~Chapter 29~
My week went by in a blur and all I did was wake up and just go back to my lonely slumber party. Skye didn't bother to contact me in any way after he had heard the inconspicuous news of Ms. Maxwell's resignation. I wouldn't say that it didn't affect me because it did.
I thought that we were in this together but not even once did he manage to include me or even ask me for my help. However, I couldn't be so sure about whether he was even looking into the matter or not.
My disappointment had skyrocketed even more when Keith couldn't make it the next day. Since Ms. Maxwell had resigned, the whole department was in a complete haywire. Amidst it all, I actually made a silent note. Whoever did this had to be smart because their carefully planned idea gave the ZAE Inc. most of the hit after the campaign was over.
It has to be some insider. I thought while I slurped on my chocolate shake.
My friends and I decided to meet up today inside a small coffee shop. As it's their day off and I had nothing better to do, I agreed.
"What do you say, VVJ?" Shivaay asked me from across the table. I hadn't listened to a single word he had said because I was continuously spacing out, thinking nothing more than how my life's transpired from normal to 'I-don't-even-know-anymore'.
"Hmm?" I looked up at him questioningly. "Think about what?"
"Why did Ms. Maxwell resign?" This time Chelsea tossed the question over at me.
"I don't know," I whispered the lie, not meeting anyone's eyes.
The whole table went silent after my uninteresting reply because just a few days ago, I was hell bent on finding out the culprit behind this but now I wasn't so sure anymore. My mind reeled back to the day when I had first heard the news of Ms. Maxwell's resignation.
"Why would she do that?" I had asked him, only half expecting him to ignore me completely.
Skye looked at me but I could tell that his concentration was elsewhere. "Somehow, the upper management got the whiff that Ms. Maxwell left you off the hook with a warning instead of firing you the first time she came to know about it. They got this information that she was receiving the pictures and didn't act upon it the way she was supposed to," he informed me in a monotone, pinching the bridge of his nose.
My eyes widened and lips pursed as soon as his words registered in my brain. It was my fault. If only I hadn't meddled myself with Skye, none of this would have happened. The ZAE Inc. would have been a successful and peaceful corporation. Somewhere or the other, I was to be blamed for starting the chain of all these problems. But... I didn't regret a single bit to have been this close to him.
"It isn't your fault, Val. Look at me. Here, please look at me."
How could it not be my fault? Because of this very same reason, I didn't have it in me to tell the truth to my friends. They wouldn't straight out say it on my face but no matter what, I'd still blame myself.
I saw my friends giving me assuring looks as the sense of realization was written all over their faces. "Can we just not talk about this? I am just... I am literally done for." It was true. I was tired of everything going on around me. First my suspicion on Ms. Maxwell was hogwash, then Skye going all MIA on me and lastly someone was on our backs targeting big people inside the ZAE Inc. And the cherry on top? I was not even a part of the company anymore.
From the looks on my friends' faces, I could tell that they must have taken my words in a different although half true context. They were probably thinking that I was still sour about getting fired.
"Good that we've cleared that up because I actually want to discuss something important with Val," Keith announced with a stern face directed at everyone.
I lifted up my tired eyes to stare up at him in confusion. "Yeah?"
"Yes. Remember the freelancing stuff we had to discuss? Yeah, so I got a client. I'll give you about ten minutes to come up with the best tagline ever." Keith clapped his hands for exaggeration and opened up his laptop.
An excited smile pulled up on my lips. Without even seeing it, I could tell that my eyes were twinkling with stars. "That's challenging and fun. All right, give me all the deets."
"Can I join in too?" Shivaay piped in, looking almost hopeful.
Emika and I playfully slapped his head upside down in unison. She giggled silently and held out her hand to me for a high five. "No, you cannot." I scowled at him while he glared back at Emika and I.
"No fighting, kids," Keith admonished with a huge grin plastered on his face. Shivaay snorted, unamused while we all erupted into an obnoxious round of laughter at his expense. "Okay so it's a fast food corner in Chinatown. The name is Zuzu's Fast Food."
"Oh." I started nodding my head, my brain already working up its wheels. I started thinking of every word that I could remember to come up with a tagline.
"Ten minutes, okay?"
I narrowed my eyes at him but his words were helping me. Helping my mind from diverting somewhere else. For once, I was conjuring up everything around my life. I wasn't paying any attention toward the storms brewing in all the directions and trying to pluck me in as well.
I felt free. Like I was in my character after what felt like ages.
"Rock, paper, scissor." I smirked and Keith gave me a dry look. "Roast, paprika, sizzle." I slapped my hands on the table. "Beat that."
Chelsea just gaped at me as if I grew up horns. "What the hell? That's so cool. You came up with that in ten minutes!" She exclaimed cheerily.
"Show off." Shivaay pouted with a bored look.
Quite enjoying his attitude, I stuck out my tongue at him to pull his leg. "You're just jealous." I slapped his back, using more force than intended.
"Of course I am jealous!" Shivaay rolled his eyes.
We all started laughing. "I'll take that as a compliment because the Shivaay actually approved of something silently." I winked.
"He better because I love it, Val," Keith assured me with a huge grin before going back to typing away on his laptop.
As Keith was doing his work, Emika and Shivaay were arguing over something while Chelsea and I talked about some normal stuff. At that moment, I was glad that nobody laid out about the real problem swirling in the air and respected my decision.
I felt light and so much better after just spending some time with my friends, who I know would always have my back.
