"Should I go and clean up your place today, too?"
The boy's voice brought Elia back to his senses. He shook his head. I hope he doesn't die like I dreamt of. He locked eyes with the boy, the subtle dust on the ground forming a ring as a wave of wind flew by.
Elia pulled out a candy from his pocket, then stretched it forward. "Take this."
He handed the candy to the boy. Zeno tore the golden wrapper from it and began to devour it bit by bit.
With his mouth full of the candy, Zeno ran forward. He stopped by Elia's side, then gestured for him to lean in.
"What is it this time, All-Knowing Zeno?"
Yes, that was the name Elia gave to the boy. Every piece of information concerning the finest ladies and top news flew into Zeno's ears before everyone else, including the new auditors, even knew about it.
"I have a gist for you." His face glistened with a smile only Elia knew the meaning of. "You'll love it. I promise."
Elia leaned in. His lips began to move as he listened to Zeno.
"Really?!" Elia stood up abruptly, feeling so shocked that his remote controller fell from his numb fingers.
"Yeah," Zeno laughed, then held his waist. The posture he always portrayed every time he relayed the kind of information Elia loved to hear.
"Well, I will get back to you," Elia murmured, glancing at his black watch.
"I will be waiting." Zeno smiled, standing there, watching Uncle Elia slide into the driver's seat of the BMW, his very dream car, which he wished to get when he reached fifteen years old.
"Zeno! Didn't you go to school today, too?" Angela, Zeno's mother, was the only person who cared about Zeno's studies. "You, this boy—" she dashed forward, chasing the boy, who ran like a peacock.
She stopped by the edge of a green building, leaned against it, and began panting heavily, as if she had been released from holding the earth.
"You will one day give me a heart attack." She turned back into the KSS—the only fried food shop that made the residents of Baker Street happy with delicious food.
On the highway, Elia's phone rang multiple times. "Ooh… why are you calling this time, Mabel?" Elia's mouth curled inward as he stared at the face of the chubby lady on the dashboard.
Among Elia's sleepsters—the name he normally gave to all the ladies he had had sexual affairs with, ranking from S1 to S… for now, let's say infinity.
How I wish I could call her over this evening. The thought reeled in his mind as he shifted his gaze from the dashboard screen to the street view in front of him.
White birds flew high above the lines of the highway poles, their cries harmonizing with the airlines that flew as if all the time were in their hands.
Car horn sounds blasted at Elia's BMW when he abruptly removed his boots from the accelerator pedal the moment he bent down to retrieve his water bottle, which had mysteriously vanished and reappeared under the brake pedal.
"WHAT!" he shouted, rolling down his glass mirror, holding the bottle in his left hand and the steering wheel with his right.
"I am sorry, sir." His expression and tone changed as soon as he realized it was one of the managers who had visited the McKinsey Company, his workplace.
Stopping at the parking lot of McKinsey, ladies dressed in highly official suits and men dressed as grooms stood there whispering.
"Guys, the boss's right hand is in. Let's get back to work." S55 Mabel's sister, Sophia, sparked fear in her colleagues, forcing them to flee from sight.
Elia killed his engine, got down from the car, and walked straight into the dark-blue twenty-one-story building, holding his small black suitcase, which he normally left in his car even after work.
"Good day, sir."
"Welcome, sir."
"Let me take it for you, sir."
Almost all those who always greeted Elia were ladies who could cause a president to gift his wealth to her with just a kiss on her cheek.
Sophia held onto Elia's bag, her watery ass dangling as she led the way to the elevator. "Hello, sir." She stepped aside as soon as the elevator's metal door split open.
"Oh, don't worry, after you." Elia counted, then smiled. I need to maintain my professionalism as always. If what I dreamt about happens, will she be by my side like this?
He swallowed hard when Sophia stepped in front of him, her ass screeching against his waist level.
He joined her in the elevator, calmly placing both arms in front, the glow of the black watch sparking as the elevator light shone on it.
"Is Margaret Sinclair in her office?" he asked, keeping a respectable distance between him and the lady he really wanted to… but couldn't due to his profession.
Sophia turned her head to the left, brushing the tip of her brown hair that had broken free from the style she had done away from her face.
