Free Web NovelChapter 33: No, Thank You
On his first day of interning at Winfield Entertainment, his friends made it memorable for him in so many ways. Apart from the car and the fake Rolex wristwatch as a gift, Berry, Lin and Stylie were all excited to give him a tour around the building.
’’This is the ground floor and this is our faulty elevator,’’ Berry grinned, and Grim nodded. ’’Let me show you why you should always take the stairs instead of the elevator.’’
Berry moved and pressed a button. Grim’s eyebrows rose at the creaking sound the elevator made as it descended to the ground floor. He watched in surprise as the doors parted with great effort, freezing midway that only a child could squeeze through the gap before slapping shut, taking Grim off guard as he stepped back.
Berry laughed. The sound of her laughter echoed as he turned to her, blinking as he realized how beautiful she looked when she laughed.
’’It will snap shut like that on you and it will only take a miracle to pull you out.’’
Grim frowned, feeling uncomfortable as he unlocked a new fear. His eyes lingered on the tube and wondered why it hadn’t been replaced or fixed yet. It looked dangerous.
What if Anais gets trapped inside it one day and something terrible happens to her?
He looked visibly shaken as his imagination supplied several dreadful possibilities.
’’Hey, sassy fruit, stop showing our new intern the scary part. He looks like he wants to leave now.’’
Stylie chuckled as she leaned against Lin beside the stairs. Berry turned to them before facing Grim again.
He was yet to stop glaring at the elevator.
Berry cleared her throat, lightly taking his gloved hand and pulling him from the tube.
’’Let’s show you something even cooler,’’ She said, while leading him up the stairs. They showed him the bathroom, the storage room, the basement and the abandoned underground parking lot of the building. It had a slight chill and an unsettling atmosphere.
Berry and her team happily brought him to the top floor of the building. A silver door that looked as though it had been reinforced with the strongest metal on earth loomed above them as they made it up the last set of stairs.
’’This is the coolest part.’’
Lin tried not to roll his eyes as Berry fished out a set of keys and opened the door. Grim looked up when the fluorescent lights above flickered. The door opened with a loud groan and they all went through the door with Stylie waiting to close the door behind them.
The breeze that welcomed him was heavenly. He blinked as his long hair moved around his face and the first thing he saw was the bright golden lights of the sun.
’’Wo–ooh!’’ Berry said, spreading her arms apart as they moved in all directions on the rooftop.
It was beautiful.
Clean. Open. Quiet.
Grim’s eyes wandered to the lovely nursery of flowers at the corner. Chairs and tables were also set up, along with a swing wide enough for two people.
Lin and Stylie huddled up together at one corner already deep in a conversation. He moved to stand beside Berry who seemed to love it here.
’’My favourite place,’’ She said with a smile. Grim buried his gloved hands in his pockets as they both stood side by side staring at the world beneath their feet.
’’Do you like it?’’
Grim turned to her and nodded and that seemed to make her happy.
’’My second favourite thing in the world is rooftops. I love it so much and maybe because, for a little while, they make you feel like you’re finally above all your problems.’’ She explained and he turned around to listen. Berry kept quiet for a while, her long wild hair reckless in the wind as she moved her lips to the side in thought.
’’Boss can be...hard at times but she is very nice. In fact, she is the nicest person in the world. Only recently she has been behaving a bit secretive and I sometimes catch her staring absentmindedly at space a lot.’’
Grim tilted his head a bit to the side as Berry tried to make him understand Anais.
’’I feel like whatever she is currently going through is changing her a lot and it’s sad that she doesn’t trust us enough to share her burdens. She is one of those women out there I respect so much. She is capable, independent and strong.’’
’’Someone I would like to be one day.’’
It was as if she had said too much, Grim frowned a bit wondering what she meant by that. She was already enough the way she was. She doesn’t need to be anything else.
’’Ah...’’ Berry now looked embarrassed as she was now forced to talk more about what she meant. ’’...I mean, I was an only child. My mother passed away right after I got into college and I had to survive on whatever my step father could provide for me.’’
Berry shuddered a bit, not wanting to think too much about it. In the background, they could hear Lin and Stylie laughing at something and she was surprised Grim seemed genuinely interested in her story.
He didn’t wear that familiar judgmental look she had seen all her life when she tells people this much about her background.
’’My stepfather wanted me to be a Medical Doctor. He tried to force me to be one, so I can get a good job one day and work to repay him every single dollar he wasted training another man’s child, as he likes to call it,’’ Berry sighed, bringing her hands together. ’’But I didn’t like medicine. I wasn’t that smart for it and struggled to get whatever grades I could get. Then...he found out on my graduation day that I had dropped out from medicine to join the stupid art class like he used to say.’’
