A/N: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1.
WARNING: FLUFF, WAFF, SUGGESTIVE THEMES
Chapter 7: Off with the Old and On with the New
Argilla looked at the young man before her with curiosity. He was tall with crimson, fiery red hair that matched his furious eyes. Although he wore a suit and a tie, she could tell that he was fit and muscular.
She took a quick once over and saw that his whole ensemble had been formal.
She then raised an eyebrow as her eyes reached his hair once more.
His hair was long; not as long as hers but it was definitely considered long for males. The stranger's tresses reached down to his shoulders, but were layered. She then began to slightly blush as he penetrated her eyes with his which peeked boldly from behind the locks of his red hair.
"Ahem…!" she said, snapping away from her fantasy, "How may I help you?"
Who was he? She had never seen him before. Was he a customer…? A colleague from the bank…? Or another agent from the insurance companies…?
"Hello. My name's Heat." he politely said, walking within her small cabin, handing out his hand for a handshake.
Argilla rose from her chair and took it in hers, shaking it firmly. She smiled firmly, "Hello. I'm Argilla."
He smiled, "I know. From the bank, right?"
She nodded, "Yes. I am. And how can I help you?" she asked, finally breaking the contact between their hands.
He nodded and gestured to the chair in front of her, "Do you mind?"
Argilla blinked, "Huh? Not at all." she responded, seating herself onto her chair, "So, what can I do for you?"
"Actually I work for the showroom. For the premium brands to the left."
"Oh!" she exclaimed; surprised and mildly laughing, "I see…! But how come I've never seen you here?"
"I was on vacation. I just recently rejoined." he told her.
So, he was a colleague.
'If he works for the showroom, it's a wonder how he never gets in trouble…' she thought, again eyeing his flowing long hair.
"Well, yea. The manager keeps telling me to have my hair cut. But, it's my hair. I don't like it short." the man before her responded in a light laugh.
Argilla froze on her spot.
Drat!
She did it again!
There she went again, thinking out loud!
"Erm…" she stammered, attempting to change the subject, "I see. Well, welcome back Heat. I hope you had a good vacation." she told him cheerfully.
He smiled at her, "Yea. I did. Thank you…" He then looked at girl closely before leaning back. She had had the oriental look about her and so…he couldn't help but ask, "Pardon me but…Where are you from?"
Argilla raised an eyebrow at his question; wasn't it obvious!? Why did everyone ask her that?! Are they blind?!
"Erm, where do you think?" she asked back, a grin on her face.
Heat could feel blood rushing to his face; he really wasn't that good with guessing games…And he didn't want to offend her either should he give the incorrect answer.
"Aa…Well…I'm not entirely sure."
Play it safe.
That was the only thing that he could do.
Argilla giggled, "Just like everybody else. Well, Mr. Heat…"
"It's just Heat." he corrected her. She nodded in return, "Alright, Heat. It was a pleasure to meet you."
Heat stood and again the two shook hands. He turned and took the first step when he stopped and looked back at her with a pseudo angry face, "Hey! You never told me where you were from!"
She chuckled and gave him a tight smile, "You're going to have to guess it. Besides," she said dismissively, "you didn't tell me where you were from either."
Heat grinned and bared his teeth, crossing his arms, "Alright. I'll tell you. I'm both from Manipura and…Svathisthana."
Argilla froze. Svathisthana…?
She stifled a gasp and again looked at him from head to toe. Now that she thought more about it, he looked a bit like her.
'His complexion is like us; a bit pale. Smooth silky hair…but hair and eyes that are different.' She then mentally smacked herself. Right! He was from Manipura…
"You're half and half?" she asked.
He nodded, "Yea. My father is from Manipura and my mother is from Svathisthana. Don't I look like it?"
She nodded with a small smile, "Yea you do."
Heat's smile remained, with his red orbs slightly glowing, "So, Ms. Mystery, care to tell me now where you're from?"
