>>Zhou-Lin
"Why did you go to meet Matthew?" Xia-Lin asked me the question as soon as I entered the lounge
"I wanted to confirm something," I replied and walked to the couches.
"What?" Xia-Lin followed and we both sat down across from each other.
"It was bothering me that he wasn't looking for that woman as actively as I thought he would." I rested my face in the palm of my hand and rested my elbow on the armrest.
"And that means?" Xia-Lin folded her arms as he continued to stare at me.
"It only means he's found her." I looked at my sister, "And considering how calm he looked, I get a feeling she's within his grasp."
***
>>Clio
I guess this is a habit of mine to reach places exactly on time or ahead of time because when I reached the usual restaurant, I was the first one there. But since we had a reservation, I just went ahead and sat down on our table after taking my raincoat off.
It sure is raining a lot today.
I looked out the window, the streets were filled with water and I wondered if everyone else would make it here fine. I rested my chin in my hand and sighed.
We're having such a late dinner too.
I glanced at my phone, it was exactly 9 p.m. But thankfully I didn't have to wait a lot, Chris came a few minutes after me and then the people from the office started coming one after the other and most of them had their umbrellas with them.
Chris came and sat down beside me, seemingly nervous.
"Are you okay?" I had a hunch it had something to do with Rameen.
"Yeah," She answered, "Rameen still hasn't come home yet." She sighed and I knew I was right but didn't say that out loud.
"Don't worry," I patted her shoulder, "She's a good kid. I met her today and told her to go home," She looked at me in surprise, "She'll be home soon."
"You met her today?"
I nodded, "Yeah, but don't worry, I told her to go home first." I nodded again, "I'm sure she'll be home when you go back."
She smiled at me, "Yeah,"
"Let's order!" Imani said and Bizy called the waiter. We ordered the food and a round of drinks as the rain outside got harder.
"It looks like a storm," I said and I don't know if it was because I had already cried a bunch about the whole thing with Nolan, but at the moment, I was feeling a lot better.
"Peon was supposed to come," Bizy folded his arms, "I wonder where that boy vanished off to," He shook his head as he folded his arms in disappointment, "It's raining so hard, I hope he went home if he isn't going to show up here."
"Peon was coming?" Lizzo asked, "I haven't seen that brat in a while." He chuckled.
"That's why he said he'd come," Bizy sighed, "He said he'd like to meet you all but," He shook his head and looked away in disappointment
We all started talking amongst ourselves and I could tell everyone was making sure to give me the most attention. And to be honest, I found it all very sweet.
In the middle of it all, the restaurant door opened, ringing the bell on the top corner of the doorframe, and most of us looked to see who it was but right then lightning struck so brightly it made the electricity flicker, the lights dimmed, followed by thunderous rumbling that shook everyone up.
!!!
The place quieted down and everyone looked at the newcomer who let the door go, letting it shut behind him as he entered the place.
"Boss?" Bizy was the first guy to recognize the man who entered through the main door.
"Boss?!?!" Everyone else followed and the newcomer looked at us to confirm his identity. It really was him.
With Matthew here, it would make everyone here except Dave and Lily and well the director too. But now that I think about it, I haven't seen Azef for a while.
"Ah," The boss sighed, "My umbrella got flown away with the storm." His statement made the whole atmosphere lighten up. The lights came on strong again and everyone chuckled at him.
He was drenched when he entered the restaurant. His breathing was a little heavy and he looked a little unnerved, a bit different than what you would expect from just being tired from the running. With all the rainwater on him, I couldn't tell if he was sweating or if it was just the water.
"You're late, boss," Jacob smiled at him and I looked at my phone. It was 9:55 pm.
"The boss was given a last minute invite." Imani winked at me, "We told him we were holding a party for you."
???
I looked at her in confusion.
"It's nice to see he came because we mentioned you," Bizy chimed in and everyone seemed to grin
????
Hmmm???
Everyone then made space for Matthew by my side and he quietly took that spot, making the smiles of everyone else go wider.
...
Oh no!
