Dedicated to The-Superstar for your votes, comments and encouragement! It means a lot to me, thank you!
This chapter is unedited so please excuse the grammatical errors.
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Suzzanah's POV
"No! You are not going back into that forest" Mr. Talon screeched as he stood blocking the elevator.
"Mr. Talon, please! I really need to go and look for it. As it is I'm dreading what the rain and mud must have done to that silky classy jacket. I'll owe the CEO forever if I lost something so expensive"
"He won't mind!" Mr. Talon reasoned pressing his back further into the elevator.
"Really Mr. Talon?" I asked incredulously, "and you're saying that? You're the one who told me that he'd kill me for just not bowing to him!"
"But you're still alive though aren't you!" he replied, "Besides it's been a week now. It's probably become one with the forest vegetation by now. And the CEO has tons of jackets. I doubt he'd even notice this one missing."
I shook my head, "I can't risk it. I need to go and look for myself or this stress of not knowing what has become of it alone will be the end of me. Please move!"
"Nooooo!"
He pressed his back harder into the elevator at the exact time as the doors slid open and I gaped in shock unable to lurch forward in time as he animatedly tumbled backwards onto a very surprised looking Mr. Penson who was holding his phone in his hand.
"Aaaah!" Mr. Talon screeched before jumping away from Mr. Penson and clearing his throat.
"I'm terribly sorry sir!" he said and I bit my lip to prevent myself from laughing out loud.
"It's quite alright Talon", Mr. Penson said looking amused, "but I'm curious, what were you trying to do just then?"
A blush creeped onto Mr. Talon's face, "Uh...nothing in particular sir"
"Were you going somewhere?"
"No sir. We weren't going anywhere", Mr. Talon said looking at me pointedly making me frown at him.
"Good, because I need both of you to come with me, we still have work to finish", Mr. Penson said and started walking towards his room.
Mr. Talon looked smugly at me and I narrowed my eyes at him, before we followed Mr. Penson.
We spent the next 45 minutes working as usual but I couldn't take my mind off of the CEO's jacket.
I need to go look for that jacket. But what if I can't find it? What will I tell the CEO? Will he fire me? Will he make me pay him back? Noooo! Can't I spend one day at work without worrying about being fired??
And what if I find it? What then? It would probably have become, like Mr. Talon had said, a part of the forest vegetation. What will I do with it then? I'll still be in danger of getting fired or being indebted for life! ARRRRGGHH!
For some reason, within those 45 minutes, the tension had returned to the atmosphere at work. It no longer felt relaxed and care-free. Suddenly most people looked anxious and edgy, as though they were anticipating something big and important.
The men gulped and adjusted their ties constantly, while the women kept wringing their fingers or biting their lips. No one even looked like they were ready to head for lunch.
When it was 15 minutes to lunch time, I was done with all my work and was waiting anxiously for the clock to strike 1 pm so I could go look for the jacket. I wouldn't let Mr. Talon stop me this time.
A few minutes later, as I was passing by Mr. Penson's office, the door opened and Mr. Penson walked out. When he saw me, he smiled at me.
"Well, our work here is done for now Ms. Winters", he said and I smiled knowing I could go into the forest now but before I could think anything else he added, "Let's go."
I stared at him puzzled and he raised his eyebrows, then smiled, "I said our work here is done, Ms. Winters. Now on to the next place"
He started walking towards the elevator and my puzzlement immediately turned to disappointment.
I need to go look for that jacket or I'll go insane, but that will obviously have to wait a little longer.
I pouted and followed him. Once we got into the elevator, I paled considerably when I saw that we were going from the 18th floor right down to the ground floor. I had already endured this torture once this morning when I got to work.
Oh God! Not again
***
We finally reached the ground floor and I jumped out of the elevator, gasping for air while clutching my chest.
"You are claustrophobic, Ms. Winters?" Mr. Penson asked and I smiled at him sheepishly before nodding awkwardly. He had his classic thoughtful expression on again, when no one could tell what he was thinking. He just nodded and returned my smile before patting my back gently.
"Come", he said softly and I followed wondering where we were going. Once we walked out of the building I came to an abrupt stop.
