Keagan’s heart sank as he heard his avatar die. His frustration quickly grew into anger and he turned to whoever had their hands over his eyes.

“Could you take your hands off?” Keagan asked as politely as he could.

The person removed their hands and Keagan turned to face them.

To no one's surprise, it was a slightly flushed Catalina. She silently looked at him as he glared daggers at her for ruining his game, something she had yet to realize.

“Do you know what you just did?” Keagan asked, with his patience reduced to a fraction.

“I just wanted to-"

She let out an incredibly loud burp and giggled at herself while Keagan’s anger seethed.

He turned back to face his screen and exited the game.

“Goodnight guys. got to go.” He said before switching off his computer.

Meanwhile, Catalina stood there silently, her towering body was completely contrasted by the almost guilty expression on her face.

Keagan didn’t care, but he couldn’t exactly scold her for a simple prank, that and she was his superior.

His frustration bubbled, resulting in an extremely twisted expression.

Catalina flinched for some reason, causing Keagan to relax his facial muscles.

He let out a sigh before noticing that her dress was a mess and she smelled quite bad.

Keagan looked into her eyes in search of answers, but all he could see was sadness.

“What’s wrong? What happened.” He asked.

Camila’s eyes started tearing up and she collapsed onto her knees.

Keagan didn’t have the energy for this. He got up and offered her his hand. She took it as she silently sobbed.

Then suddenly she let out a torrent of vomit in Keagan’s direction.

Keagan stepped away as fast as possible, but by that time he was covered in stomach juices.

Keagan checked, but by this time, Catalina was face down on the floor.

He began regretting ever allowing her into his home. He barely knew her and yet he let her treat his home like this. He didn’t care that she was technically his boss and that his career depended on Dan’s little gamble.

Keagan sighed again.

“Catalina.” He called.

“Catalina!” He tried again but she was out cold.

Keagan walked out of his den, cleared up the couch and hoisted her there.

Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, but Catalina was huge and so lifting her like some sort of princess proved impossible.

After laying her down, he then realized another problem. Her dress was drenched in vomit.

Keagan thought about removing it but then realized what doing so implied. He got a sheet and nearly covered her smelly body before realizing how troublesome the vomit would end up being.

Keagan steeled himself for what he was about to do next. He gently placed his hands along her thighs, slid the once beautiful black dress up and removed it.

This revealed to Keagan a sight he wasn’t prepared to see.

He saw flawless skin, covered only by what could be called modest lace underwear.

Keagan lost his breath for a moment, then remembered what he was doing. He dashed to his wardrobe and took one of his spare shirts. He quickly clothed her then fell onto his bed.

Frustrated and slightly confused, he wondered what she would say when she woke up. But he decided to push those thoughts aside so he could sleep.

.

..

The morning came quickly.

It was Sunday, meaning Keagan only had a day to prepare for his presentation.

Luckily for him, he understood everything he had to and Catalina had taught him how to speak to the board.

Keagan opened his eyes, allowing them to soak in the light of the morning sun. He got up and saw that Catalina was still sleeping.

Keagan grabbed his phone and called the person who started all this.

“Umm… Dan. We need to talk.”

[What the hell do you want? It’s like, four AM!”] Dan asked in a low and irritated voice.

“Actually, it’s half-past eight.”

[What do you want?]

“Umm… it’s about Catalina.”

Keagan heard movement as he spoke. He turned and saw Catalina crawling towards him.

Her long black hair dragged along the ground as she moved and Keagan could still smell the vomit from before.

“W-" He heard her whisper.

[Well? What about Catalina?”]

Keagan hesitated as Catalina tugged on his leg.

She pressed her index finger against her lips and made the slightest noise.

“Shh.”

Keagan’s heart started racing.

He wasn’t indebted to her, nor did he feel obligated to remain silent, but just looking into her eye’s made him feel something.

Pity.

He hadn’t felt that emotion in such a long time and to make it worse, he didn’t want to comfort her.

It was she who ruined his match.

It was she who entered his house smelling like the south side of a turd.

Wait a minute. Keagan wondered.

How did she get in?

BAH!

He didn’t care.

Monday was only a day away.

“Er- uh- I was wondering if she’d be joining us during the presentation, hehe,” Keagan said awkwardly as he coldly stared at Catalina. Almost the same way as she did when they met. Her eye’s trembled as their gazes met.

