Johan turned to face the man who had called him from the front door of
Erick's house - his house - and was met with a face that almost made
Johan's jaw drop.
Almost platinum blond hair, eyes so gray, they were like two pieces of
a cold, stormy sky.
Skin almost as white and flawless as the marble of the columns that
supported the mansion, hiding muscles as solid as steel, compact and
lean.
The man before Johan wore a simple white shirt with an untied black tie
over his shoulders, black trousers, and rimless glasses.
Johan remembered who that man was before he even took the first step
towards him, looking furiously at the handsome blond man as if he
wanted to kill him.
Erick's words echoed in Johan's mind as he approached.
Step after step.
'Claudius Clifford, remember this name very well...'
Claudius just stared back at Johan, with a disdainful smile and a hand
behind his back.
'When you see it for the first time, you will understand what I mean.'
And Johan really understood.
'We grew up together, but he's much more than a childhood friend...'
Johan clenched his fists and took the last step closer to the handsome
Claudius Clifford, and moved, ready to throw a punch.
'He's the man you need to be most careful with, because he...'
At the last moment, however, Johan opened his fist and pulled Claudius
into a strong, tight hug.
"It's good to see you back, brother!"
"I missed you too, brother!"
'...He wants me dead.'
Johan and Claudius laughed like old friends meeting again after a long
time, and after breaking the hug, Claudius put his arm around Johan's
shoulders.
"Are you seriously going to arrive, go home, go to sleep, and only let
me know you'd return when it was dinner time?"
Johan raised his bandaged hand to him, a slight smile on his lips.
"I had some... Unforeseen events before returning, so I thought it
would be good to rest a little, schedule a trip to the doctor, and let
everyone know when I showed up at the table."
Claudius's eyes widened a little wider than Johan considered genuine,
and said.
"Good heavens! You need to tell me everything! What do you say we have
one?"
Johan smiled faintly, his mind racing like a speedway, and said,
shaking his head.
"You'll have to forgive me, man. But I really need to rest, you know
how the night is going to go, so you'll understand."
Claudius let out a sigh, the corners of his lips curling down ever so
slightly.
"Yes, I understand. I really do. You're going to owe me that drink,
okay?" Claudius replied, turning to leave.
"Leave it to me, brother!"
They didn't hug again, they didn't even say goodbye to each other.
Claudius just turned and walked away, as if he hadn't met his best
friend after six months.
Johan stood there for several moments, looking at Clifford's back,
disappearing between one mansion and another, while a myriad of
thoughts swarmed in his mind.
'He has the same eyes as Erick... I really need to be careful with this
guy.'
Turning to Lana again, as if nothing had happened, and he hadn't been
excessively tense in those seconds that followed Claudius's departure,
Johan asked.
"Can you still help me with that little favor?" Johan gave a shy smile.
"Of course, Mr. Vaughn, I'm your secretary, I'm here to help you with
anything, but... Would you allow me the indiscretion of asking a
personal question?"
"While we're walking, please."
'So this beautiful redhead is my secretary? That makes things a lot
easier...' Johan grinned inwardly as they walked.
In a whisper, Lana asked, looking tense.
"Why haven't you gotten rid of him yet?"
Johan thought for a moment before responding.
'Straight to the point...'
Johan thought as quickly as he could, formulating an answer that made
sense, and that sounded like something he believed Erick could say to a
question like that and, also in a whisper, he responded, moving
slightly closer to Lana's ear.
"I still have use for him."
A few moments of walking later, without Lanna having said anything
about Johan's words, giving only a nod in response, they arrived in
front of a dark oak door, with a round, golden latch, carved with what
looked like snakes around it.
Lana let out a slight tired - or relieved - sigh and said.
"Well, Mr. Vaughn, this is your room. I hope you rest, I'm going to
schedule your appointment with the family doctor for tomorrow, so be
ready. I'll let you know as soon as I finish the preparations."
Johan nodded, with a half smile on his lips.
"You are the best secretary in the world. Remember that." And with
that, Johan opened the door and entered his room - Erick's -, leaving
Lana there, on the other side.
Not knowing how to react.
Inside the room, with the door closed, Johan was ready to let out a
huge sigh of satisfaction and surprise, with everything he had seen so
far.
When his eyes darted across Erick's room—Johan's for the next five
years—and instead of a sigh, he gasped.
A double bed, larger than any double bed Johan had ever seen, was lined
up against the back wall of the room, on which was a huge window with
automatic curtains.
On the left side, a wardrobe that, when Johan opened, made his jaw drop
as it revealed a closet full of clothes, shoes, and other types of
accessories that he had only seen in movies.
On the right side, a desk with a state-of-the-art computer, flanked by
a shelf full of books on the most varied subjects - none of
entertainment literature, such as light novels, manga, or anything of
the sort.
Johan spent several minutes absorbing everything there into his mind.
'This is life...' He thought, lying down on the bed and closing his
eyes, being taken over by the comfort of that not-so-soft, not-so-hard
mattress.
It took him a few moments to come back to reality and remember that he
should at least set an alarm for an hour or two.
When he should take a shower, and get dressed for dinner.
The encounter with Claudius had left a strange, bitter taste in Johan's
mouth, and the fatigue from the fight the night before, added to the
fatigue from the journey and arrival, were already starting to take
their toll on his body.
After setting the alarm on his smartphone, Johan let himself get tired
and was soon dragged into the depths of a dreamless sleep, with a slight smile on his lips.