DRUG

Chapter 5~A

I was hit by cold, unclouded air as I stepped into the boardroom.

The massive room weighted a lonely sight to it that was carried by the colours it was coated in. Grey, silver-grey and a touch of dull lime alluded in around the room. These colours carried intense boredom and professionalism and for that reason I didn't like the sight of them.

I tend to be mistaken as an introverted, dull individual because of the colour that has worn off of my character with the years of moving from one office job to another. The younger, more gregarious me wouldn't have imagined herself stuck staring at papers and technology, hours on end, days on end. Never had she pictured herself persuing a stable career, unless it revolved around adventure, or was adventure itself. But that goal had recoiled into a dream, aggravating my inner man when it is occasionally ignited.
Only Nate could spark that flame. He did it like he was destined to. Maybe that's the reason behind my thirst to keep drinking from his cup. He restored what I had lost , what gave essence and meaning to to life for me.

It's not supposed to be like that.

I sighed indolently as I placed a jug of still water on the translucent glass table and a glass near the seats that were to be occupied. With only the sound of the air conditioner ventilating, the click of my heels against the wooden floor was prominent, and my head subconciously resolved to making a rhythm out of the subsequent resonating of the wood as I walked.

My soul wasnt so shallow after all,

I thought to myself.

"Pardon me," A feminine voice stated from behind me.

"Mrs Fernandez, you're early." I reached out for a handshake the moment my gut feeling recognized her, with a smile that I hoped was warm.

"Early is professional." She smiled benignly. A woman of integrity, beauty and persistence she was. She was slightly taller and had a greater presence than I of course. Her humble but independent soul was effortlessly proven to me in the way she carried herself, without insecurity.

Undoubtedly, she had the faith to move a mountain alone.

"True, its a pleasure to meet you Ma'am. Mr Morgan said to join us in a few minutes. May I get you anything so long?" I uttered. It was my job to be generous, especially to clients. You come to do it naturally with time.

"Do call me Kimberly," She offered. "I'm fine thank you."

"The charming Mrs Fernandez, as beautiful as always." Nate interjected as his presence filled the room with the captivity of his cologne.

"Nate." She replied eloquently. Their eyes locked quite dearly as Nate pressed his lips on her hand. One would swear that they were communicating something between them with their eyes, or that they knew in their hearts what the other had in mind.

I felt like a toddler, observing its parents and learning a new language.

"Here are the notes on the pitch that you asked for, Mr Morgan." I sneaked into their sphere and they broke eye contact.

"Right," Nate cleared his throat. "Shall we?"

"Before anything, I apologize for the deferred meetings, business has been quite attention demanding lately. We have however taken the demands you brought forth into consideration. Be assured that we have your account at our best interest." Nate introduced business with an apology.

"This business seems to be running you, not you running it." She replied and coloured the harsh words with a chuckle. She took control of the conversation, removing it out of its professional state.

"Well, I doubt you'd do a better job if it were yours." He replied sarcastically. What seemed to be amusing to them wasn't to me. Above all, I was sitting at the farthest end of the table and was merely out of sight, invisible.

"Ahem!" I cleared my unclouded throat in deliberate interference. The chuckles slowly subsided as both of them came to realise that they were out of context. Nate grasped the sight of me from the corner of his eye before burying his eyes onto the sheet in his hands. What was meant to be a business meeting had become a social discourse between them and I could but watch. It bothered me to watch the way he looked at her and her response to his flirtatious ways. She was neither as promiscuous nor gullible as the typical victim of his sweetnothings would be. She knew exactly how to respond without displaying any enthralldom.

My heart began to pinch as it placed me in comparison with her. I was his puppet and although I fail to come to terms with it, it had begun to sink in because I felt envious towards them.

"So, what do you think of the new marketing strategy? - Internet advertising is the way to go I assure you." He spoke with a thin smile.

"I'll look into it and get back to you once that has happened. I've got to run it through to my technicians, do email the pitch to me ." She said as her hazel eyes wandered away from Nate's to her wristwatch.

"Uh, we could meet later and discuss your options in context, over dinner?" He suggested almost immediately as if it were premeditated.

"That would be nice. You're not as bad a CEO as I thought, Mr Morgan." She smirked teasingly as her palm rested upon his shoulder.

"I know, as a matter of fact I could mentor you to help you become a better you." He said rather flirtatiously and she jokingly rolled her eyes. This was done as he led her out of the room, I - remaining behind and out of sight.

Yes -Nate was an Ace, the same way it was easy for him to win a business account over, it was twice as easy to melt a woman as hard as steel. I despise every single part of that fact but who was I to speak ill about another, I had a load on my back already, which I was enticed into carrying by he himself- Nate.

The devil could convince you that gravity would break your fall when jumping off a cliff, 'if you jumped fast enough'. Nate had that power, to make you realise what you need without you even wanting it first. Even if he was being openly deceptive, his words tasted sweet enough to be true.

I closed the door of my thoughts as I gathered up the information sheets which laid untouched on the table.

The room was once again silent and the lonely atmosphere crawled onto my skin.

*

I was happy to wave the long, delinquent day farewell as the knock off hour approached. Without hesitation ,I clung onto my purse and took the first elevator out, sighing deeply at the hassle of getting a cab that was awaiting me. In order to avoid the darkness of night, before it could engross the night skies, I had to catch a cab early.

It's okay to be afraid of the dark, in fact, it is best to be afraid of the dark. If you don't run away from the dark, it will engulf you and all the light inside you - even that surrounding you.

I stood by the sideway as I fished for a cab in the peak hour traffic. The city had become alive, one could hear its heartbeat in the air. A sense of accord filled me when I realised that I wasn't the only one who was glad that the working day had come to an end. Cars were flooding by drastically, this tempted my patience as none of them seemed to be what I was looking for, this was until one familiar one slowed down before me -

It was Natalie.