[Really? Just that? Well, there’s nothing wrong with a project manager being present, especially since she’s technically in charge of the continued development of the project.] Dan explained.

“I see. Cool. That’s all I needed to know."

[Ok. Goodnight.]

“It’s morning already, hehe.”

Dan ended the call leaving Keagan and Catalina in silence.

“Get up,” Keagan ordered and she obeyed.

“Let me get this straight: last night was an accident and you don’t want Dan or anyone else knowing about it.”

Catalina nodded her head.

“Talk. You’re being weird.” Keagan said harshly.

“Yes, please don’t tell Dan.”

Keagan felt weird for being shorter than her, but he needed her to stand for them to speak properly.

Also, he wasn’t buying her whole act. He knew something was wrong because the same person standing in front of him acting like a victim was also a highly decorated executive at Lezzaro.

Normally, she was cold and calculative, which led Keagan to believe that she wanted something.

“So, what do you want?” Keagan asked, causing Catalina to gasp.

“W- what do you-“

“I’m not rich so it’s not money…” Keagan said to himself.

“You and Dan could be planning on framing me for some sort of backhanded business practices you’re running… but why me? I’m not that special.”

Catalina trembled as he rambled on.

“Would you please stop that!” Keagan yelled.

Catalina reduced the intensity of her trembles, but they were still there.

“Ugh, you better not be recording this,” Keagan said as he sat on the couch.

Catalina remained standing and unfortunately, Keagan’s shirt failed to cover her panties.

Keagan unconsciously stared at them for a moment, then look at Catalina who was now blushing.

“Oh my goodness, go get dressed!” Keagan said and Catalina went into the bathroom with her suitcase.

Keagan ran his hands through his hair as he ran through multiple scenarios that could explain Catalina’s behaviour.

Keagan made himself some coffee as he thought about the possibility of losing his job for some abstract reason, that somehow failed to reach him.

“Ugh.” He groaned, then took a long sip of his scolding hot coffee.

He needed the burn to remind himself that he was awake.

That his superior had practically lost all of her dignity in front of his very eyes.

Keagan didn’t like her when they met, but now he had inexplicable feelings of annoyance.

Catalina eventually emerged from the bathroom. In an instant, Keagan smelled whatever soap she had used, which was an improvement from the smell of her stomach contents.

Her wet hair stuck to her shirt which stuck to her almost bronze-coloured skin.

Catalina stood by the bathroom door.

Almost as if waiting for Keagan to tell her what to do next.

“What?” He asked, but she didn’t respond.

“Ugh! How long are you going g to keep this up? First, you vomit on my carpet and now you’re doing this… ugh. Come here. Sit here.” Catalina did as she was told. Her body shook as Keagan glared at her.

“What happened last night?” Keagan asked.

“I- I- wen- ou- with a friend,” Catalina whispered.

“Speak up, I seriously can't hear you."

“I went out for some drinks with a friend.” She said.

“I see. I don’t really care about why or how you got this way, but I’d like to make one thing clear…” Keagan paused.

“I don't want any trouble. Whatever you’re going through, whatever you’re involved in or whatever you’re plotting, I don’t care. When we finish Dan’s little scheme, it's bye-bye. You hear?”

Catalina’s expression changed into one of sadness.

“What? what- you know what? I think it’s time for you to leave.”

“Wha- why?” Catalina asked as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Why? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you vomited on my floor, stunk up my house and ruined my game. What Are you going to do? Be my maid-"

“Yes!”

“Now you’re just being weird. Go home. I’ll see you at work tomorrow before we go to Cynosure.”

“N-“

Keagan had enough of her already and what he wanted was some alone time.

“No, go home now,” Keagan said and Catalina started packing her things.

Thirty minutes later, she was fully dressed and ready to go.

There were no goodbyes, as Keagan didn’t even want to look at her.

So she left.

Keagan let out a sigh. Then realized that he had been sighing rather often lately. He made himself some breakfast and then went to work on his presentation.

This time, on his own.

.

..

The next day came quickly.

Keagan got up, drank some coffee and dashed out of his apartment. He arrived at the office slightly earlier than Roy because he took a taxi.

Everyone in the office had their eye’s on him.

“Mercy’s waiting for you,” Tommy said.

Keagan made his way to Mercy’s office and entered to find Mercy along with Dan and Catalina, who had returned to her old, cold self.

