THE CULPRIT'S VERDICT
CHAPTER 6

After what felt like years of searching, I finally found an office named after Mr. Lleneda. I knocked, but no one answered. The papers felt so heavy on my arms and I got exhausted from searching his room, so I pushed open the steel door and decided to put the papers on the table.

Facing it was a two rectangular-shaped sofa with a glass table in the middle. It felt so soft and tempting; right before I realized it, my body was already lying flat, lost on its cloudy-like texture.

A few minutes later, after I felt an increase in my energy level, I got up. No one is around yet, this is a good opportunity to start looking for information. My hand roamed around as it tried to feel the surfaces of each object, not really sure of what to look for.

The office was clean yet covered with a thick cream-colored curtain which made his room look dim. There were more or less three portraits plastered on the wall with similar touches to the ones I saw in the hallway. The articles and stuff were well-organized which would give you a good impression of the owner.

My eyes shifted onto the table when it caught a familiar object, a small miniature of a serpent's head. I grabbed it with my hand and examined it.

My brain walked through the abyss as it searched for memories of where and when I first saw it but my concentration didn't work well. Defeated, I placed it back to its normal position. As I lay it, my hands grabbed a hold of the rectangular crystal clear nameplate with VALMIER S. LLANEDA- CEO, encrypted on it.

My eyes widened as the idea sank in. I covered my mouth with my palm to hide the bulk of surprise in my being.

This isn't the office of the COO. I had entered the wrong room!

Suddenly, I found myself in a hurry, collecting the papers I put on the table. My mind was telling me to leave the room the soonest possible before the CEO caught me off guard. But a creaking sound from my back indicated that somebody had just made his or her way in.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" A deep-toned masculine voice echoed in the room and it froze me to my spot.

The clomp of his shoes told me he was making his way to the table. I was still startled as I couldn't think of a brilliant excuse that could help me get through this place alive. Shortly, I felt a pair of eyes looking straight to my slightly lowered head, a warm and aromatic breath lingers in my nostrils. I gathered some courage before lifting my head.

A picture-perfect face of a man in his late 20s was decoded into my retina. I couldn't help but stare at him. His eyes owned a pair of iris that resembled the color of a bright blue sky. His nose was perfectly shaped with a tight canal that went down to his blood-like colored lips which looked so soft and tantalizing. The hundreds of baby hair that coated the space between his nose and covered the skin just above his jawlines were attractively good, it added a volume to his perfectly shaped face.

He was wearing a red suit with a black tie. He stood tall with a great body built while his fade and taper short hair gave him a clean look.

I pulled myself back upon realizing that he was leaning close to my face. I didn't know how long I had been staring at him but as the thought sunk in, I shook my head off to bring me back to reality.

"T-the manager asked me to bring these papers here. She wants me to wait here until you sign all these." That's the lousiest excuse I had ever given- act like I didn't know I was wrong when I knew I was wrong.

His eyes traveled from mine to the papers, he lifted some pages of papers. "It's not for me. These papers are for Ryle Llaneda." Oh, that's the right name I was looking for.

"Ahh yeah, sorry, my mistake." I bit my lower lip at the disgraceful idea. "I'll go now. Bye."

The adrenaline allowed me to raise the paper enough to hide the evaporated blood on my face. I held the doorknob and slowly escaped from the door, but I got stuck when he snatched my wrist.

I suddenly felt an indistinct shiver that flowed through my body. I felt uncomfortable. His hand was quite soft, yet cold. I made sure to relax before turning around and giving him a prying look. His eyes were as if asking questions. I couldn't tell. Did he possibly know me?

"Sir, my hand," I muttered, confused.

"S-sorry. You just reminded me of someone." And with that, he let go of my hand. I was not sure if I had met him before but he seemed to recognize me.

"What took you so long?"

A soft and impatient voice welcomed me as I entered Mr. Ryle Llaneda's office.

"I mistook your office, sir!" He was facing his back at me probably adoring the fantastic panorama of the downtown from his crystal clear window, so I can't see his face.

"I ordered the quick delivery of the papers 20 minutes ago. How does that make you an assistant secretary?"

"I'm sorry, sir. Rest assured that it won't happen again."

I heard a soft laugh from him, "See! I told you, I don't need to ask you to say sorry, you will surely do it."

He turned his moving chair 180 degrees which made me see a mocking face of a man that I least expected to see- the face of the stranger whom I mistreated earlier in the elevator, with a smirk on his face.

"No other than. Welcome to hell, my dear secretary." He opened his arms wide as if waiting for a hug.

And so I guess as well I had to welcome myself to hell.

~•~

He gave me loads of work without orienting me on what and how to do it. I didn't know where to start, frustration had got into me.

I put my hands up behind my head, flexed it as a warm-up, and focused my eyes on the papers. I worked hard, determined to finish the task before the day ended.

A few hours later, sir Ryle Llaneda went out of his office. Wearing his sling bag on one shoulder and carrying a briefcase in his other hand, he walked past me. He gave me a quick look with a smirk, satisfied with the pressure and workload he gave to his newly hired secretary.

What a devil!

I focused my attention on the papers and started running my hands on the task he asked me to finish before leaving the company.

A few hours later, everyone started packing their things. I decided to keep the documents, put them in the drawer, and organized the things on my table. I grabbed my cellphone from the bag. I was not that shocked when I saw seventeen messages and six missed calls coming from Lexter. He was asking where I was and why I didn't text him.

I rang his phone to tell him that I was about to go home but he didn't answer right away so I just sent him a message.

Hi, Lex! I just finished work today. I'll be going home to my condominium.

"Hey! You're the new secretary of Mr. Ryle, right?" A lady in her late twenties appeared from behind me.

"Ah, yes. I'm Nam," I introduced.

"I'm Ezra," she said and offered a handshake which I willingly received.

"Hi, Nam! I'm Eva. We'll be going to Ace of Club later, wanna come with us?" A lady with blonde, medium-length hair, who appeared with Ezra, said.

"Yeah, we'll be happy to have you hang out with the group. Besides, we know how stressing it is to work with our very considerate COO," she added, emphasizing the word 'considerate'.

"Oh, I'd love to. But, maybe next time? I actually have something to do tonight."

"If that's the case, we'll get going now. Catch up next time," Ezra winked.

"See you tomorrow," they said before leaving.

"See yah."

While on way to the elevator, my phone beeped. Lexter's name flashed on the screen; I opened his message.

I'm coming. Wait for me there in 10 minutes. I've got an update.