her.
I knew what he was about to say before he did. He said nothing through our mind link. His hunched shoulders and the way he frowned, like one who had a lemon, made me know what he wanted to say.
“I’m sorry.”