The Mysterious Kindred (1)

After the awkward conversation that happened between Denzel and Sharmaine, the office felt the same—quiet but bright with a few subtle noises here and there. Sharmaine stared at the pile of papers beside her, pondering on what she could do.

She reached for a piece of paper and read the contents with mixed thoughts. "Maybe I could hire someone to do the investigating for me?"

She looked at the paper, not knowing where to start the "investigation". She sighed and leaned heavily on her seat, "I wonder what would happen if Denzel found out I'm a woman."

Suddenly, the glass door opened, and in came a well-groomed man who wore a black suit. He had a nice figure and a fair complexion. Sharmaine stood up in surprise.

"What can I do for you, sir?" Sharmaine was confident with her words as she slowly approached the man.

"I came for Suarez." he had a serious vibe and he held a very familiar blue folder on his left hand — too familiar in fact.

"I am so sorry sir, he is not here at the moment,"—she pointed her hands towards the door—"Please come again, and oh... please have manners the next time you visit the president."

The man was annoyed with Sharmaine's tone, for it was an almost professional tone with authority. He gazed around the vicinity.

"Where is he?" he continued.

Frustration covered the mind of Sharmaine—did he not understand what she said at all? —"Again, please leave now or I will call the security."

The man faced Sharmaine. Up close, his face was smooth, very well cared and really exceptional. His hair had a bit of shine and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

"Do you not know who am I?"

Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Why was she getting nervous?

"I do not. Please leave."

The man smirked. He stepped closer to Sharmaine and whispered, "I will be back, Shawn, or should I say, Sharmaine?" to her ear with a dangerous smile. His tone and his breath were able to send chills to Sharmaine's spine. He left the office, leaving the sounds of his footsteps and the memory of him saying her real name.

What does he know? Has he spoken to Denzel about it?

Sharmaine stood transfixed with balled fists. That conversation would be the end of her job, and "friendship" with Denzel. She trembled slightly as the glass door opened again.

"What are you doing? Why are you standing there?"

"Ahh, it's nothing," Sharmaine gave an awkward laugh and went back to her table—relieved that it was not the man but Denzel—"By the way, how am I supposed to investigate these girls?"

"Isn't that supposed to be your job?" Denzel paced through the room and sat down on his chair.

Sharmaine just stared in mid-air. No words came out of her mouth. She reached out for another piece of paper to carefully analyze every detail typed. She sat back down and leaned on her seat with a big smile which Denzel noticed.

"What's with that smile of yours? Have you figured it out?"

"It's nothing," her face was so mysterious. It's as if she just found out something.

—

The hours passed. The papers vanished one by one, and the beautiful colors of the sun was seen through the window as it set. The office was cold, maybe the air conditioner was on max for the past hour. Sharmaine still sat on her chair—her bum was numb—she had one paper left of a girl who had a very long description.

"Betty Quin, 24 years old,"—Sharmaine raised her right eyebrow—"She worked for the Heidi Corporation." A familiar name she heard but cannot remember.

The interest of Sharmaine sparked as she grabbed her laptop from her drawer. Opening a searching application, she typed the words "Heidi Corporation", and the results gave her an answer that may or may not be relevant to this investigation of hers.

"So, the Heidi Corporation was bankrupted after the project scandal." Enthusiasm was finally with Sharmaine this time. If the downfall of the Heidi was related to the Suarez', then she might've already made a huge progress on her assigned task. Now that she had thought about it, majority of the girls worked for Heidi Corporation before going to the Suarez Corporation.

"Interesting."

The door opened. "Shawn, how's the investigation?" Out came Denzel, looking tired. He paced through the room and sat on the couch, brushing his hair to one side.

"Nothing much," Sharmaine glanced to the paper beside her, "Denzel,"

Sharmaine's call caught the attention of Denzel. "What is it?"

"Do you know Heidi Corp?"

Denzel was silent for quite a while. The name sounded too familiar, "Is it related to my assignment that I gave for you?"

"Yes,"—Sharmaine focused her eyes to Denzel's focused reaction—"I noticed that majority of these girls worked for Heidi before going here." There was a momentary paused before Sharmaine continued. "Do you think it's all just a coincidence?"

"It could be. Because of the project scandal, many of their employees quit and even lost their jobs and the—" Denzel could not finish his sentence for the glass door opened. Sharmaine stood up, surprised to see a familiar-looking man.

"Denzel."

"Brother?"

Author's Note:

Sorry for missing for almost 16 days! I am quite busy with school and so as Yunicly. I will try to update once or twice a week for now as I can only promise daily updates around the months of April and May. Love you guys!