Start of Book 2…

  Two months… That was how long I’ve been in this city. The city of Purgatory. A city that I’ve only just begun to understand. If anything, I’ve just scratched the surface of what lies underneath…

  Frankly, now seems like a good time to collect myself and prepare for what was to come. For what I was going to do today…

  From the beginning, would be a good place to start, I suppose…

  I had been driving on a highway, when a white flash ran across the road. I had been going way too fast, pushing my old car to go as fast as I could. Seeing that white flash, a rabbit, my hands jerked the steering wheel out of instinct, and I crashed.

  Simple, to the point, but I wasn’t hurt. Nearly unscathed, I crawled out of the car, just before it caught fire. I didn’t realize it at the time, but when I walked a distance and found a bus stop, I eventually picked up. That was when I realized the truth.

  I had been changed. I was no longer a man, but a woman, but that wasn’t all…

  The shock of it, combined with the recent crash, and finding myself somewhere not on any map, it was all just so absurd that I was able to push through. After all, it felt like a bad joke, a nightmare given flesh.

  I got a job. A temporary identification and a place to stay.

  The city provided housing for new arrivals, not that it was free, but finding a place to stay so quickly was always nice. The place I was given, was a single room apartment with a single light bulb dangling from the ceiling. With a lone balcony instead of a window.

  It wasn’t great. Hell, it was downright awful, but it didn’t cost much, was dirt cheap, and honestly, I didn’t much care so long as I had a place to sleep.

  First few days, nothing special happened. I relaxed, broke down when I realized that this wasn’t a dream, that I was free… and also, that I could no longer achieve my old goals.

  This was a new city, and I needed new goals. At that moment, it had been to feel things out, go to work, the usual.

  Work had been fun. Though… it was one of those companies. Long workdays, minimal pay with no overtime. I rarely saw my apartment and instead slept inside the office building with my co-workers.

  Of note, was Terada, the leader of our division. His job was to oversee and direct everything. He was a stoic man, a dedicated man, and he did what he could to keep everyone healthy. Even as he pushed them towards impossible goals.

  I wish I could hate the man, but when I see him, all I saw was someone willing to die on their sword. He was loyal, but to the wrong cause. He used to be someone big, but something happened, and I imagine it involves why he has stuck with the company. Especially with how the company has treated him.

  Next, was the division manager, Leo. A rich boy, he drinks and parties, shows up early to sleep off his hangover. When he wakes, he leaves and thus the process starts all over again. Likely given the position due to knowing someone or being related to someone higher up the ladder. Nepotism at its finest.

  As Leo was the manager for our division, any changes I want to make must go through him… Which is what I plan to deal with today. In the past month, I’ve taken time to look over our projects and gather information on our particular division and company as a whole.

  What I found was not pleasant. We were apparently over budget. Which meant someone was either skimming, or something was going on. I doubted Leo was involved, but… I could be wrong. Today I planned to confront him and based on how that turns out, adjust my plan accordingly.

  Normally, I’d take my time… but I didn’t have time.

  Every month, every thirty days, give or take, there was a full moon. Already, I’ve survived two such days, with one of them being an event. The event was framed as optional, but I didn’t think they would be too happy if I were to sit by and do nothing.

  They, as in the mascots. Specifically, in my case, Usagi, a rabbit, the one that brought me here. They were mysterious beings, and from what I could gather, they were essentially in charge.

  What they were, what their purpose was… I couldn’t begin to understand or fathom. Not as I am. However, they want something from me, from everyone they bring. After all, nothing ever came free. Which is why I don’t have the time to play this safe.

  First event had me facing zombies and ended with me fighting a giant beating heart. Not alone, but with help. At the start of the event, I had teamed up with Diana, Serenity, and Amanda. All of them were in the same situation, having been spirited away by Usagi. More specifically, were a type of magical girl, rabbits.

