CHAPTER FIVE: why did I disappear from where...?

The moment Cyrene walked into Jason's office he didn't know what to think. And when she said something about just checking in, Jason knew she was up to something.

To say that Jason was shocked when Cyrene kept going on and on about the ledger was an understatement.

He knew about the discrepancies Cyrene talked about because he had been suspecting that some fraudulent activities were taking place at the enterprise for a while. He just hadn't had time properly go through the ledgers.

Whoever it was that was in charge of manipulating the ledgers was very skilled. It would require someone equally skilled to figure out any errors because those papers looked perfect and error free at a glance.

Forwarding them to his students through email was the only perfect test he could give them. He had plans for those that would succeed in figuring out the errors. He believed in them and he hope that they would not disappoint him.

He just didn't expect to receive an answer sooner from them, not to talk of Cyrene being the first. He gave them three days but Cyrene figured it out within hours. It made him wonder if Cyrene slept at night or not. He was almost tempted to ask... Maybe he was going to ask later.

He had a lot of questions for Cyrene but he wasn't going to overwhelm her with them. It could be dangerous to his plan, especially with the changes he had been noticing in her since he found her. He hadn't seen her for nine years, no one had and...

Nine years was enough to change someone. Nine years was enough to change Cyrene.

Cyrene asking him out for lunch looked like a perfect excuse to get to know who she had become. He didn't hesitate to jump on the opportunity and milk it the way he did, although it didn't seem like it was on the outside.

**********

Jason gave his car key to the valet as he approached the the entrance of the fancy restaurant. He kept glancing at his phone wondering if it would had been better if he picked Cyrene up instead of texting her the location. Though on a second note, it was she who insisted on taking the cab.

Just as he was about stepping through the glass doors he saw a cab stopping around the corner and his worries a few seconds ago disappeared. A tiny smile etched unto the corners of his lips as he watched Cyrene step out of the vehicle.

"Hello Mr Roman," Cyrene greeted as she walked close to him. "You clean up quite nicely." She added.

Jason chuckled, "you look lovely yourself."

"Thank you prof." She beamed at him.

He smiled at her as he gestured for her to lead the way. "Ladies first."

Cyrene looked at him with a smile and an appreciative gaze.

As they entered the place, the waiter who stood by the automatic glass doors greeted them as they walked in.

"Do you have a reservation, Sir?" The waiter asked Jason, although he kept glimpsing at Cyrene who seemed a little bit unaware of his stares.

"Yes, under Roman," Jason replied.

"Alright, I will take you there." The waiter started leading the say.

"You are going to love the food here," Jason said as he leaned towards her ear. Cyrene didn't fail to notice his subtle hot breath that tickled her neck. The little hairs in her body stood, because for some reason, that particular gesture and manner in which he spoke felt farmiliar.

"The place looks fine. If their food taste anything like how this entire place look then there's nothing to worry about," Cyrene laughed a little while throwing him a look.

The interior of the place was dimly lit but not too dark to cause accidents. By the corner of the lobby sat a very busy bar. It was buzzing with people in suits and also some of the bartenders in their uniforms. Cyrene looked a little bit confused about where they were supposed to eat since all she could see was a busy bar but she decided not to say anything about it.

"You have a way with words," Jason said.

"Says the man that brought me to this kind of place in the name of lunch," Cyrene disputed as they walked side by side further into the restaurant.

"You were the one that brought up the lunch talk, don't make me remind you." He whispered.

Cyrene threw him a look that said a lot in response to his statement because he already reminded her.

As they followed the waiter through another door into a different environment that looked more like a restaurant instead of bar, Cyrene slowed her steps and moved closer to Jason.

She tugged on his button up black shirt to get his attention and whispered, "He keeps glancing at me, do you think he knows I'm your student?" Cyrene said nodding in the waiter's direction who was already standing by their table gesturing for them to sit.

"Who said something about not caring about their opinion?" Jason reminded her. "He just finds you attractive I guess," he continued, referring to the waiter.

"Really?" Cyrene asked with surprise as she quickly pulled out her seat before Jason could.

"Yes," Jason replied sitting opposite her at the table, with a little frown in regards to her earlier display with the seat.

"Would you like to order?" The waiter asked them.

Jason looked at Cyrene who was studying the menu with keen interest.

"Everything seems expensive," she whispered looking troubled.

"I will order," Jason said picking up the menu in front of him.

Cyrene looked relieved. It was an Italian restaurant and if Jason brought them there it meant that he knew what to do better than Cyrene.

A few minutes into their meal, Cyrene decided to break the partially awkward silence between them by asking Jason about himself.

"Why did you choose to teach? Why Beckharn?"

"Teaching is interesting and Beckharn is peaceful. Is that reason enough?" Jason answered vaguely but without lying. Those were part of his reasons for being there but not all.

"Yes, I guess," Cyrene took a sip from the champagne flute in front of her.

"You appear to do things in a certain way, Miss Bernard," Jason said contemplating whether to finish his sentence or not. The way Cyrene composed herself and the way she acted when he brought her there was different from the way she spoke about the place.

She talked as though she had never been to such an expensive restaurant and yet she acted as though she'd been there before when they walked in. She was only worried about what people would say, and not about how the environment was different from the place she visited often.

"What do you mean? This place might look different in appearance and in the way they do things but there's not much difference from Buffers," Cyrene said as if she could read his thought while she downed more champagne from the flute again.

She's comparing this place to Buffer's cafe. Jason thought, finding it amusing as he gazed at her.

"What in the world happened to you, Cy? Why did you disappear?" Jason thought.

"It's Miss Bernard," Cyrene corrected staring at him with sobriety. "We ate together once and you saw the need to address me with such informality. It isn't ideal." She half joked.

It was then that Jason realized that he had let his thoughts wander away from his mind.

"Why did I disappear from where by the way?" Cyrene asked again with much more resolution. She was sure she heard him say something like that.

Jason didn't say anything else and just kept looking her in the eye while Cyrene did the same. Gradually, the background music that was playing before stopped. Everything and everyone in the restaurant disappeared in his senses and the world suddenly seemed to contain the two of them alone.

They stared at each other without saying anything for a while until Cyrene blinked a few times and her head hit the table with a slight tod and she passed out.

Suddenly, Jason was at her side lifting her limp head. It was then he looked at the champagne bottle and noticed that Cyrene almost emptied the entire liquid inside it.

She was drunk. Heavily drunk that she could barely keep her eyes open.