Leo looked up at the building complex they were approaching and noticed the clear blue sky. It's a good day, he thought. But he quickly threw the thought out as he realised that there's someone sitting next to him who isn't making it a good one. He tried his best not to look at her, but he found himself doing so.
Angel was staring out the window on Leo's side oblivious that he was looking at her. Bill turned the car down the road that lead to the building's underground parking lot as he told her that they had finally arrived.
Leo caught her eyes for a minute before they went down to the parking lot where it became partially dark for a second and then the lights from the lit fluorescent tubes above the parking lot's ceiling found it's way inside the car. He quickly turned away when he felt something weird take over him. He didn't know why he felt so anxious just by looking at her eyes. It's not the first time he's felt like this and he hated himself for it even more.
As soon as the car parked, Bill turned to look at Angel and said, "I guess we say goodbye here, Miss. We'll meet each other after work."
"Thanks for the ride, Bill," said Angel, giving him a bright smile. "We'll see each other soon. Have a good day."
"Good day to you too." Bill turned to look at Leo. "I leave her in your hands, sir. Don't get her upset over anything."
Leo humphed and said, "she can take care of herself. I'm not her babysitter."
"But she'll need you to lead the way to the offices. You don't need to be so harsh."
"I thought as much coming from him," said Angel. "Don't worry, Bill, I'll be fine."
"I hope so. Have a good day you two."
Leo felt a nerve on his temple start to bulge. He's getting more irritated with Bill everytime he spoke. The chauffeur has never talked like this before. He wondered if the presence of Angel made him sprout wings.
Bill quickly got out to help Angel out of the car. Leo did the courtesy of getting out himself. He thought of dashing towards the elevators in front of him, but thought twice of leaving Angel behind. He turned to see her walk round the car to stand next to him.
"Come on," she said to him. "We need to take these croissants quickly." She held up the bag with the croissants.
Leo led the way towards the elevator, by-passing one of the watchmen on guard. He pressed the button to summon it and as soon as the doors flew open, the two of them almost stepped in at the same time, bumping shoulders.
"Sorry," both of them muttered.
"Uh..., ladies first," said Leo, allowing Angel to go in first.
"Thanks," said Angel, noting that Leo has been very courteous for almost the fourth time today, that's if she's got her counting right.
Leo pressed the button to the eighth floor and the doors to the elevator closed before them. They felt the elevator go up and they waited in silence.
Leo looked up at the elevator ceiling and then a scary thought came in his mind. What if the elevator jammed, trapping him and Angel inside? He didn't want to think of it and he felt like hitting his head for doing so. The last thing he needed was to be in an enclosed space with her.
Angel let out a sigh, catching his attention. He turned to look at her. Her eyes were closed and she held her hands balled into fists close to her chest. Was she praying, he wondered. His eyes quickly focused on her face, more specifically on her pink glossy lips that were slightly apart as she took in a breath through her mouth. He found himself staring for too long that he quickly had to think of something to distract himself.
"Are you praying?" he asked.
Angel quickly turned to look at him, startled at the question and also at the fact that he, himself had asked. She couldn't help but blush all of a sudden and Leo apparently noticed.
"I-uh-" Angel didn't know what to say as she hesitated. "I-it's nothing."
"Really? It seems to me like you were."
"It's not like that, seriously." Angel gave out a nervous chuckle.
"Then what is it? Could it be that you're nervous since it's your first day?"
The elevator stopped on the third floor and the doors drew open. A man in blue overalls, carrying a tool box together with a man in a black suit stepped into the elevator. Angel and Leo moved to the back to create room.
As soon as the doors closed, Leo didn't wait for a minute to go on probing Angel.
"So, what is it?" he asked. "Were you praying?"
Angel couldn't help but feel embarrassed and felt like hiding when there's no place to hide. She noticed the other two men give her and Leo a brief glance.
"I'm nervous, alright!" she finally admitted. She didn't want to say it, but somehow, Leo managed to force it out of her.
