"Eileen, meet me in my office." Averna said this as she made her way to the second floor of her company.
She opened the door to her office and stood by her desk.
Elieen stepped inside and laid out the schedule. She stood there silently, as there was no response from Averna.
"Here." She handed over the schedule for the day.
Averna kept her gaze fixed on the paper, her head lowered.
Eileen was surprised; she felt her heart skip a beat. She cleared her throat and did her best to speak up. "Ma'am, would you like a cup of tea?"
Averna looked over at her, her eyes deep in thought. "Thank you, Eileen." She said this as she grabbed the schedule and walked over to the window to look out. "You may leave now; there is no need for the tea, for now."
Eileen turned to go and closed the door softly before leaving.
Averna's calm demeanor never left her as she sat in her office and read the schedule for the day. "This is quite a lot of work; I hope I can find the time for this." Her eyes said more than her words.
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"Good day." Damian waved, standing in front of Eileen's desk, offering a rose, his brilliant smile radiating as he waited for the secretary to respond.
The secretary's jaw dropped. She held out a hand and took the rose slowly, putting it below her desk. "Good Day." Eileen smiled.
"Miss Eileen," he said, glancing down at her desk tag. "I am here to meet Mr. Lance."
"Do you have an appointment with him?" She asked.
"Not exactly; they sent me here to meet him." He responded with a smile.
"Can I ask you what your reason is to meet him?" Eileen smiled as she gazed at his stunning figure.
"It's a secret." He replied with a mischievous smile.
She laughed, "Your name, please." With her attention drawn to the computer screen in front of her, she lightly tapped the screen, and a holographic keyboard emerged below her hands.
Damian's eyes widened at the sophisticated technology at a perfume company. "Do you guys have like this kind of stuff around the whole building?"
"What are you? A spy?" Eileen joked, shaking her head.
Damian's body stiffened at what he thought was a sick joke; he couldn't let her words rile him up. He was an expert in concealment, and he couldn't risk having his cover compromised by mere words.
"Do I look like one?" He leaned forward a little on the counter, his left hand supporting his upper body while he used his right to comb through his thick, silky black hair back with his fingers, a confident grin plastered on his face.
"Please, sir, comport yourself; there is CCTV everywhere. I don't want to find myself in a tight situation while monitoring the day's feed." Elieen whispered through gritted teeth as she typed away at her keyboard, trying her best to hide her flustered face.
"Oh!" Damian straightened his posture, fighting the urge to look around for the cameras mentioned by Eileen. He couldn't appear suspicious by searching for the cameras, which was understandable, nor could he appear too amused by smirking at any of them.
He leaned back and said, "Sorry, I'm just a little nervous."
Eileen frowned at Damian's words. She prided herself on being a well-prepared secretary, and she didn't want to look incompetent in front of a new recruit, she needed him out of her presence as soon as possible.
"Oh, okay, I see." Eileen kept her tone even, maintaining her professional composure.
"Please give your name." She switched back to the initial conversation quickly.
Damian cleared his throat and showed his identification, reluctant to say his name.
"A verbal response would be alright; the system would do the rest." Eileen paused her hand movements, waiting for his response, not wanting to look at his identity card, but concentrating on his facial expressions before looking away as their eyes met.
'What are you thinking, Eileen?!' She chastised herself, shaking her head. She looked back at the screen.
"Damian." He introduced himself.
"Damian, is that a first name or last name?" She asked.
"First."
"Damian." she repeated, squealing internally at finally hearing his name.
"And your last name?" She raised a brow, clearing her throat. She was glad the man in front of her couldn't read minds.
"Jay." He said it with a sigh and a slight frown.
She began to type. As she finished typing, the hologram of a keyboard with colorful keys appeared again.
"Have a good day." She said this as the holographic keyboard vanished. "Please proceed to the elevator, place your fingerprint on the reader, and it will take you directly to the floor of the research department."
Damian's smile stayed as he turned and walked to the elevator.
He stepped inside and placed his hand on the finger print reader. "Welcome to Verna, Mr. Damian!" A synthesized male voice spoke.
Damian looked around but saw no one.
'Damn, this must have cost a lot, huh?' He reasoned as he deduced the voice to be a ground-breaking AI technology.
"She sure knows how to spend some greens, doesn't she?" He chuckled lightly.
Then the elevator began to descend.
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The research department was on the top floor of the building. The elevator stopped, and the doors parted.
Damian exited with a deep breath. The smell of lab masked by the scent of perfume filled his nostrils.
He choked on the scent and blew with his hand to disperse it.
'What the hell?!!! How could a perfume smell so strongly? Do these people want to snuff out the remaining refreshing air around me with this fragrance?' He looked around the room, finding several people walking past him, ignoring his presence.
It was at that moment that he realized he, too, was now a part of the perfume company.
"Damian." He heard a voice from behind him, turning and putting on a smile. He was met with none other than Lance, the Head of the research department.
"Sir, good to see you again." Damian greeted.
"Damian, good to see you again." Lance replied.
"Could you drop the formalities? It's Lance to you, not sir; we're the same age, and frankly, we have gone past that stage, right?" Lance responded, somewhat offended; he did not particularly like being called sir.
"Right!" Damian chuckled. "My! My! It's been two years since we last saw each other; you've leveled up." He wiggled his brows.
"Well, you were the one who helped me with the right combination for the perfect scent of our all-time favorite product mix. If it weren't for you, then I would still be researching and experimenting." Lance replied with heartfelt laughter.
"Well, if it all means that much to you, then look no further." Damian replied, pointing to himself.
"You secretly have a knack for this line of work. I was pleasantly surprised you actually accepted my invitation; I thought you wouldn't want to consider it at the least. "No more traveling?"
Damian froze at the mention of his travels. He had always kept a low profile about his job around those close to him; he never liked being misunderstood, and he was glad the people at his real job had a level of secrecy when it came to their high-up colleagues like himself. This allowed him and a few others to conveniently take up tasking assignments like the one he was assigned to now.
He took a deep breath; he felt like the one being interrogated. He came with a mission, but now all he's done is answer other people's questions. The thrill of his work is itching, and he hopes to meet his prey soon.
"Nope, I decided to settle down for a while." He sweatdropped, gulping down saliva. "I heard you were never satisfied with the others who worked personally with you; I hope my presence lightens your load, even if it's a little."
"Thank you, Damian; that's one less thing I have to worry about." Lance replied, dropping his head and looking down. "Shall we? We have much to discuss." He stopped and looked up at Damian. "And I'm sure you'd want to get to work."
Without waiting for another response, Lance stepped forward and motioned for Damian to follow him. "Now, what should we start with first?" He asked, looking to Damian for a response.