  I had separated with them at some point, and Diana took exception to that. Sparking a falling out. We met again, on the second full moon. On the second full moon, we faced what was called a mistake, an alraune. What it meant, I still wasn’t sure but by the end of it all, we were able to come to a mutual agreement, of sorts…

  Amanda… I met her again when Grim, a police officer, a Hunting dog, another kind of magical girl, chosen by another of the mascots, delivered a seed she had found amongst the alraune’s remains to someone simply called the Gardener. The Gardener had long ears, probably an elf, another mistake from what I could surmise, a mistake being someone that was chosen by a mascot and yet, something went wrong during the cross-over. Mistake’s were often abandoned by the mascot that brought them here, sometimes even hunted according to Grim. Which is why we were meeting the Gardener in the first place. There, in the gardener’s garden, I ran into Amanda.

  We talked and… maybe I shared a bit too much at the time, but I feel like I’m getting closer to understanding why I was chosen. Or more specifically, why Usagi chose us.

  And as for Grim? We chatted briefly, she shared with me her goals, which only confirmed what I already knew about that woman. She was trouble. Only, I wasn’t sure I was in a position to avoid her, and worse, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to avoid her…

  Still… I had other problems to focus on. Mainly being…

  That in another thirty days, I’d be fighting again, I knew I needed to get control of my home life. Time was precious and I needed it to practice and expand my newfound powers. Or rather, I needed to better learn how to use my new abilities, mainly, my magic.

  Ice magic, it makes me strong, makes me feel invincible. Yet, it also makes me brittle if I go too deep. It also has its limits. If I go for too long, or abuse it, eventually I will break. I need to practice, and to do that, again, I need time.

  Time, I did not have. Not with how exhaustive my work life was and how little personal time I had. And today, I was hoping to do something about it. Or, at the very least get the wheels moving.

  Right now, I’m in the office, waiting for Leo to appear. Samantha had already arrived. She was the lead for sound design and making sure the music and voice work were on point and properly synchronized. Kenta was another member of the group, our lead artist. I didn’t know much about him, but he was known to be chatty. He tended to work directly under Terada more than anyone else.

  Lastly, there was Tom. Before I had arrived, Tom had been struggling. Now, he still was but not as much. I’d taken some of his workload off his chest, thus buying him some leeway. We had come to an agreement after a small confrontation...

  Tom was the editor and lead writer. He had a team of his own as well, but most of the work found its way to his desk for final checks. It didn’t help that the entire division was severely lacking in manpower…

  Frankly, if not for the arrival of two other new employees, I don’t think I would have had the chance to make progress on my plan. Those two being Liche and Joan. Both of whom came into the office looking outright exhausted but looking forward to the ceaseless toil ahead of them.

  “Liche, Joan.” I spoke to each in turn. Taking the chance to observe the pair. Both of them had a steaming cup of something. Joan had a coffee, just like I did, as for Liche, well, I didn’t take her for a tea drinker.

  Liche had an almost bored look on her face. Yet, her eyes were narrowed, almost sharp, dangerous even. Almost like a criminal or delinquent looking for a mark.

  On the job, she was startlingly competent. Her abilities were incredible, though, only second to my own.

  As for Joan, she had a cheery demeanor, her shy smile like a ray of sunshine, and yet… After spending more time with her, I could tell she was rather withdrawn. She wasn’t one to pursue conflict, but even if she wasn’t as competent as Liche or I, her competency with other people was off the charts.

  The fact that both of the were standing before me was a good sign. And gave me hope that they may continue to be useful, not just on the job, but outside the job as well. Assuming I could rope them in.

  “Prima.” Liche responded, and Joan followed up with the same.

  “How’d your first event go?” I asked the pair while nursing my coffee. The hot liquid felt nice, even through the gloves that I wore.

  Both winced, and we moved to a slightly more secluded corner.

  “Bad…” Liche started. “We took a bus at central to somewhere. A kind of, older oriental city built on a mountain. The objective was to survive for three days, with bonus objectives for uncovering clues as to what had happened.”

