What If?

Chapter 28 - Slow Down

"Jerry, you know the drill, right?" Glenn asked in a low voice.

Jerry gave a serious nod. "Got it. The moment you leave, I’ll stay behind here to keep tabs on everything and make sure it stays under control. Oh, by the way, the documents from the coast guard authorities are already in our agent's hands. I’ve shared the location with him too."

Launa just listened in silence, suppressing her curiosity for the sake of keeping it professional.

A few seconds later, Glenn’s luxury car pulled up in front of the main lobby after being brought around by the valet. Glenn stepped forward and casually opened the front passenger door for Launa a gesture that successfully caught her off guard and made her freeze in awkwardness for a moment.

However, right as Launa was about to step inside, a sudden commotion broke out from inside the lobby.

"Glennnn! Waiiiit!" Gwen ran fast in her expensive dress, instantly throwing herself at him and wrapping her arms around his in a possessive embrace. "Where are you going? I want to come too!"

Smack!

Glenn harshly brushed Gwen’s hands off him. "I'm honestly amazed. Since when does a supposedly A-list actress with a packed schedule suddenly become an unemployed loafer hanging around someone else's office? You’d better go busy yourself fixing your canceled movie instead of tailing me everywhere like a fugitive."

Gwen’s face flushed red with embarrassment, but she instantly shrieked back self-centeredly. "Glenn! How can you say something so cruel?! I just wanted to take you out for lunch at your favorite sushi place! You haven’t had lunch yet, right?!"

"I don't like sushi," Glenn said.

"Huh? Since when?" Gwen asked, completely bewildered.

"Well... since right now," Glenn answered nonchalantly. "Besides, I already ate."

"With whom?!" Gwen demanded, her eyes widening.

Glenn glanced at Launa for a split second, then looked back at Gwen with zero remorse. "With Launa. In my office. Are you satisfied now?"

Gwen stiffened. At that exact moment, her head snapped toward Launa. Her gaze instantly turned incredibly sinister, dripping with hatred and disbelief.

"WHAT?! What? You’d seriously rather have lunch with her than with me, Glenn?!" Gwen shrieked hysterically, causing an even bigger stir in the lobby. "She’s not even on our level! She’s just a shameless flirt trying to clout-chase using you!"

Launa, who was standing by the open car door, could only blink in utter shock. Inside her mind, she was completely flabbergasted by the girl's behavior. Is this person seriously the A-list actress who’s always on TV? Why is she acting like a crazy chick who has zero shame? Launa simply couldn't wrap her head around it. How could someone scream and shout so hysterically without giving a damn about their surroundings?

"Watch your mouth, Gwen!" Glenn snapped, his eyes glaring so fiercely that Gwen took a step back. "She is my official assistant, and she is far more valuable here than you, who can only cause a scene. Know your place, you are nothing to me!"

"Glenn!!" Gwen screamed in sheer frustration.

Glenn, who had completely run out of patience, immediately grabbed Launa’s wrist tightly, intending to pull her into the car. However, a frantic Gwen instantly snatched Launa’s other hand. "Don't you dare touch him! Let go! You are not leaving with this slutty girl, Glenn!"

Glenn clicked his tongue in annoyance and gave a sharp signal to Jerry, who was standing behind Gwen. Catching on instantly, Jerry lunged forward.

Grip! Jerry locked his arms tightly around Gwen from behind, pinning both of her arms to her sides.

"Hey! Let go! Jerry, are you out of your mind?! Let me go!!" Gwen thrashed around hysterically like someone possessed, making Launa shudder in sheer horror at her madness.

"Get in, Launa! Hurry!" Glenn instantly ushered Launa into the front passenger seat, which had been open the entire time, while he deftly sprinted around the hood and slid into the driver's seat. Glenn slammed the door, floored the gas pedal, and the car shot forward, tearing away from the chaotic lobby.

Gwen, realizing she had been left behind, shrieked in sheer frustration. Consumed by absolute rage, she raised her high heel and stomped down on Jerry’s foot with all her might.

"Awwhhh! Damn it, my foot!"

*****

"Arrghh, damn it! That girl is out of her mind! Psycho!" Glenn snarled loudly, slamming his hand against the steering wheel.

He couldn't fathom what went on inside Gwen's head. If Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak actually existed in the real world, Glenn thought to himself, I’d buy it this very second, no matter the price. It would be for one sole purpose: to vanish completely from the sight of creatures like Gwen.

Realizing the atmosphere inside the car cabin had suddenly grown incredibly tense, Glenn awkwardly glanced to his side. Sure enough, Launa was staring right at him with a wide-eyed, innocent expression.

Glenn cleared his throat uncomfortably, shifting in his seat as he suddenly became self-conscious under her gaze.

