QUICKSAND

P5. A Taste of Medicine

The ceramic tub was filled to the brim, overflowing bubbles surrounding her form, the water adapting to the shape of her seated, relaxed body. It had been raining frequently, and she watched the drizzling, grey clouds in the sky from one of the tall windows, a single spec of the sun poking through a gap in the thick veil. An aroma of frangipani, rose, and lavender lifted her grim, low spirits, but her face was still a reflection of her deep resentment and indignation. Her dark eyebrows low and her hazel brown eyes contemplative, she sits in the tub positioned in the middle of a marbled, sleek bathroom, her head pounding and her heart anxiously beating in her chest.

She was pissed, oh, was she ready to rip someone's head off. Her violent urges were concerning to her. She does not enjoy feeling this level of intense anger that could make her irrational at any point. She didn't want revenge, she needed revenge. That may seem wasteful, to utilize her time being exceptionally annoying and cruel just to make him suffer. But he was doing everything in his power to piss her off, and to further exacerbate her fury, it was working. Not only did he present the case to York, but he did it better, so much more convincingly that Alexander York just had to give in.

Prying her eyes open, reluctantly, she reached for her phone on the accent table near the tub. Her thumbs tapped angrily against the screen, a vengeful smile curving into her lips as she types out her text.

Alex, I know you're upset about one of your agents bringing my case to you. But I'M pissed off that now all of a sudden you're willing to give it a shot. You couldn't listen to me all this time?

The nagging was all part of the plan. She expected a message from him since he'd been calling her to the office since yesterday.

That agent is located in London and he follows the rules. You like to illegally hack into government software. He's got credentials. You don't. Come to the office today ASAP.

Huffing, she sets her phone down again and leans against the back of the ceramic tub. The fact that Harry's located in London is a decent excuse for only allowing him to pursue the case. The better one is the fact that he follows the rules. Kiani has no regard for them, usually, and that drives York mad. He'd never let her do anything unless she was being supervised by someone as by-the-book as Harry. She knew exactly where this was going and it was burning in her head, behind her eyes as she bit down, feeling her teeth grind.

Her ego burned hotter. She loathed being underestimated. It thinned her patience dramatically, chipping at it until it cracked. As she steps out of the tub, reaching for her towel, she makes peace with the idea of visiting Alexander. Despite their tension, he's constantly reminding her of the promise he made to her late mother. She's not interested in hearing it again, but that's the least of her concerns.

She takes quick strides down the smooth, grey concrete sidewalk in a pair of black, heeled boots. Her fingers wrap around the handle of a clear, rounded umbrella, hearing the raindrops land in a chorus of loud, tiny pellets. The rain only aggravated her further, the humidity of the air causing her black curls to frizz, drying all around her face, invading the space in front of her eyes.

Entering the tall, glass building, her phone rings in her purse as she closes up the umbrella. She groans softly to herself, fishing for her phone. Her eyes gaze across the lobby, a few feet ahead a security metal detector that scans for any weapons. Glancing at the caller ID, she rushes up to it, glowering when she reads the name Tristan. Throwing the phone back into her purse, she greets the guard working the computer, who barely nods in acknowledgement of her greeting. Kiani briskly walks past the gate, getting cleared quickly and her folded umbrella swinging beside her, a trail of water droplets following closely behind.