************
CHAPTER 22
Raphael's gaze drifted off from his laptop, darting to his phone close to his right hand.
Earlier that morning, Damian had hurried to the company, hoping to finish off some work, but unfortunately for him, Raphael took control of their shared body.
'Pfffttt…' Raphael scoffed, looking around the office. 'He's at work already when I could be off teasing someone?'
Raphael was hoping he would take control just before Damien left the house so he could avoid work and have at least half the day to himself.
'Seems Damien had other plans... doesn't mean I can't execute mine,' Raphael thought to himself.
Grabbing the phone from the desk, he scrolled through the contact app.
'Skai should be awake by now and preparing for work, right?' He pondered inwardly, rolling the phone in between his thumb and index finger.
The time said 6:26 AM.
Concluding she should be awake by now, given her early arrival time at work, Raphael clicked the dial button.
Ring… Ring… Ring…!
As the dial tone rang, Raphael tapped his fingers on the table in a haphazard rhythm, his lips pressing together, whistling as he waited for her to pick up.
"Should I really call her?' He pondered after three rings without getting any response.
"Or did I misread the time and call minutes too early?"
He shook the thought away. It was likely she was awake and was bathing or something.
'Wait, is she still angry?'
At the fifth ring, he gave up. Not being the patient one, he let the call end, believing he'd meet her in the company when she came.
'That way, she wouldn't be able to avoid me.'
With a satisfactory smile, he ended the call and focused on the laptop screen.
As much as he hated work, Raphael knew exactly what was needed in their business.
The only problem was that… he loved a carefree life.
With a deep sigh, he began typing away on the keyboard. Since he was there already with nothing much to do, he decided to cut down on their workload.
As he worked, he couldn't help but glance occasionally at his phone, half expecting and anticipating a call back from Skai.
This went on for a while until his attention was drawn to a soft knock on the door to his office.
The knock came again, and before he could utter a word, the door knob turned, and in came Davion.
Raphael took a quick glance at the time on his laptop screen—8:08 AM.
'Shit… so I've been here for almost 2 hours. Damien's workaholic nature is gradually rubbing off on me.'
"Working early, I see," Davion said as he took one of the seats in front of Raphael.
Meanwhile, Raphael casually glanced up at Davion, his face betraying a lack of interest, observing him as he settled onto a chair.
"If you came with more work, don't even bother. I ain't attending to it."
Davion arched an eyebrow, his eyes reflecting a blend of perplexity and astonishment. 'Seriously now?'
Undeterred by Damien's sudden shift of character, Davion pressed forward. "Scratch that. I did not come to burden you," he retorted with a dismissive chuckle.
Instantly, Raphael's curiosity was sparked. If it wasn't work, what exactly was Damien's diligent and aloof Vice-CEO doing in his office?
"Hmm… So what brings you here this early?" Raphael inquired, casting a discerning gaze in Davion's direction.
"The invitation from Ray Royal... the one I spoke to you about." He gave a pause, waiting for any sign or reaction from Damien to indicate that he was listening.
"You haven't given me a clear answer. You know I would have filled in for you if I wasn't occupied with the L.A. meeting. Just take Skai along. It's only for a couple of hours, that's all."
The mention of Skai's name made Raphael's hands pause mid-air, his gaze travelled upwards from the laptop screen to Davion, who was still talking.
He was definitely oblivious to Raphael's reaction.
"Trust me, you'll be fine."
'Isn't this nice? It seems the universe is in my favour.' Raphael smirked. 'Here I sat, thinking of how I would get to see her again and talk. And then I got something better.'
His eyes sparkled with mischief. 'A chance to spend time with her, and... she can't decline it, considering I'm her boss. Oh Davion, for once, your workaholic sense is in my favour.' Raphael voiced internally.
"Uh, so please do not make me explain the whole problem again and why you should..."
"I'll go," Raphael declared, shocking Davion with his sudden response.
"What!"
Davion blinked severally, hoping his ears weren't deceiving him. "Did you say you'd go?" he asked, trying to confirm what he thought he heard Damien say.
With a skeptical look on his face, Raphael asked, "Do you have an issue with that?" He paused, waiting to hear from Davion, but instead, he continued. "I said, "I'll honour Ray Royal's invitation."
'... providing I get to spend some time with Skai.' Raphael added in his mind.
Without sparing a second, Davion clasped his palms together, a sigh escaping his lips. "Great, it's settled then. I'll make the necessary arrangements."
Rising to his feet, Davion fixed his suit, his lips lifting at the side. 'Now, that's settled.' He concluded inwardly.
"I'll be on my way then. Enjoy," he added as he headed out of Damien's office.
********
All the while Skai was in the company, she found it difficult to forget the issue that happened in the morning.
When the call from Damien ended before she had the chance to pick it up, she contemplated dialling back the number.
'Or was the call a mistake?' She asked herself as she thought of how best to respond—or not respond.
After giving the thoughts a few seconds, Skai concluded that if it was for something important, he would call her back. Or better yet, they would meet at the office.
Not that she hoped to meet him; everything was too awkward and complicated now.
She shook the thoughts off her head. 'Focus, Skai. You have work to do.'
After an hour had gone by, Skai decided it was time to give her legs a much-needed stretch. Rising from her seat, she snapped her neck and stepped out from behind her desk.
Just as she started walking, her phone buzzed, causing her to quickly turn and take a look.
Ethan.
Her heartbeat sped up. Ever since he dropped her at home the previous night, they haven't spoken a word to each other.
"Hello, Ethan," Skai greeted immediately after sliding the answer button.
"Hey Skai, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Ethan's voice came in from the other end.
"Not exactly. I was just taking a break from work. How…"
She was about to inquire about his well-being when a gentle rap on her office door interrupted her. With a gentle creak, the door swung open, revealing the curious face of Davion.
"I'm sorry, Ethan. I'll call you back," she said, ending the call.
"Good morning, sir," She greeted as Davion walked in.
"Morning, Skai. Sorry to interrupt."
"No problem, sir."
"Sure. So I'll make it brief," he began. "Sterling Entreprise got an invitation from one of its partners, and you will be accompanying Damien to the event," he announced.