A shaking woke Kyro up. He opened his heavy eyes and saw a sight that his still asleep brain couldn't compute. Was he really seeing what he thought he was seeing?
Iris waved at him as she left the room and said she was gonna make the coffee. It was something that had happened before, but her clothes… What in the world was she wearing?
It wasn't easy to get up, but Kyro pushed himself up and left his room. In the kitchen, he saw Iris moving about. While the pot boiled, she sat down to make a couple sandwiches. The shirt road up then, revealing her white underwear.
And she acted as if nothing was out of order. She didn't spare him a single glance. 'Are you doing this on purpose, or are you really that clueless?'
He shook his head and went to take a shower. The sooner he got out of this house, the better. Iris was getting more and more free around him, and he couldn't say he appreciated her actions. Not when he was supposed to act unbothered.
When he left the shower and changed into his work clothes, she still walked around in his T-shirt. It wasn't that long on her, and he saw a lot more than he preferred. At this moment, anyway. He was supposed to be leaving for work in a few minutes.
"I hope you're planning to return this evening?" she said.
His thoughts had been on other things, so it took him a moment to comprehend her words. "Yeah, why?"
"I want my explanation."
Although she said it in a mild manner, he could see the way she avoided looking at him, her eyes fixed on the cup. Normally, she'd be chattering about something, not acting as if he was a wall.
"I'll give it to you, once I come back."
It was partly her fault that he couldn't have a real conversation with her yesterday. At first, he had been worried that Gale's parents had placed a listening bug on her. It wasn't past them, far from it. Gale had complained about them bugging every place they came to visit like it was their life's mission.
All his plans would have been ruined if they heard them, yet he couldn't show that he knew about the possibility of anything being bugged without revealing that he was hiding something. It was unfortunate, but he didn't trust Iris to be able to act innocent believably. As a normal person, where would she have learned to be two-faced?
Because of that, he didn't let her know anything. But then she decided to ask him to stay nearby while she was bathing. He could hear her moving in the water, and his imagination didn't skip this chance to create sights he would have rather not seen at that moment. After that, how was he supposed to focus on having a serious conversation away from the potentially bugged clothes?
She was angry, but he was quite annoyed as well. Why was she tempting him like this if she wanted to speak about important matters?
His phone buzzed, warning Kyro that it was time to leave home. He stood up and put on his shoes, almost running away. There was going to be hell at work, but at least it was a hell that he knew. The situation might be new, but he had ideas how to do damage control there.
When he drove close to his company's building, he saw dozens of reporters lining the streets. They were all waiting around for him, even if they had to know that he never came through the main entrance.
In the elevator, he opened his phone to check the news. As expected, the headlines blinded him with their shouts about how horrendous he had acted. They all called him out for being a person without heart as well as prided themselves on having predicted this day.
Not one journalist had believed that a union of two young genius businessmen could ever work. They had all heralded a day of reckoning, when greed would come between two friends. Many had speculated who would betray the other first, and now they had a field day praising themselves for having picked the winner while not forgetting to damn him to the bowels of earth for his sins.
In a moment, Gale was cleaned of all his misdeeds and presented as a saint. He was a naive young man who used up all his best years and influence to help a friend and then got stabbed in the back for it. He believed in everlasting friendship, but was dealt a heavy hand when the person he put his trust in showed up to be a two-faced money-obsessed upstart.
'Saint-like? Naive? Believing in the power of friendship? Gale will die laughing when he reads this. It's like no one even remembers his playboy ways and the incident with his sister.'
Shaking his head, Kyro reached his office and sat down to check his work email. It was flooded with letters from worried investors, journalists he'd worked with before asking for an interview, and a few department heads tentatively wondering if they should continue as usual.
He started replying to them one by one when Lara entered his office. She was a rare guest here, usually just delivering documents, his schedule, or warning him about people coming over. But this time, she stood in the middle of the room, right behind the chair and held nothing in her hands.
They were clasped before her as she looked down, not even daring to rise her eyes at Kyro. "Mr. Hemming… I-I would like to ask s-something."
"What is it?" He didn't look up from his computer, finishing the email he'd been writing.
A single glance up told him all he needed to know. She was here to ask him about the situation with Gale in the name of the whole floor, and she felt inadequate for the task. He could have made it easier on her by paying some attention to her, but he didn't really want to talk about that matter. There were too many unknowns, and he couldn't be certain if he hadn't made a mistake.
"E-everyone is w-worried about Mr. Mosley. H-he... E-everyone l-liked him a l-lot…"
"Are you asking me to go back on my decision? It's done, and you shouldn't poke your nose where it's unwelcome." He looked up at her, and at that moment, she had coincidentally raised her eyes as well. They froze, as if spellbound by his. "Leave and never mention this again. Gale is gone, as he deserves. I've tolerated his shameful behavior for long enough."
Lara gulped, her eyes growing wide. Her clasped hands twisted around each other, and she nodded. Five times. "Right, right. I-I will. I mean I won't. Yes, Mr. Hemming. I… I'll be leaving now!" Like a rabbit having escaped a snake's gaze, she bolted out of the office and into her seat at the secretary desk.
From his position, Kyro could see her cover her heart as she sprawled out on the table. He then returned to his emails, answering most in the same manner. Everyone should work as usual while he ensured that Dioscuri passed this tumultuous time without a hitch.