  Joan then followed up. “It went well at first, we found a lot of cool clues, like, apparently the city leader had been looking into immortality and such. Eventually an alchemist had answered the call, but whatever had happened, resulted in the city falling apart.”

  Liche went next. “We were fighting people. We weren’t sure if they were alive, but they moved as if possessed or something.” She shrugged. “They were pretty easy to kill, but by the second day they grew more numerous and better coordinated. It started with basic possessed citizenry with whatever weapons they could pick up, to proper patrols and armed guards by the second day.”

  I nod as Liche continues.

  “The problem was, at some point we discovered a tunnel under one of the administrative buildings. We gathered up and went down it, right into a massive underground complex that might have been the alchemist’s lab.”

  Joan cut in. “Right, and I got a really bad feeling, so I told Liche that we should leave.”

  “I was hesitant at first…” Liche admitted with a sigh. “But I’m glad I listened. Everyone else pressed inward and died, or at least, I think they did. In the process of snooping, they released a monster, or something. We spent the second night and third day playing hide and seek with that monster. It had the head of a horse and a massive axe. Nobody could do any real damage to it, and so we just kept moving and hiding.”

  “It was pretty easy with me and Liche working together.” Joan stepped in. “I have some kind of light magic; it makes it easy for me to detect or find things, and I can even heal! Liche has some weird shadow nothingness power that makes it easy for her to hide or erase traces.”

  “Yeah, I couldn’t have done it without her help.” Liche says and Joan follows up with much the same, that she couldn’t have done it without Liche.

  “I imagine after the three days were up you had to escape then?”

  “Yes, we had to exit the city main entrance, but the creature was hot on our tail at the time. We didn’t see what happened, but the moment we left the city something appeared to have struck the monster down, killing it. Moving down the mountain, we found the bus stop and… well, we arrived back.”

  I nod. “My experience was a bit different…” I went ahead and talked about what happened. From the initial wave to the following days, me leaving the group, moving through the sewers, sneaking past countless creatures in near total darkness with only a single light, and all ending with the tree blossoming at the city center.

  “Oh… wow…” Joan said. Liche looked concerned as well, though she didn’t voice it.

  I then went ahead and explained my last major excursion and the pair were struck mute. After a moment of silence, it was Liche who spoke up. I even went ahead to explain the purpose of coins, what they could do, and I could see the gears creaking away in their skulls.

  “Ugh…” Liche grumbled. “It would be nice to have some time to ourselves, get knowledge and improve like you were suggested, but we can’t exactly do that.”

  “I know, our workload is insane, but I do plan to deal with it.”

  “Do you? When you first told us, well…” Liche started and paused, unsure how to broach the subject.

  “We thought you were just foisting your work on us to make your life easier.” Joan stepped in.

  “That…” Liche sighed and trailed off.

  “Well, I was in part foisting my work on you. I needed some leeway if I wanted to move forward.” I admitted.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “So, what’s the plan then?” Liche asks.

  “Well, I need to confront our boss. Preferably when he’s not drunk, which should happen today.”

  “You’re confronting him, today? Are you sure that’s wise?” Liche asked.

  “Yes, I do. Our manager is just a wastrel, and even if he doesn’t heed my advice, I can just make preparations to shut him out. It’ll be easy, but I do need your help. Which is why, I have another favor to ask of you two. While I’m talking with him, I need you two to try and keep Terada busy. I’d rather him not be aware of what I’m doing.”

  The pair shared a glance before nodding. Neither seemed to have much faith in me, but really, this should be simple enough.

  “We can do that.” Liche agreed. Joan nodded furiously.

  “Good, hopefully I can get this resolved today…” I muttered and sipped the last of my coffee… The moment I drank the last of it, Leo stepped in. He gave brief greetings, flashed a couple of smiles. Clearly not drunk or hungover and went for his office and closed the door behind him.