Even though Grim didn’t understand much of it all, he knew she suffered under a controlling parent. Just like him.
’’Then he got so angry and...’’
It was difficult to finish but Grim was already too concerned to let her swallow what followed next.
’’And...’’ he pushed gently and Berry didn’t want to talk about it anymore. So, she found a clever way to dodge it.
’’We should probably head back. There is still so much about this place I want to show you.’’
☆☆☆
Corrine looked over her laptop when they returned from their little adventure. They were all smiling, chatting among each other and looking refreshed.
Even that little suspicious wealthy creep seemed to be having a great time.
She was being too awfully lenient on them and she bet they hadn’t started anything serious for the day.
Corrine leaned more on her table, her eyes narrowing when the creep seemed to smile more at Berry than the rest of them. A ballpoint pen twirled lazily between her fingers as she observed something.
The connection....the chemistry and growing bond between her new intern and her editor.
Corrine bit down on a fingernail as she recalled his exact words.
’’I said, I would prefer to be placed under Berry throughout my stay here.’’
Hours later, they were all settled in their respective desks, working while chatting. Stylie noticed how everyone responded well to the new intern. The vibe and energy was different and a bit lively as well.
Grim only listened with interest and observed as they bickered among each other. He found himself learning so much more about the work they did and the mortal world in general. His hand rested beneath his chin as his eyes flickered between them in amusement. Smiling when they said something funny and quickly acknowledging them as one of his favourites.
’’Ah, I’m hungry. I did not eat anything before leaving the house because someone threatened me about being late,’’ Lin said, throwing Berry a sharp glare. She was teaching Grim how to sort out different files on his system.
’’How about we take a quick break, go out and get something to eat?’’
Lin snapped his fingers happily at Stylie and nodded in agreement.
’’Would you mind going out with us for lunch?’’ Berry turned to Grim and he didn’t mind hanging out with them.
Berry then rose from her seat and walked up to the Boss’s office. Three soft knocks were enough to grab her Boss’s attention as her fingers moved over her Ipad, while reading the contents of the grey folder.
’’Boss,’’ Berry called. ’’We are going out for lunch with Grim.’’
Corrine tensed.
’’And we would love it if you could come along with us.’’
’’No thanks,’’ Corrine said, as she moved to pick up the document to read while making herself more comfortable in her seat. freewebnσvel.cøm
Berry felt bad but was kind enough not to push further. She continued in a light and caring tone.
’’Is there anything you’d like us to get for you when we come back?’’
Corrine stared down at her stomach and ignored the slight rumbling sound it made at the thought of food. She eased more into her seat, not sparing Berry a glance.
’’No, thank you.’’
’’Oh,’’ Berry couldn’t hide her disappointment and a quiet part of her whispered that it was all her fault. But she swore she wasn’t trying to get in the way between her and Grim. Hell, she wants them to be close enough so they could all see her happy again.
’’Alright,’’ she said and disappeared from the door. Corrine let go of the document and wondered why she was behaving this way.
What was eating her up and making her rage so badly to take it out on her favourite employee.
Then her eyes flickered to the object of her rage for the millionth time since he boldly announced his preference.
If he wanted to be with Berry all along, why torment her in the first place?
And what were those rich words of wanting to be hers and hers alone?
Corrine’s frown deepened, her heart restless again when he stared up at Berry and smiled again.
The fear of Henry’s last words to her being true and that this enigma was yet to even glance her way ever since he left her sight could no longer be ignored by her.
He wasn’t even bothered enough to steal a glance her way and she half expected him to be all over her like he once made her believe he was.
It made her feel strangely unsettled, and his sudden indifference was beginning to drive her crazy.
And it did.
Corrine moved, picking up something from underneath her table before stepping out of her office.
Grim was preparing to go and enjoy his afternoon with his new friends when something hit his table loud enough to startle everyone.
He paused a bit, staring at the mountain of drafts at least two feet tall.
A pen slipped from her fingers and rolled across the table, coming to rest beside the towering stack of drafts before him.
Everyone moved from their seat but not close enough to get caught up in another cross fire between their Boss and newest intern. freewebnσvel.cѳm
’’Rewrite everything, word to word, in your handwriting and on fresh papers due in two hours or you get fired,’’ Corrine ordered, earning multiple gasps and disbelieving stares behind her.
Grim said nothing for a while as he stared at the pile of old and new papers dumped on him.
And, finally, his eyes moved from everything else to meet hers.
