"What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you know I can burn this smelly printing press down?"
The man Ajax was talking to looked like he was going to wet himself. Everyone knew how cruel and hot-tempered Ajax was. No one wanted to cross his path.
He shouted again, standing in the waiting area of the office. Two of his bodyguards were behind him, all dressed in black with sunglasses even inside the room.
One of the men working there thought;
[The sun is outside, these are in here with their dark glasses looking like blind people. What have we done to attract these people's attention, Dear God?]
Ajax was determined to get what he came for, and if he wasn't satisfied, they weren't going to like it one bit.
"Who is in charge here? If I don't get to the owner of this paper..."
"Good afternoon sir", Adonis interrupted him.
Adonis hardly got intimidated.
Ajax looked at him and noticed a smirk on his face. He was calm and collected. Nothing got to him, except when his pigs or their piglets die.
Adonis was aware of who this man was. Yes, he was cautious... who wouldn't be? but he didn't think Mr. Ajax or whatever they called him, had the right to come to his working place, shouting and threatening.
"Who are you to interrupt me, boy?"
He walked towards Adonis, closing the space between them. Everyone watched and you could hear a pin drop.
"I asked for the head of operations here, and you dare barge in on my speech?"
Adonis almost burst out laughing.
[He called that a speech?]
"He is not in at the moment, sir but you can talk to me, I'm a Manager in the Admin/Finance Department", Adonis replied.
Ajax rolled his eyes.
[So petty], Adonis thought.
Adonis wondered what would come out of Ajax's mouth next. He was ready for this man. He had heard a lot about him, but this was the first time he contacted him.
He thought about what Ajax could possibly want with the newspaper.
"So, you're the most senior here...boy?"
Ajax turned to look at his bodyguards... they laughed at the joke Ajax thought he just made.
Adonis shook his head slightly.
[Dry joke]
Adonis kept his gaze firm when Ajax faced him again. He replied; "Yes, for now. We would like to go back to work, so..."
"Good. I saw an article in your paper last week. About some mysterious lady helping people with some kind of ability or should I say... magic... as if such a thing exists", he laughed.
He continued; "First of all, I want to know her whereabouts and the person who wrote the story. Secondly, I want an advertisement for my liquor in your paper"
"Um... it was one of our content creators. He is not here right now and we don't know about the mysterious lady's whereabouts... I think that's why she's mysterious. Now, about your second request sir, we can totally help with that. Please, follow me to the Account office, so I can show you how we bill".
* * *
Daniil watched as Adonis just saved his ass.
[What did this man want with me?], he wondered. Most people in the waiting area had looked at him when Ajax talked about the person that wrote the story. He was scared.
When it came to Mr. Ajax, it was no good news. Now, he knew that he had to be careful as this story he was pursuing had attracted the attention of some nasty people.
He thought of getting a gun.
[Maybe that is too farfetched. Maybe the man just wanted some answers], Daniil thought. Then he recalled that Ajax had asked for the lady's location.
[Did he intend to kill her. This wasn't good... no!]
Daniil gathered himself and stepped out for a cup of coffee. Coffee had always had a calming effect on him.
* * *
Adonis had discarded the vile man. Ajax had said that he would come back for the first question he had asked about. According to Ajax, Adonis's superior would have a tangible answer for him.
[He said I knew nothing. I accepted it because I just wanted him out of the office, and honestly, out of my sight]
Adonis asked a secretary; "Where is Daniil?"
"He stepped out for coffee"
"Please, when he returns, tell him to drop by my office"
"Sir, do you think he'll be safe?"
"What do you mean?"
"Seeing as Mr. Ajax's eyes are out for the writer of that Mystery lady's story..."
"Just tell him to pass through my office, please. Thank you"
Adonis didn't reply to her because honestly, she drew that question straight out of his mind. He had been thinking the same thing, and Adonis genuinely didn't have a response to give her. He was sure it was on everyone's mind too. Poor Daniil.
* * *
When Daniil returned, they told him what Adonis had said.
"Hey, man"
"Daniil! Please come in, and shut the door behind you"
"Is everything okay?", Daniil asked.
"I'm supposed to be asking you that. If I knew you'd be this calm, I'd have pointed you to Ajax when he asked of you"
"Ah... don't mind this exterior you're seeing. It s my ghost that is standing in front of you, Adonis."
"I'm supposed to laugh at that, but this is not a joking matter. That man is bad news. Now, he's searching for the person manning that story. I wonder why he's interested in that lady. What could he possibly want with her?"
"I pondered about the same thing".
"Taking the matter to the police would be as useless as a candle under the sunlight"
"True"
"My advice to you is you should be careful. Get a gun... a small pocket pistol. that's what I'd do if I were in your shoes"
"But you are not. I know your advice is coming from a good place but I don't think it's that serious. Maybe he just wanted to ask me some questions at that point in time. Can't you see that he left the matter alone and left?"
Adonis was shocked. Daniil was a smart person but he didn't sound smart at all with what was coming out of his mouth.
"Bro, he said he'd be back"