I felt the dread go down my spine as I caught the gist of what was going on here.
They definitely all know I was clinging onto Matthew when I was crying at the station!!
Shit!
But why are they doing this?!? They didn't mention Matthew before at all!
Do they think there's something between us!!? I slowly turned my head to look at Matthew who was looking around the place, not paying any heed to me.
Nah...
I calmed myself down
Can't be, I'm a guy. They wouldn't ship their boss with a guy, right? That's impossible.
...
Right?
I gulped
That has to be right.
Besides, Matthew would never be interested in me. He looks straight through and through. I continued to stare at him while he kept looking elsewhere, almost as if his mind was elsewhere.
Yea... He's definitely one hundred percent straight... It hurt my feelings for some reason even though I'm not even a man.
"You look a little worried Sir," Bizy spoke up after staring at the boss for a few seconds.
".." Matthew turned his head and looked at us all, then straightened up, "This is going to hurt all of you." He had a serious expression on his face which made all of his employees knit their brows immediately, bracing themselves for impact because somehow, everyone knew this wasn't going to be good, "But you'll have to come in for a meeting on Saturday."
"WHAT!?!?" They all exclaimed in unison
Matthew raised his hands slightly up, next to his chest, to give a statement in his defense, "It's with an important client and we can't lose it."
Everyone frowned.
"You've never called for a Saturday meeting before!" Everyone was devastated.
"You," He was going to say something but paused, then took a deep breath, "It's just going to be for an hour. We will meet with the client and you all can go home." He placed his hands on the table, "That's all."
The waiters came in with the food and nobody could really protest with that but a very important question was asked.
"So," Jacob asked, "You're also telling us we can't get drunk tonight?"
Matthew nodded, "Don't even think about it." Everyone rolled their eyes and started to whine when Matthew's phone rang. He stood up and walked away to answer it. But he didn't leave the restaurant. He just went and stood at the door frame as he answered his call. But maybe that was just because it was still raining outside.
The rest of us just ate.
"If we can't drink tonight," Lizzo longingly looked at the beers being taken to another table, "We'll do it tomorrow!"
Everyone looked at him, then nodded with enthusiasm, "Yeah!!!" They all agreed and we all drank in moderation but still spent about two hours in the restaurant and when we left, we all left together.
The only thing that bothered me throughout that time was that even though Matthew remained in the restaurant, he didn't come and sit with us or eat. He was mostly on his phone and spent his time by the door.
***
The next morning I entered the office early in the morning like usual, my thoughts were consumed by many things but the most important of it all was how I hadn't visited my mother in a while. I turned on the lights, expecting just another ordinary morning at work, and walked in as I noticed how it was a cloudy morning and we weren't going to get much sunlight.
I have to go back to City D,I walked to my desk, this is the first time I've been away from her this long-
All of my thoughts paused the moment I looked at the desks.
There, on Chris's desk, bathed in the harsh fluorescence of the overhead lights, lay a gruesome and horrifying tableau. I gasped, my heart skipping a beat, as I beheld the grotesque sight before me.
The shock of the scene almost made my legs give way beneath me.
I stumbled back in sheer terror, my breath catching in my throat as fear started to take over. The gut-wrenching terror that left me trembling made me move back and I fell over as I collided with the chair behind me, falling to the floor with my eyes still on the desk.
"What the hell!?!?"
As I continued to stare at the bloody desk, a horrifying realization slowly dawned on me. The fear that gripped me was replaced by a sickening blend of horror and grief.
The lifeless head on the desk wasn't just anybody's, it was the remains of someone.
I recognized that face, those features. It was a face I knew.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I grappled with the horrifying reality. I remained on the floor, my legs too weak to support me, while I was down in an awkward position.
"R," The word got caught up in my throat as my heart pounded relentlessly in my chest, each beat echoing the nightmarish scene I had just witnessed, "Ra-" A severed head, severed with cruel precision, rested on my desk. Its lifeless eyes stared into the abyss, devoid of the spark of life. Her blonde hair was a bloody mess that was somehow neatly flowing down the desk.
"Rameen?"