Leo couldn't help smirk. He had to admit, he had never felt this much satisfaction in embarrassing Angel even if it's just in front of an audience of two people. He felt like laughing out loud, but he didn't want to look like a bully.
The elevator stopped, this time on the fifth floor. The man in the suit and the other in overalls stepped out of the elevator. Immediately, the doors drew to a close, Angel turned to look angrily at Leo.
Leo couldn't keep his laughter in as he burst. He leaned back on the wall of the elevator for support. Angel continued to give him the same glare, this time folding her arms.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Leo apologised, trying to get himself together, but still laughing.
"Is this the only time you ever apologise to anyone?" Angel asked, not looking impressed.
"Okay, let me stop," said Leo as he drew in a breath. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it."
"No, you just couldn't. You really embarrassed me, you know?"
"Don't worry. I bet they will forget it at the end of the day."
Angel looked away. Leo found himself smiling. He's been on the receiving end of Angel's anger for a while now, but this time around it's different. He found it rather amusing that Angel could easily get upset over little things.
The elevator soon came to a stop on the seventh floor and the doors flew open. Leo led the way out still with a smile on his face.
"You know, you should stop smiling," said Angel as she stood next to him. "It isn't funny anymore."
"That's what you think," he said. "Anyway, we're here."
Angel looked in front of her to see the offices of the McDonell Construction Company. There were huge glass doors with the company logo on them. Angel gulped. She started to wonder if coming here was a good idea.
"You're nervous of coming here, aren't you?" Leo asked, his eyes also fixed on the doors in front of them.
Angel slowly turned to look at him. "It's normal, isn't it? We all get nervous when we do something new for the first time."
"But you've had a job before." Leo raised an eyebrow.
"It's not the same thing, Leo," Angel furrowed her eyebrows. "Yes, I've worked before, but when you switch jobs, everything is still nerve-wracking."
"If you want you can always go back and I can tell my dad that you've changed your mind."
"Very funny. You know why I agreed to work here. I've to do all it takes to get my mother's house back."
Leo forgot about that. He didn't know what to say next as he went back to looking at the front doors.
"If you get the house back, will you-?" Leo started to ask, but he stopped himself, realising that he was about to ask something stupid.
"I know what you want to ask. You want to know if I'll leave, right?"
Leo didn't know what to say as he looked the other way.
"There you are," came Eric as he walked out through the doors. "I thought you two weren't going to make it."
"We made it, alright," said Leo, suddenly looking irritated.
"Great," said Eric as he came closer. "He didn't give you any problems, did he?" He turned to look at Angel.
"Well...," Angel gave Leo a brief glance. Leo also looked back at her and for a second, sparks flew between them.
"Okay, looks like I didn't have to ask," said Eric as he came to stand in between the two, wrapping his arms around their necks. "I'm just glad that the three of us get to work together. This is going to be so much fun."
"No, it won't," both Leo and Angel answered.
"Come on," Eric led them towards the door with his arms still wrapped around them. "Uncle has anxiously been waiting for you two."
"Us or the croissants?" Leo asked.
"Well..., both. I'm just anxious of showing Angel around." Eric turned to give her a bright smile.
"Thanks, Eric," Angel smiled back knowing that he'll make her stay at the company worthwhile.
Eric unhooked his arm around Leo as he opened the door and walked through the door with Angel, pushing Leo aside with his shoulder. Leo didn't look the least bit happy.
"Hey, Eric," Leo called out as he also followed them through the door.
"Sorry about that," said Eric as he took his arm off Angel to turn and look at Leo.
"You're way too excited, aren't you? Just because Angel is here."
"You two look like you're about to fight," said Angel turning to look at the both of them.
"I'm not surprised," came a woman's voice behind them. "When they see a pretty girl, they're bound to fight over her."
The three turned to see who had spoken and by the reception desk stood a lady who looked to be in her fifties. She wore a black dress with matching black office shoes. She also wore a black and grey shawl, around her neck that covered her shoulders and had on glasses with a black frame. Her black hair that had strands of grey was combed back and neatly tied into a bun.
"Oh, no," said Angel. "They aren't fighting over me."
"Ya, what she said," said Leo.