A genuine smile played on my lips as we all shared some embarrassing anecdotes of our life. I was jolted out of my happy phase when my phone started ringing. It was Ivan. I remember him saving his number in my phone before I had taken Skye to his tree house.
Scrunching my brows together, I picked up the call. I sent an apologetic smile to my group before going to a more quiet ambience toward the restrooms. I picked up the call with a slight frown. "Ivan?"
"Hey, Valerie. And yes, you guessed it right, it's me, Ivan. Woohoo! Four cheers for you. Anywho, I am sorry to disturb you but are you free at the moment?" He asked me, almost sounding anxious because of his rushed words.
"Depends..." I trailed off unsurely. "What is it?"
"Well, Skye's drunk out of his small mind. And, gosh is he speaking some alien language. You better come here before he turns the normal club into a strip club," he spoke and I could hear indistinct beats of music in the background.
My heart started thumping in my chest rapidly. "Wh-where?" I stumbled with my words. A feeling of panic rose in my chest. Ivan had told me that Skye's never been so reckless before, so being drunk a second time couldn't be considered as something trivial.
Is it because of what's going on at his company? I mused, biting my lip.
At that instant, I knew that I had to see him, drunk or not and put some sense into his head. I just wished that it wasn't anything major even though my logical side said otherwise since Ivan loves to exaggerate the details.
"The Bliss Rose Club, the same one as before," Ivan replied without missing a beat. I don't know what they were doing at a club this early.
I inhaled a sharp intake of breath and nodded my head. My eyes narrowed when I heard someone laughing from the other side but it was covered up with a fake cough. I couldn't tell if it was Ivan or not though. "You're not messing around with me, are you?" I asked him dubiously.
He cleared his throat. "What?!" He shrieked. "Why would I do that? It's serious, Valerie. Come quick before Skye plucks out his precious eyebrows. Okay, bye."
My jaw unhinged because he just hung up on me without even waiting for my reply.
I started tapping my fingers on my phone and stared into space. I debated whether I should believe him or not. But a small part of me was silently pushing me to go there, just to see Skye.
For some reason after hearing Ivan's voice at the end, I realized that he might be playing around but I didn't care. On the other hand, there could be a possibility of Skye really getting drunk.
With a confused smile, I headed toward my booth. "Hey, guys. I'm sorry but I gotta leave," I told them, hoping they would understand.
"Already?" Chelsea whined.
Collecting all my belongings, I gave her a small smile. "Actually on second thought, you all can join me too if you want." I looked everyone in the eyes and waited for their response. "Your favorite. Bliss Rose Club."
Soon, they all erupted into cheers, grabbing almost everyone's attention in the coffee shop. I glanced at Emika and we both rolled our eyes. I swear she's the only sensible one in our group. After explaining the whole matter to them, Shivaay literally pushed us outside the door hurriedly.
"Isn't it weird to get drunk during the daytime?" Keith asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Well that's the thing about alcohol. You're too drunk to notice day and night," Chelsea piped in, giggling. "Plus, 5.30 pm is a drinking time. Be it tea, coffee or beer."
I laughed at her enthusiasm for drinking before walking toward my car and everyone did the same. I quickly seated myself in and took a deep breath before sighing heavily.
I shook my head and drove toward Fifth Avenue. All the while, my mind was wandering around Skye. It made me wonder what was actually going on in his head and why he didn't even try to contact me this past week. I don't know how long I was driving but it felt just like minutes.
Parking my car in an empty parking lot space, I shut off the engine and almost sprinted toward the main gate. I couldn't spot my friends anywhere, however, I was surprised to see Ivan standing there with a nervous look.
"What's it? Where's Skye?" I asked him, trying to peek over his shoulder but his tall stature didn't give me much range.
"Actually..." He scratched his cheek and flailed his arms behind me. As I was about to turn around, he continued. "He left. Just a few minutes ago. I swear, he turns into a relentless baby with so much alcohol in his system." He started laughing like he was trying to diffuse off his perturbation.
"Left? But..."
"Yeah, I know. I know," he began, doing the calm down gesture by flapping his hands. "I personally escorted him inside a cab. So don't worry, he didn't drive," Ivan assured me with a wide smile.
Hearing his words, I instantly sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God," I whispered to myself.
"Hmm. Someone's got a crushie crushie crush," Ivan teased in a sing-song voice. I turned to him with a glare but he just smirked at me.
"Shut up. And why didn't you call me to tell me that he left?" I inquired, still trying to cool down my burning face.
"Well... for one, he just took off a few minutes ago like I said and two, I thought that you might wanna follow him?" His smirk got bigger and I continued shooting daggers at him. "What? We both know that it's true." He laughed, finding my situation amusing.
I flicked his forehead hard and he winced. "Don't you just love making fun of me?" I muttered sarcastically.
"Oh, and Skye too." He beamed, winking.
A small smile involuntarily took its place on my lips and I kicked his feet slightly. Before I could say anything, Chelsea called out to me from behind. "Hey, Val!"
"Whoa, you reached here before your friends did. Guess, someone was in a hurry. I wonder why?" Ivan rubbed his chin thoughtfully and glanced at me from the corner of his eye.
My friends circled around me and I started chuckling weirdly. "Hi. Guys... um, I am sorry but... change of plans. Again, I know. But there's someplace else that I have to be," I told them and their faces fell. "You have fun," I added and pointed toward the entrance of the club.
"I know where you have to be." Both Shivaay and Ivan spoke in unison and I gave them a flinching look. They both stared at each other and made gagging sounds. In synchronization.
"I think you guys are the lost brothers." With that said, I fled the scene without so much as waiting for anyone's reply.