[ 02 ]

"Seriously, J. What's going on?" Kaden asked, concern seeping into his voice. I would've been touched, but this was the bloody sixth time he'd asked me that.

"Nothing's going on, I'm fine," I repeated, feeling as though I might as well have recorded my response so I could play it to Kaden again and again.

"You don't do graffiti unless you're really sad."

"Or really happy," I added, because it was true. Some people turned to alcohol, I turned to my spray cans.

Kaden's brows rose. "Spit it out. What's going on?" Seven.

"Kade, I-" My voice broke off as I struggled to explain what was going on in my mind. "I can't explain it."

He stared at me with those calculative eyes of his and I tried not to wither under his gaze. Honestly, security training should have included a segment with Kaden just staring down at you. Maybe then I wouldn't have passed the test and I wouldn't be here now.

"Fine," he said finally, taking pity on me. "You don't want to talk about it, you don't have to talk about it. You owe me nothing."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," I said after a beat of silence. I wasn't sure if I was thanking him for not pushing the matter or for bailing me out.

Kaden's shoulders lifted up in a shrug and he smiled slightly. "What are friends for?"

We were sitting in a small cafe sipping smoothies. Kaden had brought me here after bailing me out, claiming that he was hungry and that it was my obligation to eat with him after dragging him out of bed at four-thirty in the morning.

"Who was that guy?" he asked suddenly.

My eyes lifted to his. "What guy?"

"The guy at the station with you."

"Oh. I don't know." It struck me then that I didn't know his name, or anything about him, really.

"Then why were you arrested with a man you don't know?"

I rolled my eyes. "Calm down, tiger. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He saw me painting, wanted to do it too, and bam! The cops came."

"So it was your fault," Kaden deadpanned.

"No!" I exclaimed immediately. "It was our fault. Both of us."

"Oh, so you're an us now?"

My response spluttered into nothing as I tried to keep up with how Kaden's mind worked. "Stop fucking with my mind, Kade."

He laughed good-naturedly. "Alright, alright. It's been a long day for you. I'll send you home, you should get some sleep. I heard James wants to talk to you tomorrow."

"Mm-hmm." I leaned my head against Kaden's shoulder. "Let's hope it's a job, an exciting one."

James was my direct boss. He was the one in charge of giving out assignments and deciding who took what job, if the client didn't specifically ask for any one of us.

The only reason why people kissed his ass was because they didn't want to be assigned a babysitting case. No one wanted to look after a spoiled rich kid who would use you as their personal maid and trolley.

Everyone wanted the big shots - the CEOs, the Presidents, the A-listers.

I bought James' daughter a teddy bear two weeks ago so I was praying it would be a good assignment he had for me tomorrow. He was completely smitten with his daughter and even named her after him - James. I wish I was joking.

"I don't know, man. I heard Spot fell sick, so you might have to take his place," Kaden said distractedly, tapping away at his phone.

My mouth fell open. "Spot's sick?"

Kaden looked up and grinned at me. "I know right. Goes to show that fucker is not invincible."

Spot was the best damn bodyguard at our agency. Stealthy and ruthless to the core, he's a favourite among the upper class, who often require their bodyguards to run certain errands for them - errands such as getting rid of one or two pesky rodents.

"Wait," I thought out loud. "If I get Spot's assignment, that means I'll get to protect some high-flyer!"

Like a love affair, I instantly started to picture how it'd be like protecting the President of the United States, or the CEO of Google, or Beyoncè. In full HD, of course.

I thought of super top secret operations, I thought of super top secret communication, and I thought of super top secret-

"Jade!"

My body jerked in shock. "What?" I glared at Kaden.

He frowned. "You were zoning out."

"Oh. Sorry."

Kaden gave me one more assessing look before speaking. "So, as I was saying when you zoned out on me, I heard Titan's also supposed to see James tomorrow afternoon."

My head whipped to his direction. "What?"

In our agency, there was a hierarchy based on ability, skill and the assignments you receive. The higher you ranked, the better assignments you got, which in turn pushed you up even higher.

It was hard to climb the ladder as a newbie unless you were James Bond or Ethan Hunt.

Titan and I were vying for the third place. The top three got exclusive rights to choose their assignments before James assigned the rest to the other agents. They could also reject their assignment if they didn't like it and pass it on to someone lower.

Both Titan and I were consistently stuck in the fourth and fifth place. There was no clear indication of who was better as our rank constantly changed. Sometimes he was fourth, sometimes I was fourth.

"Yeah. He's probably jockeying for Spot's assignment too. That'd really boost his ranking," Kaden tossed out as he shrugged casually.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You say it so flippantly because you're second. Wait till you fall to fourth or something one day. Then maybe, you'll see why we care so much."

Kaden was good at what he did, and right from the start, he excelled. The top three at that time were wary of him but he soon won them over with his charisma and quick wit.

Within three months of working at Elites, he rose to top ten, and in another two months, he was third. No one had risen up the ranks as fast as he did, and for that, I was proud to have him as a friend.

"It's not that I don't care, J," Kaden said in exasperation. "I just don't see why you guys take it so seriously. This is a job, not motherfucking high school."

