His to take

6. Lost

I keep my head down as I stood up quickly glad for the hat I was still wearing. “It is sir, I will go back to work immediately” I say in the deep voice that I have been using with me

“Why are you changing your voice? I heard you just now” He says and I shake my head as I walk to the door. He was standing just three feet away from the door so that I felt his body heat lightly as I passed “Stop” He says and I freeze. Please, please, please, I begged no one in particular. “Your phone” he says nodding to the bench. I go to get it but my hand is shaky and it falls and lands on the floor. The phone is not new and it had fallen a few times so had cracks. It was no surprise that when I picked it up, the screen was blank. I groan internally and go back to the door. “You are not wearing a mask” He says softly and before I have time to respond, he pulls the hat off my head making me look up in shock. One. One thousand. Two. Two thousand. We both stare at each other with shock on our faces. Nathan’s face morphs from shock to disbelief then anger. “You” It was a word. A single word. But in my entire life, I had never heard any words hold so much malice.

“I… um… I…” I stammer but when words fail me, I keep quiet. He seemed to be collecting his thoughts because he also just stared for a full minute. I want to say that I can explain but I really could not. How could I?

“Are you stalking me?” He asks and I frown at him in confusion. Why the hell would I be stalking him? I would have said the exact same words to him but because of my current situation, I rephrase

“I have no reason to”

“In the past 7 days, I have seen you twice and now you work for me. How is that possible?”

“I did not know this was your company till I saw you on Monday”

“You expect me to believe that? The moment you browse High Tech, my face comes up”

“I have never actually browsed High Tech” I tell him and his look tells me he did not believe me. I would not either honestly. Who does not browse where they were employed at?

“Do I look like a fool to you?” He snickered “I must. That must be why you tricked me like this”

“I did not. If I knew you were my new boss why would I squabble with you in the alley last Saturday? I am not crazy”

“I do know why you did any of this but I do not like having people who lie to my face in my team so…” He started

“No. Please don’t. Don’t fire me. I really did not do any of this intentionally” I plead with him

“Intentionally or not, you lied to me, were constantly rude and tried to fool me with the ridiculous masks. Even seeing your face annoying right now. You will be paid for your week but you are no longer a part of this company” He says and tried to leave. I hold unto his arm to plead but he shrugs me off aggressively and walks away without a pause or a second glance.

I do not know how long I stand there on the roof debating all my life choices. When my legs grew tired, I go to sit on the bench again. My mind was having a hard time processing what had just happened. I think I am dreaming. Perhaps I should just wait a minute and my alarm would ring. So I sat, mind blissfully calm and waited. But after a while, nothing happened. No orchestra woke me up from my sleep. I just lost my job. I did not think it would feel nearly as bad as I was feeling. My blank mind stated to fill with thoughts. They formed slowly at first but then they came faster and clearer until they were flooding into my mind in 4k. What would I do? Would I go back to being a burden on Elizabeth? And what would I tell her? That I cashed her ex’s wedding after she made me promise not to? She would be so disappointed in me. She could not find out. But then how would I explain my job loss? And I loved this job. I loved the people and the work. I loved everything including my work I.D. which I just got yesterday. I close my eyes wishing that it would go away. That I could reset this entire day but my guardian angel seemed to have packed up her bags and abandoned me. I look up and watch the cloud roll by. I did not want to go back to the office. I did not think I would be able to control my breakdown. I felt something cold touch my cheek and I raise my hand to it. I was crying. I did not usually cry. I had always been good at looking at the bright side but I was crying. Because it hurt? I did not know but the tears continued to roll. I did not stop it. Soon, I was sobbing furiously on the roof.

By the time the tears stopped, the sun was sinking into the horizon and the wind had picked up. I stood, ready to face the music. But when I got to the door and pulled, it did not budge. What the…? I pulled again with more force but it still did not budge. I was locked on the roof. I banged the door as loudly as I could but it was painful as the door was metal and my hands were cold. I screamed a few times but I knew it would be futile. My voice was too soft, my scream probably wouldn’t make it to the end of the door. I was trapped. My phone. I remembered and went to collect it from where it sat on the bench. The moment I saw the cracked, black screen, I knew the fates were playing a really cruel joke. This could not be happening. In one day, I would lose my job, break my phone and die of hypothermia?

But who could have locked this? Was it Nathan? It could not have been. But I had not heard anyone else come up. But why would he? I had not known him long but he did not seem like the type. What did I know? If he was friends with Ren then he could definitely be the type. Because Ren could do this. Someone would come up soon surely. They had to. I just had to keep myself alive until they did.

Nathan

I sigh tiredly after switching off my computer. Today had been a long day. The clock opposite me said it was past seven. I had no idea that so much time had passed. I stretched and arranged my files for tomorrow. My eyes landed on the marketing file I was given earlier and I glare at it. I had managed to keep Charlotte out of my mind for most of the day but the sight of the file made me angry. What made me angrier was that I did not know why her lie pissed me off. Something nudged at the back of my mind but I ignored it because it made no sense. I toss the document into a drawer and slam it shut. I do not want to remember her. Ever.

After grabbing my keys and cellphone, I walk out my office. It was empty outside. My secretaries and receptionist had all gone home and I could not blame them. I have been planning on getting a personal assistant. I need to look into that further. When Charlotte popped into my head again, I decided the personal assistant needed to be male. The elevator came quickly and did not stop till it reached the grand floor. I wanted to check on the installations on the ground floor which was why I did not go directly to the basement where my car was parked.

I looked up at the new ceilings and grimaced. The work was sloppy. The finishing was horrible and the color was nauseating. I would have to get maintenance to get another contractor. This one was not to my taste. The cost ran through my mind and my hands fisted involuntarily. I would draw up the contracts myself next time. If a contractor did such a sloppy job, I should not be the one paying for it.

I was walking out the door when a beeping red light caught my attention. The logs said someone was still in the building. That was weird, my employees were never that loyal. They did their work okay but never did overtime. I should know. I stayed late a lot and have never seen anyone stay past six. I clicked the log and input my pin to check who it was and my heart did a somersault when I saw the name. Charlotte Kingsley. What was she still doing here? Perhaps she was saying goodbye to all the furniture. Well, it was her fault for lying. I switched off the log and walked out but I could not shake the strange feeling that tightened my chest. She was just staying late. That was her problem. What if she was crying? My mind asked and I ignored it. It did not matter to me. It was chilly out. Maybe it was going to rain. As I walk to my car, my feet stopped moving. It was really cold. And she was not wearing a coat. I don’t think she has a car.

How the hell is that my concern? I ask myself as I started to move again. For some reason my mind kept asking annoying questions. What if she cies till she faints? Ot my problem. What if she breaks something in the office? I would get the police involved. I should just check on her, make sure she is not commiting suicide or something? That is her business. I get open my car door. What if she got locked on the roof? I stopped moving. That was impossible. Even if she got stuck, she would have called someone by now. I enter into my car but my hand freezes on the way to the on button. Perhaps I should just check and make sure she was okay. For the sake of my property. I already had expenses to manage due to the faulty repairs. I did not need her to break something or lose essential files.

I got out of the car and took the elevator to her floor. All the lights were off but I still checked her team’s office. Empty. Perhaps she left while I was coming up. There was no way she is on the roof. To put myself at ease, I go to the roof. It was locked as expected. I breathe deeply as I turned the lock and opened the door. She was not there. I knew she wouldn’t be. Why would I even care anyway? I was closing the door again when something held it. I walk into the roof and look behind the door to see her shivering like a new born in the arctic. “You son of the devil” She whispers in her soft air like voice but shock does not allow me to respond.