The woman chuckled as she walked over to them. Angel couldn't help but notice how the woman carried herself with so much authority like she owned the place. Angel figured she did, but she couldn't be certain.
"You must be Angel," the woman said as she stopped in front of her. "Angel Barclay, right?"
"Yes, ma'am," Angel found herself saying.
"I've heard so much about you from Mr. McDonell. May I say, you really look like your mother, may her soul rest in peace."
Angel couldn't believe her ears. "You knew my mother?"
"I've met her a few times," the woman smiled. "When I heard of her passing, I was saddened. When Fred told me you were coming to work here, I'll admit, I couldn't wait to meet you."
"I know, right?" Eric asked as he came to join the ladies, standing next to Angel. "I was anxiously waiting for her to arrive, I couldn't stay seated in my office."
Leo rolled his eyes. Once again, Angel is the centre of attention. He realised he's getting sick and tired of it, yet he still wondered how she does it.
Maybe it's her pretty face, he thought. As soon as he realised it, he angrily shook his head. Did he just admit to himself that Angel is pretty?
"I'll be in my office, if you need me," said Leo as he started to make his way there.
"Hold on just a minute, McDonell," the lady called out, stopping him in his tracks. "You aren't going anywhere."
Leo silently groaned. One thing he didn't like is to be called by his last name, worst of all if it happened to be her calling him.
"Yes, ma'am," he said as he turned to look at her, trying his best not to roll his eyes.
"Ah, I almost forgot," said Eric as he looked at Angel. "Angel, this is Mrs. Lance. She happens to be one of the directors of this company."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lance," said Angel.
"The pleasure is mine, dear," said Mrs. Lance with a wide smile. "I believe Eric and Leo will show you around, though I would've liked to do so myself."
"I'm not doing that," Leo quickly objected. "I brought her here, so it's only appropriate that Eric shows her around."
Mrs. Lance rolled her eyes at him. "Always stubborn, I see. Don't make me pull your ears."
Leo almost held up his hands to cover them, yet he knew she can do more than that. He had no choice but to stick around for a while. He turned to look at Angel and could've sworn that she was silently laughing at him over Mrs. Lance's threat.
"You kids go ahead," said Mrs. Lance. "I've to wait here for the receptionist."
"Okay," said Eric. "Let's go, Angel."
"We'll meet again soon, Mrs. Lance," said Angel.
"We will soon enough," Mrs. Lance gave Angel a curt nod.
Eric led the way past the reception area as Angel followed behind him. Leo, dragged along, wishing that he hadn't met Mrs. Lance. He thought his time with Angel was finally over until she told him to stick around a bit longer. He hoped showing Angel around wouldn't take so long. He now missed the comfort of his own office.
Eric led the way to the main office area where they were rolls of cubicles. The people in the area were either walking around while some sat in their cubicles, working. It's a Monday after all, so it's no surprise for the place to be so busy.
"So, this is the main area," Eric told Angel. "I'll introduce you to everyone by making a simple announcement. You'll get to know them later."
Angel wanted to oppose, but Eric already opened his mouth to say something.
"Everyone, can I have your attention, please!" Eric called out.
Angel grew surprised at how quickly Eric captured the attention of everyone in the room. Even those who had been walking around suddenly stopped to look at Eric. Leo didn't find all of this surprising. Eric is known to be a loud mouth and sometimes considered the life of the party among their workmates.
"Yes, good morning everyone," Eric continued with a smile on his face. "I would like to introduce a new member who's just joining us today." He turned to look at Angel as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Her name is Angel Barclay, let's all make her feel welcome."
Almost everyone in the room enthusiastically welcomed Angel at the same time and she couldn't help but blush by their response. She didn't expect this on her first day.
Leo who stood behind Angel also noticed everyone's response. A few of them came to introduce themselves. Most of them were the male folk who couldn't get their eyes off her and gave comments on how pretty she is. Leo found himself balling his hands that he now hid in his pockets, into fists. He didn't like this at all. Angel might be new here, but the attention she got from everyone in the room got on his nerves.
