The next day at work, there was, unsurprisingly, still no Shawn to be found; everything that he had left was practically at the same location as he had left it. Denzel sat down on his chair heavily, staring at the amount of paperwork he needed to be done.
"This is going to take some time," he muttered, grabbing the top most paper to sign it. The tower of files was merely a short stack when lunch break came, for he was working non-stop.
Wearing an annoyed face was always what he had these days as some things did not go the way he wanted it to be—just arranging his schedule was a total time consumer! He glanced to Shawn's place and wished for his presence now.
During the silence he felt, a knock on the door managed to pierce through his chain of thoughts. He wanted no one to come in, but he figured that it must've been some employee, who would deliver all the files.
To his surprise, it was not the case. It was an employee—the employee he somehow adored too much, Shawn Mendoza. Denzel froze, the time froze for him as he looked at his secretary greeting him so formally, making him suddenly jerk up his seat.
"S-Shawn? You're here?"
He nodded as Denzel felt relived but strangely light-headed. He was safe. Shawn was safe. But even though he was secured, it made Denzel question his ability to sacrifice something to protect people who were important to him.
He called him so much this week that Shawn might've been bombarded with ridiculous amounts of missed calls. Shawn asked if he missed him, but he chose not to reply. He was standing and admiring his presence; he knew he had to owe one to Ivan for saving him.
It was selfish of him to even ask how did the confrontation go. It pierced his guilt and dignity all of a sudden as he felt ashamed for what he did. As expected, something went wrong; all Denzel did was slow down the progress they both made.
Even after tending to Shawn's scratches, the thought that he was injured was soul-crushing. The day ended with Denzel feeling coward; he did not even explain his actions, so when Shawn left the office, he took his time to call Ivan.
"What?" he asked in a deep voice.
Denzel sighed. "Why is he here?"
"What? One day you're worried, the next day you're complaining?"
"No, that's not what I meant. I just wondered why'd you make that bet if you'll let him go anyway?"
Ivan paused for a brief moment. "Heh, I wasn't expecting to lose. He escaped from my bed after all."
"Bed? You slept with him?"
Ivan let out a laugh. "Calm down, little brother. Stop confusing my truth, I'll never sleep with a guy."
"B*stard! You better not."
"That is if you have a distorted image of your beloved secretary."