Outside, on either side of the large pathway, stood three bear-sized men all dressed in tight black clothes and thick dark vests. They flanked the path, standing straight and tall, chests puffed out and hands clasped behind their backs. They looked like bodyguards.
What was going on?
It took a few seconds for me to gather my jaw from the floor before I hurriedly followed Mr. Penson. He had stopped right in front of the road and I was surprised to see Roma standing beside him with a worried looking Mr. Talon standing behind him.
Why was she here?
Roma was dressed formally in a white blouse underneath a black coat, and black dress pants. Her dark hair was tied up in a neat bun. She looked stunning. I smiled widely at her and she smiled back before standing facing the road like Mr. Penson. I stood behind her, next to Mr. Talon wearing a puzzled expression.
Mr. Penson turned toward me, "Just do as Talon explained to you on your first day and you'll be fine Ms. Winters", he assured with a smile, and turned away again.
But why was he assuring me specifically?
From the corner of my eye I saw Mr. Talon go stiff, I glanced at him to ask why but he suddenly looked pale and was sweating profusely. He looked at me through his thick rimmed glasses and I saw the tension in his eyes as he cringed at me. My confusion grew.
Were we expecting some important clients? But the CEO and Vice-President weren't even here to participate in the meeting.
Mr. Talon opened his mouth to say something but he stopped abruptly as if he had heard something, and his eyes widened. I saw all the guards go stiff and Mr. Penson and Roma both stood straight with their heads held high.
That's when I heard the sound of cars approaching. I looked to my left and saw three black SUVs heading towards the building in a line, one after the other. I gulped and stood straight and stared at Mr. Penson's back.
Why hadn't he told me we were having important people visit? I hadn't made any arrangements for a meeting! Nor did I know what this meeting would be about.
The SUVs came to a halt, with the middle one stopping right in front of us and my anxiety grew, but so did my curiosity. Roma was tall and I couldn't see anything with her standing in front of me. I had the urge to get on my tip toes and peep over her shoulder, but refrained from doing so.
I heard the doors of the first and last cars open and then the sound of people getting off. I was surprised to see that they were more guards dressed in black emerge from the two cars but what really shocked me was when my roomie got out of one of them.
I gaped at her but she hadn't seen me yet. She was dressed much like the rest of the guards, in tight black full sleeved clothes and a thick vest.
She was a bodyguard? But...to whom?
She, along with three other men, flanked the middle car's door making it even harder for me to see what was going on.
I heard the car's door open and for some reason my heart sped up. I heard the sound of someone getting out of the car and suddenly chills started running down my spine. The air suddenly grew extremely tense and my body started tingling. My hands became clammy but my throat felt dry. There were waves of power and authority coming from the person who just got out of the car and they had paralysed me. I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move.
And at that precise moment, everyone except Mr. Penson bent their bodies and bowed deeply leaving me standing straight as still and stiff as a statue and sticking out like a sore thumb. Time slowed down again, all too familiarly and I could almost tell what was going to happen next.
And as if on cue my eyes immediately found two disturbingly conversant chocolaty orbs staring into mine in surprise. My eyes went wide and I gasped softly as my mind screamed two words.
Déjà vu
The CEO stood in front of me, looking as breathtakingly handsome as ever with Master Cole standing on his right and an unfamiliar man on his left. While the CEO continued to gaze at me with wide eyes and slightly parted lips, I saw Master Cole cringe and the other man narrowed his eyes at me. In my peripheral vision I saw the guards including my roomie gape at me in horror.
Move body, move!!!
I didn't know why but my body wouldn't budge. It was like something was willing me to keep my head up, to not bow regardless of these significant authorities standing before me, but I didn't know why and I could hear warning bells going off inside my head.
The same unknown awakening, from before, surged within me. Strange sensations flowed through my body as I felt it heat up. Something on the inside of me wanted out and it was pushing hard against my mental walls. I could feel a headache coming.
I heard a soft gasp from next to me and I knew Mr. Talon was probably dying right now. In front of me the CEO's brows furrowed and eyes narrowed dangerously, as his surprise turned to something else, and even though I couldn't tell what it was, I knew one thing.
He wasn't happy.
