TITLE: Entwined Paths
CHAPTER NUMBER/ONE SHOT:Chapter 1
AUTHOR: morbidly-disfigured
WHICH TOM/CHARACTER: Loki
GENRE: Romance/Drama
FIC SUMMARY: An impish woman makes way into a CEO's solitary life, bringing the banished God unwanted mischief. How can Loki not succumb to the charms of his new business partner?
RATING: K+
It has been five years since Loki was banished from Asgard. Five tedious years after Odin threw him to the wretched world of the measly humankind, cursed to blend and live alongside them. To think a god sinking as low as to act as an ignoble human, it was an outrage.
The god grunted lowly to himself at the thought as he sat in his office. He shrugged away the distasteful memory and continued on signing the stack of paperwork in front of him. He had trouble adjusting to the humans' ways, but in the end he managed. He'd jumped job after job, every job more mundane than the last. Loki's first career being a salesman, then a waiter, a doctor, an actor, a pilot, a chef, a soldier, etc. till he finally stepped into the business field. It wasn't that he lacked proficiency in said jobs, in fact, he excelled in each. Every person he'd ever worked under literally kneeled on the floor, begging him to stay once he mentioned his resignation. His passion was in entrepreneurship, and as cliche as it sounds, he followed his heart.
Knock, knock
Loki responded quietly without looking up from the papers, "Come in."
A middle-aged woman with strawberry blonde hair slipped in, she wore the company's customary uniform for women,a fitted long midnight blue dress that flowed down to her knees, the outfit was paired with matching black sandals. Her face was evidently distraught. "G-good morning, sir.", she stuttered and smiled nervously. She's been like this these past few days, whenever the CEO asks about her, she just shakes her head quickly and mumbles 'Im fine sir'.
Loki sighed, "What is it now, Rachel? You know how much I loathe being disturbed while working." He clicked his tongue disapprovingly.
The secretary gulped nervously, "I came to report a problem, sir..", the rest of her sentence trailed off.
He cocked an eyebrow, "Get on with it quickly, I don't have all day."
"Miss Rose Campbell has left the confectionary department." She says as her head faced downwards, fidgeting her dainty fingers.
Loki huffed, "And this is the problem you speak about? Really Rachel, it seems old age has finally taken its toll on you that you cannot identify a 'problem' from trivial matters. Also, I've been long aware of her resignation since three months ago. Thank you very much for notifying me." His final sentence oozed with sarcasm.
Rachel inwardly cursed Loki and had to restrain herself from slapping him on the face. There was a slight pause, before she shakily replied "N-no sir. You see.. She's ran away with half the company's money..." She closed her eyes firmly, fearful of his boss' reaction.
Loki paled, having a naturally pale skin color, his skin then could've passed on as white. A thousand questions stormed through his mind. when? How? Why? He vaguely recalls that Campbell now works for another company overseas. What company, he was yet to know.
"Where did she head to?" He whispered almost inaudibly, eyes widening comically in shock and disbelief.
Rachel mumbled something and the god didn't catch what she said.
"Rachel!"
"..Ambers Enterprises"
By then, Loki's eyes were the size of saucer plates. AE was in France. He was not heading from London to France just to confront the bastard.
He stood up angrily and slammed his hands to his desk. "Why did you tell this just now? You could've told me three months ago and I would've easily rectified the situation before she head to the other blasted side of the world!"
"I am very sorry! We've only learned about this last week when we saw late updates on the company's bank account. We tried to contact her but we never heard from her again!"
Loki calmed himself after he realized that lashing his anger on the secretary wasn't the best thing to do. He let out a disgruntled sigh and sat down, "I am sorry for snapping at you Rachel. Is this all? Actually, if there is more bad news, don't tell me. I don't think I could take more burden with me. He chuckled and smiled at her, trying to mend the heavy atmosphere.
She smiled back and shook her head, "No that is all sir."
..
.
..
~Later that day~
Loki got home early. After the disheartening notification that morning, his mood soured and decided it was best to head home lest he creates another rage episode at work. He changed to comfortable loose clothes and tried to be as relaxed as possible laying on his bed since residues of earlier kept coming back to his mind full force. Fear and trepidation on what his next move would be racked his mind relentlessly. Not even eating his favorite ice cream (Vanilla. Yum.) straight from the gallon managed to sate his mind.
His hands flipped the magazine pages, hoping to find something that would distract him. He begins to read a three-page Charlie comics. Then he opted to dial Pizza Hut when he saw an ad. Then he went back to reading more comics. He reads an article about a company scammed by a woman named Campbell.
He froze.
Ambers Enterprises-SCAMMED
"She refuses to talk," says Christine Ambers, "After the disheartening incident, my daughter Elvira kept her thoughts to herself and fled to London." Police investigates the case, but from the lack of testimonies, they could not give further..
A photo of a young brunette with chestnut eyes was shown next to the article. Loki just stared, both because of her captivating features and also because of sudden realization.
Elvira Ambers was in London.