"Okay, okay, people," said Eric, trying to back them away. He also noticed how Angel is attracting attention. "You'll get to know her better as soon as she's done with the tour."
Eric took Angel by the hand and dragged her with him elsewhere. Leo approved of Eric's actions. Right now, Angel was like a flower attracting too many bees. Hopefully they wouldn't end up stinging him.
Just when he was about to follow them, he felt someone grab the sleeve of his jacket, stopping him in his tracks. He turned to see who held him up.
"Hey, Leo," said Albert, a plump looking guy in the same age range as Leo, with messy brown hair and an unkempt brown moustache. "Is that the girl who stays with you and your family? The one you took in?"
Leo almost forgot that rumours spread like wild fire when it came to workplaces. He didn't feel pleased with the way Albert came up to him. He could already tell that he had eaten a sandwich with garlic in it as his breath smelt horrible.
"What does it matter to you?" Leo asked, clearly showing that he didn't like Albert being near him. He tugged his sleeve away from Albert's grubby hand.
"Hey, I just wanted to know. She's very pretty. Do you think I could've a chance with her?"
Leo furrowed his eyebrows. "No."
Albert looked on as Leo continued to look back at him. Leo expected him to look hurt by that word, but he suddenly burst out laughing, his breath fully covering Leo's face. Leo took a step back as he felt his nose cringe and his eyes start to water.
"You're probably right," said Albert. "If I've a shot at going out with her, I better up my game and get a haircut. I won't be the only one though. Thanks for the advice Leo."
Albert walked away and what he said got Leo thinking. He looked around the work area and noticed that there's still an air of excitement that Angel left behind. He saw men talking amongst themselves and also heard their whispers. There were also ladies talking about her too, obviously a little too jealous that Angel might be competition for them.
Leo quickly went to look for Eric and Angel so as to be far from this. He hoped that the mood will die down by lunch time. In the direction in which the two had gone, Leo knew just where to find them.
He found them standing in front of the door to his father's office. Eric was just pushing the door open when Leo came closer. Both Eric and Angel turned to notice his presence.
Eric fully pushed the door open and found Mr. McDonell in his lavish office, seated behind a fancy mahogany office desk with an iMac desktop, a few picture frames on it and the paper tray at the far end. He looked up from the computer and when he saw who stood at the door, a smile appeared on his face.
"You're finally here," said Mr. McDonell as he stood up from his desk. "Come in, Angel."
"You look just as excited to see her as I am," said Eric as he closed the door behind him after Angel and Leo entered the office.
"Who wouldn't be?" Mr. McDonell went round his table and gestured towards the little lounge at the corner of the room where there were four comfortable black sofas arranged in a square with a glass coffee table in the middle.
Leo almost spoke but realised he was going to spoil everyone's mood. So he kept to himself as he settled on the sofa.
"You've a very lovely office, Mr. McDonell," said Angel as she looked around. She settled on the sofa opposite Leo. Eric joined her.
"Thank you," said Mr. McDonell, taking his seat beside Leo. "I believe you've been shown around the office."
"Not entirely," Eric answered. "Angel brought quite a fiasco in the main area that we decided to wait in here to prevent the others from getting to her. But most importantly, she had to deliver your croissants."
"Oh, I almost forgot," said Angel as she took the bag on her laps and placed it on the middle of the coffee table.
"Thank you," said Mr. McDonell as he looked at the bag before looking up at Angel. "I just want to say that I hope you'll feel welcome here. It might not be like your previous workplace, but I feel you've the right people around to make you feel at home."
"Yes, I do," said Angel, "and I would like to thank you once again for giving me this opportunity, Mr. McDonell."
"You're very welcome, dear. I'll let these two finish giving you the tour. Before my old friend gets here, I would like you to come back to discuss some things. You would be working closely with Mrs. Lance. I would like the two of you to meet."
"They already have," said Leo, folding his arms.
"Ah! That's good. Let me warn you first that Mrs. Lance can sometimes be difficult to work with. She's a woman who's hard to please."
"I can tell," said Angel with a shake of her head.
