9 Interest

Flowers were blooming in every corner of the meadow. The wind brought the sound of laughter from a little child frolicking around. The lass was jumping around all over the place as she keeps bouncing a ball, seemingly content with playing by herself.

"Ley, we need to come back. Let's go," a gentle voice sounded out.

Ley turned around immediately when she heard her name. She saw her mom waving at her while smiling. She excitedly ran back, eager to show her new toy.

"Ma, look! I made a ball," she proudly said while showing her mom the ball floating on top of her tiny hands.

The ball looked compact but if anyone looked closer. They'd see visible air revolving inside in a frantic manner. It was the manipulation of elements. The height of power for a magick.

The gentle smile she saw on her mother's face morphed into frantic horror. She didn't understand why. Did she do something wrong?

Her mother grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her while anxiously saying, "Stop that Ley! Don't ever do that again. Promise me!"

The tiny ball in her hands dropped and dissipated into the surroundings.

"But why? I like it. It calls me," she confusedly say, recalling the thrill of magic she experienced.

"Please Ley. Don't ever do that again. Bad things will happen. Please!" Tears started falling from her mom's face and Ley realized that it was terror reflected on her face.

"I won't do it again, ma. I swear," she nodded frantically while wiping her mom's tears not noticing the little teardrops falling from her eyes.

Ley woke up with a start as the last dredges of the dream vanished when her consciousness registered her surroundings. She ran a hand through her face and felt tears in her eyes. An echo from the dream she just had. She stared at her hands as if vividly recalling that feeling when she manipulated the air back then. The effortless way the magic respond to her will.

Nowadays, she can't even do simple magic without drawing blood. It was so limited that she felt like she's just forcing herself whenever she used it and the fear of it being forever gone.

There was no use dwelling on her barely there magic so she stood up to prepare for work. She took the paper bag containing the dress and accessories for the party later along with her things after she was ready and went out.

She yawned while going down from the cab and sluggishly pressed the elevator button that would take her to the top floor.

Her heels echoed as she walked along the hallway straight to her desk. She suddenly stopped when she saw a stranger leaning on her desk while tapping on the table. She resumed her walking when the stranger turned to look at her and smiled.

One whiff and she could clearly tell that this lady is also a shifter. She nodded at her when she reached the table while taking a quick glance.

She took in her tall frame partnered with skin-tight pants and black jacket. Her short straight hair hanging straight on the sides of her face bearing a small smile directed at Ley.

Ley put down her things and acknowledged her presence, "Good morning. How can I help you?"

"Hi, I'm Ara. I'm actually part of the security team but I'm not going to hang around here. I just did a quick sweep to check," Ara explained.

Ley just nodded in understanding so she was forced to continue to speak.

"By the way, I heard what happened here yesterday. Are you doing fine? No shock or anything? Just wondering since you almost got shot," Ara rambled on.

Something clicked on Ley's brain after hearing Ara asking these questions on their first meeting with an obvious discomfort.

"Landon made you ask, didn't he?" she said, ignoring Ara's earlier questions and putting her on the spot.

"No! No really, I was just curious," Ara replied while waving her arms in front of her body while Ley amusedly smiled.

She let Ara off and just went with the flow, "I'm really fine. I did not get into shock or anything."

Ara brightened immediately upon hearing her answer. "Good to know. See you around," she waved goodbye at once and went away whistling.

Looking at her receding figure, she can't help but observed that this girl is too honest especially with her expressions. A rarity in the world right now. It feels like her attitude is too pure for her kind of work. Shifters are naturally gifted on all their physical aspects so there's no denying that she's got abilities but Ley felt like she's on the wrong line of work

She shook her head to get rid of her stray thoughts and focus on her tasks today. Looking at Landon's schedule, she realized that they'll only see each other later this day when they go to the party. He has meetings outside all day so he might've sent Ara to ask. It looks like he's very considerate towards his employees too.

With the appearance of Ara, the security is beefed up and he's always with Sebastian so they would be hard-pressed to get him. The problem that's giving her headaches are the humans since they can't handle them easily without exposing their identities.

Just like that, Ley passed the hours away doing her routine tasks while thinking up ways to deal with them.

***

Landon with his eyes closed was sitting in the backseat of the car while waiting for Ley to come down. His phone vibrated and he took it out of his pocket and answered the call.

"Any news?" he asked immediately without greetings when he saw the caller ID.

"She looks fine and was working normally the last time I checked on her but I kind of slipped up a bit," Ara reported in a sheepish tone.

He didn't respond and just waited for her to continue speaking which made Ara on the other line squirmed.

"She guessed that you made me ask because she asked if you were the one who made me do it," Ara continued sounding ashamed.

Landon got distracted when Sebastian suddenly gestured at something outside the car. He glanced through the window and saw Roma making her way towards the car. Her hair styled in a simple coiled updo with a few strands framing her face and wearing an unadorned black tube long gown that perfectly fit her body. His eyes darken visibly while taking it all in, including her blank expression.

He was not the type who involves himself with the messy affair of office romance not including the fact that she's human but this secretary of his keeps popping up in his mind from time to time these past few days which made him wonder why it took him years to really see her. His face slipping into an imperceptible smile at the thought.

He can't help but want to know what's inside her mind.