*Clack* *Clack* *Clack* *Clack* *Clack* *Clack*
The sound of the high heels striking the floor were nothing to be surprised about, but the sheer confidence it radiated was different from the usual measured footsteps of the employees who passed through the lobby, or the calm of the executives and above.
There was no shyness in attracting attention, no hesitation in taking the planned path, only assurance, and, maybe, pride.
*Ding*
The way to the elevator had no obstacle, not after the electronic barrier moved out of the way with a simple beep, like usual.
The door of the exclusive elevator for executives and above closed, and it moved, straight to the highest floors. When it stopped, and the door opened again, the owner of the footsteps stepped out, and resumed walking with the same assuredness as below, and this time, straight for the office where the highest power of Arland Group had its seat.
_ _ _
_ _ _
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
Right after the sound that signalled the arrival, the door was pushed open. Lance stretched his neck in to take a peek, before he smiled when he met Sharon's gaze.
"Hey, Sharon. I just saw the door of Alex's office closing. Don't you have anything to report to him?"
The blonde looked at Lance's hopeful expression, then at the folder that was visible in his hand now that he had stepped into the office, before pulling her gaze back to the monitor on her desk.
She ignored the young man, and returned to moving her fingers over the keyboard. The sound of her working was like a drum announcing an overcast sky, subtle but oppressive. Lance's smile cracked, turning uncertain and cautious for a moment, before he put on his most affable face to approach.
"Hmm… Did I do something wrong?"
"..."
Sharon's face was not cold, but not warm either. She looked calm, but also unable to be bothered to pay attention to the fellow in the office with her. The latter thought for a moment, then tried again:
"I didn't offend you yesterday, did I?"
"..."
Sharon's fingers paused, before they resumed working. Lance blinked, but could not think of what to make of that clue because he thought hard, but failed to find anything he could have done wrong. Rather, they seemed to have parted on good terms the previous day while his world was turning grey. So, that left another angle to try:
"Or… did something happen between Alex and you?"
"..."
Sharon's fingers stopped. Lance's eyes lit up, not only in anticipation of an answer at last, but with an additional gossipy light that outshone the former. Unfortunately, it was the sound of the printer that took over the office as it spat out a few papers, not the scoop he had been waiting for.
Sharon pushed her chair back and stood up. She gathered the folders on her desk, took her laptop, then moved around the desk to go to the door.
This time, Lance could be certain he had sinned somewhere. But he had no time to dig deeper, nor the leisure to ignore the situation, so he ran in front to open the door, then smiled invitingly at the blonde.
Finally, Sharon spared him a glance, a true one this time, instead of simply a cursory one, as she passed by and stepped outside the office. When he ran behind her, she finally spoke to him:
"What do you want?"
Lance coughed:
"Ahem… Am I being so obvious?"
The indifferent glance he got in response seemed to be asking 'what do you think?'. He coughed again, just to prevent silence from coming to feed his embarrassment. After he cleared his throat to chase away the rare instance of awkwardness, he looked down at what he was holding in his hand and spoke with a grin:
"Hehe, nothing. I just thought that since we must see Alex, we might as well go together and make our reports at the same time to avoid wasting his time."
Sharon didn't reply, and continued on her way. But the lack of refusal was all Lance needed. So, with the more important matter taken care of, his mind moved to more entertaining things. Having found an opening in Sharon's indifference, he could not help but try to sneak in, especially with the desire for gossip burning bright in him:
"So, did something happen with Alex? Did you two have an argument?"
"..."
No answer, but the energetic young man, as he had shown himself to be, did not get discouraged.
"Did Alex, maybe, behave coldly toward you?"
"..."
No answer again, this time, but an involuntary twitch at the corner of Sharon's eyes gave her away, and Lance's eyes went wide:
"Ah-ha! So that is it! Alex didn't treat you like a princess! And here I was, worrying that I did something to offend you. If I did, I would know, right?"
Sharon gave Lance a sidelong glance, and couldn't be bothered to retort. But that silence only fueled the aspiring detective's confidence, as he tried to comfort her, to save the relationship that he, like many, had been waiting for, for years:
"If it is only that, you don't have to worry. You should have been worried if he had treated you like a princess instead. I told you yesterday that he is actually someone soft inside. I must tell you that he is a romantic too, he just has trust issues because of something that happened in the past. Trust me, just work to soften the shell around him, and you will find his true self. You must have touched it already since you managed to step into his apartment. I can assure you of that."
At first Sharon had not wanted to pay attention to the chatterbox, but when she heard the words he said, especially when he asked for her trust again, she recalled the embarrassment at the supermarket the previous day, and a nameless fire rose inside her. She stopped, and spun to look at Lance.
She gave him a deep look, and finally opened her mouth when the confusion on his irritatingly clueless face had thickened enough:
"Less than an hour after leaving work yesterday, I told myself I will never trust you again, so stop talking. We have arrived."
"Huh!?"
Lance felt like his character was being put in question, making him confused at the same time as his heart twitched from the invisible arrow he received.
Sharon didn't care about him after she finished speaking. She didn't correct him either, on the way she came to step into Alex's apartment. She pushed the door of the chairman's office and walked in. Though surprised when she saw the chair behind the desk facing the door with its back, she focused on her reason for coming.
"Chairman, the elements of your planning have been put in order. I only need you to review them so that I can finalize it."
As she finished speaking, Lance came in, and carefully closed the door, even though it had no need for his care. He looked at the chair behind the desk, and raised his eyebrows at the feeling of unusualness that washed over him, a feeling Alex should not have given him.
He frowned at the feeling of incongruity gripping his heart. Right then, the chair started turning around, making the air thicken with a deliberate sense of mystery that even Sharon started to feel.
In the silence that ensued, the air stagnated, as if a shadowy veil had draped over the wide office, a heart-palpitating shadowy veil that slowed down breathings, to the point where the smooth movement of the chair suddenly seemed audible, like a soft whisper blowing against their ears.
When it finally stopped, Lance's eyes went wide, and his brain froze, to the point where he missed the greeting that came:
"Hello, Lance. It has been a while."