“…”
The diner, which was normally bustling with noise, was only quiet around their table. As they sat around the large table, hacking away at the stack of food in front of them, nobody spoke.
“I wonder where they’re at now…” Seth murmured weakly, breaking the silence. He was referring to the previous security team, who had handed off their work and left with such freedom on their faces. The other members who had been considerate enough to stay a little longer to let them have their final meal from the outside world would also certainly and gladly be running off as soon as they returned to the mansion, happiness exuding from their entire bodies.
Mark took a bite out of his beef hotdog and replied, “Over the national border by now, maybe.”
“Must be nice…” Seth muttered to himself. Everyone could relate. In their heads, they had all bought a plane ticket to somewhere and were leaving the country. It didn’t matter where, as long as they didn’t have to see that man. Josh, in particular, had another reason to be desperate for this escape.
‘God damn it… No matter how pretty that b*stard is, he’s just a lump of flesh like everyone else. I knew how big of a piece of trash that guy was, and I still got distracted at the moment.’ As a matter of fact, Josh hated himself for it. ‘Who knew I had this soft a spot for pretty faces?’
At the same time, Josh had to admit it to himself, no matter how hard it was to swallow the pill. He, too, was no better than a foolish teenage boy who had been rejected by a girl eating a chocolate bar.
“What would be a nice holiday location?” Josh murmured before he could stop himself.
Mark joined, “I always wanted to travel to Cuba. With a cigar, yeah. Sounds like a good a*s time.”
Watching him smacking his lips already, everyone began to chime in with a dream holiday destination.
“The Amazon sounds nice, too. Like an adventure, you know?” Seth said quietly.
Right away, Henry replied sarcastically, “No hot water and no internet? Yeah, fun.”
‘None of that man, either,’ thought Josh to himself. No man looked like he belonged in the city more than he. It was difficult to even imagine Chase Miller splattered on the floor, basking in dust, all the while wearing a creased shirt. If it were only Josh, he would have been filled with the desire to move somewhere far away from the modern world, the Amazon, or wherever. However, Josh had Pete. He wanted to at least have Pete finish his formal school education.
“How about Alaska?” said Josh. Seth stared at him as if to ask why the heck he would want to move to Alaska. Josh added like an excuse, “It’s quiet. Not a lot of people, either.”
“Would be perfect if you’re wanting to hole up in the middle of nowhere,” Henry replied as sarcastically as always.
Seth added, “Canada’s pretty rural, too. Why bother going all the way to Alaska?”
It wasn’t a bad idea. Just then, Josh remembered a detail that he had been forgetting. “Isaac, you’re from Canada, right? How are things over there?”
Isaac, who hadn’t said much until then, replied flatly, “Dunno. It’s been so long since I left. I’ve even forgotten how to speak Canadian.”
Everyone stared at Isaac. Isaac looked around in confusion before coming to a sudden realization, “Right, they speak English there, too.”
“Why do you even bother keeping this on your neck?” criticized Henry, pointing at Isaac’s head. Josh was about to suggest that perhaps Isaac had come from the French-speaking region of Canada, but he decided against it. Everyone knew that he had come from an English-speaking region.
Someone must’ve asked about quitting, as Mark replied, “We can’t quit unless you want to pay three times the down payment as penalty.
“Ughhh…” As soon as Josh heard Mark, a strained groan climbed its way up from deep within his throat.
“Shouldn’t we ask for more down payment? How are we supposed to work while getting beaten up constantly?” protested Isaac sharply.
Getting beaten up wasn’t the root of the problem for Josh anymore; the problem was the man’s existence itself. If it weren’t for that goddamn money, he would never have taken this job, to begin with.
If this couldn’t be avoided, why not at least get more money out of it?
Everyone was tempted for a moment at Isaac’s appeal, but Mark shook his head. “Better give up on that. Don’t you remember what the Millers’ main line of work is? And don’t forget their oldest son. It’s that Nathaniel Miller.”
Everyone, of course, knew that name.
The Satan of the legal world—a cold-blooded, stone-hearted vampire—a devil lawyer who had yet to suffer a single loss.
This meant that there was no route for escape.
“Y’all should all stay out of his way so that you don’t get hit,” advised Mark. Nobody said anything else until the end of dinner.
* * *
Everyone seemed ashen-faced when they arrived back at the mansion. It wasn’t just because of the job they had lying ahead. Right now, they were about to go and introduce themselves to Chase as his new security team. The previous team head had remained here until the end just for this. Once they were to finish introducing themselves, he would happily fly straight out of the place.
“Let’s go, shall we?” the team head beamed as he turned around, contrary to Josh’s team.
Mark led the way, and everyone was about to follow when Isaac suddenly suggested, “Why doesn’t Josh go and rest first? He basically said his hello with what happened earlier.”
Everyone’s eyes immediately became fixed on Josh. Josh felt awkward and was going to refuse, but Isaac was faster. “He was hit on the head. He’s not showing any symptoms right now, but it’s probably better for him to rest up. So what if he misses the greeting? That b*stard probably won’t even bother remembering how many of us there are, let alone our names.”
That was true. Besides, Josh was probably just remembered as something like the bodyguard who got shot earlier and nothing more. Perhaps Chase had already even forgotten that he had hit someone. This realization left a bitter aftertaste in Josh’s mouth.
“That’s true,” Mark muttered in agreement with Isaac’s statement. He seemed to consider the suggestion for a moment before nodding his head. “Yeah, Josh, you should go get some rest first. If you start to feel worse, you should tell us right away. We’re just going to familiarize ourselves, so it’s really not a big deal.”
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