Chapter 27
When they made it back to his office, Mr. Alexandros closed the door and turned to her with a frown. "Kris, I have a hard time believing you have done something bad enough for the Turks to be tracking you down. Do you have any idea why they might want you?"
Kris felt her jaw fall slack at his question, and she couldn't hold in her shock. It took her several moments to be able to speak. Her thoughts had suddenly gone into overdrive and immediately jumped to her missing memories. There had been many townsfolk that felt she had been a prisoner or a spy in the beginning. Could they have been correct, and it was finally catching up to her?
When she didn't speak right away, Mr. Alexandros gently took her arm and led her to a chair. He took a seat across from her and tried to give her a gentler look. "I can tell that you didn't realize they were Turks. I suppose that means you don't know why they are here either?"
She was at least able to shake her head. At that point, he sighed. "I doubt there is any way you can get out of here without them knowing. It might be best for you to go with them. I'll be fine here for the afternoon. If I don't hear from you by tonight, I'll see who I can contact. You have been the best thing to happen to this store, and I'm not letting anything happen to you if I can help it. I may not seem like it, but even I know a few people."
Kris gave him a crooked smile. She was still nervous and worried, but his reassurances made her feel slightly better. At least she knew that he didn't doubt her. As she calmed, she also remembered that the redhead had mentioned asking Zack. She came to realize that if they asked Zack and it had been something serious, her brother would have said something already. That thought had her shoulders slumping in relief. She was able to stand at that point. "Thank you. If they talked to Zack already, then I don't think this is because I'm in trouble. At least I hope not. I'll be back as soon as I can."
He gave her arm a squeeze before he followed her back out. The two men in suits were still standing near the entrance where they had left them. She swallowed once before she was able to talk. Her nerves had not gone away completely. "I'm ready to go now. How long do you think I'll be gone?"
The redhead smirked. "As long as it takes, yo."
Kris couldn't contain her glare. She knew it would be wise not to make them angry right off the bat, especially since she didn't know what was going on, but she nearly snapped at him. She was stopped when the tall bald one spoke up.
"Our boss just wants to talk. You should be back this afternoon."
"Man, why you gotta kill my fun?"
Kris glared at him when she realized he had been making it seem worse on purpose. She bit her tongue, though. She felt it would be best to get it over with. Her reply wasn't devoid of snark, however. "If you are done being a prick, can we get this over with? I don't need to miss too much work."
Her glare deepened when he just grinned at her. At least he turned to the exit, so she didn't snap again. She gave Mr. Alexandros a nod before she followed the two men out and to a transport that was waiting in the street. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she wasn't about to let them see it.
They hadn't made it far when the redhead spoke up again. "Name's Reno, by the way, and this is my partner, Rude. He don't talk much."
She gave him a nod. "I'm Kris, but I guess you probably knew that already."
He chuckled at her tone but nodded. "Yeah, the amazin' Kristobel Fair. Your name's all the rage these days. You can't go to the Soldier floor without hearin' it at least once, yo."
Kris let her head fall back against her seat and sighed. After a few moments, she sat back up and gave him a curious look. "Is that what this is about?"
He looked at her like she had said something strange. "Yeah, what'd you think it was about?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. It isn't every day that you're called to Shinra headquarters by Turks."
He gave her a devious grin. "So, ya knew we were Turks, huh?"
She nearly rolled her eyes at his expression. "No, not at first. My boss recognized your uniforms. I've heard of the Turks, though."
"Hmm, wonder what the old guy's about then? I mean, I know we ain't unknown, but most wouldn't recognize us on sight."
Kris wondered the same thing, but she didn't voice it. Even if she had wanted to, they had just pulled into the underground garage, and Rude parked the car. Reno shot her another grin as he pointed to the elevator. "Up that way. Boss man is waiting."
Kris was beginning to get the impression that the redhead was disrespectful all the time, so she tried not to let his attitude bother her. It wasn't long afterward that she found herself standing outside a nondescript door along the wall in a room full of desks. When a voice inside called out, Reno opened the door and gave her a grin before walking away with a wave.
Kris wasn't sure what to make of him, but she pushed it aside as she walked in. She knew that if the man she was meeting was one of the leaders of the Turks, she would need to keep her wits about her. She was greeted by the sight of a man that was medium height and build. It was interesting, though, because it was obvious that he was from Wutainese descent. Seeing anyone working for Shinra that was originally from Wutai was a shock, especially since he was a leader of some sort.
She wasn't given long to contemplate it, as he pointed to one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Miss Fair. I have been expecting you. Please have a seat." Once she was seated, he retook his own and leaned back as he looked her over. "My name is Tseng. I am the second in command in the Department of Administrative Research, and I have a proposition that I would like to share with you."
Kris blinked a few times before she finally spoke. "You have a proposition? And that is why you had your men come and pull me away from work?"
He gave her a slight smile that she could tell immediately was only for politeness' sake. It didn't come close to touching his eyes. If she hadn't already been on guard, she would have been after seeing it.
