However, Mr Wolfe seemed to surprise her once again. In the intelligence department, this time around. How could a person with such good looking appearance like him be this idiotic, she didn't know. Probably, that was also because all things in this world needed to be in balance. The good and the bad. Set even on the swaying scale.
To make up for his overly dashing outlook and charming smile, he lost some screws in his head, rendering his brain unable to function to its full capacity. That being said, Mr Wolfe was the epitome of an incredulous fool, as he was armed with a little piece of paper he proudly brandished right to her face.
"I can't see it that closely, Mr Wolfe."
"Ah, sorry," he looked sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand while retracting his right one. He wiggled the business card again in front of her face.
"It's cute that you think a fake business card will make you into a scholar," even so, she gingerly took the simple-looking card he cheerfully waved before her eyes. All in the name to make him stop doing so. She didn't need the headache from trying so hard to read whatever nonsensical words he must print there while he waved it around.
"You don't know that it's fake–"
"What you just said made me believe it more than a couple of seconds ago," Keira responded quickly. "Unless someone can vouch that you are indeed a scholar, I will believe this business card to be fake."
Disgruntled, Mr Wolfe snatched his most likely fake business card from her hand. He made a show as he stomped all the way to the entrance, and Keira only stared dumbfoundedly at that. Of course, a wealthy and good-looking man wouldn't be complete without some childishness rooting inside.
However, before he went through the door, he turned on his heel. Keira narrowed her eyes as she averted her gaze to search for what had caught his attention. Hyde was shelving the upper row of his book cart and began moving towards the theology section. It was evident by the predatory stroll and the wide grin on Mr Wolfe's face that this week's most annoying patron had a very specific plan in mind as he set off after the demoted library assistant.
"There's no need to bother Hyde, Mr Wolfe," she shouted. Something so forbidden in the land of the sacred source of knowledge, also known as the library. "He no longer has access to the reference library."
The affronted and hurt 'Hey!' exclaimed by Hyde was only a bonus. Her main goal was to make Mr Wolfe back out before his poorly devised plan could be executed.
"Who said I was going to ask him?" Mr Wolfe, no less affronted, pouted to her as he lifelessly trudged back to the entrance. "Maybe I was just trying to look around at the philosophy section."
Her disbelieved blank face was loud enough to answer him. she would be truly glad if – and what a big if was that – Mr Wolfe did not come back.
Oh, Keira missed her boring, normal days already.
She didn't know what kind of horrible sins she committed in her previous life that the universe would warrant her with such a ridiculous fate. The fate she currently talked about was not her strange birthmark covering her right cheekbone. Instead, it was her meeting with one Nathaniel Wolfe, the first place winner for this week's most annoying patrons.
Mr Wolfe came back an hour later after he stormed out of the library she had worked at since last year after graduating from university. Surprise, surprise, he wasn't alone. Tentatively tailing behind him was a ragged-looking middle-aged man, clutching his suitcase to his chest with trembling hands.
Confidently – and quite innocently at that, as if the man behind him didn't act like a slave who would soon receive a punishment – Mr Wolfe waggled his business card in her face. The fake one he most likely made last night. Again.
Keira took the card in hand, eying the visitors sceptically. The only gratitude she had was for the decency that they kept their voices down. Or, well, one of them was.
"Tell her what I said earlier," Mr Wolfe urged, shoving the timid man forward until he was nearly toppled over the reference desk. "You didn't go through all that trouble to pee your pants in front of the lady, after all."
"Mr Nathanile Wolfe works for the White Clover Library," he said hurriedly. "My name is Sam Richards and I'm his colleague. Here, you can check my access card."
"White Clover Library, huh?" Keira crossed her arms in front of her chest to show how unbelievably that sounded. Not the fact that Mr Richards was honestly working at said library – she did glance and caught a glimpse of his access card that looked quite authentic – but at the notion that Mr Wolfe was working there. That was just bogus.
Mr Wolfe nodded, looking down at the specific part of her body and grinned appreciatively. She quickly unfolded her arms and cleared her throat. "As a fellow librarian, then you must really know the rules for reference libraries, Mr Wolfe."
"Ah, yes… Unfortunately, I'm in the middle of a pinch here and trying to remember so many rules is not as easy as the school teachers make it to be."
"Well, for once–"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Keira wanted to swat the forefinger he waved away from her face. Not a sound idea, but a likeable one. Mr Wolfe continued before she could consider it further. "I asked you politely to let me in–"
"Not by my standard–"
"Oh, a woman with high standards, I like that," Mr Wolfe grinned. "Then, I gave you my business card and a colleague of mine who can vouch for me as a fellow scholar, now, didn't I? What more do you want?"
Kiera actually had nothing to say. Literally speaking, he wasn't wrong. Legally speaking, on the other hand…
"Besides, I only need a moment. Approximately fifteen minutes, or an hour at most. Are we good?"
Like it or not, Keira nodded in permission. At the very least, she would get rid of him in about an hour. That future sixty minutes never sounded so long before.
"Did you print these cards out just now?"
"Yes," he nodded eagerly, finally confirming in verbal that it was probably fake and made only for this occasion. "They are very informative."
The white card in her hand had a frame of black ink. For a second, she had expected Comic Sans or the default Times New Roman there. Instead, written in a cursive, elegant font in the middle of the card, it said:
Nathaniel Wolfe
Lord of the Darkling, King of the Underworld, Guardian of the East Side.
Chief Exquisite Officer, Overly Gorgeous Boss, Scholar of Human Psychology.
Most Incredible Kisser, Horizontal Dance Expert, Your Lovely Date for Friday Night.