Maisara's pov
Two life-changing decisions are to be made by the end of the week. Well, saying life-changing is somewhat exaggerating but they are definitely some serious issues. Parts of my life are technically dependent on them.
I have decided to make at least one of them tonight. Staring down at the USB in my hand, I feel the anxiety bubbling up inside me.
I assumed that anxiety was one of those feelings that died when Rose died. I don't remember ever feeling that after my transition as strongly as I'm feeling now. My head is aching just from thinking about it.
This USB was in the pen that I dropped in Oliver's pen holder. Fortunately, I didn't have to visit him again to retrieve it. Hence, I didn't give him my answer either. As surprising as it may sound, I somehow have spies of my own in the office. One of them received the pen for me.
I don't know what's in it yet and it can be anything. I placed it in his office in the first place to catch him doing those inappropriate things that he is rumored about. And now I don't know whether I want to see what's in it or not. It can be nothing or it can be everything. Like I said, my life can change entirely after seeing what's inside.
Sighing, I decide to just insert the port into the computer. Because I will be seeing it anyway, sooner or later. The sooner the better.
A folder appears as soon as the port is inserted. Holding my breath, I click on it. There is a video file in there which apparently contains whatever has happened in his office. Clicking on it, I wait for the video to start playing.
The camera is angled in such a way that the door, the sofa in the left corner, and the two chairs in front of the desk are visible. The video starts after I drop off the pen in the holder. A few minutes after that is me having that 'meeting' with Oliver. I skip that part to where I leave the room and the door closes behind me.
Oliver watches me walk out of the room and then releases a deep breath rubbing his hand over his face. Something like exhaustion crosses over his face as he leans his head back on the couch and closes his eyes. His hair which was shining like some fluffy gold stuff that day, is now looking like some dump and sticky yarn piled together. His assistant walks in then and closes the door behind him. His behavior seems less formal now than when I was there.
"What would you do now, Oliver?" The assistant says, or more like grumbles, and I almost choke when I hear him calling Oliver by his first name.
Oliver's eyebrows furrow even before he opens his eyes and looks at his assistant, more like glares. I can't really say if it's annoyance or anger in his eyes. He almost spits out his words, "Can you let me have some peace for a few fucking seconds? I'm telling you that I have had a headache since this morning and you won't let me even breathe in peace."
"You can shove your headache up your ass when this is over." The gasp that leaves my mouth is definitely not dramatic and makes perfect sense with the way an assistant is talking to his boss. Though now it seems I was wrong about it. I'm suddenly more interested in his relationship with Oliver than what is actually happening. Whatever it is, it's obvious that Oliver is not his boss.
Oliver doesn't react like me, so this type of behavior is pretty normal for them. His eyebrows furrow more as he hisses in reply, "You tell me what to do now since you gave me this 'brilliant' idea of making her my new assistant. I already told you this is not gonna work with her. She is not like others."
Nice piece of information. Unfortunately, not very useful for me.
The assistant shrugs and then throws his hands up in the air. "You could have threatened her right away!"
Threatened me with what exactly? And also why?
Apparently, no one can answer me right away. The video may have the answer if I continue watching it.
"Maisara is not like others!" Oliver repeats those words, glaring daggers at his assistant, whose name I still haven't caught. Did I never hear his name? Why don't I remember it at all?
"Why do you keep saying that?" The assistant voices out one of the questions that are blooming in my mind. I feel slightly hopeful to get the answer. He, however, narrows his eyes at Oliver, suspicion flashing in them. I unintentionally smirk. Suspicion between them is a pretty good sign. It will destroy them and I won't even have to do anything.
Then again, it will be no fun for me. I won't even get the chance to play before the game ends.
"Please, don't act like you don't know it already," Oliver huffs, shuttering my little hope of getting the answer. I see the patience slipping from the assistant just like I feel myself.
Just say it already, Oliver.
The assistant chuckles, the sound so dark that I swear the temperature of my room falls one or two degrees. "Oh, please. Trust me, she is just like everyone else. Even, I bet, she will break more quickly than others."
