I know a lot of women who love to get involved in life with life, but only now have I met a man who is not only nosy but also weird and rude.
My gaze cast down on my wristwatch. It is three o’clock in the afternoon. Dad is not in the office yet and the man who is sitting in the visitor’s lair has no plans to leave.
Earlier I was standing beside the water dispenser near the door. I didn’t want to go near Papa’s big table because in front of it was sitting the weird man who had been glaring at me since I got inside the office.
How can I get rid of him?
I looked outside the window. There is a bonsai pot there. If I slap him in the face with it, will he excuse himself? When I looked at the large wooden table, I saw a large binder. Such a perfect thing for smacking his face full of resentment in the world. It’s been a while since I’ve had someone glare at me.
“Do you need something other than falsely accusing me of a victimless crime?” I asked him.
It was only at that moment he averted his gaze. I breathed a sigh of relief. I don’t know who the man in front of me is, but I just saw him sitting in the visitor’s lair when I entered the office earlier.
He looks like Papa’s client or business partner. I wasn’t raised rudely, but that man looked strange when our gaze met earlier. Well, he was accusing me of something with that kind of look on his face. When I asked what was going on, he then started accusing me of being involved in a crime that took place in Baclayan, a town in Boljoon.
“Where is your father?” he suddenly asked after a few minutes of silence.
Phew. I thought he was just here to blame me. My lips twitched into a smile. “He’s still traveling to get past the city.” But a few seconds passed when I realized something. My lips parted as I looked at him again. “How did you know my Dad owns this office?”
“I looked into your family’s information.” He intently stared at my face again. “And I got two shreds of evidence that you were there when the crime happened in Baclayan.”
“Eh?”
He got something from his pocket and then pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and a necklace. I frowned.
“See it for yourself,” he said then stood. He stepped close and stopped in front of me. I was startled when he took hold of my hand and then placed the crumpled paper and necklace atop my palm. I winced when I felt his hold tighten.
I looked down at what he’d handed. Looking closely at the paper, I covered my mouth when I saw my name written clearly on the crumpled paper. And when I looked inside the necklace’s heart-shaped pendant, I saw a picture of Levi on the right and my picture on the left.
Wait. Didn’t I give these things to Levi? How did these end up in his hands?
The man grinned when he saw my petrified face. He leaned his face closer and whispered beside my ear, “Tell me that you have nothing to do with what happened two months ago, Rishel Joy Larica.”
My hand trembled as I held the paper and necklace. I looked up, staring into his mysterious eyes, and swallowed hard. No. How could I tell him what I saw that night?
I shook my head. “It has nothing to do with me,” I whispered and averted my gaze, clenching my fist where the paper was.
He suddenly grabbed my chin and turned my face to him. My eyes widened in fear. “W-What are you doing?” I tried to remove his hand holding my chin, but I could not remove it. There was nothing I could do but stare at his face with a playful smile hanging on his lips.
Jerk. He’s enjoying this taunt. I hate him.
He smiled and then brought his face closer to mine. “We both know that you have something to do, Rishel. Don’t deny it. I hate pretentious rich brats.”
“W-What?”
“If tell your father about this… do you think you can escape his wrath?”
My lips trembled and I glared at him. Telling my father that I have something to do with what happened two months ago is simply asking for my death. Even if it was against my will, I still drew a breath and looked straight into his eyes. “W-What do you want then?”
He stared at my face for a few seconds. I didn’t know if he saw how nervous I was, but he let go after a minute or two. I breathed a sigh of relief.
I saw him draw something from his pocket and he handed me his phone. “Here, save your number.”
Even if I don’t want to I can’t do anything. I obeyed him. Then I handed it back to him, but my eyes widened when he brought his face close to mine again and whispered in my ear. “Relax, I won’t eat you if you’ll behave.”
My body stiffened as I clenched my fist. That was a threat!
Did he think highly of himself? Wait and I’ll kick him right in the face when I got the upper hand soon!
I glared at him, but he just flicked my nose and laughed. He turned around, walking back to his chair.
Without saying a word, I left Dad’s office. If I stayed there for another minute, who knows what I will do with that arrogant bastard!
The salty wind from the sea gently hit my face as I left the office. The second floor of the Larica building is an open area facing the sea, so I saw the glistening seawater after leaving the office.
It was past three in the afternoon so the sun was hanging a bit low on the horizon. The sky was turning orange as well and I saw some kingfishers flying above the waves.