Father & Daughter
Getting rid of her helmet, Darcy stood outside the company building, rubbing her wolf cut with her gloved left hand and huffing out deep breaths after an intense ride.
Unknowingly to her—or so she assumed—her eyes slowly traveled to the newly opened coffee shop right across from her company. The big board displayed 'Rollingspin Café' in italic cursives, the workplace of the soft-spoken Cayden.
A massive crowd had gathered around the café, likely due to a promotional event to boost the new business and attract more customers.
Darcy pondered whether she should go, her eyes squinting in contemplation. After a brief internal debate, she shook her head. "Nah, I should not; I don't want to be weird," she mumbled, turning her attention back to her towering company.
However, within two minutes, Darcy found herself standing outside the café's door. "Well, I should just kill the curious cat," her impulsive thoughts chimed in, dismissing her actions as mere curiosity.
Entering the café, she lifted her eyebrows in satisfaction at the minimalistic urban interior, radiating an aesthetic of modern class. Unlike her first visit, she paid more attention to the details, noticing beautiful paintings on the walls that hadn't been there before.
Recalling Cayden mentioning a friend named Victor, who was an artist, Darcy connected the dots. Darcy thought maybe he was helping the owner to get in contact with a good artist.
"Pretty indeed," Darcy nodded as she walked ahead, finally understanding why people were staring at their phones while exiting the café. No one would pass up the opportunity to capture the beauty of the décor.
No one except for Darcy. Her life and her situation did not really make her someone who would like to capture her moments on camera.
The café buzzed with activity, and Darcy noticed two staff members who hadn't been there on her previous visit. When her eyes met with the pretty girl at the counter, she hesitated, unsure of what to do next. "Well, here goes nothing," she awkwardly chuckled, shaking her head, and proceeded toward the counter.
"Welcome to Rollingspin Café. What would you like to order?" the pretty girl asked with a beautiful smile. Darcy sensed that the girl was looking at her with sparkly eyes, possibly amazed by her unusual fashion sense. Little did she know, the girl was actually starstruck by Darcy's whole vibe.
"Rose, Jack, I'm really sorry I left you guys like that when things are going so hectic," a man's voice drew the attention of both Rose and Darcy.
"No worries boss," Rose replied politely with her smile and turned back to Darcy once again, whose attention was once again captivated by the guy.
It was Cayden. Darcy found herself repeating her earlier thoughts, 'Pretty indeed,' as she admired the oblivious guy. Cayden, seemingly unaware of the effect he had on Darcy, addressed the other staff.
"Jack, I will take over the coffee machine now. You go and please arrange the pastries and cakes in order." Jack nodded and disappeared into the same door Cayden had entered. Only then did Darcy notice the array of cakes, pastries, cupcakes, and bread displayed over and under the glass counter.
Things had clearly changed since her last visit, and the business seemed to be thriving.
But a question lingered in Darcy's mind—did she hear it right? Rose referred to Cayden as "boss," but she had initially thought he was just a worker. If he was indeed the owner or even the manager, why would he be making deliveries?
"Miss, miss!" Rose continued calling, and Darcy finally looked back at her, nervously chuckling. This wasn't the first time that the man had made her lose her train of thought, as if she were in a slow-motion scene from a movie.
It felt pathetic!
"Oh, give me twenty Americano," Darcy mumbled her usual coffee order, though she didn't know why she said twenty.
"Twenty Americano right up!" Rose repeated, and Cayden raised his eyebrows in astonishment at the customer requesting twenty coffee orders at once.
When he looked at the customer and his eyes met those green siren eyes, his lips instantly stretched into a huge smile, and Darcy swallowed.
She wasn't looking forward to meeting him—or maybe she was, considering she knew the possibility of encountering him at the café.
Handing his working apron to Rose, who whined about it, Cayden walked towards the opposite side of the counter to greet Darcy properly. "How are you doing?" he asked, and Darcy just nodded her head.
Now that Cayden was looking at her gloved hands, he was reminded of the accident he caused, and the smile over his face was replaced by a pout, making Darcy feel a twinge inside her.
How was this man able to affect her like this? Darcy probably asked herself for the nth time.
"Is your hand alright? I hope it didn't leave a scar," Cayden said thoughtfully, and Darcy, being Darcy, had to say something savage despite the sweetness the poor guy showed to her.
"Why would a scar like that taint me?" she mocked, and when Cayden aggressively shook his head, trying to convey he was misunderstood, Darcy instantly regretted her words.
She didn't like—no, she hated that expression on his face. That expression of guilt.
"No—no, I meant I felt bad for causing you harm. I wasn't objectifying your beauty," Cayden widened his eyes as he realized his words and started to fidget with nervousness.
Darcy couldn't help the teasing smile on her lips looking at him in such a scrambling mess, Cayden did really take her interest. "I—it's just that I meant I don't objectify people based on the stupid beauty standards," Cayden corrected his words, making Darcy wonder if he was actually calling her beautiful or if it was a genuine miscommunication.
She would really like it if the former were the case. She cleared her throat, embarrassed to even think as such.
"Relax, I was just joking," Darcy said, clearing her throat. It was her first time trying to de-escalate a situation, because before this, she would rather not care about other people's emotions. But Cayden being nervous in front of her made her say something automatically.
"Oh, okay," Cayden chuckled as he scratched his head, a red tint covering his cheeks, and Darcy loved it too. She loved that redness and loved that innocence.