I gulped and released a ragged breath. My heart was slamming into my chest and my hands were trembling. Suddenly my body felt extremely heavy, as though gravity had suddenly doubled or tripled. I felt weighed down, burdened.
The CEO's expression changed. His lips parted again and his eyes widened but this time it was not in surprise, it was in worry.
Why was it that I didn't even know him and yet I had seen that very same worried expression so many times already?
All of a sudden a thousand voices filled my head all at the same time and I cringed at the stabbing pain in my head that they caused. The voices were both male and female, most of which I didn't recognize but some of which I startlingly did.
Oh no! Not again...
Master Cole? I thought.
Who is she?
She didn't bow?!
What the hell is she doing?
Bow you idiot!
Roommate! I recognized.
Someone tell that girl to look away.
The Alpha is going to kill her!
Ooooh Lunaaa!
Mr. Talon?! I knew.
The voices continued assaulting my mind, most sounding angry and afraid at the same time. My head pounded and vision blurred. But despite hearing their words, my body still wouldn't move. And it terrified me to no end.
The CEO took a step forward, his hand extending towards me, his expression now extremely concerned and maybe even slightly panicked. Wincing, I immediately looked away from his face only to find Mr. Penson staring at me wide eyed.
I nearly jumped out of my skin in shock. I had never seen Mr. Penson look that surprised before. I felt a new wave of fear wash over me.
I was a goner.
My lips trembled and my body shivered involuntarily. My eyes silently begged Mr. Penson for some help and his expression immediately softened. The next instant everyone stood up again and Roma blocked me from the CEO's dangerous gaze.
Immediately everything went back to normal. The voices in my head disappeared and that feeling of being weighed down vanished. All movement returned to my body and my knees shook as I wrapped my arms around myself involuntarily. Chills continued to run down my body and I gasped for breath.
What was happening to me?
I couldn't stop shivering. I couldn't shake that feeling of something powerful pushing at my walls, of that heavy burden falling over my body and the sudden voices echoing in my head.
From the corner of my eye I could see Mr. Talon looking at me with concern.
Why was I always doing things that troubled him so!
I heard many pairs of strong footsteps approaching us, three of them standing out in particular. I shrunk as much as I could, trying to hide myself behind Roma. I felt tired and afraid and for some reason, I suddenly wanted to cry.
"Welcome back", I heard Mr. Penson say, as the three prominent footsteps stopped right beside us.
There were still massive waves of power coming from the three people I knew were now standing by me. I continued to stare at my feet as my body shivered and lips trembled. Tears stung my eyes and I blinked continuously trying to keep them at bay.
"Thank you John", two voices responded, one Master Cole's and the other unfamiliar to me. I didn't hear the CEO's voice.
"Suzzanah?" I heard Mr. Talon whisper my name, his voice heavily laced with concern. Before I could look at him or respond a large dark shadow fell over me and almost instantly I knew who it was that was now standing in front of me. I gulped.
Oh God!
I slowly raised my head to see the CEO's imposing figure before me. His face was a mask revealing no sentiment whatsoever, but his eyes held something intense and powerful making me want to cry even more. He opened his mouth to say something and I flinched knowing this was it. He would be so mad.
But before he could utter a single word a heavy hand landed on his shoulder making his head jerk to the side and glare at it.
I looked to the side to see the guy I didn't know smiling widely at the CEO. He was a little shorter than the CEO, had blonde hair that was swept to one side and bright blue eyes.
"Come now King, don't intimidate the poor thing like that. Can't you see she is scared out of her wits", he said removing his hand from the CEO's shoulder.
King???
Then he looked at me and smiled sweetly at me, "Well hello there pretty young lady, it's a pleasure to meet you"
Trying to calm my shaken nerves, I stared at him uncertainly then looked around to see who he was talking to, surely it couldn't be me. But in the next second he was holding up a rose in my face, his frame slightly bent so that he could talk eye to eye with me.
I blinked at the rose and I thought I heard Master Cole face palm loudly.
"Uh...I-"
"Don't let the big bad CEO scare you, here, a beautiful rose for a beautiful lady", he said smiling flirtatiously at me.
A growl filled the air making everyone except this strange man before me tense. I looked toward the CEO to see him glowering murderously at this man.