"T-that girl is crazy. So, make sure you stay far away from her," Glenn snapped tightly. "Before you catch her insanity. A five-meter radius around her is a hazard zone for your sanity."

Launa didn't reply. She merely offered a fleeting, faint smile before turning her gaze away to focus on the road ahead. Glenn furrowed his brows, sensing that something was off. Why had his assistant suddenly gone this quiet?

"Hey, you're doing okay, right?" Glenn asked, double-checking.

"Yes, sir. I'm completely fine," Launa answered softly.

Hearing the tone of her voice, Glenn chose not to press any further. For him, her reassurance that she was fine was more than enough.

"We're heading to the harbor," Glenn spoke up after a few minutes of heavy silence wrapped around them.

Launa turned her head quickly, her brows furrowing in confusion. "T-the harbor?"

"Yeah, the harbor."

"Wait, what exactly are we going to do there, sir?" Launa asked, her tone suddenly shifting into a panic.

Glenn chuckled softly at her over-the-top reaction. "I'm going to throw you into the sea. Use you as a human sacrifice," Glenn said, blurting it out just to lighten the mood.

Who would have thought that Launa’s face would tighten even further with seriousness? "Is this actually part of your plan? S-so, I was hired as your assistant just to be used as a sacrifice?"

Glenn froze for a split second before a burst of hearty laughter completely broke out. The car cabin was instantly filled with the booming, crisp sound of Glenn’s laughter. Launa could only gawk in sheer bewilderment. For as long as she had known the arrogant side of Glenn, this was the very first time she had ever seen the man laugh this freely and happily.

"Why are you laughing, sir? I’m being serious here!" Launa protested, growing annoyed as she pouted her lips in frustration.

"W-well, it's because you're just so adorable!" Glenn said, the remnants of his laughter still rattling in his chest. The man shook his head, completely amused.

"You are way too easy to fool."

"No! I am not stupid!" Launa denied emphatically, refusing to back down.

"Well, what I mean is, you’re just so innocent. So innocent that it’s way too easy to mess with you like that," Glenn explained, glancing at Launa with a warm, softened gaze.

Launa instantly looked down in silence, clutching the draft files in her lap. Spotting the shift in her expression, a sudden wave of guilt washed over Glenn. His crisp laughter faded, replaced by a heavy sigh.

"I was... just joking, Launa. Just trying to break the ice," Glenn apologized softly, his voice turning genuinely gentle.

Launa let out a short breath, then looked up and offered a faint smile. "It’s okay, sir. Really. I guess I’m just being way too sensitive."

Glenn fell silent for a moment. His gaze, which had been full of playfulness just a second ago, suddenly turned incredibly deep and serious as he stared straight ahead, cutting through the heavy city traffic.

"I’m taking you to the harbor because there’s someone we need to meet there. This isn’t company business," Glenn said, his tone gradually calming down, sounding incredibly mature.

The man paused for a moment, gripping the steering wheel with one hand while resting his other arm on the window. "I purposely chose to bring you because if you ever decide to betray or disappoint me in the future... well, at least it won't hurt me that badly." He put it bluntly.

Launa was stunned, a sudden ache tightening in her chest as she heard the sheer resignation in his voice. "W-what do you mean by disappointing you, sir?" Launa asked hesitantly.

Glenn offered a faint smile a hollow, humorless smile laden with the bitterness of life. "The people who have the power to completely destroy you are the ones you allow deep into your life, Launa. I’ve been let down by those closest to me way too many times, to the point where I realized... if you’re going to trust someone, you might as well place it on the shoulders of a stranger who has no emotional strings attached to you. That way, if you ever decide to stab me in the back, I won't have to be that shocked because I’ve already braced myself for it from the very start."

Hearing those wise yet heartbreaking words, Launa turned her body fully toward Glenn. Her gaze suddenly softened, turning incredibly deep and comforting.

"Whether I've just met you or have known you for a long time, sir, I will never disappoint anyone who has been good to me," Launa said, her voice flowing so calmly, yet trembling with profound sincerity. "Because I know exactly how much it hurts to be stabbed in the back, sir. Especially when we've already placed all of our trust in that person."

Glenn froze instantly behind the steering wheel. Launa’s words hit him right in the gut. The man glanced at her, staring intently into the girl’s eyes, which shone with a clean, unpretentious clarity. A quiet sense of admiration slowly crept into Glenn's chest. The girl beside him was truly, genuinely sincere.

Yet, in the midst of his admiration, Glenn quickly pulled his defenses back up. In the cutthroat world he had grown up in, Glenn knew one thing: a person's innocence wouldn't necessarily remain a virtue forever.

"We’ll see about that,"

*****