The chill I feel from that last sentence is definitely not a pleasant one. It's now clear as the sky on a sunny day that they have darker intentions with me than just making me his assistant. Now, the real question is how dark it exactly is. What did he mean by 'breaking me'?
Oliver doesn't agree with him, nor does he join in his horrendous laughter. He simply stares at him until his assistant is finished. Then he says, "No, Edward." A shake of his head. "I bet this way of thinking about her would lead to destruction. It won't be that easy to break her."
Ah, finally got the name. Edward, it is. It doesn't ring any bell though. Did I seriously never hear his assistant's name? I met him a few times before and I swear I talked to him at least once. And if we talked, then it's usually normal to exchange names. I won't say I'm super good at remembering people's names but at least, the recognition should be there when Oliver called him. But there is nothing.
What is more weird is that this whole name-forgetting situation is making me more uncomfortable than it actually should. Am I missing something here?
"Well." Edward's voice turns my attention back to the video. His lips are tilted upwards but the amusement in his eyes is as dark as the cloudy night sky. "Best of luck with telling him that."
My eyebrows furrow in natural confusion. Who is him?
It is Oliver who chuckles this time. It comes so suddenly that I almost jump out in surprise. Edward seems to be caught as off-guard as me.
"Oh, no, I'm definitely not talking to him." He shakes his head, mockingly, if I must clarify. "You were the one who got us into this mess in the first place. So you will also be the one to talk to him about it."
Edward scowls, muttering something like 'son of a bitch' under his breath. Then he shakes his head abruptly as if he is trying to shake away some thoughts about him. "Let's just forget about him now. Focus on her. What will you do if she says no after one week?"
Oliver shrugs nonchalantly, earlier exhaustion vanishing from his face entirely, some dark kind of amusement takes its place there. "We have to find another way then."
Edward's eyes light up in newfound interest. He walks over to the couch where I was sitting earlier and sits down there. "Blackmail?"
"How else?" Oliver gives him an 'Are you an idiot?' look.
Edward leans forward, and the dark gleam in his eyes becomes more visible. "What did you find? How come I never knew about it?"
His excitement is almost child-like adorable, as if he is waiting to hear what his birthday gift is. I would probably enjoy it too if they weren’t conspiring against me. Oliver offers a smug grin putting one of his ankles over the other knee and tilting his head to the side. "I found enough to destroy her. And you didn't know because you are annoying as fuck."
Despite the last sentence, Edward doesn't look particularly offended. If anything, he looks confused. Scratching his jaw, he asks, "Then why didn't you blackmail her in the first place? That would make things easier."
Oliver again gives him an 'Are you an idiot?' look. "Because this won't work that way. You have been working for two years in this field and still asking this type of question?"
Two years. They are doing this for two fucking years. How many lives have they destroyed? And I'm their next target. That's just so fucking good.
Edward shrugs. "Maybe you forgot that he wants her by the end of the month."
Again, this mysterious he. He is also involved in all of this. In fact, he is something like their leader, it seems. His identity is also something that I need to find out among many other things that I need to find about this case.
"I would have her before that. Don't worry," Oliver announces, standing up from the couch in a gesture that says the discussion is over. Yet, Edward adds his final words, "Also prepare for your fate in case, you don’t have her by the end of the month."
The video goes on for at least another half an hour but there is not much information afterwards. They mostly talk about office work and other stuffs. At least, they do office work. Until this moment I forgot they even do that.
However, I watch the whole video already making up my mind. If I want to destroy Oliver like I planned, I have to see the end of it. For that reason, I have to get myself caught in their trap. I can choose the other path and let them blackmail me. But I can already guess what they can blackmail me about. My past isn’t that hard to find out after all. And even if I have the blackmailing evidence against them, I won't have the evidences I'm actually looking for.
So, it's better to say yes to their offer and see how it goes. The plan will be changed based on the circumstances. Now that I know I'm their pawn, it has become my life goal to destroy the fuck out of them.
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