"Go on", the man stressed and I didn't want to seem rude, he was trying to help me...or so I thought, so I extended a still trembling hand to take the rose from him. But before I could take hold of the rose, his other hand came up and caught my trembling one making my eyes go wide.
"Don't be afraid darling", he said lowering his head towards my hand and making me gawk at him in horror as he attempted to kiss it.
I heard Mr. Talon screech and Master Cole gasp and in a split second the man's hand had been removed from around mine and pushed away from me by a furious looking CEO.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!" he yelled making everyone jump out of their skins. The blond man also seemed shaken by the CEO's outburst, so he took a step away from me while the CEO continued to glare at him with eyes so furious that I was surprised the guy hadn't gone up in flames yet.
As if on cue I started to smell smoke, and my eyes frantically searched the area till they landed on the rose in the man's hand, which was now on fire.
I gasped out loud and lurched forward pointing at his hand, "The Rose!" I shouted
The man's eyes zeroed in on his hand before his eyes went wide and he threw the burning rose to the ground wincing and shaking his hand vigorously.
"Are you alright?" I asked and instinctively reached out for his hand to check for injuries. But before my hand could touch his, a larger hand enveloped mine and tingles shot through my arm and body. I was immediately tugged back and I crashed into the CEO before he pushed me behind him and growled at the man, literally.
I could no longer see the other man, or the CEO's face for that matter. I looked around to see all the guards gaping in shock at the events that were transpiring. While Roma looked worried, Master Cole looked frustrated and Mr. Talon looked dead, Mr. Penson looked rather amused and I couldn't help but stare at him in bewilderment while also wondering why the CEO had yelled and how the flower had caught fire.
"That was a little much Alpha", I heard the other man say, his voice sounded bitter.
The Alpha aka the CEO didn't say anything but I saw his fists clench and I stared at his back confused.
The stare down continued for a few more seconds before Master Cole stepped forward.
"Alright, break it up you two. Come on", he said standing in between the two men. "Let's go inside now. We have work to do remember"
His words seemed to have calmed the men down a little as I saw the CEO's back relax and he abruptly turned away from the man towards me making me jump.
The anger in his eyes dissipated and they immediately softened as he searched my face. I gulped and not knowing what to do, I gave him a small nervous smile. His eyes immediately zeroed in on my lips making me gasp and take a step away from him.
His eyes returned to mine and they seemed slightly displeased. After that, he looked away seeming irritated and walked off. Half the hoard of guards followed after him, including my roomie who looked at me with a questioning frown before walking away.
Master Cole sighed and shook his head. His eyes landed on me and I bowed quickly.
Had I bowed to the CEO???
I was surprised when Master Cole smiled at me then turned to the other man who was still clutching his hand and glaring at the CEO's back.
"We'll be going inside John", Master Cole said, "See you upstairs" and Mr. Penson nodded.
With that Roma led him and the mystery man toward where the CEO had gone followed by the rest of the guards.
I released a loud breath and slumped in relief. Mr. Talon immediately came up to me.
"Are you alright?" he asked and I sighed before shaking my head.
"I don't know" I answered honestly.
"Come you two, let's go inside", Mr. Penson told us, "Ms. Winters seems unwell"
"Oh no! I'm quite alright" I said, "I'm terribly sorry; I had just suddenly felt..." I searched for a word to describe my condition earlier but found none, "strange and a little shaken. It must be because I've been resting too much lately. I'm really alright now"
He gazed at me for a few more minutes before a small smile graced his lips, 'Very well, let's go then" he said and both I and Mr. Talon nodded before following him inside.
***
I was so dazed and confused that thankfully I didn't notice the elevator ride this time. When we reached the 18th floor, we each went to our individual rooms. The office was empty as everyone had left for lunch and I wondered whether I could go too, or not.
After drinking some water I walked to Mr. Penson's room to ask him if I could go for lunch but his door was ajar and I heard him talking to Master Cole.
"I don't know how this is going to work if they can't even stay within ten meters of each other without wanting to claw each other's eyes out", Master Cole said.