  I glanced over at the pair, Liche and Joan, and they began to move. I waited until they had Terada engaged before moving towards Leo’s office. I didn’t look around or otherwise look suspicious. I just went through the door and stepped inside.

  On entering, I saw Leo in the corner. He was wearing his sunglasses, as he always did. The moment he heard the door open; he jolted like a child whose hand was caught in the proverbial cookie jar. In his hands was a decanter of amber liquid.

  By the time I shut the door behind me, he calmed down. Whatever nervous energy he had fled, and a smooth smile made its way onto his face.

  “Ah, your…” He pauses a moment to straighten up and retrieve a glass. “Prima, right?”

  “Yes, we met two months ago.” I’m rather surprised he remembered me to be honest.

  “Would you like a drink?” He offered, motioning towards a second glass. He’d taken the stopper off the decanter, letting the smell waft out into the room. It was a heady scent with a hint of vanilla. My mouth watered, and despite my misgivings…

  “Sure, just a little.” He poured me a glass, as well as one for himself, and motioned for the chair next to his desk. So far, so good. He handed me my glass and instead of sitting behind his desk, he took the opportunity to sit down on his desk, just a few feet in front of me.

  “So, what brings you here?” He asks, but I don’t immediately respond. With a slow deliberate motion, I swirl the liquid in the glass. I give it a good, proper whiff. Letting the smell fill me up. Only then did I take a nice slow sip. The liquid burned on my tongue and down my throat.

  My whole body burned. The little bits of ice still clinging to me melted away under the scorching warmth that pulsed through my veins. A feint blush came to my cheeks.

  “Oh… that’s good.” I muttered. He shifted and eased, clearly pleased at my words. “Ah, and… as to why I’m here. I wanted to talk with you about our work schedule.”

  “Have you now?” He said, seemingly amused.

  “Yes.” We took a moment, both of us to take another slow sip of our alcohol. I could tell he was checking me out, evaluating me. I was doing much the same.

  Leo appeared to be a natural schmoozer. One of those people that just fits in at any party or event. Even now, he looked like he was taking my measure. Trying to figure out what made me tick. It didn’t matter that I was his subordinate, not yet at least, but at any moment he was likely to come to a conclusion. Which meant, I might as well push.

  “I’ve taken the liberty, in the past month, to evaluate our divisions workload.” I start, he nods. If he was curious, he didn’t let it show.

  “It’s obvious that the workload is too much for us to handle. Even with me, and the two new additions. Even with us, it’s only a matter of time until the division collapses.”

  He doesn’t immediately respond, but he does hum in acknowledgement and takes a long draw of his drink.

  “Liche and Joan, right?” He answered after a short silence, surprising me.

  “That would be them.” He nods again, a small smile on his lips.

  “And you’re saying, the division will collapse? What makes you think that?”

  “Yes, I am. And what makes me think that?” I took a moment to collect myself…

  “Honestly, it’s incredibly obvious.” I said with a bit of disdain. “Terada may be a genius, but the man can only do so much. The entire workforce is made up of older men and women, and our division hasn’t managed to keep any new recruits, barring us three in some time. They already lost the man doing workflow management, which I’m now doing, but it’s only a matter of time until the others start failing.” I spoke, perhaps a bit too much, but I was getting heated. I didn’t want everything to collapse, not while I’m here. Not just that, but each point was a valid criticism. Something that could easily be proven, and just as easily rectified, if Leo were a decent boss.

  He nods, “And what exactly do you expect me to do about that? Surely, you didn’t just come here to complain, no?”

  I almost laughed. “Of course not, I wouldn’t have bothered you if I didn’t even have a plan.”

  “So? What is it?” He asks, almost sounding bored.

  “We need to refocus, reduce our working hours, start paying the division deficit off and rebuilding our team.”

  He laughs. “You do realize we’re just barely making quota? Right? And you want to reduce the workload?”