"Don't worry, uncle," said Eric. "Mrs. Lance and Angel are going to get along just fine. I can tell she likes Angel already, isn't that right, Leo?"
Leo didn't want to answer but he had to force himself to say, "yes, she does."
"Alright. You two continue showing Angel around. I'll be here if you need me."
Eric stood up from his seat quicker than the others and went to open the door. Mr. McDonell told Leo to take the bag of croissants to the kitchen.
When the three had left the office, Eric lead the way to the kitchen for Leo to put the croissants in the fridge.
"And here is our kitchen," Eric said to Angel as they stood by the door. Leo already went in. "So whenever you want to make coffee, prepare something, get a glass of water - though there are dispensers around the office - or simply to put your food in the fridge, this is where the kitchen is."
Leo couldn't help but roll his eyes after closing the fridge. He still felt he needed to be in his office and not walking around with Angel. He found all of this annoying.
He turned around and still found the two standing by the door.
"Aren't we going out?" Leo asked when he noticed the two weren't moving.
"Before we continue," said Eric as he stepped into the kitchen, "do you know where Mrs. Lance keeps her chocolate chip cookies?"
Leo couldn't believe his cousin as he raised an eyebrow and shook his head.
"You're unbelievable, Eric," he said. "Why do you want to know where she keeps her cookies?"
"To eat them, of course," Eric turned to look at Angel. "Mrs. Lance makes the best homemade chocolate cookies."
"Do you really want to eat them without her permission?" Leo folded his arms as he asked. "You know how she is. She'll eat you instead."
"Ya, ya, I know. But I can't always wait to eat them once a week. So do you know where she keeps them?"
Leo looked at the shelves behind him. "I don't think you'll find them. As far as I know, she probably keeps them in her office, which I doubt there is any."
Eric went over to the cupboards to check. He gave up when he couldn't find them.
"You know, you can always ask when you meet her," said Angel.
"I don't usually agree on anything Angel says," said Leo, "but she's right." Leo could feel her shoot him a look.
"I see her eating chocolate chip cookies when she walks down the hall sometimes."
"Whatever. Let's continue showing Angel around. You can worry about the cookies later."
"Ya, you're right. And we've to get back to work too."
Angel couldn't help but chuckle. "It's funny how you're crying for chocolate chip cookies like a little kid."
"Like I said, she makes the best cookies. Even Leo can't deny it."
Leo groaned, hating Eric for including him in his conversations. When Eric turned to look at him, to respond, he sighed in frustration as he knew he just had to.
"You're right," said Leo. Even by the sound of his voice, anyone could tell he's simply forced to respond.
Eric practically didn't care about Leo's expression as he went over to Angel and led her out of the kitchen saying, "he likes her cookies more than I do. He's just acting like he doesn't."
"I really don't," said Leo as he followed them. He felt like hitting Eric right on the head.
Eric and Leo took Angel to a number of departments: the IT department, Architecture, Finance, Human Resources and also Procurement and Supplies that they didn't forget to mention to Angel is managed by Mrs. Lance. She might not be in charge of the it, but she is heavily involved with whatever goes on.
As they showed her around, Angel seemed to be attracting unwanted attention and excitement which annoyed Leo even more and made Eric ever more protective of her, dragging her out just in time before people could get too close.
They were heading back to Mr. McDonell's office when they met Mrs. Lance standing outside the office alongside a Caucasian man in a black fancy suit. Mrs. Lance had been knocking on the door when she noticed the three behind her.
"I see you're done with your tour," said Mrs. Lance. She quickly turned to the man beside her. "This here is Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson, this is Leo McDonell, Mr. McDonell's one and only son. And this is his nephew, Eric. And the lovely young lady standing in between them is Angel Barclay. This is her first day here."
"A pleasure to meet you all," said Mr. Wilson. He had a deep English accent. "Who would've thought I would meet the son and nephew of a good friend of mine? And also a lovely lady like yourself." His deep blue eyes fell upon Angel.
Eric who had the urge to grab Angel by the shoulders and draw her away, quickly drew out his hand for a handshake.