"Relax Cole, it'll be over soon. Once Alpha Marco has had a look at the woods, he will leave and hopefully Alpha Royale's mood will return to normal after that"
Alpha Marco, was that the blond man's name? What was this Alpha title they had allotted to certain people anyway? And had this Marco guy really come all this way just to stroll the woods?...Wait....the woods?...the WOODS!
THE CEO'S JACKET!
In my panicked trail of thought I had missed some of their conversation. I felt bad about eavesdropping but the next line caught my attention.
"He owes Alpha Royale, there is no way he can refuse to do this for us"
He owes him?! So he can't refuse him? Oh God! If I lose that I'll owe the CEO too!
I silently screamed and immediately ran to Mr. Talon's room. I threw the door open making Mr. Talon shriek out loud and spill the water he was drinking onto his shirt.
"I'm going to the forest right now!" I yelled making him shriek again.
"No Suzzanah! This is not a good idea!"
"I don't have a choice, I don't want to owe the CEO!" I told him and ran out of his room towards the elevator and I heard him run after me calling my name.
I was so preoccupied with my troubling thoughts that I didn't notice Master Cole coming out of Mr. Penson's room and I nearly crashed into him. He caught me in time and steadied me making me blush and apologize profusely.
When I looked up at him, he surprised me yet again by smiling at me, "You should be more careful Lu- I mean Ms. Winters" he said.
I smiled nervously at him and nodded while glancing at the elevator.
"Are you alright?" he asked out of the blue making me stare at him wide eyed.
"I heard about your accident in the woods", I blushed, "And you seemed a bit off outside just now", he said inquisitively.
I shook my head and smiled, "Thank you. I'm quite alright" I assured him.
Mr. Penson emerged from his office at that instance and I took the opportunity to ask him hurriedly, "Sir, may I go for lunch now?"
He looked amused at my eagerness, "Oh yes, you may go-"
"No sire! Please don't let this child go!" Mr. Talon screeched running up to us making me gawk at him while my superiors stared at him puzzled.
He blushed, "I beg your pardon Sirs", he said bowing quickly, "But you mustn't let her go for lunch. She intends on going into the woods!"
Both my superiors stared at me wide eyed while I did the same at Mr. Talon as he proceeded to tell them about my dire situation with the CEO's jacket.
When he was done, I was as red as a tomato, Master Cole looked highly amused while Mr. Penson looked thoughtful as always.
"It's just a jacket Ms. Winters, not some valuable treasure", Master Cole said smiling, "You shouldn't worry about-"
"You should go"
All of us turned our surprised gazes at Mr. Penson as he continued, "It is lunch time now. You should go and look for it"
"Alp-"
"Hurry now, lunch hour ends in thirty five minutes", Mr. Penson cut off a puzzled looking Master Cole, "you need to be back by then"
"Bu-bu-but sir! Letting her go into the woods all alone again would be-"
"But she isn't going alone", Mr. Penson said matter-of-factly, "You're going with her"
Mr. Talon's jaw hit the floor and my eyes went wide, but Mr. Penson just smiled at us coolly.
"Go on", he said and I nodded quickly before bowing to both of them and dragging a shocked Mr. Talon towards the dreadful elevator.
"Oh! And Ms. Winters!"
I turned to face Mr. Penson again.
"Be careful now", he said with a strange glint in his eyes, "Don't forget. Jungles, forests and woods are called "the Wild' for a reason."
***
"Aaaah! Watch out!" Mr. Talon cried out for the billionth time in the past 5 minutes.
Every few seconds he would tell me to watch out, but for what? I doubt he even knew himself.
"Oh for crying out loud, there's nothing there Mr. Talon. Stop worrying so much. You're being paranoid", I said as I looked around for the CEO's jacket.
I could have sworn it was around here that I had lost it. But then again, everything looked the same.
When Mr. Talon didn't answer I turned around to see him staring intently at the grass, as though his eyes were tracing some sort of line in the undergrowth.
"Mr. Talon?"
He looked up at me with confused eyes, then back at the ground, then at me again.
What was he doing?
He scratched his head before coming over to me.
"I think this is the place where I lost it", I said biting my lip worriedly.
He hummed in response and looked around. The soil was still wet as it had rained earlier this morning. Now it was just really cloudy and foggy in some places.
