Chapter 2: Drop Me Home

ZAYLEN

I watched three pairs of eyes on me, entirely shocked at my appearance, as if I had manifested out of a UFO with three heads on my shoulder.

Judging by their astonished look, it totally slipped their minds that this was my office and I always worked overtime. 

But today, I wasn’t in the mood to work much overtime, so I decided to go home, only to find the guy named James getting sandwiched between two women. 

How can boys be so dumb? First of all, you shouldn't cheat. And even if you do, do it carefully. How can you get caught? It just ends up with everyone having bad blood.

Anyway, it was not my business, but I had to step in because it was happening in my territory. 

I couldn't tolerate enmity among co-workers. It affected the work environment and work quality; besides, that James guy wasn't even making great reports either, despite having two women in his arms, which made me a little bit curious: what did either of them see in this dude to fight over him?

“What’s going on here?” I repeated. 

“Nothing, Zay—” 

I sharply interrupted Lara, “Boss.” 

“Nothing, Boss,” she corrected herself. 

I placed my hands inside my pocket as I firmly said, “Yes, I believe everyone at my office should be on a first name basis. But not everybody can call me by my first name without my permission. And you certainly don't have that permission. So never make the mistake of calling me by my name ever again, okay?” 

Lara, James, and Liana—all three of them nodded. 

I looked at the messed up situation and understood that James and Lara were caught making out on Liana’s desk. Because James and Lara looked messed up and so was Liana’s desk. 

I wonder how someone could do that to an earnest, passionate, and hardworking soul like Liana. She was an asset to my company, though she wasn't specifically aware of that. I was going to make her “Employee of the Year” when the time for it came around the next time. After all, she always served me the best work possible and maintained professional boundaries and etiquette really well.

I cleared my throat and said, “Lara, clear the desk properly. And James, if you don't submit the report in like…” I glanced at my wristwatch, “ten minutes, then consider yourself fired.” 

James’ eyes grew as wide as saucers as he rushed to his desk and Lara started cleaning up Liana’s desk. 

“I don't expect this kind of inappropriate activity in my territory ever again. This is the first and the last warning from me,” I warned them as they nodded and proceeded to do their work. 

Finally, I shifted my gaze to Liana. She was just staring at James and seemed heartbroken. 

She took a glance at me and our eyes met. It looked like she was trying too hard to not cry, but her glassy amber eyes — those couldn't lie.

I felt bad for her. 

Before I could say anything, her gaze fell on a pair of keys on the floor, which most likely fell during James and Lara’s exploration. 

Liana gritted her teeth and grabbed the keys before running out of the office.

I should let her be. She needed some alone time, I assume. 

I decided to take the stairs as Liana took the elevator to go to the basement.

“This is why, I don't believe in love,” I mumbled to myself under my breath. 

Love was just a waste of time. I mean, look at Liana. She invested her time in love and what did she get in return? Her boyfriend banging her best friend on her desk?

I noticed the way Liana used to look at James — eyes full of naivety and hope for a future one day together. It was staggering how those lively eyes could lose their vibrancy and color so easily. That too, over a worthless, cheating scumbag like James who couldn't keep it in his pants to give his girlfriend some time to prepare for the next step in their relationship. 

Liana deserved so much better than that. Maybe it wasn't the ideal way for her to learn the truth of his nature, but I was glad it came out to her before things got more committed between them.

I called Jordan and informed him of the incident. “Keep an eye on James and Lara. Especially James. His work isn't up to the mark already, and now, not even his character. Lara at least tries to complete her tasks on time.” 

“Okay, Boss.” 

I rolled my eyes as I corrected him, “It’s Zaylen, you idiot.” 

Jordan chuckled over the phone. “I know you are my friend, but I am dedicated to my work, you know? I respect you as my boss and I am extremely good at maintaining professional boundaries.” 

“Shut up. Your shift is over. No need to maintain that boundary anymore,” I deadpanned. “I just rather feel like hurling whenever you show me your fake respect.”

“You know, bro, nobody believes we are friends. At this point, I end up not trying to make people believe. Even our colleagues think I am bluffing if I ever mention to them I was hanging out with you. To be frank, they are more likely to believe I befriended a violent lion in the zoo.” 