\Only thing different was that she avoided directly meeting Keagan’s eyes. But Keagan didn’t mind.

The four meticulously prepared for the meeting and by nine o’clock, they were headed for Cynosure.

Upon arrival in Unity’s capital, the four made their way to Lezzaro’s true headquarters.

There they awaited the arrival of the board members who arrived shortly after.

Keagan was introduced as the spokesperson and he did his best not to mess things up.

In terms of presentations, it was pretty standard, only the stakes were much higher.

Keagan smoothly weaved his way through any questions they had for him.

Dan got along well with them while and when Catalina was asked to present her part, she did so effortlessly. She had miraculously regained her coldness overnight.

Keagan wondered where that cold expression was the day before.

The presentation concluded and the board was left to discuss their decision.

Mercy and Keagan sat for almost an hour while Dan convinced the board that Keagan’s project was the perfect one to present at the technology conference.

Dan emerged, alongside Catalina, from the board room with a stern expression, but as soon as they left the building, Dan’s face changed into a smile.

“Woo! That was awesome! I’ve never gotten those old farts to do anything, yet here we are.” Dan exclaimed as they boarded the vectrain back to Chac district.

“D- did they approve?” Mercy asked nervously.

“What? No. Not yet. But they did say that it was good. Which is more than a lot can say. We’ll have to wait for them to call. Until then, let’s drink!” Dan declared.

“No thanks.” Mercy declined.

“Yeah, me too. I’m going home.” Keagan said.

“What? Why? We have to celebrate your convincing performance, no?” Dan asked, causing Keagan to flashback to that oh so irritating night.

“Nah, I’m good. You have fun. Besides, shouldn’t I be preparing for my role as spokesman?”

“Oh, cocky aren’t we? You know you’re not a big shot yet, right?” Dan said while running his hands through Keagan’s hair.

Keagan moved away to a safe distance.

“Ok, then I’ll see you all tomorrow,” Keagan said.

“Ooh, first day in and he’s already taken the mantle of lone wolf.”

Keagan ignored Dan’s teasing and began his journey home. He arrived at around four thirty in the afternoon. He had plenty of time so he decided to clean the mess in his gaming den.

It took roughly thirty minutes or so, but his den had been restored to its former state.

Keagan vowed to never have guests over, even if it killed him. He spent the latter part of his day lazing about and watching TV.

Exactly what he needed to take his mind off things.

At around seven PM, Keagan heard his doorbell ring.

He didn’t remember inviting Roy over and he defiantly didn’t invite Catalina.

So who was it?

Keagan got up and opened the door slightly, revealing a woman whose beauty could only be called godlike.

She had the palest skin and the darkest hair Keagan had ever seen, her blue eyes were like gems and her face was almost devoid of lines or wrinkles.

“Are you Keagan Keita?” The woman asked. Her voice silky and low.

“Yes, and you are?” Keagan feared he wouldn't like her answer.

“I'm Karisa Astali. I’m here to apologize for what Catalina put you through.” She said with a sad expression, but Keagan didn’t buy whatever she was selling. He already suspected Catalina was up to something and the presence of this woman only added to his growing list of suspicions.

“I see. Well, there’s no use crying over spoilt milk. So, yeah. Everything is fine.”

Upon hearing this, the woman’s face lit up.

“Really?”

“I said everything is fine. So everything is fine.” Keagan insisted.

“Ok, I understand.” She said with a smile that seemingly lit up the surrounding area.

“Uh- so… goodbye-"

“Wait!” Karisa stopped Keagan.

“What?” Keagan asked with a slightly annoyed tone.

“May I come in?” Karisa asked.

Keagan could see beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

What the? Keagan wondered.

“Why? Don’t you have business elsewhere?” Keagan asked.

“N- no. I just wanted to know more about what exactly happened. I think you may have the wrong idea about Catalina.” Karisa said with desperate eyes.

“Fine.” Keagan hated himself for allowing whatever game Catalina and Karisa were playing to get this far.

Karisa entered and Keagan led her to the couch.

“So what now? Are you going to tell me that Catalina’s a good person and that we should try and get along? Listen, we already talked this out and I made it clear that I don’t want anything to do with any of… this.”

Keagan noticed Karisa had become rather flushed after he spoke.

“Are you ok?”

