"This is the fifth time that our security system has been breached!" Oliver wisely sat down because standing up would make him implode.
This time, his employees had nothing to say to defend themselves. How the culprit snuck past 5 defensive systems only to be stopped by Oliver's system was too embarrassing for the professionals in the fields.
"Do you have anything to say!? Or is accepting that you are truly incompetent the only explanation!?" Why were they silent? They didn't utter a word just like how Kayla had left the class looking distraught and ashamed.
A sharp pain coursed through his head, as he struggled to keep his breath even. His hands, clasped rested beneath his jaw, eyes boring into them.
"Sir, we know we've failed you terribly and we will go back and reflect on your skills and improve the system's security so this will not be repeated again." the head of the SOC spoke up, his voice firm and exhausted. They had failed.
Oliver forced a short laugh, clapping his hands, "Good. Very good." he nodded. "You are all useless and cannot even handle this task. What if the person has breached? The person is currently testing the waters, wading through until they have finally found what they are looking for!"
He slammed his hands on the desk startling his employees, "I will not have the business I built from the ground up with my bare hands become ruined because of your… your ineptitude!"
Oliver had always been a calm person and rarely lost his temper, so this was frightening for them. They could lose their jobs.
He sniffed, letting out a breath, before rubbing his forehead. What was wrong with him?
"Martin, I want your best trackers to find any trace of the intruder and find a clue or something we can use to identify the person's intents." he instructed the head of the SOC who nodded and replied, "I'll do that right away."
"The rest of you, I want you to fortify the system every thirty minutes and not slack. If you need to excuse yourself for one reason or the other, make sure someone is going to cover your end, got it?"
"Yes sir." No one needed to tell them to get lost and leave their CEO alone in the conference room.
Oliver loosened his tie, leaning heavily back on the chair. He brought out his pill bottle from his suit pocket and took six instead of three. The pain in his head doubled every passing minute so he closed his eyes to let the drug take effect.
Heartbroken hazel eyes ran wild in his thoughts. The scene of her leaving the class looking so defeated haunted him every night and evolved to be one of the reasons he couldn't sleep anymore.
He wanted to break her and he did and a twisted part of him enjoyed the fact that he could push past her breaking point but there was this faint whisper that became progressively louder that made him stare into the mirror and see his mother.
He remembered the sickening smile that spread across her face every time Oliver screamed, cried, and begged. How it made her feel powerful and Kayla Hastings slowly drove him to that place.
Cloaked in the darkness of the night only the city lights shining through the window and strings of code running on the computer in Oliver's office resembled light.
Difficulty did not encompass the 'Circular Pyramid' but it took a very meticulous and dedicated person to execute it precisely because of the intricate designs in it.
His current staff, though skilled and arguably the best hackers, didn't have that patience, and picking someone out of their bunch to be his much-needed partner in the coding would be a complete waste of time.
However, Lilac's words rang through his mind that a tiger's claws were tearing apart. What if there was someone in the class who could be trained or already had an inkling of the procedure in question?
Hastings. In her essay on why she wanted to join the class, she raved about how she loved Lilac's books thinking she wrote to him. It could be possible that she only did that for fan service but now finding out would prove to be hard since he had kicked her out.
He hurt her and every time he closed his eyes, he saw her. Those daring eyes crumbled.
He smirked as he changed his screen to a survillence view of the interior of a house.
It displayed a living room, with a large L-shaped couch occupied by Kayla watching TV, a coffee table stacked with tech magazines, and a few scattered poetry books. The walls were adorned with a mix of framed quotes from famous poets and digital art.
She was home. He checked the other rooms and realized her best friend's absence. Good.
He would put an end to this never-ending migraine.
****
She loved the summer but the winter breeze made her lazy and want to stay under the blankets for as long as humanly possible.
Louisa went home for the weekend leaving her to be the one to take out the trash! A responsibility that fell on Louisa's shoulders this time!
"Unfuckingbelievable!" She grumbled as she came down the stairs and out of the house to dispose of the trash bag. Luckily a street light shone so it wasn't completely dark.
Everything nowadays made her irritated especially her conscience that would not shut up about apologizing to Oliver fucking Wilde! Like anything that happened was her fault!
Yes, she did cross a line but he was the asshole!
She closed the garbage can lid with a loud bang and turned around to leave, halting after taking a few steps when she heard something.
Kayla spun, taking a step towards the darkness, head tilting as she asked, "Who's there?"
A faded tap. Her ears perked up, hairs rising because of the chill. Someone was out there and she felt it.
"If you do not come out, I will call the police. I know you're there."
"Are you sure it won't be you that would be arrested, Hastings?" The mockness and the pedantic voice belonged to only one person she could think of: Professor Oliver Wilde.
