Double Vision

22

022. viraliya.

mar. 18, 2024.

1:28 p.m.

I squinted at my computer, everyone in the room crowded around me. "Please back away. I don't know who it is, but someone smells horrible."

They all hesitantly stepped away. They don't actually stink, I just need space.

I turned around. "Lyra?"

"Yeah?" She raised an eyebrow, her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall.

"Please step outside and wait in the lobby for a moment, thank you very much."

She deadpanned. "Excuse me?! I work here, in case you haven't noticed!"

I turned to Bella. "Please get her out."

Bella raised her eyebrows. "Uh—"

"Fine, I'll go!" Lyra shouted, storming out of the room.

I sighed, turning my chair around to face everyone. "I'd like someone to go into Mr. Herzig's office and give him forged information. Eui is suspicious of him, and I'd like to have him cleared or not, so..."

They all exchanged glances with one another. Bella slowly raised her hand. "I'll do it—"

"You can't." I quickly replied. "It can't be me or you."

Rene swallowed, stepping forward. "I'll do it."

"Great, okay." I sighed, grabbing my water off the desk. "Tell him you're overwhelmed because I suspect him in the case you're working on, and you feel I'm targeting your business."

"That's not exactly false information..."

"Go. And tell Lyra she can come back."

He nodded, slowly walking away. 

As Rene disappeared into Mr. Herzig's office, the tension in the room lingered. I could feel the curious gazes from the other three still in the room, and the unspoken question of why we suspected their therapist was on everyone's mind.

Bella cleared her throat, breaking the silence. "So, are we just going to ignore the fact that you kicked Lyra out like she was a suspect?"

I leaned back in my chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. "It's not about her being a suspect. I just needed her out of the room because, frankly, someone needs to shower."

The team exchanged amused glances, and a few stifled laughs escaped. I took a deep breath and refocused. "But on a more serious note, we need to address Eui's concerns about Mr. Herzig. If there's any truth to it, we need to know. And Lyra is married to him, so she'll obviously be biased."

Just then, Rene emerged from the office with a serious expression. "He's not there. The office is empty."

I furrowed my brows. "Empty? Where could he be?"

Rene shrugged. "No idea. But it's strange. His schedule shows he should be in there right now. Also, I can't find Lyra."

I narrowed my eyes. "She's always getting into some kind of trouble, pissing me off..." I got out of my chair. "Ryan, you're going to look for Mr. Herzig with me. Eui, Molly, Peri, go find Lyra. Rene, just... do something productive."

We all filed out as Rene stood in the office with a defeated look on his face.

Ryan and I hurriedly made our way through the office corridors, glancing into empty rooms and questioning other employees if they had seen Mr. Herzig.