A rose to grind

-31-

Piles of folders and stashes of papers laid dormant on a single wooden table. There was ink splattered and smudged on the center of the surface. The sunlight that poured in through the translucent windows behind my chair shone a dim light upon the crumpled pages.

There I was, seated on a lonely chair in a hollow room. The only orientations that could be found were four couches, a glass table and three shelves which supported some clean, untouched books, and a statue of a golden fish symbolizing good luck. It was given to me by Eton Junta and I only kept it as a memento. A quiet warning.

I stirred from a heavy sleep, having slept over at my office instead of home, if it could even be called one. It was another one of Eton Junta's presents and I didn't feel like sleeping there last night.

A knock on the door alerted me of an intruder. The newcomer pushed the door slightly ajar and slipped into the room soundlessly, like a dangerous fog. By then, the sleep that had been pooling on my eyelids diminished at once upon the sudden arrival. I flashed the intruder a weak smile.

"You took the media by storm with yesterday's news," Kai quietly muttered, his voice like the songs on a radio. It was so soft that it seemed breakable. I assumed he didn't take Eton Junta's death too well, judging by the dark eyebags that hung below his red eyes. But, it wasn't as though I were faring any better.

I should have gone to a club to celebrate, yet here I was, stuck in an office with clothes I had made the driver fetch for me after my previous good suit was mangled into nothing like strips of beef. When I should have been ecstatic, I was extremely sleep-deprived. To force myself to become weary, I had did some overtime work and reviewed the collaboration projects, but who knew that I just wouldn't go to sleep and ended up really working overtime?

I swept the hair falling over my face behind my forehead and raised a provocative brow at Kai.

"Would you believe me if I told you it was a publicity stunt?" I smiled knowingly, amused at the shade of green and white Kai's face switched between.

"No," Kai replied coldly, "The media knows that you slept with Etienne Karrina, and that there was a conflict between the mother and son. Eton Junta trusted you with his empire, yet the first thing you do after his death is to go sleep with someone! You're staining the Junta family name."

I wondered if Ynez would ever catch wind of it. I would have loved to see his reaction.

"Then, should I just sleep with you instead?" I rolled my eyes, straightening my hunched over posture and propping up a hand. I rested my chin in the center of my palm, sparing a penetrating once-over upon the trembling form of Kai who was suffering from internal rage, yet couldn't bear to lash out because he thought it would be too low of him. What a joke.

"Besides, I handed the responsibilities to his nephew. Domaine Wu, have you ever heard of him? After all, I think it's only fair that he obtains it. Both of us are not even blood-related to Junta. How could I salivate after a dead man's properties? You know that if the empire did get into my hands, I would just destroy it. Look, the man you admire don't want you to inherit his wealth."

"You're unreasonable!" Kai gasped.

"Nothing new, is it?"

Kai sighed helplessly, faltering after my immediate rebuttal. He squeezed his eyes shut, long and curly eyelashes casting shadows on his cheekbones only to reopen them with a flicker of displeasure remaining in them. He walked up to my desk and placed down a phone. Usually, he was the one who handled the businessmen who wanted collaborations, or just to ask me to lend them money before they could pay me back twice. Rather than chatting up to these old geezers, I passed on that job to Kai. At least he had to be useful for something.