The man in question emerged from the shadows like the devil and stalked towards her.
She gritted her teeth. "What are you doing here? Come to make cause more damage? Unfortunately for you, this is my house so you can't kick me out."
"Unrepentant. I thought you would have learned a lesson by now?" He clicked his tongue shaking his head in disappointment.
Under the moonlight, his whiskey eyes penetrated her, and the way his eyes raked her body concealed by the short red satin nightgown she wore made her breath short.
He did not have the right to look at her that way. To make her feel this way. To make her want to tease him more, so she wrapped her arms around her upper body.
"You still haven't answered my question, professor. What are you doing here? Are you stalking me?"
Oliver straightened up, stretching out a small gift bag to her. "Here."
"What's this?" she furrowed her brows, staring at it in askance. "Is there a bomb there?" she gasped. "Have you come to kill me?"
He should just leave. This girl's existence questioned whether insane people were in the asylum. He pursed his lips.
"I wish I had brought a bomb so I can be rid of your endless nuisance."
"Usually when you give people gifts, you say nice things to them. And why the fuck are you giving me something? What do you want?" Despite her wariness, she still accepted the gift. He wouldn't kill her, right?
"What happened in class the other day was immature, unprofessional, and impolite." he started.
"Professor…" What game was he playing with her this time?
"It shouldn't have happened and our actions were regrettable, to say the least."
She was also at fault and some might say she was the only one at fault, so what was he doing? "Are you apologizing to me? If you are going to apologize you have to say the words."
His jaw ticked. Seeing his face harden, she knew she had gone too far.
"I agree that what happened in the class was unethical and therefore I want to say-"
"I'm sorry." he beat her to it. Oliver Wilde apologized to her. Her jaw dropped. Was it that easy to get him to apologize?
"Professor, you shouldn't have to apologize and it was entirely my fault and…" she trailed off because Oliver's expression was off.
It didn't look like it but his eyes were smiling. It suddenly made sense. "You are a fucking asshole! Here I was thinking that you actually meant it but this is all a game to you, isn't it!?"
"What are you talking about, Hastings?"
"You apologized because it would make you look good. You would be the bigger person, the mature won and you would hold the reins forcing me to apologize too!"
"Then what do you want?"
There was so much she wanted from him. So much that she wanted to puke from his much she wanted him. How much power he had over her was different from her relationship with Andy.
"I want to be part of the class again."
"That's already done, Hastings. Is that all you want? Maybe another apology? On my knees this time, if you prefer that." He smirked.
"You fucking sadist! I get a half-baked apology after you made me fucking cry!" She publicized incredulously, chest heaving.
"I made you cry?" So he had that much control over her. His lips curved up, slightly.
"Don't flatter yourself, you are not the first." She glared at him.
"But darling," he purred. "I want to be the only one".
"I want to be the reason behind every tear you shed." He closed the gap between them in about three strides. Her lips were so close to his jaw and he saw the freckles scattered across her nose.
She was a succubus. A demon that was sent to torment him. Their breaths intertwined but her eyes were on his thin lips while he studied her face. The sun had kissed her nose and he wanted to do the same.
Her heartbeat pounded against her chest. She was nervous. He could tell as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"I want you to think about me when your eyes sting. Only me. Only my face."
"My World would never revolve around you and I would rather jump off a cliff, make a deal with the devil then come back to life to do it all over again than ever think of you."
Stubborn raccoon. "You will think of me because I will make sure of it." He narrowed his eyes and the danger emitting from him caused her to shiver.
He was too close, and yet, she didn't move. She hated how the thrill of danger sparked beneath her skin, how every step closer he took made her breath catch. But she wasn't going to back down—she never did.
"Go fuck yourself, professor. But knowing you, you might actually enjoy it." She gave a tight-lipped smile.
His entire body protested against it. "Turn around! Leave! This is wrong!" But the dare in her eyes lit a fire in him. She would regret everything she said.
He grabbed her throat, making her eyes widen in shock, pushing her backward until her back hit the wall. His hand around her neck was cool. A little squeeze and he could choke her. A feeling she had never experienced. A feeling she wanted to know. It scared her that she thought this way.
She tried to push him away, scratching his hand but he was unaffected by her tantrums.
"Let me go! Let me go! Or I'll call for help"
"I hate you." He stated firmly, his head lowered and their lips were dangerously close. She hated that he always had the upper hand.
"The feeling is very mutual. You sicken me," she replied, fiercely.
"I despise you so much. You make my skin burn, like I need to peel it off just to get rid of you." His lips almost brushed hers.
"Do you know what I want to do when I think of you? Every time I see you?" he paused, his voice becoming breathy and edgy. "I want to burn you alive and rule over your ashes."
She met his gaze. "Then do it, professor. If you are as brave as you say, Burn me."