Naib stayed in the office, stamping dates on papers, stifling a yawn. Every now and then he turned around to peek at Freddy Riley, making sure he was still there. The man seemed a little nervous too. The moment he saw Naib enter the office, he sprang up to his feet and demanded the reason why he was there. Naib simply shrugged and plopped into Helena's chair.
The stack of papers seemed endless. He silently wondered how the secretaries dealt with all these in a single day. Nevertheless, his main objective was to keep an eye on Freddy Riley. The work didn't matter, he just couldn't let Freddy out of his sight. However, the other male seemed to not want to move. He kept looking behind at Naib every now and then, which the mercenary found overall quite suspicious.
"Mr Riley? Is something wrong?"
Freddy jumped, glasses going crooked. He stared at him for a few moments before scowling.
"That would be none of your business."
Naib smirked as Freddy whirled around, wheezing a little. He would continue looking behind him every now and then after that, checking to see if Naib was still there. He knew that as long as he kept this up for few weeks, and as long as nothing happened, everything would be alright. If he kept watch on Freddy, and nothing happened, then that would hopefully confirm their suspicions. But for now, he just had to do his job of keeping watch.
Hours passed by, and nothing happened. Eventually Freddy had to leave the office and so did Naib. The mercenary followed behind Freddy, making sure he left the building immediately. When noticed, he looked down at his phone, as if only coincidentally going the same route as the secretary and more interested in whatever was on his phone. Naib watched as his car pulled away from the parking lot before calling Aesop.
"Nothing happened, sir."
"That's good then."
"He did seem really nervous about me being there though."
"Alright then. Keep this up for a few more days, just in case."
"Yes, sir."
He yawned and stretched, longing for a good day's sleep as he headed home. The idea of a night shift wasn't as bad as he thought...
Eli headed into the building, passing by Naib as he entered. He smiled, tired from not being able to sleep. He had been worrying all night about everything that could go wrong in the building, and had been preparing for the worst. He was relieved when he saw the building still in one piece.
"Also, what's up with you and boss?"
Eli turned behind to look at Naib, who was stifling another yawn.
"Oh? Nothing, why?"
"Nah, just everyone been whispering bout the two of you y'know?"
Eli felt his eye twitch a little.
"Well, what have they been saying..?"
"One of boss's workers asked him the other day if you'd actually slept with him and like, I don't know if he meant just sleeping or the married-people-stuff but he just smiled at her. Dude didn't even say anything when they started squealing and jumping up and down."
Naib shrugged and gave him a pat on the back before leaving. He really wanted some rest. The executive stood by the door, staring at the ground. So not only did Aesop not bother to deny, but he managed to bloody smile at them..?
He walked to his office and locked the door behind him. He had no intentions of speaking to anyone today. They could blow down the office door for all he cared, but he refused to speak to Aesop Carl. No. He wouldn't speak to him at all. How could that bastard be so care-free and let them spread rumours like this? It was absurd! The right choice, of course, would've been to discuss with Aesop about this, but the man was too angry to think at the moment.
As Eli was storming around his office, Aesop was making his way up to his own office. He had fallen asleep thinking about how to tell Eli about his thoughts, and was currently still thinking about it. He decided he'd try to talk to the executive about it during lunchtime, assuming he wasn't overloaded with work. For now, he would gather data from the night shift and focus on that.
Lunchtime crept by and Aesop made his way down to Eli's office. He considered offering the executive in the upper floors with wider space and more windows, seeing as some rooms were empty and only used for storage. As he reached the door, he realised once again that it was probably locked. He knocked on the door, but was greeted by silence. He knocked again.
Still nothing.
He was starting to think Eli fell asleep and was about to leave when he heard something drop and footsteps from inside. He knocked for the third time, hoping Eli would open the door. But there still wasn't anything.
"Eli? You in there?"
"Yes."
"Could you unlock the door?"
"..."
"Eli?"
"No."
Aesop was a little shocked, but nevertheless persisted. He twisted at the knob, but it didn't budge still. He was getting annoyed now.
"Eli open the door I need to talk to you."
"Just say it from outside."
Aesop gave the doorknob a huge yank and it tore away from the old door. He kicked it open and barged into the executive's office, where Eli was still calmly working at his desk. Even more infuriated, he snatched the paper from Eli's desk. The male slowly put down his pen and looked up at him.
"So you let them just spread the rumours like that. What now?"
"Eli I-"
"For fuck's sake Aesop Carl you're their boss of course they would watch their mouth around you! But what about me?! What am I to them? I'm just about as disposable for an executive!"
"Why would you be bothered by what they say?!"
"Because it's wrong! Why can't you see that?!"
He threw down his work and made for the door. He felt a hand on his arm, but he threw it off.
"Leave me. I don't want to talk to you."
"Eli listen-"
"Leave me alone!"
Within seconds Aesop grabbed a hold of Eli's arm in a firm grip and yanked him back, pushing him down. Eli winced as his knees hit the floor and felt something around his wrists. He yelped in surprise, trying to pull them away. But he soon discovered that he couldn't move them. He turned to yell at Aesop, but was cut off by a gloved hand on his mouth. Aesop pushed whatever remained of the door shut.
"Huh...You really are a hassle to deal with. Now then, listen to what I have to say, whether you like it or not."