"It's a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Wilson," he said.
"The pleasure is mine," said Mr. Wilson, startled by Eric's quick reaction, but shook his hand nonetheless.
"It's nice meeting you, Mr. Wilson," said Leo. "If you don't mind, there's work I need to attend to."
"No problem at all, Leo. Nice meeting you too."
All of a sudden the door to the office flew open and there stood Mr. McDonell. A smile came across his face immediately. Mr. Wilson who already turned quickly spread out his hands and the two men hugged.
"Oh, it's really good to see you, Fred," said Mr. Wilson after they hugged.
"It's good to see you too. I'm guessing Mrs. Lance did some formal introductions."
"She did. I'm happy to have met your son and nephew, though," said Mr. Wilson as he turned to Eric and Leo behind him. "I see they've grown into the business."
Mr. McDonell chuckled. "They sure have. I hope Angel will too."
Angel felt her cheeks start to blush after hearing those words. Does he expect me to stay here longer, she wondered. She isn't sure what he meant and now isn't the time to ask or think about it. She smiled at him for courtesy's sake.
"Please, do come in," said Mr. McDonell, stepping aside for the Mr. Wilson to enter the office. "Mrs. Lance, I'm sure you can handle things here with Angel."
"Of course," said Mrs. Lance. She turned to Angel. "Come with me to my office, dear."
"Sure," Angel said with a nod. She turned towards Leo and Eric before following Mrs. Lance down the hall, giving them a little wave. Eric waved back while Leo stood still, wondering whether the wave was only for Eric or did he also have to wave back?
"Eric, Leo," Mr. McDonell called to them. "Please look for Jane and tell her to bring the croissants and some coffee to my office."
Mr. McDonell entered his office and closed the door. Leo and Eric stood for a second before turning and walking down the hall.
"What a morning, huh?" Eric asked.
"If you're talking about Angel, you're not the one who had to sit in the car with her the whole way," said Leo.
"What's your problem? You're nagging like you've been with her the whole day when it's only been less than four hours."
"If I try to prove myself, you won't believe me."
"You got that right. You've nothing but complaints about her. I bet she didn't do or say anything. You're the one who put her in a bad mood when I called you."
Leo rolled his eyes at his cousin. They had now reached the kitchen to see if Jane, the cleaning lady, is in. Luckily, they found her cleaning the counters.
"Morning, Jane," said Eric, cheerfully.
"Morning," she greeted after turning around.
"Mr. McDonell's visitor is here and there are some croissants in the fridge that need to be heated and served to them. Make sure to take coffee too."
"Sure thing."
"I'll be heading back to my office now," said Leo.
"Hold on a minute, Leo," said Eric as he held his shoulder to stop him. "You and I have work to do."
"What work?"
"Now that uncle is busy, I need you to help out with setting up the meeting with the Chinese. Come on."
"Fine." Leo felt like beating himself up. Just when he wanted to have some alone time, Eric drags him to do something else again.
Meanwhile, Angel sat in Mrs. Lance office which is just as lavish as Mr. McDonell's, except that most of her furniture is pure white, including her office chair, table and iMac computer.
"You've such a lovely office, Mrs. Lance," said Angel as she couldn't help but admire the room.
"Oh, thank you, dear," said Mrs. Lance giving her a smile. "Now, I know coming to a new place feels awkward for you considering that what you'll be doing from now on will be different from what you were doing in your previous job." Mrs. Lance quickly looked at the ceiling as though contemplating over what she said. "But then it won't be entirely different, considering that there will be a lot of paper work to do."
"I'm good at handling paper work."
"I'm not worried about that." Mrs. Lance leaned back on her seat. "Before we can get to that part, I would like to talk to you about this company for you to know what we do around here. Mr. McDonell would've been the one telling you all that, but as you can see, he already has his hands full."
Angel nodded as she continued to look at the poised woman in front of her.
Mrs. Lance gave Angel a broad smile and said, "I know you will fit right in. And I also know you'll do a tremendous job."
