Chapter 53: Chapter 53

Fathia let out a slow breath, feeling the nervousness creeping in every time she entered the corridor she had stepped into before—under duress—from the man who still ruled her heart. Sebastian Sachdev.

Here, Fathia was sure no one recognized her except for... the owner of the room at the other end of the corridor.

Luckily for Fathia, in the four years she worked here, she had never once set foot near the CEO's office at Azure Group; Sebastian Sachdev. Azure Group consisted of five floors, with the 35th floor housing the top executives, including Sebastian. Meanwhile, Jess and Fathia were placed on the 31st floor. In the marketing division, where Kenzo worked as the Marketing Manager.

Not so lucky for Jess. Often, their journey home was colored by Jess's grumbling and griping about being tormented by Kenzo. It seemed like that guy had managed to dampen Jess's cheerful days. There was always something Kenzo demanded Jess to do, and what Jess hated the most was making coffee for him.

"I guess I'm his servant, huh?" Jess grumbled yesterday as they left. "I'm going to get salt from the kitchen. I'll just give him the salt for his coffee later!" Jess clenched her fist in the air. Her eyes were shining with determination. She didn't care about the odd stares they were getting. Maybe it was because Jess's voice was somewhat loud, making everyone they passed frown in confusion.

Fathia simply shook her head. She didn't bother with Jess's plan. Throughout this week, there wasn't much Fathia could do. Maybe because she was still a new staff member, there were many adjustments to be made, but she didn't want to waste any time she had. The archive storage area was her target now. However, not just anyone could access that fairly large room. Having the chance to tidy up the archive room was her hope.

But how? She was new there; she couldn't just ask for a specific area to clean, unless... it was an order from those who called themselves seniors. Sneering and cynical looks were thrown her way, directed at Fathia. However, the girl chose to keep her lips sealed as usual. Writing short messages for communication and putting on a lot of fake smiles. Wearing a mask while cleaning the corridors and other staff rooms wasn't just to cover part of her face.

It was also to protect her heart, which still lacked patience and acceptance. It wasn't easy indeed, because now, her surroundings were even more foreign. Many eyes looked at her with pity, and there were those who underestimated her. If it weren't for her goal of finding the original file where the crossed-out section was needed, and the words that echoed in her mind, she might still be in Beverly Hills. Helping Melly prepare many orders that turned out to be quite a lot.

There was a slight feeling of guilt for leaving Melly there. Apologizing and getting a chuckle in return from Melly was unexpected. She said, "Just handle your own affairs. We're perfectly fine here. Still manageable."

"You're not having any issues, right, Fathia? Anyone bothering you? Making things difficult?" Jess asked without pause as she attempted to remove the annoying face she desperately wanted to smack—Kenzo—from her mind.

As Fathia's thoughts scattered upon hearing a series of urgent-sounding questions from Jess, she let out a slow breath and responded with a small smile. "No, there's nothing. In fact, everyone avoids me. Maybe they're scared." She shrugged. "Do any of the workers wear masks like I do?"

This time, their journey home took them quite a distance to the main road. Not without reason, Jack insisted on picking them up from the spot where they were dropped off in the morning. Jack reasoned that he needed to ensure his young miss's safety and that she arrived home unharmed.

Jess gently rubbed Fathia's shoulder as a form of support. "It's alright, Fathia. As long as I'm here and the people at your house who really care about you, that's more than enough. Right?"

Fathia finally smiled. She lowered the mask that had covered her face. "You're right. That's more than enough for me." Then she linked her arm with Jess's, who was nearly as tall as her. "Thanks for supporting me, Jess."

"Best friend forever!" Jess half-yelled, returning Fathia's embrace. They didn't care if they were once again the center of attention. They laughed together, enjoying the twilight. Amidst the towering buildings, they didn't care if they were seen as odd and lowly. They only wanted one thing, to achieve their goal and return to their peaceful selves. To enjoy days where smiles outnumbered the furrows of confusion on their foreheads. Including now, when Fathia's luxury sedan, driven by Jack, pulled up.

Looking around cautiously before getting into the car and immediately speeding away. Moving away from the environment they were just in, ready to welcome their next activities, especially for Fathia. To unravel the mystery-filled files.

On the way back, Jack asked many questions about Fathia's condition while working there. He still couldn't fully accept it, but once Naomi explained further why Fathia was at Azure Group, Jack reluctantly came to terms with it. Despite it all, Jack still didn't want his young miss to be troubled because honestly, Jack harbored the same level of concern as Naomi.

They were afraid that people were looking down on Fathia now. Fortunately, Fathia had Jess by her side, someone reliable. In their eyes, Jess was truly a sincere friend to Fathia.

Arriving at the large house, both Fathia and Jess chose to enter their rooms immediately. Leaving Naomi to bring them dinner, as Kenzo would be returning shortly. Aside from the fact that Jess didn't want to meet the person who had been getting on her nerves lately, they also had to consider the timing if they used public transportation to get home. Even though they both got stuck in traffic, using a private vehicle was clearly different from public transportation.

