The Innocent Lover

Chapter 30: Iris

We stepped into the grounds where it all began. The looming building with the company Crest plastered atop it. I was slumped cozily next to Lucas as the car halted under the car park shades.

"We're here," Mr Flinch exclaimed.

No one replied to him, and neither of us got out of the car. He tried again.

"We're here!"

"Yes yes, we can see that Dad," Lucas mumbled. "Now what?"

It was the question I knew each of us was asking each other. Where do we begin the search? And how?

"I had her number tracked down," Mr Morris said. "She's at a bar, but we have to wait a little. My men are on her, they'll tell us when she's ready to leave".

It felt like one of those spy movies and we were the intelligence tracking the villain, my mom.

"So now what?" I repeated Lucas's question.

My Dad sighed. "We wait".

Mary grumbled. " Then let's go inside, it's cold in here, now that the AC has been shit down".

The company was empty it had to be, it was Sunday after all. We boarded the elevator up to the CEO's floor, and he let us inside to sit. The last time I had been in here was when the old man had tried to 'recruit' me for his pleasures.

I still felt like I had unfinished business with him. I still wanted answers, but now was not the right time and place to talk about it. We had a daunting task ahead of us, and we needed every emotion in check for it to be successful.

"We leave in thirty minutes!" My dad commanded before leaving the office to take a call.

Now it was just the four of us left. Mary was conversing with Lucas over something she saw in her phone, Mr Flinch was sitting in his desk admiring his ceiling, and then there was me, playing with my fingers to ease the awkwardness creeping in me. Thirty minutes never seemed to be so far away.

I stared at the golden name tag on the table with Mr Flinch's name displayed on it, and my tongue went loose.

"Why do you guys have different surnames?"

Six eyes stared at me as if questioning me why I was asking that at such a time. I couldn't blame them, even I was questioning myself why I was so stupid.

"Sorry, it's just that I was bored and I-"

Lucas's dad laughed. "It's good to be curious. Helps avoid misunderstandings if you know what I mean". He wriggled his eyebrows.

It was my turn to laugh. "That's what Lucas did when we first met".

"What did I do?" Lucas asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You wriggled your eyebrows the same way your dad did".

"Oh, that," he sighed, "my mom liked it".

" Oh". I had made him remember the past, and it wasn't something I felt he needed at the moment.

" I'll go and buy coffee, " I mumbled.

" It's a Sunday, no one is at the company, " Mr Flinch said. " I believe you can relax, and let your, ahem... Boyfriend answer your questions".

" Yes sir".

" Dad, I'm a bit too fast as you might have noticed. I pride myself on that".

" Yes... Dad".

" Good. Lucas? " Mr Flinch said looking at his son. " I'll let you have the honors. I'll be outside with her father".

" Yes Dad," Lucas replied.