Kill Me, Kiss Me

FIVE

    THE woman did not come back.
   
And somehow, Alexandr Hew didn't even seem to mind, it was as if the disappearance was a common occurrence in the office.
   
Theodore rested his head against the desk and took a deep breath. Alexandr had not asked for him to attend the meeting at lunch or at 2pm which was, he supposed, a relief. The game developer was also kind enough to supply him with a valid card and ID in his name within his wallet. How, he didn't know, but it was useful even for a mere 8 hours. The work was completely child's play, nothing on the scale he was used to, and so there shouldn't be anything troubling him in the slightest.
   
But his head ached. It always ached when he was tired, and he never got tired without good reason.
   
He couldn't get rid of the woman's fleeing burgundy from his mind. He couldn't get rid of the woman's distorted distress. It all clung to him like a damp shroud and threatened to smother him. He knew it was irrational, perhaps it was because of Lily, ever since the accident... he was all she had, and she, all he had. But that woman? He had found her presumptuous and irritating.
   
He would've been thankful not seeing her again, thankful, if he hadn't seen the fear that radiated off her like pungent perfume. And that smile, those sensuous lips pulled over straight white teeth, he tried not to think about it. It had been beautiful but...
   
Theodore blotted a dot of ink on a sheet of paper. There was no need to think about it, not when there was only an hour left.
   
Clack.
   
Expensive Italian black leather shoes rounded the corner. He stood up and tried to look away but found that he couldn't. Those long legs rounded the corner, and that body, so full of strength hurtled into full view without the slightest warning. Alexandr's mahogany hair was coming loose from its gel, and a few stray strands fell over his forehead above those domineering brows that seemed to fly to his temples.
   
Alexander's hard black gaze swept over him, and for a moment he saw the hesitation of shock flash through the faint colour. The other man's legs seemed to slow and quicken again like an attempt to hide the previous weakness, but he had caught it, it had been all too obvious, and the pounding in his head grew worse.

"You can leave for today." Alexandr said, tone even and without the slightest turbulence.

Theodore stood from his seat and studied the other man's broad back for a fleeting second before turning for the exit, "Have a good evening, Mr Hew."

Those words had pressed through his lips blunt and sharp with a tinge of conceit, and even to his own ear, they seemed like the words of a more senior manager. He smiled slowly and strode into the corridor outside, but when he was out of sight from the office, that electric Ding! Pulsed through his ear again. His finger twitched and the light ease in his chest crashed beneath a leaden weight.

What was wrong with that man?

How could he like him more when he didn't give the appropriate respect?

He shook his head and quickened his pace to the elevator and then, straight through the impressive marble lobby. He wasn't staying in this place a second longer, a good dinner awaited him, and after that hour had passed, the warmth of home. A warm breeze buffered him gently outside the monstrous building, and he wiped Alexandr's commanding aura straight from his mind. In the hour that remained, should he get a good hearty Italian? Or perhaps a delicate but exquisite Japanese cuisine? He'd only known at lunch, but if he had discovered that his taste remained as sharp as in reality, he would've gone for a brunch and perhaps a tea; dinner was the least he could have.

Leaning against one of the metal benches outside the office, he scrolled through his phone, but just before he opened a restaurant review, a text notification bloomed on the blue-whiteness.

Mariah Kelly.

His breath became a slight heavier, and he clicked on her message abruptly.

310 Huckley Road, Jen's coffee, ASAP.

The word ASAP grated through his mind. Why had she sent the message? What did she want? But most importantly, most importantly, should he go meet her with just an hour to go? Was there any point to this absurd rendezvous? His fingers tightened around his phone, and he ran his fingers through his hair.