"Oh shut up," I said lightly. "You guys get shit we don't get, okay? I mean I'm not jealous or anything, because you lot definitely deserve it." My words died as I tried to express how I felt. "I guess I just want to know how it feels like to be one of the best."

Kaden's eyes softened and his hands reached for mine. "You are one of the best. The ranking is just stupid. Being third and being fourth isn't all that big of a difference anyway."

I smiled at him. Then, I tried to change the somber mood. "I'm just fucking with you. I know I'm one of the best," I joked. "Didn't I graduate top of my class for security training?"

Kaden rolled his eyes but he played along. "That's just because I wasn't there."

"Mm-hmm. Keep telling yourself that."

Kaden chuckled, his eyes crinkling with joy. I couldn't help but smile. This was why I loved being around him. He was fun to be with, yet you could talk to him about anything that was worrying you.

He could make me feel better instantly, and not just on a superficial level.

The rest of the night - or morning, since it was already 5am - passed with us just chatting about anything and everything. We talked about his life, my life, and other people's lives.

I wasn't sure how long we talked for, nor did I remember how I got home, but I found myself waking up in my own apartment at three in the afternoon.

My meeting with James was at four-thirty so I had time to burn. Getting out of bed reluctantly, I played any messages I'd missed on my answering machine.

"You have: three new messages," the machine said in its monotonic voice.

I walked into the toilet and brushed my teeth as my mother's voice filled the apartment.

"Honey, sweetheart, will you be coming back for our anniversary dinner? Dad wants to know because he's planning the guest list right now. You know how he is - he doesn't like having too many people around, God knows why. I hope you can come down, dear. It's been so long since I've seen you. I miss you. The old fool misses you too. Jaspar and Jaden are in tears without you."

Suddenly, I heard shuffling on the phone. "I am not in tears, Mom." I laughed, recognising Jaspar's voice immediately.

"You are! Jade, I caught him last night sniffling in his bed-"

More shuffling ensued and the message ended. A smile was still on my face as I thought about my family. As crazy as they were, I loved them to bits.

The second message played, breaking me out of my reverie. This time, Kaden's voice floated out of the machine.

"J. Just calling to make sure you're fine and that you got home safe. Don't do shit like last night again. Talk to me if you need to. Bye."

My mouth curved involuntarily at his short message. It was so Kaden. Short but full of love.

The last message played, causing the toothbrush to fall out of my hand.

"Otterson, this is James. Can you meet me in my office at three instead? My daughter wants me to go somewhere with her at four. Sorry for the last minute notice. See you soon."

Did he say... three? Wasn't it three now?

I screamed as I scrambled to the bathroom, stripping my clothes off as quickly as I could.

Jesus Christ. If being late cost me Spot's assignment, I will kill the bastard from last night in cold blood.

Within five minutes, I'd showered and changed. Grabbing my lipstick and concealer - there was no time for anything more - I rushed out of my apartment.

When the doorman at the lobby saw me, he immediately stood up to flag a cab for me. By then, I was too out-of-breath to thank him but I flashed him a quick smile before getting into the cab.

"To The Elites, please," I told the cab driver.

In the car, I tried calling James, but he wasn't picking up. I prayed the reason wasn't because he was busy with Titan.

Anger resurfaced. If the bastard from last night hadn't asked me to teach him how to draw, I wouldn't had been caught. And if I hadn't been caught, I wouldn't have had to ask Kaden to bail me out. And if Kaden didn't had to bail me out, I would had gotten home and been fast asleep by three-thirty. Maybe four.

Then I could had woken up at around one or two in the afternoon so that I could meet James at three on time.

Unclenching my fists, I forced myself to calm down. Maybe nothing has been ruined yet, I told myself. Maybe I could still get Spot's assignment.

When the cab finally pulled up at The Elites, I threw a wad of cash at the driver and told him to keep the change before rushing out.

Running across the expansive lobby, I tried phoning James again, to no avail. My fingers jabbed at the lift button impatiently, silently willing the lift to come down faster.

After ten minutes, I finally found myself outside James' office. A quick look at my watch told me I was bloody forty-five minutes late.

As I rose my fist to knock on the door, it opened suddenly, revealing a smiling James and a smug Titan.

"Thank you for doing this, Titan. I know it's last-minute and I appreciate you stepping up to the plate," James was saying, clapping Titan's shoulders jovially.

Inside, my blood ran cold. Please, no.

Titan's voice pierced through my foggy mind. "It's my pleasure, sir. Do tell Spot to get well soon and not to worry about his assignment, I'll make sure to do a good job."

I stumbled on my feet, causing both men to turn to me. "No," I whispered.

"Otterson," James greeted me, a brow raising slightly.

I looked at him, feeling a headache coming on. In that moment, I said the only words that came to mind, unable to say anything else. "Sorry I'm late."

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hello! thank you for still sticking around. sorry that nothing's happening yet - i'm trying to build jade as a character and i'd like you guys to know her better before the male lead is properly introduced. this may be just a filler chapter but i'd still really appreciate it if you could vote and comment to let me know what you guys think.

until next time,
fleur xoxo