"Fathia, I haven't seen Alef Walker at the office for a week, have I?" Jess suddenly said. While she was taking off her uniform to shower, Fathia was sitting on the couch, once again engrossed in the files she hadn't finished studying yet.

Actually, they could quickly trace it, but they were lacking information. Also, time was limited because working as an office girl had suddenly stiffened Jess's body. Perhaps Fathia was feeling the same now, but she ignored it.

"I heard he's still in Beverly Hills. His secretary said that on the phone earlier." Fathia didn't divert her gaze from the series of numbers where Jess had found numerous markings some time ago. She still couldn't find any anomalies apart from the significant fund markup.

"Did you clean the area there?"

Fathia glanced briefly, nodded slowly. "Just now, because Lannie wasn't there. Bu Lynn asked for coffee, so I delivered it."

Jess nodded in agreement. "I heard from Biyan, you know, right?"

The girl, who had been immersed in her work again, now straightened up. Her gaze locked onto Jess intently. "Yeah, our supervisor, right? Why?"

"She said that whether it's an office boy or an office girl, there's always a late shift that ends at 10 PM. Only a few people are assigned, it's like a rotation."

Fathia continued to listen.

"I think... if I approach Biyan to secure that shift for us, we can access the archive room, Fathia."

That thought was truly brilliant. Fathia looked at Jess with a spark in her eyes, as if she was a breath of fresh air amidst all the questions Fathia was facing. Hopefully, what they were searching for could be found soon. Fathia had tried turning on her father's computer; entering passwords ranging from her dad's birthday, her mom's, even Felice's. All of them were rejected.

Giving up, Fathia chose to go back to the hard copy, which seemed to be stuck in the same place again.

"You can give it a shot."

Jess nodded with confidence. "Alright, I'll try to approach Biyan. Who knows, if newbies like us actually get a lot of evening shifts."

Fathia furrowed her brow. "How so?"

"Usually, as Biyan says, seniors are reluctant to take evening shifts. At 5 PM, all the employees leave. We can take advantage of that opportunity." Jess untied her hairband, revealing her now black hair. Because she had to work at Azure Group—although there were no restrictions for employees to dye or have colorful hair—she didn't want to attract cynical glances due to her appearance. It seemed quite normal that new staff or employees with flashy appearances would become the subject of gossip throughout the division. Their infiltration into Azure Group had a different purpose. Not wanting their mission to be hindered by a hair issue, Jess recolored her hair, even though it was regrettable.

Fathia didn't care if there was a reason like what Jess had just mentioned. What she needed was to get into the archive room and find the file from 2010. That's all.

****

Not much had changed about Fathia's activities here. She was assigned to organize the pantry and work in the marketing division. Meanwhile, Jess was mostly stationed in Kenzo's room, not far from Alef Walker's office. At first glance, luck seemed to be on their side, but Jess was made powerless by Kenzo.

Like right now, Jess had been summoned to Kenzo's room. He claimed he hadn't had breakfast and wanted Jess to buy him something within ten minutes. Jess left grumbling and irritated, even walking with very noticeable stomps. All Fathia could say was, "Hang in there, Jess."

"If I could smash his face, I would, for sure!" Jess said with her fist clenched tightly. Then she slammed the pantry door slightly and hurried away, which Fathia could describe as half-running.

After Jess left, Fathia returned to her tasks. She prepared tea and coffee to be delivered to each staff member who hadn't all arrived at the office yet. Their work hours were different from Jess and Fathia's. That was a given. Here, there wasn't much for Fathia to observe except for the large board displaying the sales graphs managed by Group Azure as well as their virals. Perhaps it was used as a barometer for their meetings, who knows, Fathia didn't quite understand its correlation there.

"Um... you're the new staf, right?"

Fathia turned, finding a girl in the same uniform. On the left side of her chest was a name badge that read 'Nia'.

Quickly, Fathia took out her notepad from her pocket and wrote swiftly.

[Yes, I'm the new staf. What's up?]

"Uh... right, you can't speak, can you?" The girl's face looked shocked. "Sorry. Sorry."

Fathia gave a small smile.

[No problem. What's up?]

"Oh, I forgot. I'm Nia. You must be Anne, right? Nice to meet you."

Fathia shook Nia's extended hand. The first impression was that Nia wasn't like the other two seniors on the 34th floor, Tasya and Lidia. They often openly mocked Fathia.

"I need a favor. There's no one on the 35th floor except me. Elin is here, right?"

Fathia nodded slowly, jotting down on her notepad and pointing to the section indicating Elin. Jess had introduced herself as Elin there.

[But Elin is currently buying breakfast for Mr. Kenzo.]

