Too Late For Regrets: I Sold My Soul To The New Intern

Chapter 18: Cheers

The plan Grim had in mind was simple.

They all listened and nodded as he explained.

’’Hmm, sounds like a good plan. But will Marcus fall for it though? I know that little creep enough to know that he can’t be easily cornered,’’ Berry warned.

Grim played his plan in motion in his head and based on what they told him about the short devil, it shouldn’t be that hard to teach him a lesson this time.

’’Have more faith in the plan,’’ Grim urged before moving close enough to tell them something mischievous. ’’When it comes to messing around with people, I excel in it. I’m probably the most troublesome member of my family. Everyone is so wary of me,’’ he smirked, while leaning back on the chair. Both Berry and Lin raised curious eyebrows at him before deciding to trust him with handling Marcus and getting the information they needed to succeed.

’’By the way, isn’t this cheating? Will Boss even like what we are about to do to help her succeed if she finds out?’’

Berry scoffed, rolling her eyes while hitting the hardworking bean on his arm.

’’Don’t tell me other writers out there are going to sit around dumbly behind their computer ’hoping to win’. Everyone is probably clawing their way up to win Marcus Laundry’s favour!’’

’’I know, b–but we’re not trying to win his favour. We might be blackmailing him into helping us win this contest,’’ Lin argued and Berry couldn’t believe she was hearing this from him. After many years of playing it fair and waiting to be recognized in a system that favors only the cunning and smart, Lin was still worried about their morals or what Boss might think.

’’Boss might not be happy, though. I am just concerned, that’s it.’’

For a while, Berry and Lin didn’t say anything. The large living room fell into an uncomfortable silence and in that silence, their eyes met.

Stylie gasped and looked the other way.

His gaze lingered on her as he listened to the nervous rhythm of her heartbeat.

’’Whatever!’’ Berry broke the silence, sitting up straighter than before. ’’I have already made up my mind and go as far as being shameless just to make this happen for my Boss! I am even ready to lose a little skin if it means seeing her smile genuinely this year. I don’t care. She is like a family to me and I am ready to do whatever it takes.’’

’’Berry!’’ Lin gasped, surprised by her willingness and desperation to make this work. Berry shook her head, unwilling to listen.

’’We trust you, Grim. Let’s do it.’’

Lin blinked, staring wide-eyed at the stranger beside him.

They could even get sued or arrested for what they were about to do!

Berry moved on her seat to stare at Lin. Her face hardened with determination.

’’Look, this might be the only chance to help Boss get the break that she needs. There might never be a more generous contest entry like this. We might not even have Grim on our side ready to do this for us and this might be Grim’s only chance to be accepted by boss and become Winfield Entertainment’s newest intern.’’

Lin wanted to say something but the words couldn’t form when he realized how true her words were.

’’What I’ve learned so far about life, and about being a small-town farm girl from Texas chasing big dreams in a big city, is that unless you make a decision, things remain the same. As long as Marcus keeps bullying our Boss, forget it, Winfield Entertainment may never get the break it needs. Boss is dealing with more than just becoming a successful writer. I see it, I feel it and I know it. She might not like or have the guts to go against Marcus and bring him down once and for all. But she has people willing to take the risk for her and we have to.’’

Lin sighed, his grip around the can of beer strong.

’’Don’t tell me you are not ready to do whatever it takes to see the Boss smile again? You were the one who noticed how beautiful she was when she smiled genuinely at you once.’’

Something lit up in his warm brown eyes like a torch as he remembered that smile. One that was viewed once and had been engraved into the deepest part of his mind, haunting his dreams as he never saw that smile again.

The atmosphere in the room was tense as Lin appeared to be in some kind of state. In a corner of his mind, he had travelled back to that moment. They were talking about coffee and their favourite places to be in the world.

He joked innocently about aliens not visiting us once because they probably looked down on humans a lot and she smiled.

’’I thought I was seeing things when I saw that smile.’’

Berry’s face softened as she stared at Lin.

’’And I never saw it again after that,’’ he muttered, turning to Berry with tears in his eyes. His heart hurt when he realized that smile might have been something she once shared often, before life burdened her with so many battles.

He remembered how time froze for him as he stared at her and watched her laugh at his silly joke.

Their Boss deserves to smile again. freeweɓnovel.cøm

Berry nodded while placing her hand encouragingly on top of his and held it tightly.

But Grim was more disturbed by the feeling of being stared at, not in the usual ’oh there is no one as pretty as you’ way.

’’Am I making you uncomfortable?’’ he asked, genuinely worried as they locked eyes again. Stylie tensed when Berry and Lin turned their heads to where she sat gingerly close to the edge of her seat.

’’Stylie?’’ Berry called when it was taking her forever to say a word. She kept staring widely at Grim, her hands playing nervously on her laps until she collected herself, easing into a smile before shaking her head that she was fine.

’’Are you sure? You look like you have been startled for a while now by something and you are doing a terrible job at being calm.’’

Stylie scoffed, reaching for one of the drinks on the table. She calmly took a sip of the alcoholic drink, not minding their worried stares.

Could it be because of the painting?

Grim, not wanting to accept the possibility of them not talking to him again, nodded, his hands clasped tightly together before rising to his feet.

Only the most oblivious or abnormal beings wouldn’t be repulsed by what they had just seen. He strolled quickly to his bedroom and fished out three diamond rings from his drawer.

