Do You Want To Drink With Me?

Kathrin kneaded her neck as she made her way through the entrance to the apartment building. Today was another exhausting day.

She and her team spent time reviewing the evidence in Marcella's case and organizing the list of potential suspects in the investigation.

Her team leader, Xavier, was the one who spoke to the media. But unfortunately, they could only tell the public that Marcella's death was a suicide. They won't say anything about the murder since it was still a mere guess based on the crime scene.

Doing all her duty wasn't the source of her exhaustion; it was the reporters and the image she had seen at the crime scene.

She felt annoyed because they had to deal with a swarm of reporters who decided to camp in front of the station. They resembled ravenous sharks, ready to pounce on all the detectives to obtain new information.

After that, Kathrina felt worn out the most because of the split image she had seen at the crime scene. She was unsure whether what she had experienced was a flash of memory or simply a reaction to the sight of a dead body.

Kathrina was so preoccupied with the thoughts running through her head that she forgot to pay attention to where she was going.

Thud~

Her head bumped into a hard surface. "Aww," She winced in pain while rubbed her brow.

"Are you okay?"

The low and familiar voice penetrated Kathrina's senses, which compelled her to crane her neck to look at the owner of the voice. It did not come as a surprise to her to see Arthur standing in front of her.

"Hmmm."

As if not believing her simple answer, Arthur leaned closer. He removed Kathrina's hand from her brow and stroked her forehead gently. Then, his eyes peered down at her and warned her, "You should be careful. What if it was a wall you walk into?"

"My forehead will bleed?"

Her blasé response earned her a flick on the forehead. She glared at the man, which only made the man smile showing the dimple on the left side of his cheek. For a moment, Kathrina was stunned. She had not expected him to have a cute dimple.

"I did not know you have a dimple." Kathrina blurted subconsciously.

"If you stopped feeling irritated when you looked at me, you should've realized it. I smile at you a lot." As Arthur answered, he also realized that Kathrina, a woman he barely knew, could easily make him smile.

"I can't help it. You are annoying."

"Am I? I don't think so. I was merely trying to get your attention." Arthur defended himself. He took her hand for a while so they could continue walking.

"By making me annoyed, that's your tactic?" Kathrina asked while looking at him like she was staring at a kid. "You sound like a teenager who begged your crush to acknowledge your existence." She spoke her words with a mocking tone.

"But I succeed, right?" Arthur jabbed back at her with the same tone, "Maybe your interest in me is not as big as mine to you, but I still managed to slip into your mind." He paused in front of her, staring straight at her beautiful brown orbs. "Right, Kathrina?"

Kathrina wanted to wipe the smug smile on Arthur's lips. She badly wanted to do that so the man would lose his arrogance in him. The seduction to lie before him was so captivating. But instead, the words that came out of her mouth were nothing but the truth. "You are right."

The admittance from Kathrina caught him off guard. The feeling was akin to when he was hit by a sea wave; it hit him harder and pulled him under the water to drown.

"Are you serious?" He asked. If Kathrina still admitted it, nothing would stop him from making his way toward her heart.

Seeing the look of astonishment in his eyes, Kathrina nodded her head in response.

"Do you understand what you are admitting to?" Arthur questioned her once again, and Kathrina nodded again. "Use words, Kathrina." He said, feeling a little impatient.

"I did think of you." Kathrina complied. She then added her words when she caught the awe in his expression, "Not often, though."

The final sentence that Kathrina had spoken had little to no effect on Arthur. He was already over the moon with a simple affirmation that he had managed to infiltrate her thoughts.

'I need to stop feeling excited over something small like this.' Arthur reminded himself.

Somehow, he still could not fathom Kathrina's impact on him. He was stressed with his company problem, but just a simple interaction with her was able to ease the headache he felt.

Kathrina's power over him kept growing; it was as if Kathrina was a vine. Her tendrils grew slowly, yet surely, until they managed to circle his entire being. With her power, Arthur could see himself being a slave to her in the future.

Arthur kept up with Kathrina as she made her way toward the elevator and continued walking in that direction. She shrugged her shoulder and continued to ruminate about her memories.

She leaned her head on the elevator wall, pondering if she should ask her family about those scary images. Of course, she longed for an answer, but if she were to weigh the effect of her question, she was sure it would make her family more worried than they already were.

Since they stepped into the elevator, Arthur had followed Kathrina's every move. However, it appeared as though the woman was in a gloomy mood because all she did in the elevator was stare at her reflection on the walls while periodically letting out a loud and heavy breath.

He was itching to ask her what was wrong but held back since he knew the boundaries. They had not stepped on the line of sharing each other's problems.

The ding sound gave Arthur the sign that he had arrived on his floor. Just as he was about to leave, he glanced back at Kathrina. The woman was still in a daze. So, he decided to go.

When the door was just about to shut, it opened again, revealing Arthur with a determined expression on his face.

"Kathrina." He called softly but loud enough to break Kathrina's focus.

"Yeah?" Kathrina's brows elevated, and her head tilted to the side as if asking him why he had not gone home.

"Do you want to have a drink with me?"

A frown formed on her brow as Arthur's offer sounded abrupt to her. Nevertheless, what shocked her the most was her reaction to him.

"Okay."