'Max! Max!, where are you, ... 'There you are buddy. Oh, what this, did somebody get hurt'.
'Mama, I-I don't want to stay here, it's dark and- and the men are scary'.
'Oh, sorry buddy but I'm already dead, but don't worry, you will be okay, I promise'.
'Wait, MAMA! DON'T LEAVE ME WITH THEM, DON'T leave me with them'.
Years after that incident, its memories still haunt my soul. I could easily tell by my condition that six years of therapy couldn't fix me. Had I embarrassed myself in front of the woman in the red dress? Yes, I did. Do I want to know her by chance? No, I didn't.
But something inside me told me that, the lady in red knew me too well.
I woke up with a sore throat, and comfy sweatpants and found myself in my room. My room? How the_?
'Oh, you're awake. How are you?'. I was shocked at seeing beauty in a pink cardigan, white top, and sky-blue bell-bottom trousers. For once I thought a goddess had entered but my mind pulled up after the certain realization that it was Margot.
'Um, I'm good. How did I end up here?'.
'I found you in the main hall, you were in pretty bad shape', she took a sip from her mug, 'You were at gunpoint, and so was your brother'.
I should have known, that Anthony also suffered the same curse as me. 'How did I manage to make it alive'.
Silence filled the room. Margot was an extraordinary woman, she who blended with work was brilliant, but from yesterday's event, my hopes for being wary increased.
She didn't say anything as she looked at me. 'It was the security'. She said. 'They rushed in and saved you before anything bad happened'.
Her story was believable, I mean there is no way Margot could take down all those robbers by herself. Imagining her fighting was impossible given the circumstances she was in.
With much thought, I believe her. She said Anthony was safe and contracted Xavier for a personal check-up. With her thoughtful farewell, she took off to work and promised to update Clark on my health.
The next day, I took the liberty to talk to my co-workers. Not surprising they were terrified just by glancing at me. I wasn't here for them, I was here for Margot. According to Clark, Margot is supposed to have her daily coffee in the lounge, and that was perfect.
How could I forget the damsel in a red dress, it must be her, or else who wouldn't?
I reached out to the doorknob of the lounge and opened it despite the nervous glances. My eyes searched the faces until I found the one who I was looking for. A girl in charcoal work wear, her hair in a ponytail, and her eyes as black as ever. She was as usual drinking her caffeine but stopped once she saw me.
Her eyes narrowed in a confused frown when I asked everyone except her to leave. Once they left, it was just us, no client meetings, no status updates, no reports, and especially no Clark.
'So', I crossed my arms, 'Is there something you're not telling me, about last night'. My suspicions were right, instead of my heart, I trusted my guts.
Anthony wouldn't tell me shit and I knew my brother well. So tell me any lie Margot, just who are you? What have you planned? Another excuse?
The pressure was too much for both of us, I looked tensed but she, oh she looked calm as hell. I mean in these types of situations are stretched tight. Extremely rigid and requires more pressure.
But to my surprise, she took a deep sigh and said, 'I guess you got me'.
'So you do admit it was you. Was there a reason for not telling me sooner?'
Another minute of silence spread the room. Not like I cared but it felt uncomfortable. 'It's because of you sir'.
'Excuse me?', the words automatically came out of my mouth. 'Could you please elaborate on that, Miss Willer'.
"My father was in the military before he joined for business. He trained me to death to get my mind off my mother's death. But after his official job, he lost many interviews because of his past, many believed he was a ruthless man who would pull out the trigger at any moment. Therefore, I kept this personal so it wouldn't intrigue you, sir".
For Once Margot spoke like a normal human being. Her tone shifted from serious to heartfelt, and I finally felt a sense of understanding. Wait. How the hell did the mood change? One second I was interrogating her, the next I felt sorry for her.
Talk about mood swings. But what clenched my heart more were the tears she shed. God, were they real or fake? Doesn't matter, what now concerns me is the aches in my heart at the vision of Margot crying.
'Margot, I didn't mean it that way', I stepped forward, 'It's just that I was surprised by the stunts you pulled'.
It wasn't a lie. Part of me wanted to cheer for her, I mean if I had seen it for real, she reminded me of those hot crime fighter girls in game shows. But now I was also concerned about myself. Who would have thought I had someone like her working under my wing.
My arms reached out to her only to grab her waist and pull her closer. A hug they call it, warm, comfortable, and touching. Wait. Why was I touching?
'Sir?', Shit! how am I supposed to handle this? 'This is highly inappropriate'.
Hell yeah, it was inappropriate, not just inappropriate but also not professional. We were at work, and we weren't in a mutual relationship or any relationship. Except for the fact she is my secretary. But that's all.
'I know, but I'm starting to like it', what the fu*k did I just say? I think I'm on drugs. But before anything else happened, she pushed me with the bare minimum strength of her body only to show her cute swollen red face.
'Sir, I understand that you are mad about me lying and hiding some actions, but please understand that I did it for my job'.
Her voice was stumbling but her words were perfectly spoken, even in these conditions she kept her head high as she was playing with me. But it was too impossible to consider this as an act.
'I see, but Mag_'.
'Please don't fire me'.
Is it just me or did anyone else feel a thousand emotions clashed into one? Shit, my mind was already exploding because of our semi hug, now it was finished, completely demolished into dust. What was left was my heart which was still beating like mad.
Her swollen eyes showed a few tears, big and transparent, her nose swollen and the expression, god the expression was pulling the strings of my heart. For a second my mouth opened and the words just came out like stones, heavy stones.
'Margot Willer, do you want to be my bodyguard?'.