Appease me

A few minutes ago, Veron was busy working on a document when Skye mind-linked him concerning Karina's arrival. He knew she would show up as there was no other way for her to see him.

They had been given a three weeks break for the purpose of their research, so it was a fact that she couldn't hope to see him in school.

Now that she was here, he dropped the pen he held and leaned back against the backrest of the chair as the gears in his brain began to turn. With his left elbow on the armrest, and index finger resting below his lower lip, he fixed his attention on the door.

Soon enough, her scent announced her presence, even before the door was pushed open from the outside, making him inhale deeply to get more of that relief it brings into his soul.

The moment she stepped in, he realized that just as he expected, she was in clothes three times bigger than her, which was designed for men, and not women.

Sometimes, he wonders if she was having an identity crisis, or if she just preferred to be dressed as a man instead of a woman. But since he never cared to ask, he never got to know.

Seeing how she was dressed, he decided to fix his gaze on the only appealing part of her body he could see — her face.

Her luscious brown hair was tied behind her head, and her amber eyes were squinted a little because of the fake smile she was wearing. Yes, the smile was fake. He could tell. The only question that popped into his head was, why was she forcing a smile when she didn't have to?

"Hey, Ver… Uhm, I mean, Mr. Veron." He heard her say after hesitating the first time and changing the way she had wanted to address him. One of his brows flew up instantly.

"Mister?" Came his question. Why did she have to address him as Mister?

"Well, this is your office and everybody calls you that, so…" She trailed off at the end, expecting him to fill in the blank spaces. Instead, another question flew out of his mouth.

"Everybody?" Veron wondered how many people she met and questioned for her to say, everybody.

"The lady downstairs and…" Again she trailed off upon realizing that there was no one else. "Never mind. Can I sit?" She broadened her smile, despite getting tired of keeping up with it.

Without a word, Veron gestured with his right hand for her to take the seat directly opposite him, all the while, keeping his eyes on her face.

"Thank you." She muttered, moving toward the chair he pointed, not after letting out a silent exhale in relief. What she was unaware of was that no matter how silent she made it sound, it echoed loud and clear in his ears.

"So what can I do for you?" Veron asked, finally peeling his eyes from her and setting them on the document he was working on earlier.

Just as the question made it out of his mouth, the smile on Karina's face faltered as her brows drew together in annoyance. 'What did he mean by that question? Didn't he know why she was there?' She complained in her head while sending a glare to the center of his forehead.

When he lifted his eyes to look at her after a few seconds have passed without a word from her, she quickly brought back the smile to her face. 'Just cooperate, Karina. This will soon be over.' She reassured and encouraged herself.

"We are research partners and I came here for us to discuss how we will go about it. We need to agree on a time and venue that will be convenient for us to meet and work." Karina explained, trying not to grit her teeth while doing that.

"Right." He uttered in a bored tone before going completely silent for a long time.

His silence and expressionless stare made Karina uneasy, as she wondered what he was thinking. He didn't even comment on what she just said.

Just as she wanted to say something to break the thick silence, he spoke.

"What makes you think I would want to work with you after you rejected me openly in class? You said you didn't want to work with me, remember?" Veron's tone was still bored, but the question sent a sharp stab to Karina's heart.

The smile on her face faded instantly and her heart dropped. Of course, she remembered that, but how could he still be holding on to that?

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, fighting the urge to look or act defeated, which was exactly how she was feeling at that moment.

"I did say that, but I didn't mean it the way you think."

"Is that so?" Veron probed.

"Yes. I only did that because I know you are busy with work and have less time for school activities. I on the other hand have lots of time on my hand and I stay inside the school. I'd prefer to work with someone who is in my category. But right now, I have no other option or choice." Karina explained honestly, even though that was not the only reason she didn't want to work with him.

But there was no way she would tell him the second reason. He didn't need to know how much he scares her.

" So you'd rather work with Matt if you had a choice?" Veron queried. No matter how much he tried to ignore it, there was this anger brewing inside of him at the mention of that name.

Matt had never done anything to him in the past, but the mere thought of Karina choosing him brews this rage in his heart.

"Matt stays in school and is currently only concentrated on school stuff like me. So yes, it would be more convenient to work with him." Karina responded, trying to be as honest as possible without hurting Veron's feelings.

Little did she know that it wasn't working. Although he understood her reasons perfectly, he still couldn't get over the part where she was still choosing Matt over him, for whatever reason.

After a while, he let out a silent sigh, realizing he was letting his emotions get the best of him. He already made up his mind not to work with her so there was no need to feel bad that she preferred to work with someone else.

However, he had questions and this was an opportunity to get answers. He wouldn't let it go to waste.

"You will have to appease me if you want me to work with you."

At this utterance, Karina's brows pulled together.

"Appease you?" She asked, and when he rocked his head ever so slowly, another question flew out of her mouth. "How?"

"Simple. Just give me correct answers to my questions." He revealed, and Karina's expression turned suspicious.

"What questions?" Karina probed, keeping her narrowed eyes on him. Something told her this was not going to be good, and she believed it.

"Why haven't you reported me to the police?" Veron's voice echoed in her ears, resounding again and again as she tried to make sense of what he just asked.