Dane glued his eyes to his staff ID as he walked his way around the coming. A feeling of nostalgia washed over him and for a moment, he wondered why he even came back and didn't pursue to use the incident as a way to escape from Leon's grasp. He paused his thoughts and sighed with disappointment.
"Still as fresh as I remember it," he muttered before proceeding to the company's cafe for a cup of coffee.
"Hey, good morning," Dane said, gaining the attention of the attendant whose back was turned towards him.
He turned around immediately to see who needed his service before hurrying to the countertop.
Dane narrowed his eyes at this person, wondering who he was since he was not familiar with the face.
'Seems we had a batch of new employees recently,' he thought to himself, since that was the only explanation as to why he was seeing new faces frequently since arriving here. First, it was Julia Fischer and her colleague at the reception and now, a new guy at the cafe.
"Morning, sir," the young attendant greeted back with a wide and bright smile spread on his face. "What would you like?"
Dane narrowed his eyes even further, a slight smile forming on his face as he nearly died of laughter after contrasting this new attendant to the old one he knew. Never did the old one smile so much but this young man in front of him might just tear his mouth if he stretched it even a millimetre further.
"Coffee. Just plain coffee, nothing added," he said.
The attendant nodded. "Is that all?"
Dane thought for a bit, his tongue stinging from the memories of how not-so-sweet the taste of plain coffee was.
"... Maybe with milk. That's all. Thanks."
The attendant clapped his hands loudly. "Come right up. Just gimme a sec!"
"Make it two cups and two doughnuts."
"No problemo!" he replied excitedly before leaving to attend to Dane's orders.
Dane kissed his teeth. "Funny guy..."
Dane massaged his nose, using his hand to hide his chuckle as he shook his head. He then proceeded to have a seat as he waited for his order to be made ready. Dane sat for a few minutes, observing the cafe and studying the subtle changes that he noticed, which weren't there before he left.
'There was really a new batch of staff that started after I left,' he thought again after mentally taking record of the number of new faces he noticed. The ones who recognised him and knew about the incident, he greeted them and exchanged pleasantries and small talk before returning back to his business.
After a couple of minutes, his order was ready and served at the counter, prompting him to approach. Dane got up and went straight ahead to the attendant before walking away.
"Your change, sir?"
Dane raised his hand, gesturing his disinterest in taking his change. "You can keep that."
"Thank you!" the young attendant loudly expressed his gratitude without a care about who was watching or listening as he smiled even more.
———
(Inside an office)
A young, bald man was frustratingly kissing his teeth as he stared at the laptop that sat on his desk. He was clearly red with rage, and his head glinted with disappointment. The longer he stared at the screen, the more infuriated he became.
The man leaned back, creating a distance between him and the computer to avoid tossing it away in anger. He relaxed a bit more and exhaled loudly while tapping his fingers in thought. He seemed to be in a pinch, one that would be hard to come out of and he needed to sort it as soon as possible.
While he is drowning in the sea of his frustration, a knock pulled his spirit back into his office, causing him to startle. The bald man immediately lifted his eye away from the laptop for the first time in the last couple of minutes and immediately he did that, his face brightened up. In an instant, he forgot his worries and frustration, finding himself smiling like a girl in love as he hurriedly stood from his chair and motioned quickly to the door.
"Already angry this early, man," the person who entered said, already noting the frustration on the bald man's face. "It's not good for your health though. That's why the doctors told me."
The bald man started to laugh as he approached the person.
"My man...!" the bald man exclaimed excitedly. "My... man... Dane!"
"What's up, Jerry?" Dane replied as he caught Jerry's loud handshake midair, with the both of them laughing their hearts out and laughing. They hugged and laughed even more.
"It's good to have you back finally, man," Jerry said. "And I must confess, you look even better now than you did back then."
Dane smiled and puffed his biceps as he nodded with a smug face.
"I've been eating, man... been eating good. I'm a big boy now."
Jerry examined him closely. "I can see that."
They shook a second time and hugged each other before heading over to sit down. Dane dropped the two wrapped items he had ordered at the cafe, shifting one of them over to Jerry's side.
"A cup of coffee will start you right," Dane said. "I keep telling you that but you don't listen."
Jerry scoffed. "You know, I'm not a coffee guy."
Dane scoffed right back. "But it always works for you, doesn't it?"
Jerry thought for a bit and dangled his head from side to side before raising his hands in surrender.
"Well, yeah."
Dane then playfully pointed at him. "Then you are a coffee guy in denial. That's by the way, when did you get back? You didn't even tell me."
"Sorry man," Jerry apologised. "Two days ago. I'm still jetlagged sort of. I don't even know why I clocked in today. Should have called in sick or something, because either Emily or Layla is going to have my head."
Dane's face slightly lit up as he picked interest in the discussion. A person of interest to him had been brought and he would seize every opportunity he had to find out anything he could, no matter how trivial.
Dane sat back and listened to Jerry explain his ordeal and the cause of his anger this early morning, and he could only but feel pity for his friend. Dane finally understood why he was in deep shit. The company had only just moved him to Layla's department and he's already fucked.
Just as they were speaking, someone walked in on them, causing Jerry's face to go blank as he gazed at the door. Dane turned around to see, and luckily, it was just the right person he had been thinking about for a few days now.
A smile crept up on his face as he started to examine her from toe to head.
———
Author's Note: This novel is now contracted. You can now support with gifts as well if you enjoy the book. Thanks for reading.