Secrets and Things (MxM)

Chapter 21 - Am I Fine?

Note

- This chapter kind of gets dark (mental health-wise). Dark feelings basically

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POV: Nerovsky

Leonardo, Cindy and I were sitting on a very comfy, leather couch which was in front of a very fancy, copper table. Atop of the table was a variety of Chinese dishes. On the other side of the table was the twin couch of the one we are occupying. Except it had no occupants. We were waiting for the occupant in awkward and uncomfortable silence.

Just a quick rundown of what happened before we reached the Chinese restaurant. After I was essentially manhandled into the car, Cindy quickly debriefed who Mark Rox and what he does for a living and interesting facts about him and blah, blah, blah. Couldn't give less of a shit anyway. I wanted to get to the part where I actually begin memorising the contract since I only had 45 minutes to do so. So yeah after like 10 minutes of shit I can just google, Mr. Covell had finally brought out the contract and asked me to memorise at least the key points of the 8-page document (double-sided). The ride was silent (except for the humming of the car) from that point. I had blocked everything and everyone out to zone in on the words. Luckily for me, I sometimes had to memorise information for my other job and even though I usually had a lot longer than this, there had been times where I had to mind new information on the spot.

Anyway, I noticed that Leo would occasionally look at me as if to expect a sudden burst of frustration or expect me to question him about the contract but none of that happened. I swore he looked disappointed from the lack of interaction but I was looking through my peripherals so I could be way off. Time flew by and once we reached our destination, I was once again, physically dragged out of the car and into the restaurants. Did he think I wasn't capable of walking on my own or something? I'd be a lot more annoyed but there was contact happening so I'm not going to outwardly complain. In a flash, we got escorted into some private room and was told to "wait patiently as the other party will arrive shortly."

So we sat down and I had immediately asked whether I could cram some more information into my brain but was denied since it would look dodgy if I were to be caught once he entered.

Leonardo was sitting comfortably back on the couch in a completely lax sitting position and Cindy was showing more professionalism by sitting up straight in her spot, looking serious and ready to get stuff done. I, on the other hand, was sweating bullets through all my sweat pores (my nose was so sweaty, my glasses were falling down my nose) and my leg was bouncing up and down rapidly in nervous anticipation. On top of that, I was having an internal panic attack because I didn't manage to memorise anything from the last two pages of the document. If he asks me anything from those pages, I am a dead man and Leo is a dead man and it's going to be all my fault. Oh, why didn't I just move to Alaska today? Why did I push it back? Hesitation is NEVER the answer. ALSO what the fuck is wrong with this Mark guy? Like who the fuck wants to meet someone who wrote the bloody agreement. It's bogus! Does he no friends? Is that why he's impressed about words instead of someone throwing a basket from the other end of the court? I bet he's like 50 years old. I'm rambling in my head like a lunatic again.

My internal crisis was disrupted by the door opening and the entering of a very fancy dressed man, who was very clearly Mark Rox. Contrary to my thoughts, the man actually looked like was in his early 30s. Everyone politely introduced each other with as much enthusiasm as possible, which was not a lot from my part because I was a nervous trainwreck. Why does everything have to be on my hands? Why did I agree to this? 3 favours were not worth this mental distress. I should've just asked for money or something.

Everyone then settled down in their unwritten designated seats and Rox began the very excruciatingly painful interaction.

"I'm glad to finally meet you Mr. Thomas Nickelson."