CHAPTER 13 : NEW FRIENDSHIP ?

Anika sipped the warm coffee slowly . The canteen was surprisingly quiet until ,

" Hello , beautiful . "

Tayden arrived .

" What ? " She questioned , irritated . What happened an hour ago , had still left her disturbed and the only thing she wanted was peace , not more disturbance .

" Just came to give you company . You look so lonely . " Tayden spoke taking a seat on the table .

" If that breaks , you will pay . " She spoke as she analysed the man with little to no interest .

" Sorry . " He voiced as he got off the table and sat beside her .

" Don't you have to go to work ? " She asked the man who stared at her . According to what he had said , there would be children waiting for him teach them painting . She remembered from the time , they had a chat before going to the party house .

" They could skip a day without learning . " He replied back .

" Besides , I have a better painting in my sight . " He flirted .

" And I only see more pain. " She replied looking at him , dead in the eyes .

" You are supposed to say something nice." The man replied dying to hear her praising him .

" Your presence doesn't make me feel like saying something nice . " She spoke , taking the last sip of her coffee .

" Does it make you feel like doing something nice ? " Tayden asked still trying .

" No , but it makes me want to smash this on your head . " She said raising her glass , before standing up to get a refill . She was on her fourth glass of coffee and now onto the fifth .

" Oh , come on . You know you love me ." He spoke getting up immediately , following her .

" I know I don't ." She spoke getting even more tired of him . Maybe coffee wouldn't help her .

" What do you want ? " She asked defeated as Tayden cheered in his mind .

" Go on a date with me . " He spoke excited .

" No can do . " She replied , walking back to her seat .

" You can pick the place . I won't leave you until you say yes . "

Anika looked at him up and down .

" Please . " He asked , a pout adorning his features .

' Should I go ? Maybe I could get something to prove that he is sketchy and that he needs to be removed . ' She asked herself .

" Meet me at the laundry room . Seven " She spoke , finalizing her decision .

She was not going to leave the building. She still needed to be in one piece when Ava returns .

" The laundry room ? " Tayden asked surprised .

" That's not romantic . " He commented .

" It's not supposed to be . " She stated finishing her fifth glass . Anika definitely needed a bigger glass .

" What are we going to do there ? Fold clothes ? " Tayden asked , frustrated at the lady in front of him .

" Precisely , you will be folding the clothes , while I will be seeing how good you are at it . You can speak to me , while folding the clothes ."

" That's not fair . Why should I fold the clothes ? Why can't you fold it ? "

" Because you are the one who wants this and not me . " She replied , looking at the taller man , who stomped his feet , before walking away .

" I will come to the laundry room . " He shouted on his way out , only to get scolded by someone else for making so much of noise .

" Cute " She muttered .

" Or may be not . " She completed remembering how he couldn't be trusted.

" Such a good act ." She spoke , going back onto her way to get her a bigger cup of coffee and then on to her room , so that she could lock her door and actually be at peace.

~

" Here . " Anika spoke as she handed out reports of what her team had been doing . It's good that Syl atleast submitted a report .

" You can stay here until your case gets closed . Don't be stressed about it. We are all here to make sure you are safe . " Told the lady at the office counter as she took the reports I handed her . I only nodded in return , thanking her silently .

" See you later . " I bid goodbye as I walked towards the laundry room . It was nearing seven and I had my own clothes to pick from there .

I entered the room and just like I thought , Tayden was there and he was picking his tooth , which he immediately stopped when he felt my presence .

" Hey . H-how you doing ? " He asked stuttering , knowing that I caught him in the act .

" Terrible . Go wash your hands . " I answered .

" I didn't actually put it in my mouth . It just looked like it ." He spoke justifying himself .

" But I like people who wash their hands . " I replied , being surprised immediately when I processed what I had just said .

I should have gone with , ' wash your hands or I am leaving . "

Not even a second the sentence had fell from my mouth , Tayden dashed towards the sink , while I went and picked a basket for myself to keep my washed clothes inside .

" You can start by folding those clothes ." I spoke as I pointed at the dry clothes that were kept in a heap on a chair . The newbies here are supposed to fold the clothes as part of training so that when they get missions where they might have to pretend as servants , they won't end up folding clothes terribly and would actually know how each clothe is supposed to be folded .

The newbies must be happy at the fact that they got an off today .

" Should I fold all of that ? " Tayden asked , genuinely not wanting to fold clothes . Relatable .

" Why having such a doubt ? Ofcourse , yes. Fold it properly on the first try and you won't have to refold it again. " She spoke grinning as she saw pain creeping up his eyes .

" Ok . " Tayden spoke to himself as he walked over to the clothes and picked one up .

" How should I fold this ? " He asked not getting how to fold the gown .

" The instructions are in here . " Anika spoke handing him a paper.

" You keep manuals on how to fold clothes ? "

" Yes , I do . Now start folding . " She commanded the man , who obeyed immediately .

Anika glanced at the security camera , remembering that Johnathan was watching. Johnathan had approached her earlier , with the same opinions on Tayden as hers' . James and Syl was oblivious to this though .

Since she can't completely trust Tayden , she had told Johnathan to keep an eye out and he was ready to . Who knows , maybe Tayden asked her to go on a date with him , so that he could murder her .

Feeling the silver knife that she had kept attached to the thigh strap , Anika focused back on the man who was folding the clothes .

" Did you eat anything today ? " She asked the man .

" Yes I did . Why did you ask ? " He asked happy about the fact that she cared for his health .

" Then why are you folding those clothes like you are going to fall down any moment ? Stand straight and fold properly . " She commanded again , sure that Tayden was starting to get irritated , maybe that would finally make him leave from randomly disturbing her , incase he is not a murderer .

Even though , she may have sounded rude , Tayden didn't seem to be irritated one bit .

' Does he like me that much ? ' She questioned herself .

It didn't matter anyway , she remembered how he had acted when she had met him first . Let him first learn to behave properly .

She remembered what he had said during their first meet .

' Don't try hard , just say yes. I will pay for the food . ' The disgust and rage that she had felt then flashed her mind .

" Why did you want to go on a date with me ? " She asked him .

" Want to see if I would fall for your money ? " She asked , intruding Tayden's train of thoughts .

" What , no ." He replied immediately .

" Is this about what I had said that day ? If yes , I am sorry . I promise you , I didn't mean it . I just wanted to check what kind of a person you actually was . "

" Well what you had said that day awfully seemed to look like it was a part of you . " She replied , remembering how the sentence came so naturally to him .

" Ok , maybe I was a bit like that , but I changed after James scolded me . " He replied .

" Well then , you have changed very fast . What did James add in his words to change you so fast ? " Anika spoke , not wanting to accept the man's words .

" He told me , why I should never think about all girls as people who fall on their knees , when they hear that I am rich and see that I am handsome . "

Anika didn't reply for the first few seconds as she processed what he was saying .

Was this a sincere sentence or just a two way sentence that he used to compliment himself .

" Did you just praise yourself ? " She asked laughing .

" Should I stop doing that ? " He asked , keen to know what she would say .

" No , but you could tone it down a bit . "

" Anything for you , my lady ." Tayden spoke as he bowed down at her .

Anika only giggled , the mistrust that she had on him leaving for a second , overclouding it with curiousness .

" Well did you understand why James told that to you ? " She asked .

" Kind of , so , do you want to be my friend ? " Tayden asked , his puppy eyes staring right at her.

A yes was told and a hug was shared , but is this friendship one that would last long or is it something that would be a lot more ?