“No- it’s just that… you’re exactly as she described,” Karisa said.

“Mmm? What do you mean?”

“Oh- right, could you please forgive Catalina for how she behaved and this may be too much to ask, but I’d really like for us to be friends.”

Keagan sighed.

“Why would I want that?”

“I’m not sure. But it would be interesting, no?” Karisa asked.

Keagan saw the conversation was taking a problematic turn.

“Anyway, it’s getting pretty late, don’t you think?” He said as he stood up, prompting her to leave.

“Ok. I’ll go, but only if you promise that you’ll consider being friends with Catalina and me.”

“I’ll consider it."

Karisa's face lit up.

“Thank you.”

Keagan knew he was going to regret this. He escorted Karisa out of his apartment and down to the parking area where he saw a black limousine with two large men standing near it.

“Goodbye, Mr. Keita or can I call you Keagan?”

“Keita is fine.”

“Ok, bye then,” Karisa said before entering the limousine, which didn’t surprise Keagan at this point. He didn’t care what she drove, as long as she was leaving.

Keagan returned to his apartment and lazed throughout the rest of the day until the warm embrace of sleep found him.

.

..

Keagan was awoken by his alarm and for the first time, he was afraid of going to work.

Not only were his duties as spokesperson waiting for him, but Catalina was also there.

Keagan had his morning coffee and left for work, this time taking the morning train.

“There he is! Mr. Big time!” Roy greeted in his usual friendly manner.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“What up? Oh, I don’t know. My friend hooked up with an executive and neglected telling me about it.” Roy said with a pout.

“Hey, I told you that she was just there for work.”

“Yeah, you said that and I completely understood it. Work you said… I hope y’all worked real hard, Haha!” Roy teased.

“Come on, bro. It’s not like that. She’s actually quite-" Keagan stooped himself. He realized that Roy wasn’t the type who was good with secrets. He wasn’t a tattletale, but telling him would complicate things.

“She’s what?”

“A workaholic, uh- yeah. All she thinks about is stocks and such, hehe.” Keagan said with a cough.

Keagan’s phone vibrated. He took it out as he and Roy found seats on the train.

Keagan saw that he had received an email.

The sender name read [Skýlos].

Keagan opened the email and found numerous pictures of breasts.

From what Keagan could see, the pictures were selfies taken in a bathroom.

Keagan hurriedly put his phone in his pocket as sweat formed on his forehead. He was nervous because he knew exactly who those breasts belonged to.

Keagan’s face then twisted into a frown.

“Hey man, what’s wrong? If it’s about what I said, it’s a joke. I know you were working, ok?”

Keagan realized that his expression was rather dark and so he quickly put on a smile.

“Oh, that? No, it’s not you. I was just thinking about something.” Keagan said while scratching his head.

The train eventually arrived in Ix Chel district.

Keagan and Roy took a short walk and were soon at the steps of the Lezzaro building.

“See you later,” Roy said.

“Yeah,” Keagan said as he slowly walked towards the elevator.

He made it to the second floor and entered the office area where he was met by applause.

“Congratulations!” Everyone said in unison.

Mercy approached Keagan and gave him an awkward hug.

“Guess what, the board approved our project. We’ll probably need a super cool nickname for it and since you are our spokesman, I think you should be the one to name it.” Mercy suggested excitedly.

Keagan’s brain went into overdrive.

“Um… how about Lovelock?” Keagan’s suggestion was met by various sounds of intrigue.

“Oh? Bold name, what inspired it?” Johan asked.

“I just took it from one of the scientists who introduced cryogenics to the world, James Lovelock.”

“Of course!” Mercy exclaimed.

Thirty or so minutes passed as everyone celebrated the approval of the project, but Keagan knew that their work was only just beginning.

After everything settled down, Keagan’s focus shifted towards something less peachy.

Keagan walked to Catalina’s office and knocked.

“Come in." Keagan heard a voice answer, but it wasn’t Catalina’s, it was Dan's.

Keagan entered to find Dan, Mercy and Catalina discussing something.

“So? How does it feel being the hero?” Dan asked.

“I… don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh come on! We did it, but I’m sure a science man such as yourself understands that the hard part starts now.” Dan said with a rather bright smile.

“Of course. Um- could I speak with Catalina for a moment?” Keagan politely asked.

