"You think this is funny?" I hissed, keeping my voice down, and immediately smiled brightly at Fifi when Priscilla turned in our direction.
She was cooking breakfast while I was pretending to be an excellent older brother, serving my little sister.
Fifi was smiling from ear to ear.
She was clearly happy with the outcome but was also annoyed at me.
How she handled those emotions in her tiny body was beyond my understanding.
[Yes. I find it hilarious. Exo should learn to take care of me since you brazenly admitted that you wanted nothing to do with Fifi]
I got out of my seat, surprising Priscilla. She was in the middle of putting the stack of pancakes on the plate.
"Bloody hell."
"What?!"
A spatula was at the ready. Priscilla had a murderous look on her face.
Wanting to evade a loud smack on the head, I hastily grabbed the black leather bag sitting on the other chair beside me.
"I'm off!" I called out, running to get to the front door.
When I was out of sight from Priscilla, I put a hand over my heart and hissed several curses.
"Just wait, you nasty rascal!"
I aimed a punch at the door before shaking my head. "Damn. She would be the death of me."
Stomping my foot, I left the premises of the apartment, my head still floating. I had no idea where I was going to head out.
"This is worse than the initial setting." I curled my hands into fists. "Nichen! You piece of–"
I choked back the rest of what I was going to say.
Running a hand through my hair, I looked at the door before heading for the stairs. I intended to stomp my foot like a kid having a tantrum.
At least Fifi remembered to tell me some of the essential details before I ran off.
Apparently, instead of sending me back to my former life, they detained me in Exo's body. But in this life, I was no longer 17.
I was a full-time employee of some big-shot company.
–
My eyes weren't deceiving me, but I felt like it was.
Standing outside the impressive building in the middle of Harrith, I was torn about my feelings.
Whether it was awe or embarrassment, I couldn't decide. My heart was hammering inside my chest, though. So that must be something.
I'll leave it unexplained.
It had been a dream of mine to work in this company. But since I couldn't afford the tax, I didn't even try.
"I take back what I said, Nichen." I frowned as I approached the elevator. "You better not think of anything funny."
I hugged the work bag to my chest, eyeing my surroundings.
Paranoia was eating at me.
There was no telling if Nichen would change his mind and pull me out of here because I complained again.
To be frank, I do have more things to complain about. But right now, I was looking forward to seeing what it would feel like to be in this prestigious building.
And what am I even employed here for?
"Damn, I should have asked Fifi for more details before running out of there."
"Stupid."
Still muttering to myself, the sliding doors opened, and I couldn't help but gawk at its magnificence like an idiot.
"Director?"
I blinked.
The moment was broken by the sound of a voice from behind me. When I turned around, I tried not to ogle and looked at the sky instead.
"The weather is so nice," I mused, slowly inching closer to the door.
"Are you alright, director?"
Her voice sounded angelic. I had to close my eyes and hold my breath before turning around.
"I'm fine," I grinned, my insides shaking.
The woman who stood before me had red hair and a small face. She has a petite body, and anyone could easily fall under her charms.
I have to admit it now.
I easily get scared when I stand before a pretty woman, including Winter.
Especially Winter.
"Okay," the red-headed woman gestured for me to go inside first. I hastened my pace, not even minding if she followed or not.
The elevator took forever to get into. I was probably sweating like crazy.
Upon reaching it, I was going to breathe a sigh of relief. However, instead of relief, dread settled in my stomach.
"Good morning, director!"
A sea of women appeared before me, smiling like they had won the lottery. Before I could turn around and wait until its empty, I was pushed forward, losing my foot, and accidentally landed on something soft.
To my horror, I found my face planted on the most inappropriate part of the woman standing closer in front of the elevator.
No, no, no. No.
This can't be real.
'Breathe in, Elijah. Just pull yourself free.'
Internally screaming, I tried to move away, but that was when the elevator lurched, throwing me off only to land on another one.
Close to breaking down, I stepped back, my face probably blushing red from all this ruckus.
Ignoring the weird stares, I lowered my head and apologized to the two women.
I'm not going to lie.
The few minutes of that accident sent me to paradise itself. But if I wanted to keep living and have respect for women, I had to do the right thing.
I'm not that kind of man.
But I'm beginning to think maybe I was a jerk all along.
I kept my head lowered, afraid that if I raised it, I would come face to face with the women. I'm not as brave as I claim to be.
At this rate, I think I prefer to come face to face with a monster than being stuck in this elevator, which by the way, was taking too long to reach its destination.
The thought bothered me for a while, leaving me with no choice but to raise my head and check the number of floors.
"Eh?!" I exclaimed loudly, forgetting momentarily about the women with me. I had to remind myself that I was no longer alone. Nor was I just with Fifi.
Even so, what on Nirvana?!
Seventy floors?!
It didn't look tall enough to have that many floors!
I should calm down, though. Surely, I don't have to go that high?
When the elevator first sounded its ding, I was ready to move out. But the redhead with me earlier put a hand on my arm.
"Are you sure you're alright, director? They moved your office yesterday. You had it moved to the top floor."
"Eh?! I did what?"
"You were adamant about it. And if I remember correctly, you told us you might forget and remind you about it."
I closed my eyes, feeling like someone slapped me on the face.
Of course.
'NICHEN!'