"Do you see it anywhere?" I asked looking around to which he just stuck his nose in the air and sniffed and I stared blankly at him.
Oh yes, that's definitely going to work, I thought, shaking my head with a sigh.
"As much as I appreciate your very unique effort of trying to find the jacket by sniffing out the CEO's scent, I doubt that'll be easy, especially since right now, the entire forest smells like him", I said as I inhaled the lovely scent of wet soil.
Mr. Talon looked at me with bewildered wide eyes and I immediately blushed realizing what I had just said. I quickly cleared my throat and turned away from him only to have my eyes land on a thick tree trunk some distance away.
All of a sudden my dream from the other day flashed in my mind and I could almost picture the woman in white disappearing behind that particular tree. I gasped happily.
"I found the tree!" I cried out and started jogging towards the tree.
Mr. Talon shrieked behind me asking me to wait up but I just told him to follow me as I evaded the other trees in my way.
As I ran the fog got thicker and thicker till suddenly, I couldn't see anything that was more than two feet away from me. I slowed down and strained my eyes to not lose sight of the tree and that's when I heard Mr. Talon's voice calling out my name, sounding very, very distant.
I immediately turned around but I couldn't see him at all.
"Mr. Talon?"
"Su...nah..."
"Mr. Talon!" I cried out when his voice sounded so far away that he seemed like he was at the other side of the forest.
He must be going the wrong way!
"Mr. Talon! This way! Follow my voice, can you hear me?"
I got no reply and a thin stream of fear started flowing down my spine.
"Mr. Talon?"
Still no reply. I looked around frantically; trying to catch even just a glimpse of him but the fog was too thick to see anything. I turned in some bizarre direction and my eyes zeroed in on the one place that the fog had not enveloped.
The tree!
I quickly hurried toward the tree, jumping over broken branches and protruding roots till I was right under its vast canopy. I looked up at the tree till where the branches disappeared into the leaves. For some bizarre reason, the air around this tree was very clean and not breached by the fog at all.
I quickly went around the tree, but to my extreme disappointment, the Jacket was no longer there. I whined dejectedly and slumped against the trunk in defeat. The air seemed to shift around me, enveloping me, and the soft sound of the breeze filled my ears. Something inside of me seemed to shift making my body tingle as I breathed deeper. Shaking off the strange feeling I called out to Mr. Talon.
"Mr. Talon! The jacket isn't here!" I called out as loud as I could but still got no reply, "Mr. TALON! CAN YOU HEAR ME? WHERE ARE YOU??" still no response.
"Mr. TALO-"
"Lunaaa..."
My body went deathly stiff as the same eerie whisper from before drifted vividly to my ears.
No! It's just my imagination! It isn't real!
My heart immediately sped up and my eyes went wide as I pressed my back harder into the trunk.
"Lunaaa..."
I gasped and looked around frantically but I couldn't see a thing. My hands trembled and breath came out labored and ragged.
"Wh-wh-who's there?" I cried out, clutching my chest with one hand, "WHO's THERE?"
"Lunaaa..."
A piercing scream escaped my lips as the whisper seemed to come from much closer, but I couldn't see anyone through the thick fog. But that was until my eyes found one dark solitary figure some distance away.
It looked like a black shadow cutting through the thick white mist, slowly but steadily, getting closer with each step.
My heart hammered against my chest. My body trembled in unconcealed fear. My throat felt completely dry as I called out, "Mr. Talon?"
I got no reply, but the figure continued to move forward, and my heart sank as I realized two bone chilling facts at the very same time.
That dark, frightening shadow, was not Mr. Talon, and with each unrelenting step, it was coming right at me...
***
A/N
And another update is done! Yay! Picture of Alpha Marco (Lucas Till) to the side.
Hello my dear readers,
Thank you to all the readers who have been supporting this story!
What I realized after the last chapter is that one should never give their poor readers two consecutive chapters without the male lead in them. I'm sorry if the last chapter was disappointing :'(
Hope you liked this chapter. Please continue to support this story with your lovely votes and comments. It would make me very happy!
I'll be very busy this coming week so I won't be able to update. This chapter is compensation for that :)
Until next time,
All my love,
Angel