“Oh? Would you look at that? First day as spokesman and you’re already making demands, ha! Sure kid, go ahead.” Dan teased.

Catalina rose from her seat with the elegance expected from a woman who sat on one of the highest seats of one of the worlds biggest companies.

Keagan keenly watched as she walked towards him. Her form was flawless and her eyes were sharp.

But Keagan noticed that her gaze never met his. He led her out of the office and walked into the emergency staircase area where almost no cameras or people were. He stopped and she did the same. He didn’t turn around and kept his back at her.

Keagan sighed.

Why me? He wondered.

Couldn’t she find some corporate big shot to annoy?

He turned to face her and found her gaze on the floor.

“Look at me,” Keagan said and she did so.

“Did you send me those pictures?” He asked. His voice low and cold.

Catalina nodded slightly.

“Speak when you’re spoken to, for Pete’s sake.”

“Y- yes, I did.”

Keagan already knew that.

“Why?”

Catalina’s eyes widened momentarily.

“I- I don’t know.” She said.

“Is that so? Then what would you do if say hypothetically those pictures were to circulate around the company?” Keagan said in an octave lower than before.

Catalina gasped and shook her head frantically.

“No, please don’t.”

“Hey, don’t jump to the gun. I said hypothetically. Besides, wouldn’t it be your fault for carelessly sharing such pictures in the first place? What if I wasn’t as civilized as I am right now? Or did you send them knowing I wouldn’t do anything?” Keagan asked.

His impatience slowly morphed into anger. He desperately wished his days would return to their old, monotonous ways.

“N- uh-“ Catalina muttered.

Any fragments of the dignified woman Keagan saw in the office had been replaced by this mumbling mess.

Keagan could almost say that he hated her at this point.

What? Was he not interested in romantic relationships?

He was, but he reasoned that if that’s what she was after, then she wouldn’t have taken such annoying measures.

“Ms. Acosta, you’re taking this a step too far. Take this foolish game of yours and play it with someone else. Tommy is a decent guy, I’m sure he’d enjoy your antics.” Keagan said and

Catalina’s expression quickly became one of pain, but Keagan didn’t care.

“Also, tell your friend that I’m not interested in whatever she was talking about,” Keagan said before walking out of the staircase area.

Leaving the emergency door to close with a loud thud.

The day went on and Keagan was introduced to his role as spokesperson by Dan. He had several trips to make to different parts of Unity, where he would discuss the benefits of cryogenics and why Lezzaro was the best company for that. His first trip was in two days, but Keagan didn’t mind, because, at the end of all that, Dan promised him not only full-time employment at Lezzaro but an increased salary.

Keagan salivated at the thought of being able to upgrade his current gaming setup.

The working day ended and Keagan went home with a tone on his mind. He arrived in his apartment and jumped straight into bed after his not so long commute home.

Keagan’s eyelids fell and he slept.

.

..

Keagan was suddenly shaken awake by the sounds of movement. He got up as quickly as he could and noticed two shadowy figures moving about in his room.

“What’s happening? Who are you?” Keagan yelled desperately as he grabbed the nearest hardest object he could find, which was his alarm clock.

The two shadows looked at each other for a moment, then dashed towards the door.

Oh, no you don’t! Keagan thought as he charged towards the one closest to the door and rammed it over.

The shadowy figure was surprisingly short, unlike the one behind it which was much taller.

Keagan hesitated, but then saw that the shadow was shaking, almost vibrating.

Keagan assumed that the shadow was a first-time burglar and so he dashed and tackled it into the ground.

The shadow fell over quite easily, but just as he was about to smack the shadows face in he heard the other one move.

“No!” The shadow screamed, revealing that it was a woman.

The shadow tried to grab onto his shoulder, but he elbowed it in the face and sent it flying away.

Meanwhile, the one below him offered little to no resistance.

Keagan placed his elbow over its neck, in an attempt to rid himself of the bigger target. But then his right hand landed on something that was rather soft. He squeezed lightly before realizing that it was a tit.

Keagan then pieced together the situation. His mind came to the only conclusion it could.

“Catalina?” Keagan asked, his voice hoarse.

“Y- yes,” Catalina answered, even though Keagan still had his elbow pressed on her throat.

Keagan quickly got up and turned on the light, revealing two women dressed in dark tracksuits and hoodies.

Keagan’s mind started spinning.

“What the fuck are you two doing here?”