Self-Seeker

39

The sight of a jolly blonde entering what was soon to be her own office was what prompted Genesis to gather her belongings in preparation for her journey home. She had long finished her daily dose of spying on her regular associates and had been engulfed in work, finalizing the official documents for the new management for Harmonie's Garments.

Genesis' head snapped up; a warm smile came upon her face - which her friend happily reciprocated. She might have been feeling down, but Emily deserved a friend who was there for her when she needed it. If there was one thing Genesis was proficient at – it was pretending.

"I have finally selected my new assistant, Tegan Piloux, here is a copy of her file. Tomorrow morning I'll give her a call to let her know the good news. Do you know when exactly I'll be taking over so I can give her all the necessary details for her start here?" Emily inquired, pushing a plastic wallet onto Genesis' desk. She took the file and briefly skimmed over it before nodding in approval.

"Excellent choice. She's inexperienced but I see a lot of potential there. Hopefully she will be able to keep up with the pace on Monday morning of next week - which is when you will take my place in this office. It's the first business day after the fashion show, so there will be a lot of new information to take on board as well as everything she currently needs to be updated on. Try to set the pace for her, don't throw her into the deep end as I did with you. Until we have a feel for how much she can manage, I would rather not overwork her - exhaustion breeds incompetence. Other than that, we are about ready to make the transition." Genesis explained, placing the file in a cabinet before collecting her handbag and phone.

Emily clapped her hands in excitement. "Great! Now that our working hours have come to an end you can finally show me this surprise that you told me about this morning. It's been eating me up all day." She groaned, pulling on Genesis' arm in an attempt to drag her out of the office. Little did she know that she was in for more of a shock than a surprise.

"I wouldn't get too excited, Em. There's a high chance you may not like what you see." Genesis stated as they walked through the shop, the echo of their heels creating syncopated rhythms against the sparkling marble tiles.

The two women each bid their farewells to the remaining staff and left the premises. They were greeted by Hann, who was waiting patiently with a contented smile on his face. As he opened the car door for the two of them to climb in, he bowed his head in respect, then shut the door and made his way to the driver's seat.

The vehicle had the subtle aroma of lavender wafting in the air, it was a specific scent that had been passed down throughout Hann's family - and the only scent Genesis used as an air freshener in any of her automobiles.

"Miss Casanova. Miss Stanford." He greeted with a glance through the rear-view mirror. The ladies responded accordingly.

"Good afternoon, Hann." They replied, chuckling when they spoke at the same time – it was as if they had turned into the Soldati twins.

"Where are we headed to today?"

"That would be my apartment, thank you." Genesis answered.

The car journey didn't take too long as the peak time traffic had yet to commence, one of the various perks of being the boss was you could leave whenever you pleased. Emily and Genesis engaged in light conversation with Hann, regarding his leisure time activities of reading romance novels and motor-sporting.

They also touched upon his wife's recovery from a minor stroke she had a week prior, in which Genesis compensated for her medical fees despite Hann's family having sufficient finance to pay themselves. Genesis felt that it was the least she could do, considering the number of times Hann was there when she was in need of assistance, yet was always far too prideful to ask.

Shortly after, Hann pulled into the car park of her apartment and let her and Emily out of the car. They thanked him before making their way up to the fifth floor. As soon as the door swayed open, a fluffy, grey being wrapped themselves around Genesis' ankles, purring softly. Its warm welcome was met with a scooping up from the floor and a kiss on the forehead.

"I missed you too FeFe." Genesis laughed, setting her cat back onto the floor so she could lock the apartment door. Felicity quickly scampered off to curl into her favourite position on the sofa.

"She's getting so big." Emily commented, kicking off her heels to make herself comfortable in the living room. Genesis had entered the kitchen to pour them both a drink, that being a strong one.

"Believe me, I'm aware. With the growing size comes an increase in affection, she hardly leaves my side anymore. I've been succumbed to half a bed now." Genesis stated while carrying the drinks over to the coffee table. "Drink up, you're going to need it." She continued.

"You're only making me all the more intrigued as to what it is that you want to show me." Emily replied, downing her brandy all in one go.

Genesis chuckled at Emily's boldness. What had she turned her into, she thought? Genesis finished the contents of her glass quickly and stood from her seat, pulling Emily up alongside her.

"Okay Em, all jokes aside, what I'm going to reveal to you cannot leave this apartment. Trust is something I have struggled with my whole life and I am putting my trust in you, hoping that regardless of your opinion of me by the time we're finished here, you won't expose anything you see or hear to anyone. There are very few people who know of what you're about to see. One of them is dead, another in hiding, a third despises me, two are on a whole other continent and the last is losing some of the people closest to him because of it. This is an incredibly serious matter. All in all - I can't have you losing your shit." Genesis stated bluntly.

She scanned Emily's face for any hints of fear or concern, but there was nothing there. Emily simply smiled at her and shrugged her shoulders.

"You can trust me Gen. I haven't told anybody about your previous 'con-artist' life, it isn't my place to say anything and I don't want to anyway. I'm not saying I'm going to be completely okay with what I see, but I'm a strong believer in forgiveness. If I found it in myself to forgive my parents for treating me like absolute trash all these years, I can definitely forgive you for making a few mistakes. We are all only human, Genesis, and you came from a very different background than I did. I can tell by the litter of scars across your back that you're bound to have some demons in the closet. But who doesn't? I know you haven't always had someone there for you. Your birth parents left you; your adoptive parents threw you out; your sister clearly hates you; your ex-boyfriend is sleeping with your close friend, your old best friend is sleeping with your... wait, what even is your relationship with Damon? You guys have to be the most compli--"

"Em!" Genesis interrupted, folding her arms with an incredulous expression on her face. "Does your little debrief of all the unfavourable events in my life have a point or?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry. I guess I kind of went off topic there. What I was trying to say is that I am not one of those people that is just going to up and leave. I will stand by your side and be there for you, as you have done countless times for me. I've never had a friend anything like you, Gen, you're one of a kind. I'd be doing myself a disservice if I dropped you. I mean that." Emily finished, pulling Genesis in for a hug. After the exchange, Genesis took a deep breath, then gestured with her head for Emily to come with her.

"With that being said, follow me." Genesis stated.

It was time for the final revelation.