After Leo left, Coleman stood up and looked out of the building. He stood in front of the massive window and looked into the night sky. He just peered at the moon, not blinking or moving.
His gaze was adverted from the moon when he saw a familiar small back walking out of the building. He gazed at the small figure as it walked away and out of sight.
He sighed, 'What is wrong with me...why am I going through so much trouble for one employee...'
He pinched the bridge of his nose and thought, 'What the heck! This is going to bother me if I don't find out and resolve this...'
He pulled out his phone and dialed his informants number. The phone rang a couple times before the other person on the line picked up. He said, "Hey, I need your help a bit more..."
A small chuckle was heard over the phone, "By how you said more, I'm guessing you want more information about this Leo Anderson?"
"...Yes I do. I want you to give me more information."
"And what makes you think I have that..."
"I know you with hold information in order to try to get more money out of people. How much do you want?"
The man chuckled again, "Ah, I guess you know me to well. Yes, I do have more information and it's pretty juicy. My price is $200."
"Fine, I'll wire you the money. Once it's sent, give me ALL of your remaining information," as Coleman said this, his voice turned dark and serious.
"Haha, alright. Pleasure doing business with you.."
Coleman hung up the phone and immediately wired the money to the contact. Once the money was transfered, a file was sent to Coleman's computer.
He opened the file and read it carefully. The information started off basic, "Let's see. So he lived in Q forest with his grandfather and he was bullied at school...." Next to this information, there was multiple links to various video links.
He moved his mouse over to the first link and clicked. The first video was footage of Leo when he was young.
It showed him crouching in some grass with many animals surrounding him. There were rabbits, birds, and some cats all around him.
"Hey you guys," he said a bit sadly, "I'm glad to have you all around...you're really my only friends."
The animals cooed and cheered as Leo pet them and played.
Soon a group of about four or five boys came up from behind. The animals scurried away at the boys and as Leo turned, their leader punched him right in the cheek.
Leo fell onto the floor, coughing and still trying to process what has just happened. Leo was in sixth grade at the time so he wasn't strong enough to fend them off.
The boys kicked and hit Leo for a while, before walking away and leaving Leo groaning in pain on the grass.
The video ended and Coleman was in shock. His eyes were wide as he looked at the file. 'It was this bad..'
He watched all of the files and was stunned. Each one had footage of Leo talking to animals and being beaten by the group of boys.
With each video, Coleman became filled with more and more expressions. He was angry at the children who beat Leo, he was sad that Leo had to go through the harsh bullying and judgment, but most of all he was shocked. He was shocked how Leo was able to talk to the animals, but more importantly, he was shocked at how strong Leo was.
He thought of Leo's smiling face and bright green eyes, 'Even though he went through all of that...he's still so strong.'
He clicked onto another video and paused it when he saw young Leo's smile. He looked at the photo with love and compassion, though he didn't know why.
Coleman's cheeks turned slightly pink. He questioned himself since he had never felt this way before, towards anyone.
'Why do I feel this way?.....Just the thought of him makes my heart beat faster. And when I see his face, all I can do is stare. Stare into his green eyes and observe, scared that I'll ruin the beauty.'
Images of Leo filled Coleman's mind. Images of when Leo smiled sheepishly, when he laughed, smiled, and even cried. The good and bad. And he loved all of it.
Then the thought dawned on him. 'Do I love Leo!?'
His eyes went wide and once the thought crossed his mind, he felt his heart beat quicken. He held his heart with his hand and took a few breaths.
"Ugh, what am I going to do..."
***
Leo walked out of the building and made his way back home. He weaved through the crowds of people on the streets, until he finally made it home.
He was exhausted as he stumbled into his apartment. Once he finally locked the door, he set all of his things down and went to take a cold shower.
He stripped and turned on the faucet. As he got into the shower, he took a deep breath. The cold water helped calm him down. As he washed his hair, he touched the spot where Coleman had touched earlier.
As he touched the hair, he remembered how big and warm his hands were. His cheeks turned pink at the thought.
He self-consciously touched his cheeks, 'Why am I getting flustered!? He's my boss!'
He slapped his face, but images of Coleman kept appearing in his mind.
Leo tried and tried to get Coleman out of his mind, but he couldn't. The more he tried to not think of him, the more he though about him.
He quickly got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist.
As he walked out of the bathroom, a cool breeze went through the room. Leo shivered and hugged himself.
He envisioned Coleman wrapping his his arms around him. His hands holding Leo tight and close.
'Leo, your so cold, do you want me to warm you up...'
Leo's face turned beet red and he ran to his room. He quickly changed and got into bed. He layed on his side and held himself.
'There is no way! I don't buy it! I can't fall for my boss...can I...'
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Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed.
Please comment I love hearing from my readers.
I'm so sorry for the late update. Though I give myself a week to do a chapter, I don't like to pass four days in between chapters. Again, sorry for the chapter being later than usual.