"And to answer your question, yeah, I am doing absolutely fine, and there is no scar on my hand. See," said Darcy as she removed the glove from her left hand and showed it to Cayden, who smiled brightly.
Darcy thought that maybe all of these adorable feelings for Cayden were not all that bad. Feeling like this once in a while was not going to harm her in any way.
But she was going to be absolutely wrong; she just didn't know it yet.
...
With twenty coffee orders in both her hands, Darcy dumbfoundedly walked out of the elevator, unable to believe herself for doing what she did a few minutes ago.
Embarrassed by herself, she just wanted to bury herself in a corner, but one of her underlings stopped her, greeting her enthusiastically.
Darcy looked at her and saw how confused that girl was with all those coffees in her hands.
"Distribute these among yourselves," Darcy stuffed all the coffees into the other girl's hand and rushed away to her private lounge while the girl looked at her vanishing back, completely amused by the sudden awkwardness in the air.
"Here, my treat," said the girl as she set all the coffee-containing bags on the pool table for her gang members.
"Yeah, don't joke around. As if you will ever spend a single dime on anyone," one of her colleagues said as she glared at him.
"Do you want to die or what?" she said through her gritted teeth as others around the pool started to laugh, making fun of her.
"Just tell us where did this come from?" another girl asked.
"Boss gave it to me," the girl replied, and everyone looked at her confused.
"Impossible," someone said.
"But isn't the boss acting funny for a few days? She is behaving somewhat different," another one said.
"What do you think, Dominic?" one of them asked, and everyone turned their attention to Dominic, who was silent till now.
Instead of answering their question, Dominic took in a deep breath and just walked away, as he had yet to calculate how he was supposed to behave in the situation.
Darcy was indeed behaving differently, but he did not want to reach a conclusion that it was because of a certain guy they met in the nightclub. That would be too out of character of Darcy.
"The hell? Americano. Now who drinks this bitter shit?"
...
"Boss, Mr. Raven is here," one of Darcy's underlings announced, prompting Darcy to furrow her eyebrows in confusion.
Dominic, with widened eyes, swiftly stood up from the stool around the poker table, hurrying over to Darcy with a worried expression. "Why is he here so suddenly? Do you think he found out about Peter?" Dominic anxiously mumbled, his fingers running through his hair tensely.
Darcy took a deep breath, standing up from her couch with a nod of firm confidence. "Even if he did, I don't care. We knew he would know one day, sooner or later, it does not matter," she declared with certainty, leading the way towards the common area where Mr. Raven, her father, would be arriving.
As Mr. Raven walked in through the elevator, his demeanor was unexpected for every single member of Darcy's gang.
Instead of the usual tension and arguments, he seemed unusually pleased. "Ha-ha-ha, Darcy, Darcy, Darcy, my dear daughter. I am so proud of you," he exclaimed, walking towards her with an unexpected warmth.
Darcy, backed by her underlings, stood still, her eyes wide open and her face stoic as her father enveloped her in a hug, patting her back. Anyone could be fooled in a situation like that, thinking he must love his daughter a lot.
But only Darcy knew the real colors and maybe Dominic too as he still kept his gaze lingering between the father and daughter, cautious of any escalating situation.
Confusion rippled through everyone present. The usual confrontations and criticisms were absent, replaced by an unexpected display of paternal affection. Darcy's underlings stood in bewildered anticipation, waiting for the moment Mr. Raven would reveal his true intentions.
"I'm proud that you got rid of the pesky dust under my shoes and cleared my path," Mr. Raven remarked, pulling away from the hug. As his eyes met Darcy's, sharpness reflected in those green eyes that mirrored his own green ones.
The atmosphere suddenly hung with an uneasy calm.
"Now, hand it over to me. All the intel on the drug channels and everything else you've got," Mr. Raven stated with a smile still lingering on his face.
Despite the ridiculous request-cum-order, Darcy resisted the urge to scoff, clenching her fist. She glared into her father's eyes, and Mr. Raven raised an eyebrow at her defiant attitude.
"It would be better for you to hand it over while I'm being nice," he warned Darcy and she smirked, crossing her arms confidently. This gesture brought a mix of question and annoyance to Mr. Raven's face.
"And why would I do that? I won this battle, and being the winner, the reward will be mine solely," Darcy declared with astounding courage.
Dominic, standing on guard behind her, felt a surge of pride for her standing up for herself. However, his worry lingered, knowing the unpredictability of the situation.
"I let you build this company, so just keep playing with this silly toy and don't get on my nerves. Hand over everything," Mr. Raven warned her calmly in a rigid voice. Darcy, however, clenched her teeth so tightly that her already sharp jawline sharpened even further.
"The company that you're calling a toy is the sole reason your other businesses are thriving in a safe place. You could have never achieved what I did because you are—" Before Darcy could complete her sentence, she was abruptly cut off.
A loud sound of a slap reverberated through the floor, stunning everyone present. Darcy turned to look back at her father, glaring at him with intense defiance.
He, in turn, met her gaze with equal intensity. "I will leave for now. But if you won't give the intel to me by the end of the month, then prepare for the worst," Mr. Raven warned, signaling his men to take the exit.
"I gave you this life. I made you who you are, so you better know your place," Mr. Raven added as parting words before leaving through the lift. The lingering tension in the room dissipated, but the aftermath of the confrontation lingered, leaving everyone except Darcy in a state of uneasy anticipation for the events that would unfold by the end of the month.