252 Falling Hard...

Dumbstruck, Aegri's gears of thought sputtered and ground to a brutal stop. Out of reflex, she spun around to watch him walk away, putting her back to the view that had stolen her breath moments ago. 

"You don't know me! Don't you dare assume that we have anything in common!" Aegri's pointed stare tried to hack into Ayse's sly sliver of a smile.

"You don't know that, Miss Boss," Ayse replied with a formal bow. His purely professional behavior was back in full force. "But if you wish for silence out of me, a meager bodyguard who is nothing compared to you, my noble employer, then I'll do as you wish, Miss Boss. I shall not mistake myself again, Miss Boss."

His words disarmed Aegri's fury. Her mouth hung open in a stammering mess of hesitant syllables.