Unexpected Attraction (BxB Fantasy) | Completed

Chapter 10

"Wolf," began Jackie, so Mikael paused mid-stride. She hurried over to him. "What are you doing here? It's not the day yet."

Mikael eyed his mom's blank expression as he replied, "The higher-ups called me in, Jackie. That's all I can say."

The older girl hummed, then patted his back and shooed him along. "Then I won't keep you. Go on."

"Thanks."

Annika walked in stride with Mikael, a mere two inches taller than him. She was fairly tall for a woman, but that made Mikael feel strangely safe while he was being ushered into the lions' den. It was a bit scary. He hadn't ever met the big cats in the company, instead being issued days to work from his manager, Annika, once or twice a month for the last nine years. There were always job opportunities from the company, regardless of where Annika and Mikael had lived. In retrospect, that fact was amazing to Mikael.

"Don't worry, honey, you'll be fine. Just be polite and explain the issue, then the big boys will handle everything else."

Mikael glanced up at Annika. "How can you know that?"

Annika smiled. "Like I said, don't worry about it."

The teen squinted at her, but then he looked away and sighed a few moments later. "I'll try not to, I promise."

"Good."

Her response was very much like Raphael's common one, so Mikael's nervousness started to abate while he thought about who he was really doing this for and why it was important. He had to steel himself for any possibility of taking a downfall in his career in order to protect his boyfriend if it got out that he was the one who asked the company to get rid of Gideon Thorne.

"All right, here we are."

Unnerving arctic-blue eyes darted over to Annika as she rifled through her purse. Mikael was completely stumped by what was going on. For Annika to think they had arrived somewhere, it must mean that either Mikael was hallucinating about the stylish wood-paneled wall as being less than a "place" or his mom was going crazy. The former was much more believable because Annika was very rarely ruffled by anything.

Mikael snapped to attention when he noticed his adoptive mom pull out a small key. He watched her slide her hand along the wall and then it went deeper. His eyes widened as a square of the rectangular panel revealed a keyhole. Annika pushed the key where it belonged and unlocked something. Mikael could hear a solid clunk and then the gears moved as she fiddled with something within the lock's space. Mikael was stunned as the panel fixed itself after Annika pulled her hand back, then it moved out from the wall and began to slide sideways.

Annika grasped Mikael's left tricep and began to move him forward. "Sorry, honey, I know this is a shock, but we must keep moving. They are waiting."

Mikael nodded and began to take the descending stairs a little more quickly. Annika let go of him as the door began to shut and the light from the outside faded. Just as Mikael thought he would fall in the darkness, fluorescent lights came on and the teen breathed a sigh of relief. Now he was able to see that the walls did not have a railing and the steps were made of rough concrete so people wouldn't slip.

The teen quickly rubbed his arms out of nervousness more than chilliness. Thankfully, Mikael's loose-sleeved, dark brown turtleneck was keeping him warm. The bottom hem rested at the curve of his waist because he was wearing high-waisted knit jeans in a lighter sand color. Mikael, of course, had worn all of the brand's clothing as usual to keep the company happy. After all, he was a walking advertisement for them.

The hidden basement was borderline between chilly and slightly warm as Mikael stepped onto the concrete floor. It was textured like the steps, so he wouldn't fall easily if it had gotten slippery somehow. Annika was right behind him and even stepped in front of Mikael to lead him down the long hallway with multiple doors. It almost reminded Mikael of a prison or a hidden torture basement—something along those lines. It was a little scary, but he was asking these people to get rid of two dangerous men for him. He had to remain strong. This was mostly for Raphael.