Bloody Present

Ian Jasper, the personal secretary of Raven Grey, stood before his boss, who had been staring at him intently for the past twenty minutes. Perplexed, Ian tentatively touched his face, half-expecting to find a wayward coffee stain or a rogue piece of lint. Finding nothing amiss, he mustered his courage and finally ventured to break the silence.

"Who am I?"

Ian blinked, momentarily taken aback by the unexpected inquiry. He didn't expect his boss would ask something ridiculous after staring at him for almost half an hour. Unsure of how to respond to such an existential question, Ian hesitated before offering a tentative answer.

"Uh... You're my boss."

Raven's lip twitched imperceptibly, "And?"

Ian's brow furrowed in confusion. "And... the CEO of Altron group?"

Raven hummed, "Anymore?"

Ian blinked, momentarily wondering if his boss was subtly flaunting his wealth or if he had simply lost track of time in one of his enigmatic reveries.

Raven let out a faint sigh, "Forget it. Just get the meeting room ready and inform Mr. Collins' team to be there with their reports in ten minutes."

"Yes, sir," Ian responded briskly, eager to escape the perplexing atmosphere of his boss's office. With a quick nod, he swiftly exited the room, leaving Raven to his inscrutable thoughts.

Raven stood up from his chair and strolled towards the expansive glass wall, his mind drifting back to the memorable encounter with Siren. As he replayed the conversation in his mind, he couldn't help but recall the scene from the morning.

After finishing their breakfast, he picked up Aiden and placed him inside the car. The reluctant Aiden, unwilling to part ways with his "angel," stuck his head out of the car window with a hopeful expression on his face.

"Ms. Siren, I won't mind if you want to send me off with a goodbye kiss. Here, I'll lend you my cheek," Aiden proclaimed, tilting his chin towards Siren, eager for his angel's affectionate gesture.

As if bursting his happy bubbles, his father laid his big hand over his head and shoved him inside the car hiding his small face with his muscular back. Undeterred, Aiden attempted to protest by hitting his father's back with his small fist.

After all the useless attempts, he humphed and slumped back on the seat with a big pout. Seeing his son give up, Raven turned his attention to Siren.

"So... Ms. Siren Grace, may I know what color you prefer?" Raven's voice deepened as he locked eyes with her, his gaze intense and unwavering.

Siren, who had been silently observing the playful interaction between father and son, didn't respond immediately. She noticed Ms. Pakpao's nosy intrusion, her face pressed against the glass as if trying to catch every word exchanged between them. If she is not wrong, she is already deciding to loot the entire Victoria's Secret for her honeymoon.

Turning her attention back to Raven, Siren replied calmly, "Red."

Raven arched an eyebrow, "Red as in roses?"

Siren's response was cool and unflinching, "Red in blood."

Raven regarded her with a glint of amusement in his eyes. He stepped closer to her, leaning down with a playful grin.

"Then should I give you a carton of goat blood or do you prefer chickens?" he teased.

Siren's response was swift and unexpected, "Why not yours?"

Raven's grin widened at her boldness. "With pleasure," he replied, his tone laced with amusement. He placed his thumb at the corner of her mouth, parting her lips and grazing it against her sharp canine, smearing the dripping blood at the corner of her soft lips.

He retracted his hand and moved backwards before asking with a mirth twinkling in his eyes, "How do you like it?"

Siren's expression hardened at his action. Her response was sharp and resolute. "I wasn't sure before, but now I'm certain about the truth of the rumors surrounding you."

"Whispers of my unparalleled charm?" Raven quipped seemingly unbothered by his arrogance.

Siren's lips twitched at his remark. She knew all too well that beneath his suave facade lurked something far more sinister. In fact, he is a devil, Devil clads in human skin. All she wanted to do now was to wipe the infuriating smirk off his face.

Closing the gap between them, she whispered into his ear, her breath fell on the shell of his ears, 

"Madness. The rumors speak of your madness, Hunter."

As his smirk faltered, Siren offered him a sweet smile before gracefully turning to re-enter the restaurant.

Now, back in the present moment, Raven pondered just how much she knew about him, but it's another mystery how she knew about him. He picked up his phone and dialed the most annoying person in his contact list. The call was answered within a second.

"Well, well, well, look who it is. My dear grumpy companion, have you been pining for my company?" came the overly zealous voice that immediately made Raven question why he hadn't eliminated this annoyance long ago.