At that, Argilla couldn't help but shake her head and groan in disdain, "Couldn't you already tell? I mean, it's pretty obvious you know?"
Heat scratched the back of his head, "Well, are you from Svathisthana?"
"Yesss…!" she hissed in slight irritation, "Wow! You actually got it!" she exclaimed in feigned exuberance, sarcasm lacing her every syllable.
Heat chuckled, "Sorry. It's just that we don't have many people from Svathisthana in Samsara."
Yes. She knew that too.
That was why each and every Tom, Dick and Harry would ask her pertaining to her ethnic origins…
Argilla, realizing her childish behavior immediately felt the guilt rise within her. Heat was still polite with her. Damn!
"Erm, I'm sorry about the outburst. I'm just getting tired of people asking me where I'm from."
Heat chuckled before he began to walk out of her cabin. He stopped right in front of the door and looked back at her, "Don't be. You had better get used to it though. There would be more people asking you about it."
She frowned at that but said nothing.
"You're just unique. That's why." he told her with a sweet smile.
Argilla's pink eyes slightly widened at hearing his words.
"Take care Argilla."
And with that, he was gone.
Argilla looked on after him, "Bye Heat…"
Harley, having entered the cabin looked at his trainee with a perplexed expression, "Oi! What are you doing?" he asked, rousing the girl from her apparent daydream.
"Eh? Nothing…!" she said with a nervous laugh, sweat-dropping.
Harley wasn't convinced and there pointed at the space behind him, "What was that all about? Made a new boyfriend?" he asked, grinning as he saw the embarrassment on her face.
"Shut up Harley!" she yelled, furious.
Harley laughed at that, "Hadreen…!"
xxxx
Another fortnight had passed. Argilla sighed.
Harley was gone.
It had been his last day the day prior. She pouted; now she was alone.
That had been the reason why she had been nervous. At that thought, panic surged through her system like a runaway freight train and there she blew into mental hysterics, 'Oh no! What if that proposal was wrong!? Did I mention that…!? Oh man…Did I write the correct amount in that security cheque!?'
She looked around herself and at that point, the room in which she situated herself seemed to have gone even smaller, beginning to choke her.
The soft knock on her door, however, threw her from such a nightmarish delusion of claustrophobia and her eyes immediately found themselves upon the door's wooden frame, "Come in." she called out.
"Hey…!"
At the sight of the person on the other side, Argilla's feeling of fright and nervousness dissolute in an instant.
"Serph…!!" she lightly squealed, lightly running to him, "How are you!? What are you doing here?!"
The silver-haired man tilted his head to the side in slight confusion at her peculiar behavior before coughing a bit and scratching the back of his head, a light shade of blush on his face, "Erm…I just wanted to see how you were doing."
At hearing his honest and straightforward response, Argilla felt her anxiety dissipate, a quaint warm feeling in its stead…
"Really…?" she asked back.
Serph nodded and gestured to the chair behind her, "Yea. Well, do you mind…?" he asked.
Argilla blinked, "Oh! Right! Please sit!"
The two sat and as soon as Serph straightened himself and flashed her a genuine smile, "So, how's work? How's business?" he calmly asked.
Argilla could feel her eyes dilate in sheer size and all the color drain from her whole body as she heard the questions.
Work.
Business.
One second ticked by and another…and another still with just silence in between them. Serph shivered.
It wasn't silence. It wasn't just silence.
It was the eerie sort of silence…
'Erm…the calm before the storm?' he asked.
"Serph…!!" screamed the girl in front of him.
'I suppose I owe myself a pat in the back for that one.' Serph thought wistfully, as his earlier premonition had indeed come to pass.
He leaned back as Argilla's sudden light scream had literally blown him away, his heart stopping for but a second before he recovered, "Erm…Shhh! Not so loud!"
"Ack! I don't care if I'm being loud!" she exclaimed, her face red, teary-eyed, "I think I blew it!"
