Possessed - Bucky Barnes x OC

Part 20

Walking into work, just as Maggie's coworker was clocking out, they exchanged a quick hello and goodbye.

There were a few customers standing about in the lobby, admiring the works. She greeted them kindly, offering any information she had about the piece they stood before, flexing her sales skills. Quickly making the deal, they were sent off, allowing her to enter their purchase into the system and lug the canvas to the back.

Maggie sat behind the counter, waiting for more customers to come in, when August came waltzing down from his office.

"Hi August." She called over sweetly.

He held up a finger to her, while he finished up his text with his other hand. "Hello, Margaret." He mumbled, eyes glued to the screen. "I need you to sign for a shipment later and I expect you to organize the filing cabinet in the stock room before you leave." He finally looked up at her doing a double take when he saw what she was wearing.

She wore a polkadot blush colored blouse with gorgeous flowing sleeves, diamond necklace dripping above the neckline. Her pristine cream skirt was accented with an ivory Gucci belt. He usually despised her grandma-esque garb, but for once, she looked well— chic.

Maggie picked up on his reaction to her clothing and looked down at herself. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, um..." August cringed at what was about to slip out of his mouth. "You look nice today, Margaret."

Her jaw fell slack. Not once had she received even a slight compliment from his since they had met. Even though it wasn't about her work ethic, she was thrilled. "Thank you, August." She beamed. "And yes, I'll take care of all of that before I leave."

Snapping back to his cold expression, he nodded. "I'm headed out, so I'll see you on Tuesday."

Her shift was painfully slow. Only a few customers trickled in, always claiming they were just browsing. She squeezed out one sale just before close and then locked the front doors to clean up and organize the files upstairs.

As she started to head up the stairs, she heard aggressive knocking coming from the glass of the front door. She scurried back down to see Loki standing on the other side, waving her over. She was thoroughly confused. He hadn't reached out since the day they had coffee, so seeing him was a shock.

"Loki? What are you doing here?"

"Darling, we need to talk." His voice had a sense of urgency. He pushed past her, stepping inside of the gallery.

They sat down on one of the guest couches of the lobby and turned to face each other.

He was frowning, looking incredibly concerned. Maggie's stomach twisted as the silence egged on, waiting for him to start. "This won't be easy for me to say to you."

"Loki, what is it?"

"The man you've been seeing, he isn't who you think he is." He blurted out, making her eyes widen and her head jolt back.

"James?" She clarified.

He nodded with a solemn expression. "He's a criminal. A murderer." Her face contorted into a confused frown, lips parted as her breath started to pick up. "Before he was the CEO of his own company, he was a hitman for one of the most powerful crime organizations in the city."

Shaking her head, she found her words. "No. No, there's no way."

He dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone, lifting it in front of her face. In bold letters at the top of an article it read 'Crime Gang Hitman Caught— James Buchanan Barnes named as the Winter Solider.' Scrolling down, there were pictures. It was him. A mugshot. Long dark hair, scowl deeply set over his features, tattooed hand gripping the sign with his intake number.