Everyone is greeting her, as if she had really been away for a long time. But what made her feel more overwhelmed are the employees’ manners to acknowledge her. It was like she is indeed an authoritative and distinguished person for them to bow a little whenever she’s around.
She breathes in a lungful of air as she gets inside the elevator, rehearsing her lines. For the first time in her life, she’ll be facing people whom never did she thought she’d have a conversation with.
“Good morning, Ma’am!” the first man she encountered greeted as soon as she turned to her office.
“Good morning.” She smiled, to which made the man froze for seconds.
Feeling like she did something off, she took no time to get to her room; calming down her breathing and roamed her eyes around.
“Is there something wrong, Ma’am?” a woman, looking wondering, spoke.
Eunice’s lips parted. She hemmed to clear her throat and shook off her embarrassment. But just when she’s about to respond, the woman’s eyes landed on her hand and seconds after she gazed back at her with a teasing smile on her face.
“Congratulations, Ma’am!”
She smiled awkwardly and nodded as she remembered how she ended up wearing it despite being told by her clone that her engagement has not yet announced.
“Thank you. How was things here while I was on leave?” She stealthily wandered her eyes to know which seat exactly is hers.
“Everything was handled by everyone tactically, Ma’am. So far, we don’t have any problems in regards to our projects,” the woman reported, but her mind is occupied by guessing who is the person she’st talking to.
She picked up the notepad on the top of her table and handed it to the woman.
“Write here your name and what did you do aside from the tasks aligned with your job. And please do the same thing to others as well. If you can, please give me a copy of the reports of those days that I am away before this day ends,” she then instructed.
Puzzled, the employee went to her table and get back to her, carrying piles of papers.
“Here are the copies of those reports, Ma’am.”
Clueless about how business managing works, she thinks for a while; figuring out how she can cope up with it.
“I see.” She eyed on the documents that she surely have no idea how she will sort out.
She looked at the woman and give her a dismissive look. The office was then became silent, and hence she had the chance to check it out: from the names of the old ones up to the newest employees, even those who have just passed their resumé. And that is to know if there are other organization’s men working and had worked in the company aside from Elisa and Rull.
She’s already on the third page of the list when she felt like there is something urging her to peek at the window; thus she closed the document and checked on it.
It almost drained her strength when she saw someone standing near a signpost across the street. Even if the man is facing the opposite direction, she is certain that he resembles someone she knows so well, yet he is eluding a different kind of presence.
“Hello?” she spoke the moment Eula answered her call.
[Yes. Have you found a lead—]
“No, I am in the office right now. Are you with Euno—” she was cut off when she heard the voice of the man she’s looking for in the background, making her put the phone away and stared at its screen.
Slowly, she turned to the person standing in the side of the road. With the crowd, she almost lost sight of him. The man threw something to the bin that seems to be a cigar.
[Eve, this is Euno. Are you still there? Is there something wrong? Eve? She’s not responding!]
Before he turns, the man in a black suit turned around and gazed at her way. The next thing she knew, she was running, looking for him in the crowd.
“Ma’am, are you alright?” one of her company’s guard asked, following her. “Are you searching for someone?” he asked next and glanced at the way she’s looking at.
Breathing heavily, she nodded, but shook her head when she realized that the man she’s looking for might be a threat.
“I just thought I saw someone I know.”
“Is it the same man who stalked you before, Ma’am?”
She was stopped from heading back upon hearing it. It is as if the road became quiet that she can’t hear any noise.
“Right. That is him. Did you notice him around here lately?”
“That is impossible, Ma’am. Didn’t you tell us not to worry about him anymore? I thought he was caught already?”
Her forehead creased. There is no such thing happened!
Before she could get back to her senses, she’s already back in her office. The unceasing ringing of her phone and the wind coming from the window snapped her.
[“Thank goodness! It finally went in!”]
She breathes in relief upon hearing Euno’s voice. She doesn’t think she can afford to loose another member of her team.
“Where are you?”
[“Is there something unfortunate happened?”]
“I am asking where are you.” She gritted her teeth and clenched her fist.
[“Captain—”]
“I am asking where are you!” she yelled, her voice roared in the enclosed space.
[“I am with Eula. We are looking for Elisa. She must be really a cautious one that we can’t find her despite our sensory devices leading us to where her badge’s location is.”]
“Don’t be confident lurking outside. We don’t know what are the organization’s plans. We don’t know why these people are giving us so much to get suspicious of.”
The next minutes was then filled with silence. And she hated it, for she doesn’t have any idea of what is going on the other side.
“Euno, are you listening to me?!”
[“What exactly did happened, Captain?”]
She shut her eyes as she gazed back at her spot where she saw the man.
“You told me that you are being tailed lately, right?”
[“I am not sure about that. But yes, I feel like someone is watching over me ever since I set foot outside the isolation facility. Why did you ask?”]
For a second, her mind stopped her; make her think twice whether to tell him about the matter or not. Her members’ peace of mind and their welfare are what she had promised she will keep protecting upon losing the fallen ones. And yet, fate have always been consistent in giving her reasons to turn her back to her vow.
“Nothing. I just thought that we have to remain still on guard, as we can’t trust anyone around us now.” She gulped a lump of conscience, and she tasted guilt, to which no matter how hard it is for her to keep it, she has to stand up for her responsibility as their main Head.
“Anyway, I am here in the office today. I will be checking the employees. Regards to Elisa, she has a father using the pseudonym Rull Delavin. I am not certain if that is his real name, either. Watch out your every move. I have already met him twice, and must say that he is someone we can’t put our guards down around.”
[“How did you know about him?”]
“He used to work here, too.”