"Just calm down." Serph spoke calmly, his palms facing the girl, "Tell me what happened."
Argilla slowly sat herself down and there took calm breaths, "Huff…puff…" she lightly panted.
Serph smiled at her sheepishly; she still had that silly air about her. And she tells him that he was silly! Indeed!
'Hm…what could she had done that could've been that bad…?' he asked himself in disbelief, 'I mean, no one can be that irresponsible.'
Right.
No one could be that incompetent.
"Just check these cheques out!!" the woman exclaimed, breaking his train of thought.
Serph blinked and left her eyes as he now gazed at the cheques that she had taken from the pouch, listening intently as she gave him the background of the case.
He began to reach out for the cheques but suddenly froze as she spoke, "Erm…having an account with NRAK and I gave her two security cheques from our bank…"
Serph heard her clearly.
He let the words that had left her mouth flow within his ears and be interpreted by his brain…
He heard her alright…
And then, there was just silence. He heard her and understood what she said. And at that point, there were so many things that he wanted to tell her; so many things that he wanted to scream at her for the utter foolishness, stupidity and blunder that she had done…
But seeing that all those thoughts were all fighting to be at the forefront of his consciousness, not one coherent thought or idea came to him…
And so, he was silent.
But it would seem that his companion noticed the abnormality in the intensity of his profound stillness and spoke his name.
"Serph…?
That did it.
The sound of her voice had broken the very fragile and thin veil of pin drop silence and had propelled his thoughts to articulate themselves and there, he just let himself go…
"You…what…?!" he exclaimed with his eyes widened, piercing her scared and startled pink ones, unable to control himself.
His heart stood frozen at that point and his face fell, giving it a bored look. Well, if he reasoned previously that no one could be that incompetent…well, he was mistaken.
He was staring into the eyes of one…right now.
"Argilla…" he sighed, "What have you done…?" he asked, with his labored breath; giving it his all not to lash out on the girl.
"M-me…?" stammered the girl, "W-was that wrong…?" she asked with a low whisper; her eyes digging into his, desperation for his approval in what she has done…Approval that Serph knew he could never give.
"Argilla…Have you…gone mad?" he asked, with his eyes widened, "You didn't release the car, did you?" he asked, half-fearing on what her response would be.
'Please, please don't…' he mentally repeated over and over, 'May she have that much sense not to release that car…!' he screamed inwardly.
Everyone knew that that was a felony. Well, in the banking world that is. Releasing the vehicle without all the documents and cheques was something that was inconceivable.
'Like taking a diamond necklace without paying for it.' he thought; sweat beginning to form by his temples.
"Erm…they registered the car this morning." the girl coughed lightly; admitting slowly.
"You released the vehicle." Serph stated blankly, repeating what she had said so that he may hear the statement all over again. He didn't know what to think. This was the first incident of this kind that he had ever encountered within all his experiences in the bank.
He was astonished and enraged at the same time. He was astonished as to how a person like Argilla could commit such a mistake and he was outraged as to how serious the matter had become.
'If she gave the wrong cheques but didn't release the car…it would be fine…'
But it wasn't.
Now…
'Great. The customer has the car, the salesman has the bank's money but the bank has nothing; no guarantee, no promissory note…no nothing…!'
Argilla's heart had stopped beating from the moment that Serph had uttered his words. From those seconds ago, he hadn't spoken a word and his face was a blank; expressionless. His eyes too were dead but at the some time, were digging into her pink pools.
Argilla sank within her seat as she saw his eyes. Serph's eyes were screaming what his lips and tongue could not.
Why.
That was what his eyes seemed to lash out.
At that point, Argilla's spirit had never sunk lower.
Serph sighed, "Argilla…I need to tell you something."
Argilla gulped nervously as her heart raced uncontrollably; as if she were a cow being taken to the slaughter house.
