a picture of a lifetime

Chapter 5

Author's note:
New characters!! So obviously, presentation!!

Characters descriptions:

Lucas Corniolli:
Italo-american, 25, green eyes constantly observing and ears always aware of every noise, curly dirty blonde hair framing his face, 5'8" (still have no idea, thats like 1m75+ right? Help;-;). He joined the company a few months before Liliane, making him a rookie too. Quickly considered a prodigy, cracking cases who should take up months of work in two to three weeks. Some rumours say he's the reincarnation of Agatha Christie.

Naomi Richards (mentioned only):
Liliane's work bff. Will reappear later (with description obviously)

I couldn't sleep that night. I turned over so much i could've gotten dizzy. I look over at my alarm clock. 02:37. I might have a midnight snack. I slowly get up from my bed, making my way to my kitchen. As i get there, i grab a slice of leftover pizza from diner and chew mechanicaly on it. I walk to the living room, seeing my phone and my laptop. Shit, i forgot to put them to charge. I grab them both and head back to my room, where the chargers are. I plug them in, as i see they were about to run out of battery. Phew, that was close. I open my phone, planning on watching some videos. I then see he sent a last message.

cant wait for next week, darling. Good night :)

i read to myself in a whisper. I smile lightly at the message. Maybe he isn't so bad after all. I scroll down watching some videos until i fall asleep.

[Timeskip: around 10 am, at the agency]

Today started great. Emphasis on "started". Let me explain myself. I woke up surprisingly well rested, got to work on time, and my boss warmly complimented my work on the case. He told me to keep working on it. Great.

As i go back to my own office, i run into my coworker, Lucas.  He walks up to me to greet me. "Hey, what'd the big boss say? Got trouble?" He asks, with a small italian accent. Even after about five years in the US, he kept his accent. "No, not at all" i say, smiling. "In fact, he complimented my work and asked me to keep working on the case" i say, proud of myself. He raises his eyebrows and smiles too. He applauses lightly and bows exaggeratedly." My apologies, milady. I better watch myself or you'll crack all the current cases by the end of the week". I tap his shoulder for him to get back up. "Oh, drop it. We both know that case was assigned to me because they wanted to see me fail" i say in a lower voice. And it was true. Although it was a pretty recent case, the best detectives in our agency weren't able to get a single piece of information. And here i am, the rookie who joined the agency 5 months ago, getting more work done than the most experienced detectives. The tought made me smile. "Well, i think it deserves a celebration. Mind having a drink after work? We could invite Naomi to come with us" he says. "That's a brilliant idea, I'm in! I'll ask her at lunch" i say, beaming. Naomi's always busy, but we always see each other at lunch. He puts his hand around my shoulders, and leans in my ear to talk. "Maybe you could invite that handome devil with whom you hand an... interaction on the rooftop" he whispers in my ear. He isn't joking anymore. He is serious. He's onto me. He thinks I'm plotting something. Shit. I turn to him, trying to control the panic who reached me and made my heart race. "I'm sorry, but that 'handsome devil' as you call him was simply retrieving something and asked for my assistance. I don't know who he is" i say calmly. And it's true. I know his name, i know his face, but that's not enough to really know someone. He's still a stranger to me.
My coworker takes his arm away from my shoulders, and smiles to me. But that smile isn't friendly or warm. It's cold. It's menacing. It's a threat. "My apologies, then. I just thought you had found some... Love interest. I see i was wrong. I hope our plans after work aren't interrupted. I'd hate myself for ruining it because of my straightforwardness." he says, placid. Too placid. "He knows something", i think to myself. But two can play that game. I smile, trying to seem as placid as him. "It's alright. I must admit, we should've perhaps been to my office, but since work hours were over, i thought the rooftop would be nice. And don't worry, we are still going for a few drinks afterwards". "Good" he says. "Good" i repeat. We look at each other for a few seconds, almost as if we were trying to read each other's mind. We then greet and go our separate ways. The tension leaves my body as i reach my office and close the door. Should i warn him my coworker's sensing something? No. I don't have concrete proof that he thinks I'm plotting something. He only asked about the rooftop and i covered that. I look at my phone, but push it away, taking my laptop. I need to work. Think of something else. Yeah. I open a new file and continue my research.