  “We can eat a month or two of deficit, during which, I can turn this whole division around.” I said, being careful not to explain exactly how. Then again, I doubt he’d like my plan once I started implementing it. But, it’s not like he knows.

  “You can, huh?” He said, he smiled, but it almost felt like he was mocking me as he did.

  “Yes, I even prepared a plan and everything. Surely, if we do that…”

  He raises a hand. I go quiet and watch as he slowly refills his glass. Pointedly, he didn’t offer me another. He took his time looking at the amber liquid and slowly drank it down. Every passing second weighed down on me.

  Would he accept? That would be the best conclusion to this. At worst, he tells me to leave. At that point, I move onto plan B. If he wasn’t going to cooperate, I was just going to have to get rid of him…

  But… before doing that, I needed to at least give him a chance. Honestly… He, my old boss would have laughed at me, told me that I was better off just throwing this man under the bus, but… I had to at least try and keep to my old code.

  Eventually, he finished his drink, he looked at the decanter in thought. Like he was considering a third glass before setting it aside.

  “You’re not wrong.” He said. “Obviously, the division will collapse at this rate, I know that. I’m not stupid.” He said almost… too casually.

  “Which is why…” I start, but again, he interrupts.

  “I’m not questioning if you can do it or not.” He said, again, something in his tone didn’t sit right to me, only… and he continued before I could put my finger on what it was…

  “Rather… I think the most important question you should be asking is, why should I care?” He said, his smile wide, mocking.

  “Why… you should care? Are you really asking me that?” I replied back, dumbfounded. Was he an idiot? Surely, he wasn’t that stupid, right?

  “Obviously, you seem smart. I’ve heard Terada praising you, hell the whole division thinks you’re something. It’s not hard to hear about it. Hell, you’ve already caught the attention of a few people in the company, I’d be stupid if I didn’t know who you were…”

  He takes a moment to adjust. All the while my own mind was reeling. Had I garnered that much of a reputation in such a short period of time, how? I haven’t done anything that spectacular. Right?

  Finally, Leo speaks up, interrupting my train of thought.

  “But honestly, I don’t care if this division collapses. I mean, why should I care?”

  I couldn’t help but think I made a serious error in judgement. Something in the way he spoke, how relaxed he seemed… Just exactly what had I gotten wrong? Seeing that I was quiet, he continued.

  “Exactly, what do you know about me?” He said, his smile, all teeth. Somehow, pinpointing the greatest flaw in my plan.

  I had to pause at that… Leo was… he was a rich second generation. His father was wealthy; he never had to work for his wealth. He was probably here out of nepotism, and yet… clearly, I was missing a critical piece of information. Likely had missed a critical piece of information.

  I did some leg work, I asked around about him during small moments, careful not to draw attention. Yet… I wasn’t expecting this. But, it wasn’t that bad. I could just play along, and continue with plan B, not an issue.

  “Apparently, not as much as I thought.” I finally admitted.

  “Right? You probably asked around, got some information, a little gossip here and there, and I could care less. So, let me clue you into how this works. My father, he’s a major stockholder. He may not be the executive, but he has a lot of pull in this company. Enough to get me this position, and enough to get you in this division.”

  My eyes widened against my own will. I’d never paid attention to Leo’s last name, rather, nobody liked to talk about it.

  “You, your last name?”

  “Torres. Leo Torres. You met my father, yes?” He even removes his sunglasses, revealing steel-grey eyes, just like Mr. Torres had.

  Pieces clicked together. My hand shot to the watch on my wrist. My own thoughts whirred. I was given my position at the last minute, apparently. Put into here, despite everything. And Leo was, his son?

  “I see your putting it all together, and yes, father put you here, not just because he saw potential in you, but because he hoped that you would help me straighten up the division.”

  “Then…” I start.

  “But that doesn’t mean I agree.” He hammers the point down. “After all, just because I’m his son means I have to agree with everything he does, right? Not just that, but why would I help out his little crush?”