'Well, look at the bright side!' she told herself, 'At lease he's talking again…! Hehehe…' she mentally laughed apprehensively.
xxxx
Another week had passed since that "incident". Luckily, Serph had been able to find out what she had done…before the situation had reached the Credit Department. He had been able to device a solution for her and had drawn her an exact plan how to execute it.
And she followed it to the letter.
She let out a breath of relief at that point.
'At least that's over…' she thought; again thinking what would've happened if that little fiasco had reached the Credit Department.
Argilla shivered at that, 'If…if they found out about that…I could be suspended for gross negligence…! Or worse!!'
At that point, a warming sensation glazed over her thoughts as gentle flash of silver dazzled her closed eyes.
Serph.
She smiled, 'If it weren't for him…'
She sighed as she continued to smile. Then at that point, something hit her. It had been him, hadn't it?
It had always been him who had saved her…It had always been him who had helped her whenever she would need it. And whenever possible, it had always been Serph who would cover up for her…
At that, again, her soul began to shake and rumble; she had been a burden hadn't she? She was…ineffective…wasn't she?
The smile that she had thus far been wearing suddenly began to crumble and there her pink eyes flashed.
Serph had trained her and so had Harley. She would not let them down.
'Not again.' she told herself with a sense mad steadfastness.
Again, her thoughts then drifted over to Serph. He had helped her a lot.
'I should do something for him…' she thought wistfully…
When it suddenly hit her.
'I know!' she exclaimed excitedly, 'When I get my first commission…I'll take him to dinner…!'
She looked at her calendar and grinned, 'It'll be here…in two days.'
Perfect.
xxxx
Serph disconnected the phone line. She had just called.
'Inviting me to…dinner…?' he asked, still having doubts as to the prior events' authenticity…and realism.
Did it just happen to him? Or had it finally happened; had he lost his mind?
Well, that was beside the point!
Go? Of course he would!
His heart then skipped a beat. He knew that he was the conservative one. Lunch during working hours was fine; they were colleagues enjoying a few minutes away from work within a completely harmless and professional environment.
But actually having dinner…outside working hours, alone…within a totally social setting was something that he still found quite a bit unsettling.
Despite that, however, there came a decisive push within the bowels of his spirit that wrestled its way to the vanguard of his emotions and nullified his earlier pattern of reasoning and just simply…gave way to what it was he never realized his heart wanted.
Her.
He wanted to be with her…and there was no changing it.
'I'll be there Argilla…' he thought, lost from the world around him, wearing a smile that he didn't even realize he had.
xxxx
Argilla took one last look at herself as she exited her car. Did she look okay…? Did her clothes match with her bag…? Was her makeup too heavy? Too light? And her hair; was it messy? Or just right?
She didn't realize how much she had been fidgeting with herself when she suddenly caught sight of her reflection from her car's glass windows.
She blinked as she realized how silly she had been acting.
'W-why am I fussing like this? It's just Serph.' she thought to herself.
It was just Serph.
Right…?
At that, her stomach seemed to have tied itself in a knot and there she groaned.
'It's just Serph.' she told herself again, 'It's just him. No need to be so conscious.' she mentally said with a nod.
If it was just Serph though…then why did a part of her felt as if it doubted that?
xxxx
Serph looked at his watch. He blinked and controlled his rapidly beating heart. He had been waiting for her for the last ten minutes. He looked around; looking for any signs of pink hair. There he was, seated at one of the tables on the restaurant that she had suggested they meet.
It was a steakhouse that she mentioned to him once that she loved.
Being who he was and doing what he did…being a naïve and nerdy workaholic, he knew not what steakhouse she had been speaking of at that point. She had rambled on and on about it but he knew it not; he didn't even recognize the name.
He had never been to that particular restaurant before and being from Muladhara, he ate only Muladharan cuisine. And now that she had asked this of him, he supposed that there was no harm in trying new things out…
"Serph!"
