บท 16: I'll Hear You Out
The loud music of the club continued to pound harder and harder against Elijah's ears. He was three full bottles of vodka in, and he was quickly losing his senses. He was only sitting quietly at his table because his friends were the ones making all the sounds. The same circle went with him and Keagan to that party, the same group that Elijah had to fire.
Thud! Another bottle arrived in front of Elijah, and he just looked up to find the closest friend he had in the group. Silvano Stagg was a friend from college, the same one where Elijah met Keagan. Silvano acted like a deputy if Elijah was a general. After all, most people gravitated to looking at him and obeying him despite the lack of reason and respect.
Silvano flashed a smile at the boss. He didn't even care if he had to mount the table just to get the bottle to Elijah's face. "You really look so sad, Boss. Here, I bought you another!"
"Are you guys trying to kill me? I can't drink all that much…" Elijah said that, but he still reached out to open the bottle and pour some into his glass.
"No, not at all. We just want you to be happy." Silvano only laughed and waited for him to down another full glass. His tone then changed a little. "Say, Boss, is it true that… Madam Chastain only came to see you? Like she didn't even have a reason aside from wanting to speak to you?"
"Where did you hear that?" Elijah scoffed as he held onto the bottle tightly before trying to pick it up. He didn't want to drop it and spill the content on his clothes.
Silvano pulled his body back and hummed, his chin propped on his hand. "They just said that she went to see you without anyone else, and she happily returned to her office. Even if the madam smiled elusively, the spring in her steps sent a message. Is she… trying to hit on you, too?"
Elijah snorted, realizing how awful reality was if that was how others saw it. "She's only happy because of the frappes. Don't look into it too much."
When Elijah missed the glass as he poured the vodka, he knew he was done for. He stopped pouring and only drank what was inside his glass. "I'm going home now. I drank too much; it's even a workday tomorrow. I'll just see everyone else in the office."
"I can give you a ride, Boss!" Silvano offered, but Elijah declined without a word. He just raised a hand and moved away from the table. The other man watched his boss walk slowly out of the club as if he was still functional. Silvano just leaned his face on his hand some more. "…I should probably stalk him to make sure he will get home in one piece."
Outside, Elijah was wearing his coat, but he couldn't get his hand to slip into one of the sleeves. When he stopped walking to focus more on wearing the coat, someone walked up to him. Elijah looked up at her and saw Fiona standing in front of him.
The day couldn't just get any worse for him. Fiona was the last person he wanted to meet tonight, especially in this state. He just asked as he tried to slip the coat on again, "What do you want?"
"I heard you finally broke up with Keagan. A little birdie told us how you argued with her and broke things off." She tapped a finger on her chin. "I also heard how Madam Chastain asked you to fire some of us over something very condemning. Hee-hee, why don't you ask me, Boss? I know which ones were there at the party with her…
"And who poured the drug into her drink."
Elijah's eyes flashed in anger, but the woman in front of him held his face with her hands. She then smiled widely as if teasing him and acting coy about it. It was easy to find out what she wanted him to do to keep her mouth shut. Keagan was out of the picture now; there was no more reason for Elijah to decline her—or what Elijah thought was on her mind.
Then again, Elijah was too drunk to process his thoughts. He didn't want to sound desperate or uncaring about the situation. Since this woman had information, he would just hear her out. Then again, his friends were too close, and she bothered to go home and change into a provocative outfit.
Without overthinking, Elijah leaned closer and kissed Fiona without another word. The woman took on his weight as he wrapped his arms around her. He then whispered, "I'll hear you out in my unit."
…
The sweet taste of the ice cream didn't make things better for Keagan's mood. She was in silk pajamas, watching a slasher movie on the TV that night. It was almost midnight, and her mind just couldn't rest well. It was as if she was still wondering about the what-ifs of her exchange with Elijah that morning. What if she begged to be forgiven? What if she screamed back?
Chomp. Keagan scooped on her bowl and closed her mouth on it without looking, only to feel nothing in her mouth. She looked down and saw how the ice cream was basically gone. She would need to scrape it from the bowl if she wanted to have the last spoonful.
"…aren't you staying up too late?" Wren's voice came from the side, and Keagan turned to find her. Unlike what she expected, Wren was also in a silk pajama, but the color was a hue bluer than the green one she was wearing. The madam joined her on the couch and put down a bowl of fruits and cream anglaise on the center table. "You've been eating nonstop, either."
"I tend to stress-eat on days Elijah isn't home because of his business trips. I guess my stomach still thinks it's just like that." Keagan sighed and secretly looked down on herself.
Wren still looked regal, even if she was in pajamas and had her hair tied up in a messy bun. As for Keagan, she had her legs crossed on the couch, her back hunched down like a gremlin. Her hair was tied up in two buns, without any strands framing her face. If someone saw her like this, no one would think she used to be a famous model.
"Uhm, I'll just get more ice cream from the kitchen. I'll return." Keagan smiled at Wren. Just as she got off the couch, the movie was cut off by a flash report. A building just exploded halfway up, and the fire department was now trying to kill a huge fire that spread all over.
"Why don't you just ask Cherie to—?" Wren has her eyes on the TV instead, only for her to hear how a bowl crashed to the floor. She turned to the source, only to find Keagan speeding out to the door. She quickly dashed to catch the blonde. "Keagan, what's wrong?"
"I need to find Elijah! That's our building!"
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