There was pin drop silence in the office as each person was staring at the other. Finn at Ravenna and Ravenna at the beautiful stranger, while he gazed back at her, before he shifted his gaze to Finn.
"I didn't know you are into noisy crows nowadays," the man stated tucking his hand into his black trouser suit.
Finn chuckled lightly staring at the man strangely as if waiting for something or rather a reaction, but to his surprise the man reacted normally. He was just about to clarify something when he felt the girl beside him hit his shoulder with a stupefied expression.
"Did...that mannequin just call me a... noisy crow?" she traced her question slowly with a low voice, while trying as much not to hit someone.
Finn wanted to laugh but he knew better than doing so, especially with the sudden fall of temperature. He could see the dark look on his brother and for a moment, he was taken aback and at the same time relieved that he seemed to not recognize her. If he did, the world would come to an end instantly.
"Venna, this is my brother," Finn broke the silence but the tension between the other two seemed to increase with each passing second. Bu then...
"Your what?" Ravenna abruptly turned to Finn in disbelief.
"Brother. My elder brother, Alaric Nightveil who is also the president of the company." Finn observed the changes in Ravenna's face feeling amused.
Ravenna dared not look at the man who infuriated her to the core but also raised wild desires she had never felt for any man before. It's not like she had ever seen a more good-looking person like him since the last two years. His looks were down to earth as if inviting her, the naughty her precisely, to feast on him. She just remained silent to prevent herself from saying anything untoward.
"One of your secretaries?" Alaric, wo had been silent watching the noisy girl and his brother, asked sounding calm as ever. But only he knew the turmoil he was in. How long had it been since he experienced even the slightest wave of emotions? The only feeling he ever had was anger towards everything but now, there was kind of amusement looking at the girl's angry face, the face she made when shocked, especially how her eyes went wide open with her mouth. Not only that, but he also felt a slight discomfort watching her converse so closely with Finn and he almost wanted to pull her by his side. The reason for that, he did not know. He just convinced himself she was just a rare species who had intrigued his interest and like always, he never liked sharing his things.
"No, she's more than that. Oh, her beautiful name is Ravenna," Finn replied pulling Ravenna closer to him by her shoulder. He knew what he was doing.
Ravenna gasped then briefly glanced at Alaric before looking away, but that was more than enough for her to see his handsome face under the daylight. He looked more gracious and powerful but also gloomy just like the previous night. And most of all, more seductive that she almost wanted to stare at him all through.
"Who would have thought it would be this soon, Miss Ravenna?"
Ravenna held her breath in before releasing it slowly. She could hear the echoes of her name in her head. It sounded so sweet that she wanted to hear it but then, the whole statement registered in her head quickly.
"Never thought I would actually see you again, Mr. A," She deliberately stressed the letter 'A' and almost wanted to add the S.S. thing after. A.S.S. just suit him the best, arrogant, silent and seductive described him fully. That was her thought.
"Thank you for hosting me," Alaric raised the side of his lips forming a creepy smile that did not reach his eyes.
"Hosting? Isn't that too modest compared to what you did?" Ravenna flared up again being reminded of the previous night she spent under the cold chilly night.
"Is it? I was injured and you were being a nuisance," like expected his words only made her blood boil extremely.
"Nuisance you say? Huh... You barged in my place and... Wait a minute, shouldn't you be in a hospital bed or a morgue right now, but from the look of things... you seem fit like a horse on heat ready to argue with me. Were you fooling me so I could allow you into..."
"Do you ever shut up?"
"No, I don't and never will I. Do you have a problem with that?"
Finn watched back and forth as the duo argued endlessly, like they knew each other. Witnessing Alaric utter more than ten words in a day was like a dream come true. All he did was order people around with a single word. He was like an angry bird and with the slightest provocation, he would make someone wish they were never born. This scene was one he had never seen for decades or even more than a century now. A surge of emotions gushed inside him, but he remained calm like before, but a smile could not help but crept on his lips, then disappeared as fast as it came.
"Will someone explain what's going on here? Do the two of you perhaps know each other?" Finn interrupted their heated argument, and they went quiet.
Alaric cleared his throat realizing he had almost lost his composure, or maybe fully lost himself, then looked at Finn his expression changing drastically to his usual aloof self.
"She's the one whom I told you about," Alaric replied first giving a side glance to Ravenna who was basically ignoring him.
Finn was surprised after he registered what Alaric was talking about. "Venna was the angry, noisy crow you were talking about earlier this morning?" Fate seemed to have already paved way for them, earlier than he had planned, bringing his brother and sworn sister together.
"You too, Finn? How could you call me a noisy crow? Aren't I your favorite anymore?" Ravenna shouted her eyes glaring daggers at him.
Finn pointed at Alaric and before he could defend himself, Alaric mocking voice filled the air, "What then? A noisy raven?"
"You dirty mule, how dare you!"
"Doesn't your throat hurt from shouting?"
"I hate you, you bastard!"
"The feeling is mutual...noisy crow."