The half-squeal of a female from behind him, made him break his train of thought as he immediately whipped around; intent in finding the source of the voice.
He quickly sucked in his breath as he saw his date for the night walk to him slowly; every sway of her hips slow and deliberate…
Wait a second…Did he just say date?!
And wait a second…! Was he just staring at the way she was walking!?
He shook his head and shut his eyes.
It was official.
He had lost his mind.
"Hey there! Glad that you can make it!" the voice in front of him said cheerfully.
He immediately bolted upright as he heard his colleague speak. He opened his eyes and was met with her pink sparkling ones. Again, he suppressed a blush and laughed nervously, "Hehe…Of course I'd make it. It was you who invited me after all." he said calmly, his nervousness effectively concealed.
Argilla smiled, "Rightttt…" she drawled, dismissing her colleague's sad attempt of smooth talking.
'He has a lot to learn…' she thought with a slight chuckle.
"So," Serph began, his eyes trying their best not to stare at Argilla's dress.
There she was, in a simple strapless black dress that lung to her body's every contour and curve…forcing his eyes to steal glances at her every now and then.
His thoughts then, despite his brain's persistent scolding and warning, all meandered. Without the ever heedful choruses of rational thought and conservatism, the emotions and images just flooded within the young man's body and mind…
Emotions and images that centered about the pink-haired woman who was speaking countless words right before his eyes.
Without thinking, his eyes once more meandered all over her skin and figure…memorizing each and every crevasse and fissure, etching within his memory her smile…and the sparkle of her bright pink pools as she told her stories.
The glistening on her skin, on her pearly white skin seemed to beckon to the young man, letting another side of himself rise from within; another side of him that he never knew existed. He licked his lips unconsciously as he continued to admire the young woman in front of him…
Suddenly the semi-formal suit and tie that he had been wearing seemed to tighten itself that he found it almost impossible to breathe.
"Eh? You okay?" asked Argilla, leaning forward towards him with her head tilted to the side.
Serph began to sweat; what had he just been thinking!?
He then leaned back as he found that she had begun to invade his space and there coughed up a bit, "Erm…I'm just not used to eating this much of heavy food…I think I'm feeling a bit nauseated."
Argilla's pink eyes wandered from his eyes down to his plate, and then looked back at him, "But you're not even having steak." she drawled, gesturing to his plate and continued, "You're having steamed fish and you didn't even finish half of it!"
Serph felt himself being cornered and the amount of sweat that was forming on his temples seemed to double in amount, "Erm…well…I had something at home before I headed out."
Argilla raised an eyebrow in skepticism and looked into his eyes before dropping her guard and shrugging your shoulders, "Oh okay. But all the same, take it easy." she said with a nod as she gobbled up another chunk of her medium rare steak into her mouth.
Serph was amazed though as he continued to watch her. It was still a puzzle to him how she did it. How she continued to hog and gobble up food and speedily talk consecutively and at the same time, never seemed to gain a pound!
"Besides," Argilla continued in between bites, "the last thing I want to happen to you is to puke all over the place! Eww…!" she childishly exclaimed, wrinkling her nose.
At that, Serph just laughed.
Her apparel and her poise gave her the appearance of a demure and elegant lady…but it was her words that told him otherwise.
However, that was not what defined the lady who sat before him. It was neither her bewitching appearance nor her siren-like voice that drew him to her.
No.
It was her childish behavior, odd mannerisms, eccentric interests and philosophical mind as a whole that drew him to her…
At that point, he let himself go. He let his resistance drop and gazed deeply into her eyes…the eyes that he had desperately been attempting to avoid all evening and there admitted a little fact to himself and only himself.
He was drawn to her.
"Anyway," Argilla said as she carefully wiped her lips with her napkin, "I'm glad that you're here tonight Serph. It means a lot to me." she said with a sense of seriousness, her hand touching his arm in a reassuring tug.
Serph smiled at her, "Why wouldn't I be? You and I are friends."