  I… I wasn’t just on the back foot. I was being completely destroyed by this man. He was the son of Mr. Torres, the same man I met back at the mall, whom gave me my watch. He was also aware that I had been put into this division for a reason, knew that I was talented, apparently, and had been keeping an eye on me.

  I had assumed he was simply a fool and yet… Was I wrong? Was this just a coincidence?

  This guy… The more I looked at him, the more he seemed like someone else I knew… No, this was just like when I first met Him.

  The man I had killed with my own two hands, using his favorite pen. My old boss, my old friend, a man I considered a brother. The event that led to me being here…

  He’d done something similar to what Leo was doing to me now. During the interview with him, he’d immediately torn away my guise. Without any preamble, he simply stated my real name, telling me that he knew I was under an assumed identity. Proceeded to list my work experience, my life up to this point. Almost like he’d been following me for some time.

  Truth was, the very moment I had applied he’d sensed something, he did have a knack for that kind of thing. He understood people to a terrifying degree. He could easily sell water to a fish, or bring a horse to water and get it to drink without much issue. The man was a genius at marketing, but he had an obvious weakness…

  He sucked at actually running a business. Numbers ran away from him; the daily minutiae drove him to tears.

  Which is why he needed me, why we worked so well together…

  Leo… he was in every way reminding me of that man… Was this by design? Coincidence?

  Either way, regardless, I needed to claw back some form of advantage. After all, I had no desire of being subordinated to such a man, not anymore, not ever again.

  “Your job.” I stated firmly. “Surely, your father wouldn’t let you keep your job if the division fails, no? And moreso, what’s to stop him from losing his own position?” I countered, fairly confident I had at least some leverage, but…

  “You think I give a shit what my father thinks? For all I could care, the man could just go and die in a ditch.” He spat with a venom that took me by surprise. “And before you even begin, I could care less for Terada or the rest of those sheep. I could order Terada to kill himself, and you know what he’d do? He’d do it. If I told him to work himself, and the whole division into the ground, you know what he would do? He’d do it. And do you know why?” He continued, pressed, even making a point to stand and face off with me.

  “Because he’s a coward.” He leans forward, lowering himself until his face was just before mine.

  I didn’t move. No, I wasn’t cowed, I was just stunned. Not because what he said was absurd, no, because everything he said, was correct. Terada would do just that. He wouldn’t stand up for himself or his employees. If Leo wanted to, he could really cause this division to self-destruct…

  Which meant…

  “You’re doing this on purpose…” I muttered. He laughed, practically spitting in my face before pulling back.

  “Congratulations! You really are smart, ain’t ya? Yup, I’m doing all this on purpose. It’s all part of the big plan, surprised?”

  It made sense, in a kind of backwards, let the world burn kind of way. Put the division in significant debt, slowly work the division to death, or near death. What would follow would likely be a string of lawsuits or penalties as debts would need to be corrected and employees and their families demanded reparations.

  “Shit…” I swore. “You’re not just trying to bring down your father, are you? You’re trying to bring the whole company down.”

  “Damn right!” He shouted. “You think I want to be here? You think I want this job?”

  And honestly, it could work… Only… Would it? Would it really? If I could figure it out, though, he was broadcasting it to me, someone must have learned of it as well. Leo wasn’t exactly being subtle with his mismanagement.

  On the surface though, it looked like typical nepotism, and some obvious neglect. For it to be malicious though? That… that was something else…

  There was just one problem…

  “Why would you go that far?” I asked. “What has the company ever done to you?” I pressed on. “Is this all, really just to get back at your father?”

  He just, shrugs. “Why else would I do it?”

  I floundered. My mouth opened and shut a few times, much like a fish on land. I couldn’t even begin to find the words for what I was feeling. Rage? No, not that, neither disappointment either. The fact that this man, that he’d concocted this hare-brained scheme, a scheme that could very well bring down one of the major corporations in the city, just to get back at his father…

  I felt a bubbling in my stomach. A nasty mixture of emotions all swirling together. I tried to breathe, tried to call to the ice, but the alcohol in my blood resisted and pressed it away.

