Until The End

CHAPTER 12 - ARCHIVES

Nadia kept her eyes on the files in Dylan's hand as she struggled to match his pace. She was still not sure why he had wanted her to attend the meeting.

During the presentation, and for a short while after that, she had started to believe he was going to put her on the project. Wallace Technologies was as big as a tech firm could get and it would have been an opportunity of a lifetime for her to get to work with them. Clearly, Dylan believed otherwise.

"You seem to have a lot going on in that little head of yours," he said, slowing his pace to allow her to fall in step beside him. "Go ahead. Spit it out."

At times, before the Gods of Concealment had decided to take their blessings away from her, she had found herself wondering the same about him. Though, in contrast to his categorical questioning, she had preferred to bury her thoughts and remain in hiding.

"I'm not allowed to talk," she informed him. Given his intolerance of the Wallaces, Nadia had expected to be reprimanded. Instead, out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him take a look at his wristwatch before replying.

"I'll grant you 10 minutes to pour your heart out."

"So very generous of you, Mr VanAssche," Nadia said, making sure the sarcasm in her tone was expressed well.

"Is that how you're going to spend your precious minutes, Hayden? In my praise?" Dylan said, the mockery back in his voice. "Not that I mind."

Barely a minute had passed since they exited the conference room and she could feel the taunt-raining clouds shaping over her head again.

Nadia stole a glance at him. Compared to the conference room, his facial muscles were relaxed. He didn't have his usual mocking grin and his eyes were focused on the corridor ahead, but she could sense the nominal shift in the air around him.

Why?

Was his impassiveness in front of the Wallaces only a way to make them impervious to this mischief lying beneath or his constant teasing of her just another way to satisfy the bitter sadist she had witnessed during the meeting? Nadia had come to realise that his face gave away nothing more than he intended the other to find. And the stark contrast between the two made her wonder which one of it was real.

"Why was I at the meeting?" Nadia asked. She knew she should simply snatch her files away and run to polish her disappearing skills for the next two months, but curiosity got the better of her. It always did.

"You're smart enough to figure it out."

She had. He did want her to work on the project. "But you rejected it. It was a good deal."

"Was it, Hayden?" Dylan cocked his head to the side to look at her, inviting her to challenge his decision. She didn't.

"It was a good app," Nadia corrected herself, relying on her area of expertise.

The corridor opened into the office workspace, then narrowed into another passageway. She didn't know where they were headed to. The place was gigantic. Even after two months and hours of roaming around the headquarters, absorbing the details, as well as finding spots to hide if he ever showed up unexpectedly, there were still a lot of areas left for her to uncover.

"Where are we going?"

"How much do you know about Wallace Technologies?" Dylan asked as they turned to their right. The door at the end of the hallway had a nameplate drilled into it. The word ARCHIVES was printed on it in gold.

"I've read about it a little."

"How little?"

"A few things. They were mostly in association with your company," Nadia replied, regretting being truthful the instant the words hit her ears.