"I apologize if it was an inconvenience, but I felt it was important for us to speak as soon as possible."
She raised a brow at his assertation. "Important for you or for me?"
She saw his smile dip slightly, but it was so quick, she almost missed it. She kicked herself mentally at the sight of it. She needed to remember that sometimes discretion was the better part of valor. She was capable of keeping her tongue in check, even if most of the time, she didn't care to.
There was a sharpness to his eyes when he answered. "I would like to believe it would be important to us both. Would you hear me out?"
She weighed her options before she bit back a sigh. Prolonging this would not get her back to work, and even though she was sure Mr. Alexandros was more than capable of taking care of the store in her absence, she still needed the hours. She gave him a nod. "Please forgive my attitude. It was just that this whole process was a bit unexpected."
His smile widened slightly. "I can understand. This shouldn't take long." He then faced his computer and typed something in quickly before he turned the monitor so she could see it as well. She cursed under her breath when she saw it was a video of her spar with Genesis. Reno had told her that her scuffle was the instigation for this visit, she just hoped it wasn't a reprimand. If so, she was going to have choice words for her sort-of boyfriend.
She didn't have to wait long for an answer. "I was surprised when I heard that a civilian was invited to spar with one of the Firsts. I was further shocked when I saw this. It isn't often that you see someone this talented. I asked you here to invite you to come to work for Shinra. With this level of skill, you could be an excellent member of our team."
She sat back and shook her head. "What is up with that? This is the third time I have been asked to come to work here. Is it really that unusual? I mean, Zack is nearly as good, or at least he was before Soldier, I mean."
Tseng raised a brow at her outburst. "Third time?"
Kris blushed slightly at the incredulous look he was giving her, but she nodded. "Yes, both Genesis and General Sephiroth have asked me as well. The General was even willing to let me try for Soldier. That would be a disaster waiting to happen. I shudder to think what Zack would do if he thought I was being picked on, much less what I might do if it actually happened."
The look he gave her at that was clearly shocked, and she didn't believe it was faked. She tried to keep her embarrassment in check as he finally spoke again. "I had not heard that they already asked. From your reaction, I take it, you declined?"
She nodded with a grimace. "Yes. Besides, I already have a job that I don't want to leave."
Tseng gave her an evaluating look. "Phillips Alexandros' furniture shop? If I am not mistaken, you only work there three days a week. Would it not be better to have something full time?"
Kris didn't bother holding back her glare at his words. His knowledge shouldn't have surprised her. Even if she hadn't known what the Turks were previously, Zack had shared enough of what they did on joint missions that she had a pretty good picture of their skill sets. She had to fight to keep it from her voice when she answered. "That is where I work, yes. If you know that much, then you should know that I am the one that does most of the work there. If I were to leave, it would make things hard for him. He has helped me too much for me to do that."
It was several moments before Tseng spoke again. "I can understand your reluctance, and your loyalty is commendable. If I were to offer you the opportunity to work here part-time, would you consider it?"
Kris sat back with a shocked look. Finally, her brows lowered. "I thought that Turks went on missions like Soldier. Wouldn't my availability become an issue?"
Kris caught a glint at her words, but he simply gave her a smile. "Of course, if we were to give you those types of assignments. At this point, I would be willing to negotiate with you."
She clenched her jaw. She could tell there was more he wasn't saying. "In other words, you want me to become familiar enough with what you do so that I will change my mind and come to work full time."
His smile widened at her assessment. "Of course. The more we speak, the more I believe you would do well here. The fact that I am willing to work with you in the interim should not come as a surprise."
She wanted to roll her eyes. It seemed as though she was suddenly surrounded by arrogant males. Unfortunately, she knew his offer was a good one. This was a decision she wasn't going to be able to make at the drop of a hat. "Would you be willing to give me time to think about it?"
Kris almost stood and walked out when she saw a flash of triumph in Tseng's eyes. She shoved the impulse down and managed to only glare as he answered. "Take your time. The offer will stay open, at least for now. There may come a time soon that the circumstances will change, but like I said, I am willing to work with you."
She did stand at that point. She leaned over and put her hands on his desk while she pinned him with a glare. "I do appreciate the fact that you made this offer, and that you are willing to work with me, but don't think that you can strong-arm me into a decision. If I do decide to come to work for you, then it will be because I think it's the best choice and not because you say I'm out of time."
If he was flustered by her overt display, she couldn't tell. She stood with a huff. "I'll let you know by this time next week. Is that acceptable?"
He gave her a smirk as he stood as well. "Of course. I look forward to your answer."
She clenched her jaw at his self-satisfied look and left with just a nod. Once she was out of the office, she saw Reno stand from a desk nearby. She shook her head at him before he made a move. "Don't bother. I can make it back by myself."
He laughed and shook his head. "I sure hope you say yes. Workin' with ya will be amusin'."
She rolled her eyes but couldn't completely hide a smile. His idea of amusement was likely to be pestering her, but there was something about his laid-back attitude that was hard not to like. She didn't say anything else, and gave him a nod as she headed back down and out of the building.