Argilla laughed at that, "I'm glad to hear that! But what I'm really glad about is that…well, I'm happy that you're going out more instead of working long hours only to go home and sleep." she finished flatly; her face bored and unimpressed.
Her facial expression made him chuckle; it just amused him to no end how she expressed herself…
'She's such an oddball…A pretty girl with a good sense of humor.' he thought as he continued to chuckle.
It wasn't everyday that he saw one of those…
And most especially not from women from his country.
At the thought of women from his country, he shook his head and forced thoughts of his mother and marriage out of his mind.
"What I really wanted to say to you Serph…" spoke Argilla, waking the young man in front of her from his daydream.
"Is that…?" he urged, his thoughts and attention on Argilla once more as he saw how heavily she breathed…and how her face and eyes fell, gracing the table's mosaic tiles in what seemed to him as worry.
'What's wrong…?' he asked himself; genuinely curious and anxious.
"I wanted to say thank you." she spoke slowly, her voice a low whisper…and her tone having that pinch of shame.
Serph raised an eyebrow at that; why was she telling him that…? And why was she speaking this way?
"Argilla, what's wrong? Why are you thanking me for?" he asked, now letting his hand reach out to touch her hand that was on the table in a tight fist.
Argilla stiffened as she felt his gentle hand on hers…and there smiled tightly. She looked at him with the same said smile and sighed, "Ever since I started working here, you were the one who was always there for me." she spoke gently, her eyes sparkling in what Serph realized as…gratitude.
"Argilla," he breathed out, "it's not like that." he said with a shake of the head, "Anyone would've done the same thing."
This time, it was her turn to shake her head as she maneuvered her hand in his so that their palms met, and there held his hand firmly in hers, her eyes still on his, "I don't believe that. They are colleagues Serph…But you, you're more than that to me."
He didn't know why but her words made his heart race…
"You're a special friend to me Serph." she told him with a sincere smile, conveyed and affirmed through the warmth that seeped from her still sparkling eyes, "You're a friend to me Serph. You helped me out a lot…Even when I was a lot of trouble, you always found a way to help me. I know I whine a lot and…and I bug you all the time but…"
Serph knew that the old him would've probably snatched his hand back at the event of contact but for some reason, his spirit felt calm and at ease whenever he was around her. And it was for that reason that not only did his hand remain where it was…but it, in turn, caressed hers…
"You don't bug me Argilla." he told her, "A processor is supposed to give assistance to RBEs…And I already told you, I'll help you for as long as you require it."
"Serph…" she trailed off, content with what he had said.
"I'll continue to help you until you deem that you're fit to stand on your own Argilla." he told her with his eyes piercing hers, "And it's not just because you're an RBE and I'm a processor. It's because you are a good friend."
Argilla's eyes widened and there a warm sensation glazed over her, "Thanks."
"I should be the one thanking you Argilla." he told her with a shake of his head, "You insisted that I go out more…and pushed me to do it as well…No one had even done that before."
Argilla blinked; puzzled.
"We have a desk job Argilla. More often than not, no one really bothers about us…and much less about our personal lives. RBEs come to us when they have doubts and when they are in need of assistance…but as far as our personal lives are concerned, they are completely strangers to us and us to them." he then sighed as he paused, "No one had really paid any attention to me…Not the way you did."
Serph brought his other hand and there held Argilla's tighter and nodded, "And for that, I thank you."
Argilla was speechless…
She knew that he had been lonely and now as they found themselves alone, as she gazed into his eyes, she knew that her earlier judgment of him was an understatement.
He was lonesome…and he wanted to be with someone; desperately. She knew this because it was his eyes that shamelessly revealed the naked truth to her.
Now, at that particular space and time, he was naked to her. He had shown to her his vulnerability…
And for that, she felt nothing but honor at being the one to whom he turned for friendship…
"You'll always have me Serph. Always."
xxxx