I furrowed my brows at his words. “Why? What’s wrong with me? Why can't I be befriended but a stupid lion can be?”

“It's just the way you look at everyone. No, it's not even looking. It looks like you are throwing daggers into somebody’s soul. Your aura screams terror as if you would bite their heads off if they made any mistakes. These are not my words, though. It's what your employees talk about you,” Jordan informed me. 

I continued talking to him as I made my way to my car. It was when I saw Liana standing in front of her car, just staring at the windshield. When I took a closer look at her, she was crying silently. 

“Jord, I’ll call you back later,” I told him and cut the call. 

Feeling pity for Liana, I approached her. Standing behind her, I watched her from the reflection of her windshield — her eyes shut closed with a hand covering her mouth to stop the sobs from escaping her. 

All of a sudden, when her eyes opened, she saw my reflection on the back through the glass. 

I thought she would wipe her tears and try to be normal as her boss stood behind her. Instead, she removed her hand from her mouth and burst into more tears. 

The sight made my insides twist into knots. After all, I hated seeing women cry. 

Not knowing what to do, I took out my handkerchief from my left pocket and handed it to her. 

She quietly took it and started wiping her uncontrollable tears. 

“Umm…” I cleared my throat. “Do you want me to drop you home?” 

She shook her head. “I have m-my… car…” she said with a broken voice. 

I had a feeling leaving her alone in a miserable state might be risky tonight. You never know what the human mind might be conjuring up, and even if she did look tough, who knows what thoughts might cross her mind and she ends up doing something impulsive? What if she did what my mom did? No, no! 

“That’s great. I left my car keys in my cabin and I am too lazy to go back and bring them again, especially at the cost of seeing James and Lara’s face again for the night,” I reasoned, “So… can you drop me home?”

She seemed to be taken aback at my question. Her tears dried out as she clutched the handkerchief. “I… Boss…”

Before she could deny it, I arched an eyebrow and asked curiously, “Are you saying you cannot drop your boss home?”

She stayed quiet, unsurely.

“Liana, I'm sure I don't need to spell out to you what happens when you get on your boss’ bad side. So what's it gonna be?” I tilted my head slightly, looking into her eyes. “Are you going to deny helping me?”

Her eyes went wide as she vehemently shook her head. “No, no. Of course not!” She opened the passenger door and said, “Please take a seat, Boss. I will drop you home.” 

I chuckled lightly at her one-eighty shift and sat inside her car. She also settled into the driver’s seat. 

I extended my hand and said, “My handkerchief?” 

She pushed my handkerchief into her purse as she told me, “I will wash it and then return it to you. Don't worry.” 

As she was inserting the keys inside, her eyes fell on a pendant hanging on the rear view mirror.

Huffing out an annoyed breath, she grabbed the chain and tossed it out of the window. With that, she started the car and drove out of the parking lot swiftly as I watched her in amusement.  

However, I got sort of terrified when I noticed she was crossing the speed limit on the road with an angry look on her face. While I wasn't scared of a little bit of speed, her mental state was the one that was concerning. 

God knows what she would have done if she were driving alone — most probably getting fined by the cops for speeding.

“Drive safely. I don't want to be the victim of the rage against your ex,” I commented, seeing her hot temper.

“Yes, you are right. The only victim should be that asshole — a victim who would die the most painful and pathetic death ever,” she gritted out.

I almost laughed out loud at that remark but managed to control myself and said, “Still, let's be careful. Destiny is a strange thing. You and I might be the ones to end up in a car crash. We don't want that, now do we?”

She mumbled something under her breath, probably annoyed at my nagging, as she slowed down the speed and said with a tight-lipped smile, “As you wish, Boss. I will now drive at a speed that will make sure you get home safe and sound without a scratch.”

“Spoken like a true loyal employee,” I encouraged her.

She nodded her head firmly as she forgot all about James and was busy driving within a reasonable speed range, currently slightly mad at me for not letting her be at peace. 

A small smile appeared on my lips. She seemed like a soft-hearted and gullible yet very responsible and strong-headed person — exactly what Jordan said.