The Only Exception:ETERNALLY

14. Restart

"For the last time , where are we ?" Sydney asked from the passenger seat of Hardin's car. She'd been blindfolded for the past 10 minutes till the car came to a stop,"are you kidnapping me or something?"
"I told you , it's a surprise," he answered as he softly patted her head.
"Well I hope this surprise doesn't end up making me late to pick up V from the airport."she huffed ,crossing her arms over her shoulder.
V, Vanessa was Sydney and Rose's other best friend. She's their other room mate, well sort of. Her dad travelled a lot and brought her with him ,so it's better say she was a temporary guest in her own apartment. When she did come back , she'd stay for a few months before heading off again, sort of a nomad situation.
"I heard it the first time ," Hardin rolled his eyes.
"Repeat after me . 6pm sharp"
"Yeah yeah . By 6 pm we should be at the airport. "He shrugged," but we still have a good 2 and a half hours before that . It won't take long. Promise babe" he promised before getting out of the car . He jogged over to the other side to open the door for Sydney, who reached for his hand before hesitantly stepping out of the car. She was blindfolded after all.
"I hope this little surprise of yours is something I'll like" she breathed out following his lead blindly, literally.
"I'm pretty sure you'll like it,"he stated leading her forward .
Judging by the change of lighting and surrounding temperature, Sydney could tell that they had entered a different place. And it seemed to her that it was quite a big space ,since they only came to a holt after walking what she presumed a significant distance.
"Okay ," Hardin said," you can open the blindfold now" he patted her shoulder.
Following instruction , she untied her blindfold only to be met by an unexpectedly bright light . It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust as she blinked profusely. Once they did adjust to the new environment, she gaped placing her hand over her mouth and turned to Hardin, "is this...are we at HYBE!? " she stuttered, looking around like a child in an amusement park .
She recognized the building almost immediately. She had seen it multiple times on the internet, on YouTube videos and on her favourite celebrities' social media posts ..... And from the huge sign at the front of the building that read HYBE Labels. She'd had dreams years ago when she was a child about being signed into such a huge and well-known entertainment company but reality hit a few years later when she found herself working at a cafe.
"Yupp" he leaned over to her level, with a wide grin.
"What are we doing here though?" She stayed fixed on her spot before getting dragged into the building by him.
"I work here," he informed her casually and her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"Don't tell me you're an influencer or celebrity " she gasped dramatically, faking shock.
"Of course not," he shook his head," i run the outlook of the company.... let's just say that I'm in charge of every single photoshoot, magazine cover, art piece, that is produced here," he spoke casually as he kept dragging her forward to the counter the center of the enormous reception.
|That would explain why there are so many art pieces with the HYBE tag on them..... And how he's so FUCKING RICH| she concluded as she came to a halt next to him.
"Good afternoon," the young female opposite to Hardin smiled at him, too much for Sydney's preference.
"Afternoon," he smiled back," Hardin Coles." He simply stated and she nodded , seemingly understanding what he meant . She pulled out a pass card from behind the counter and handed it to him.
"Thanks," he stated then walked with his arm over Sydney's shoulder, into the elevator.
"Who did you have to kill to get a job here," she spoke , still in shock from the sudden 'occupation reveal'.
"Nobody ," he simply stated.
"Then who did you sell your soul to get this job"
"No one"
"Then why exactly am i here? Is it bring your 'girlfriend to work ' day"
He squinted his eyes at her, pressing his lips into a thin line,"you can never have too much sarcasm ,can u"
"You know I'm joking," she suddenly pecked his lips, he definitely didn't expect that .
"Umm.... actually. Someone wants to meet you," he stated trying to cover up for the faint blush that stained his cheeks at the sudden gesture.
"And who is this someone "she wiggled an eyebrow.
"A friend of mine," he answered bluntly and walked forward as soon as the elevator opened,"c'mon let's go" he took her hand in his and walked with her down the hallway.
Hardin's pov
The reason I had brought her here was quite simple. I wanted her to work here with me, well sort of.
Flashback.
I furrow my eyebrows as I walked into the bedroom.but the minute I walk in my frustrated facade slowly slips away as my eyes meet a naked Sydney. Even if I'd seen her like that multiple times over the past couple of weeks , i couldn't help but stare. I gulp as I stare at her, she's sleeping peacefully on her side, the white sheets are easily spread over her naked body, just over her upper half, and her left arm is above her head, how long dark hair draped over the pillows in a mixture of curly and straight. I tilt my head to the side just staring at her. I knew she was hot. But this was the first time I was seeing her so beautiful and flawless, I stepped closer and look down at her, my eyes try to look for a flaw, just one but I can't find any. You're perfectly shaped eyebrows are relaxed .her full lips were slightly parted, now bear, swollen, fool and pink, a little nose is resting on her flawless face and I feel my palms itch as my eyes trail down her neck and then carefully back to her face.
She look like one of the photographs I would hang up in my art gallery at work. I take a step back, I've been looking for new pieces for my art gallery but what if..
I lick my lips and walk out of the bedroom rushing to the living room to look through my boxes frantically. I go through all my different cameras. I found one of my favorite cameras. I never really used it unless I was fully inspired to start a new collection and right now, I was oddly inspired. After taking my camera, I made my way back to the bedroom. She was still asleep in the exact same position.
|Perfect|
I stood by the edge of the bed, carefully scanning her. I needed an angle to fully capture her perfect face, and her curves at the same time ,so I walked around the bed then an idea popped up. I knew she was a heavy sleeper so I took that to my advantage and carefully walked on top of the bed standing straight. She moves a bit, making me hold in my movements, before her body relaxes back into a deep slumber. I blink and wait a second or two before carefully standing above her my feet on each side of the bed so I don't step on her.
I raise my camera to my face and snap a picture. I told the camera and my head to the side and take another one and then another and oddly I can stop, it's as if every time I take one I find something different . It was just perfect. I lean a little closer, and snap another picture,and that's when she slowly opens her eyes .
"What are you doing?" She asks slowly, she was definitely still sleepy.
"Stay still," i commanded leaning closer to take another shot of her face.
"You're weird," she simply snorts before dozing off once more.
After i was sure she was completely asleep , i climbed off the bed and headed back to my office to take a good look at the pictures.