"Yeah, that's okay. Later when Elin returns. Can that work? I've already informed Bang Biyan. Because there will be a meeting on the 35th floor later. It's bound to be chaotic."

Ah... a meeting? Without hesitation, Fathia nodded and gave a thumbs-up sign to show agreement.

"Thanks, Anne. I'll head up now, okay? You can come there soon."

Once again, Fathia nodded in agreement.

As soon as Jess arrived, Fathia immediately shared the news.

"Are you sure?"

Fathia nodded without hesitation. "Wish me luck. Who knows, I might be able to eavesdrop on this Clara's meeting. If there's a meeting, all the top brass of Group Azure should be present, right?"

"Should be." Jess rubbed her chin. "Alright then, be careful."

With a confident nod, Fathia walked away. Upon reaching the 35th floor, Nia quickly told her what she had to do.

"Now, please help take this to Mr. Sebastian's office. I'm going to take this to Mrs. Iklima's office." Nia was already prepared with a tray holding a small plate of cookies and a cup of hot tea.

Fathia's stirring of the coffee came to a halt. Her eyes stared at Nia with a gaze that was hard to interpret. Her heart started pounding erratically due to Nia's words, becoming a reality.

"Please, Anne. If the coffee is late, Mr. Sebastian tends to get angry. Mrs. Iklima usually doesn't come in the morning. She's even more bothersome, Anne. I'm sorry."

Then the girl left, leaving Fathia standing there. What should she do now? She closed her eyes briefly, pondered, and then tried to dispel negative thoughts, afraid that she would be easily recognized by Sebastian. Hurriedly, she took out the mask she always carried with her. She prepared herself because if she didn't handle this job well, what she was looking for in the office wouldn't yield results.

Taking a deep breath, she prepared to step into the room she always remembered; her father's workspace, which now belonged to Sebastian. As she passed by Sebastian's assistant's desk, someone she knew—Vino—she politely nodded her head. Vino stopped in his tracks.

"Are you the new kid?" Vino asked curiously. He was a bit suspicious of Fathia's appearance, covered by the mask. Not to mention her thick glasses that partly obscured the face of the girl in the office girl uniform.

Asked like that, Fathia nodded.

"What's your name?"

Slowly, Fathia placed the coffee tray down, making sure it didn't spill. Hurriedly, she took out her notepad that she always had prepared.

[Yes, sir. I'm new. My name is Anne. Sorry, I communicate like this.]

Vino blinked slowly. It turns out that what the HR department had conveyed was true. There was a new office girl, who happened to be nonverbal. This new staff had a direct reference from Kenzo Walker. Vino had asked for Anne's personal data. Nothing seemed suspicious, especially considering the news he had heard that Anne was the niece of the head servant who had been working for Alvin Mehram Claire for a long time.

Vino had also received reports that during her five days of work here, the girl appeared enthusiastic and courteous.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. You can go in now."

Nodding softly, Fathia picked up her tray again. She walked, silently praying that she could handle this nerve-wracking task well. As her slightly trembling hand knocked on Sebastian's office door, something else made her tremble even more. Truly.

Sebastian's voice; firm, unwavering, dominant, and weighty.

"Come in."

Fathia chose to look down and focus on her steps. She placed the coffee cup for Sebastian with great care. From the corner of her eye, she could see how Sebastian stripped her down with his sharp eagle-like gaze.

"You... must be Anne?"

Fathia lowered her head even more. She didn't dare to lift her gaze.

"Naomi's niece? Am I right?"

Using the safest approach, Fathia nodded.

"I'm talking to you. Can you look at me?"

Obedient, always obedient when Fathia heard any command from Sebastian because she knew that he hated being spoken to without being looked at. And as their gazes met, Fathia no longer knew if her body was pumping blood or not.

As for Sebastian? There was a readiness and an unusual surprise he couldn't hide when his eyes finally met the person who had piqued his curiosity; Anne Rosaline.

"Have... we met before?"

Hurriedly, Fathia shook her head.

"Forgotten the handshake when you fell? Or... when I helped you start your motorcycle? At the Graha building?"

Fathia couldn't deny it. Luckily, her concentration was still intact. She quickly took out her notepad and wrote a message.

[Was that really you, sir? I'm grateful if that was indeed you. Thank you so much for your help.]

Sebastian read the writing slowly. The strokes. And... the scent of lilies? He wasn't hallucinating, right? "Fathia?" he murmured so softly. He quickly shook his head slightly, realizing that this thought was too absurd, but he couldn't help himself. "Did you make this coffee? Yours?"

Fathia nodded.

"With a coffee maker?"

Fathia nodded again.

"I taught you how to make coffee for me because from now on, you're here. You'll be making coffee for me."

Fathia's eyes blinked slowly.

"It's my way of repaying your help."

Behind her mask, Fathia stared in astonishment and thought, "There's no way it's like that, Sebastian!!! Cheater!!!"