  My hands clenched tight, I could feel my nails digging into my gloves.

  It was just a single emotion that was bubbling inside me. Frustration that a child like this could outmaneuver me. The shame at being bested. Anger at just how callous he was to the lives he was ruining, and a growing desperation as I realized that I was just another casualty of this game of his. And also, a disappointment in myself for failing to read this man. For being made a fool of due to my own assumptions.

  And then there was something else… A realization, that this man was dangerous. If he was confident enough to spew all this out now, what did that mean?

  As I seethed, as the truth settled in my gut, the man leaned back against his desk. He reached for the decanter and began to pour himself another glass.

  “Now, if that’s it, you can leave now. After all, I got a date with a very special year.” He motioned to his drink and continued to go.

  I felt something… crack. Rather… It had always been cracked, ever since that event. I’ve always been a stickler for the rules. For systems, for getting things done right. I climbed ladders, fell down chutes, a constant cycle of up and down, believing that someday, my efforts would bear fruit.

  Sure, I bent them at times, I did things that would be considered unethical, but I still fell within the lines of propriety.

  The problem was… No matter what I did, I couldn’t imagine what I could do to Leo. Not within the confines of my own twisted code.

  Let the executive know? It was likely already too late to do anything. The entire division would need to be excised, and likely me along with it. Get together blackmail and attempt to get Leo under my thumb? Unlikely to work, especially with his ride or die attitude.

  Hell, in the time it took to get evidence, his plan might have already gone through!

  Threaten him? The man already seemed committed to this path…

  “Just… what exactly is you want?” I finally asked, instead of just walking away. Desperate, scrambling for any hope, any chance of turning this around.

  He actually blinked, for the first time, it felt like my question had thrown him off.

  “What I want? You mean, besides destroying my father?”

  “Obviously. Surely, there has to be something you want? You can’t just be doing this because you’re throwing a tantrum.” I tried my very best to keep my voice level. The man, just eyed me a moment.

  Then, he smiled and shrugged. “I always dreamed of wining and dining with the rich and famous you know? Like, owning a talent agency or something. Living it up with models wrapped around my arms, and endless supply of alcohol in my hand. The kind of life where everyone comes to me and looks up to me for my connections.”

  It was a stupid dream. A childish dream. And Leo’s smile seemed to confirm that very thought. He too thought it was impossible, that he’d never be able to achieve it.

  He wasn’t wrong and I didn’t disagree either, but… it made me realize something.

  Leo… wasn’t a man. No, he really was a child. A child throwing a tantrum, all because he disapproves of his father’s meddling. A child that didn’t care about who got hurt. And a child, couldn’t be negotiated with.

  He was nothing like Him, that man… Though…

  You’re just like me...’ His words echoed in my skull. And for the first time, I didn’t disagree.

  He’d wanted to build a business, something that would be renowned all over the world. He wanted power, and he always spoke in length of how power begets power, the man really did like to monologue at times, and yet…

  On some level, I had agreed with him. Though, some of the methods he used, I disagreed with.

  “Well, you leaving or what? Hate for some bad rumors to spread.” He said, almost nonchalantly. I would have taken it as a threat, but he didn’t even consider me as someone worth threatening. He didn’t see me as a threat.

  “Unless, you think you have some way of convincing me?” He said, with a small laugh, as if he was sharing a joke. After all, we both knew words could never solve this…

  “I might actually have one.” I said, in spite of myself. I was flexing my fingers, subtly, slowly getting my body warmed up. Not that he knew I was. After all, he was just a boy in a man’s body. He’d never fought before. Never been in a fight. Never killed.

  His laugh cut off, a condescending smile on his face. “Oh, do you now, and what would that be?” He asked and shifted. Like a king awaiting a jester to perform.

  Despite myself, I spoke. “Kicking your ass.”