’’Hey,’’ Berry called, edging closer to Stylie. ’’Don’t tell me the reason you are behaving this way is because of the painting?’’ Berry whispered, looking annoyed. Stylie wanted to explain but they all straightened up when Grim returned. He sat blowing up their minds with three diamond rings.

Berry and Lin couldn’t close their mouths as their brains ceased to function. Stylie looked horrified at the sight of the jewellery that might have cost at least three good sports cars.

’’I was saving this until I become the new intern but I am thinking something even better than this to give you all when the time comes.’’

Lin thought he was teasing them. Berry was unable to recover from the shock.

Did this happen so often that they were all just overreacting?

Do you walk poor into a friend’s house and return feeling rich?

Berry blinked before reaching for her ring. She held it like she was holding a baby. The ring brightened even in the dark and the diamond inside the ring was huge. Slowly, Stylie and Lin reached for theirs and tried it on. That was all it took to distract them from his ugly past. A subtle bribe to make them feel comfortable and at ease around him.

’’Can we really take this with us?’’ Stylie asked, looking more relaxed.

Grim loved it and nodded. All three employees turned to each other in amazement. They showered him with praises and thanks before Grim stood up again, this time walking towards his bar to pull out some of his most expensive wine and drinks, to celebrate the first friends he had ever made.

’’Cheers everyone?’’ Berry asked after filling everyone’s cup with something that looked and tasted good. She raised her tumbler up and everyone moved to clink cups.

’’Cheers to our new intern, Grim and his wonderful gift.’’

’’Cheers to our friendship and Marcus Laundry’s butt getting kicked soon.’’

They all grinned.

’’And finally, Cheers to our boss and the glorious future of Winfield entertainment!’’

They all rose, clinked cups and came together to admire their new diamonds.

☆☆☆

Outside of the building, Berry and Grim struggled as they led their drunk hardworking bean through the revolving doors and out to the cold. The rain had stopped minutes ago and Stylie stood on the sidewalk and kept trying her luck to wave down a taxi but none seemed to be heading their way.

There was not enough money in her bank account to book a convenient ride for all three of them and she wondered why there were no taxis in sight.

Suddenly, a sleek black car with tinted mirrors and golden rims eased to a stop in front of her. Stylie blinked, taking a few steps back as she noticed the strange car. It was unlike any car she had seen before. And she wondered if that’s just how the world of the rich and wealthy was. She must have looked so strange standing out there and trying to wave down a cheap cab in a place she would never fit into.

Just what part of this world was this to have their entire world painted in black, gold with their floors decorated with diamonds and precious rubies.

’’Thank you Grim for the ring,’’ Lin paused and belched. His eyes partly closed as he leaned more on Grim and continued in his face. Grim smiled patiently at him, his grip on Lin secure even though he swayed a few times.

’’Now...’’ his smile became more goofy. ’’I can finally purchase NASA and that silly plot of land on the moon.’’

’’Okay,’’ Berry whispered quickly, collecting the hardworking bean before he embarrassed himself further. Lin laughed, his laughter filling the quiet front of the building before he was pushed into the black car by Berry.

Berry was embarrassed by him when he kept mumbling nonsense. They have never experienced each other being drunk before so it was weird seeing their most upright and hardworking employee calling the aliens using an empty beer can in the car.

Berry chuckled nervously while lightly scratching her forehead, ’’He is not always like this.’’

Grim only nodded in understanding, placing his hands quickly above her head as she entered the car to settle beside Lin who was now in a heated argument with space.

Grim then rounded the car and Stylie paused when a pair of gloved hands beat her to open the car door. A deep blush settled on her pale cheeks as she turned to him, swallowing back the guilt she had been feeling.

Grim held the car door for her, urging her with a playful lift of his eyebrow, one she will dream about tonight.

No words could adequately describe how beautiful he was.

’’Thank you,’’

How lucky their boss was to have someone like him chasing after her. Someone she barely seemed to notice.

Henry had never held a car door for any of them like this before.

And she never thought being treated like this could be so polite and romantic at the same time.

’’And, I am sorry if I ever made you feel insecure earlier...’’ She paused, staring at him, realizing she might have many more things to apologize for in the future. But for now, ’’It has been nice knowing you.’’

Grim stared into her deep blue eyes, long enough to make the butterflies restless in her, then nodded that it was nice knowing them as well. Placing his hand above her head as well, he gently closed the car door after her and stepped back and watched them drive away.

The air of loneliness surrounded him as the car sped down the highway and into the dark. He started to miss having them around even before they drove out of his estate and his hands balled into tight fists.

’’So, this is what they mean by having friends. By having companions...’’

His words were carried by the entrance of a strange chill. A certain coldness that couldn’t be missed or slipped by the prince of hell unnoticed.

’’Friends?’’ A voice mocked from the darkness. Long, monstrous legs stepped out of the void and there was a lone tear in the fabric between the heavens, earth and hell.

A strange hush moved past his ears. The world seemed to tilt at an odd angle as cries of pain, torture and misery eachoed from the tear. The inhuman leg stepped on an invisible magical barrier that cracked meters above the earth, above the solid ground.

The light in Grim’s gaze dimmed as long inhumane hands reached for him.

The voice chuckled, refusing to reveal its face from the tear.

’’I will surely tell all of Hell the joke of the Prince Of Hell, the only son of the Light bringer having friends on earth.’’