"Uhm… didn't you receive a call from her?" she asked, her face carrying a curious stare.
Call me? Oooh fuck! So, hers was the one before the fourteen straight calls came. Did she also have the same dream I had? His mind buzzed as he stared at Sophia's face.
"Maybe she did while I was driving." His mind calmed a little when the elevator's hum stopped, its doors opening.
One thing Elia was good at was always telling the truth. That was what gave him the opportunity to be the boss's right-hand man.
Although all those he saw or who bowed to him were far older than him, being an honest and truthful person for just two years granted him that position.
Murmurs clung to them as they walked through the hallway of the twentieth floor.
"Sir, when are they completing the problem that occurred in the portion of the elevator leading to the twenty-first floor?" Climbing the stairs, Sophia asked, sharp air buzzing out of her mouth and nose.
"They will complete it within…" Elia paused, thinking of his words, then continued. "I don't really know the actual time they will complete it. But it will be between three and six months."
Three to six months? Sophia's mind buzzed, sweat dripping from her face like a broken pipe.
Almost all the ladies in McKinsey were of the same size as Sophia. Big ass, big boobs, and you know…
"Sir, then I don't think I will be able to climb the stairs any longer, ooh."
"Really!" Elia paused, a mixture of confusion and surprise filling his face. "But why?"
"Because of my body. It weighs me down all the time."
Almost every lady in the company spoke bluntly to Elia, having the view that he was gay.
"Your body weighs you down?" Elia asked, his lips widening as he fixed his gaze on Sophia's raised ass.
Sophia broke out with a short laugh. "I don't think you will understand, since you're gay."
For the fiftieth time in the company, Sophia's claim ranked the hundred and first that Elia had heard from the workers—all because he never showed any sign of ever loving a lady.
Elia laughed. "Who said I'm gay?"
Sophia stared at him from the corner of her eyes. "Weren't you the one who turned and watched the sky, counting your fingers the day the two of us were locked in the locker room?"
Elia kept smiling while Sophia recapped in her mind.
"Even when I removed all my clothes, leaving only my bra and thin panties, you stared at me with no lust." She paused, gasped for breath, then stared at him. "Now tell me. Will you fuck me if you get the chance?"
"Well," Elia's shoulders raised as they stopped in front of his office, "I can't conclude that here. Unless…"
They stepped in. Sophia placed the bag on the white desk that Elia always used. Then she bowed in respect and turned to exit.
Pushing the door open, Sophia leaned on the left side. "I know for sure you can't do anything. So, I will come and sleep over this evening."
…
For seven hours, Elia worked, meeting big men of Amestris—the name of the country Elia worked in—and many from other countries like Eldia, Fiore, Alagaesia, and Panem.
Those were the top five countries that had big men and women who represented the Virelia continent when it came to talking about business, wealth-making, and development.
The other countries, like Gravonia, Ferrovia, Brassgard, and Manoria, always followed the directives of the Big Five, helping the Virelia continent expand.
Ding! Ding!! Ding!!!
Elia threw himself into his foamy office chair, returning from his fifteenth meeting. "What a stressful day," he sighed, then shifted his gaze to the Breguet clock hanging above his door.
"Oh, it's time to head home." He stood up from his seat, packed his documents into the black suitcase, switched off the light, then switched it on again.
"Oh… I forgot the lights should be on no matter what."
He stepped out, the feeling of relaxation filling his guts. The bulbs glitched as if wanting to explode the moment the door slammed shut.
Right at the side of his BMW, he saw Sophia and some other ladies standing there, laughing.
"He's coming. I will give you guys the gist once I'm at his place." She leaned toward every lady's ear, then waved at them when Elia stopped by the car.
"Are you really serious?" Elia asked, shock filling his voice.
"Did you think I was joking? Hop in and drive me to your residence." Sophia stated, holding her bag well with her left hand. "I'm spending the night with you."
Both of them slid into the car, then drove off from the McKinley environment.
Crows and other birds whirled in circles, their cries filling the air.
The waves of the sea beneath the highway moved in high magnitude, yet people walked on the pedestrian side as if nothing mattered.