Angel didn't know what to say as she felt her cheeks start to heat up slowly. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity," she said. "I'll do my best to work hard and not let you down."
"You should be thanking Mr. McDonell. Now...," Mrs. Lance put her elbows onto the table and placed her hands under her chin, "…where to begin."
***
Carly couldn't help but play around with her fingers as her mind continued to spin, thinking of what to say to Angel. She had to be quick about it. Every now and then, she would press the power button on her phone to look at the time. It's now past mid-day and she realised that she had been seated on the bench for a good thirty minutes. It's best she tells Angel before knocking off. Carly scratched her head. She is a pretty good liar, but this time around, finding what to say so that she could be out of the house in the evening, proved to be a lot harder than she thought. Now that Angel found out about her dirty secret, she barely trusted Carly anymore and would find it fishy that Carly had to stay out late for the night again.
"Hey, Carly," came a voice behind her.
She jumped in fright and quickly turned around to see Robin who had a bright smile on his face. He gave her a little wave. Carly found herself smiling at his sudden presence.
"You startled me, Robin," she said. "How are you?"
"I'm great. You seem a little bothered, though." He came round to sit next to her on the bench. "Is it school work?"
"No, not really. I don't have any assignments at the moment."
Robin raised an eyebrow, "then what can be the problem?"
Carly sighed. One thing Robin is good at is reading people. It's no wonder he's outgoing with customers at Mr. Walter's club. He can easily tell something's wrong and he had a mysterious way of letting people open up to him. She knew she had to be careful for he might make her spill what he wouldn't like to hear.
"It's nothing, really," she said, shaking her head. "Hey, have you had lunch, yet?"
"Um..., not yet. I was just about to go get something when I met you here. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Ya, I'm fine, I might not have a lot of school work, but I guess I'm just thinking of my sister and the McDonell family. They've done so much for me and I just hope that I don't end up disappointing them. I already disappointed my sister, and I think she doesn't trust me anymore."
"Don't think that. I mean, if you really wanted to, you wouldn't have turned over a new leaf, right? You might not repair the bond you had with your sister right away, but she'll come around."
Carly put up a somewhat sad smile. She really wished she could tell Robin what's going on, but he would be disappointed to know that she's falling back into her old ways. It's best he doesn't know so as not to hurt his feelings, besides, it's only for tonight. Then she could focus on herself afterwards.
"Come on," he said as he stood up from the bench, swinging his backpack over his shoulder. "We better go have lunch. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."
"I'm hungry too," said Carly as she stood up. "After talking to you, I feel fine now. I bet when I eat lunch, I would feel even better."
Robin laughed. "I've no idea what's with girls and food, but you all seem to like it just because it makes you feel good afterwards."
"Food is a really good comforter, you know," Carly playfully punched him on the arm.
Robin continued to laugh as the two started to make their way back to the main building. As they walked and Robin was telling Carly a joke, she suddenly figured out what to tell Angel. Who knew Robin would give her the perfect idea she has been looking for?
***
Red Lion let out a grunt after hearing a knock on the door. He didn't like to be disturbed during his alone time. He opens his eyes and the first thing he sees is the grey ceiling as he had his head tilted upwards. He brought his head down so as to look at the door in front of him in the partially dark room. The windows were covered with blinds allowing only a few rays of sunlight into the room. Red Lion told the person to come in.
The door flew opened and in came Alex. Red Lion sat upright.
"Alex, I didn't expect to see you at this time," said Red Lion.
"I only came to tell you that Carly will be meeting with you around 3PM," Alex replied.
"Good the sooner we meet the better to get things in order."
"That will be all. I'll go and help the others get ready for tonight."
"Wait a minute," Red Lion said just as Alex was about to turn around and leave. "Before you go, I need to ask you for a favour."
"What is it?"
"It's not much, but I would be happy if you would do it." He motioned to the chair in front of his desk. "What I've to tell you might take a while, so please take a seat."
Alex didn't oppose as he took the wooden chair and sat. He couldn't help but wonder what favour Red Lion wanted from him.
For the Red Lion to sound so serious, then it must be a really big deal, Alex thought.