The Closer (18+) ✓

| 8.2 | termination

❝I'll take you down the other road
To breathe in something more
I'll find it harder to ignore
The things I want you for.❞

Chapter Eight:
Termination
(cont'd)

I stood up and smoothed down my skirt before making my way out my room, and out the floor. The ride up to Jasper's office was a short one and setting step up out of the elevator and onto his floor was like entering an alternate universe. Unlike our floor, which was more cozy and welcoming, this one was entirely business. It had a similar lay out but everything from the expensive sofas lined up against the bright white wall to the trimmed and proper receptionist behind the desk screamed professionalism.

"Ms. Henderson," she stood up, addressing me with a full smile. "How can I help you?"

"I'm here too see Mr. Smith," I answered, adopting a more formal tone to match this floor's system. It wasn't my first time visiting him so she let me in without insisting to deliver me to his office. I walked through the frosted glass door and took the left, feeling unsettled by the odd amount of silence but then again, most of the higher ups didn't bother to come to work in the first place. Jasper was one of the few who worked in-office. Rounding the corner to the last room, I looked through the glass and saw him hunched over on his desk, concentrating on whatever it was he was hand-writing. I rapped on the glass two times, hard and fast.

"Tris!" Jasper beckoned me in, a smile ready on his face. He was always ever so welcoming and as I set step into his office, I could not help but marvel at it like it the first time. Jasper's interior decor spoke volumes about his tastes and personality. A silk tapestry hung from the wall on my right, one of the most eye-catching attractions of the room. Various pieces of art lined the walls, giving off the vibe that Jasper himself was a collector of good taste. He was not one to shy away from his display of wealth either as every piece of furniture or item in his office was rich, or exquisite in one way. Some would call the display boastful, others, honest. I leaned toward the latter description.

"What can I do for you beautiful?"

Jasper's question snapped me out of my reverie. I fixed a genuine smile on my face and walked toward him and eased into the chair facing him.

"It's nothing related to business."

"Oh?" His eyebrows raised, redness seeping into his caramel skin transforming his face into that of a beautiful tease. "Then, pleasure?" He wiggled his thick dark brows at me, earning a roll of the eyes.

"No," I snorted. "Besides, I know you don't swing that way."

"Pleasure doesn't require specifications, my dear." Jasper winked then simmered down the comedy when I gave him a blank stare. "What's up?"

"It's nothing major, just...," I hesitated, having never approached Hans' best friend on a topic like this before. How exactly should I phrase it? Meeting his eyes, I decided to be straightforward and asked the question, "Have you heard from Hans lately?"

"Hans," Jasper repeated, turning a pen between his fingers as he stared at me, a smile touching his lips. "Yes."

"It's just that he hasn't contacted me in a while which is a bit...unusual."

Jasper shrugged. Whatever hint of secrecy I had detected in that lingering smile vanished as he sat back against his chair, watching me with indifference. "You haven't contacted him either."

Was that an accusation? "That's only cause I've been held up at work. You know that. Even Hans would know that."

"Would he?" Jasper countered.

We stared each other down. More like, I stared him down. Jasper's take to this discussion told me that he was hiding something. He was tactfully avoiding giving me a straight answer. Jasper was Hans' go-to guy. He definitely was in the know but whatever it was, they both chose to hide it from me. Something was definitely up.

"Look, Tris," Jasper sighed, not in surrender under my unrelenting glare but in exhaustion of having let this go on for long. "Hans will contact you when he's ready."

The tone of finality with which he ended that sentence had me blinking stupidly.

"That's it?" I asked, astonished at his lack of an answer.

"If you're this troubled, why not contact him yourself?"

"But he-"

"That's all I can say," Jasper concluded. This time, he was putting across the point that it was the definite end of the discussion. "Have a good night Tris." He gestured in the direction of the door. How rude.

All fired up, I stood up and pushed the chair in after me, walking myself out and making sure to show Jasper that I was not happy with how he had just treated me. I knew his loyalties were with Hans so whatever the case, he would stick to what his best friend would want. But is that what Hans wanted? To shut me out of whatever that's going on?

I thought I heard the receptionist call out my name as I headed out of the office and toward the elevator. I turned around to look at her, crashing straight into someone. I fell back on the floor, unable to balance myself upon the impact against a hard, muscled body. Sprawled on the ground in the least graceful of ways, I peered up in annoyance to see who it was that I'd walked into.

"Hans."

My heart throbbed faster in my chest at the sight of him, heat rushing into my body. A smile graced my face, happy to see him after so long. He, however, did not seem to return the sentiment. With one cold, and fleeting glimpse down at me, Hans stepped past and walked through the door without so much as a second glance. I lay still, my fingers digging into the soft carpet as I tried to get a grip of what just happened. Had he just ignored me?

"Miss Henderson! Are you alright?" The receptionist hurried to my side, hooking an arm through my own to help me to my feet.

"Yes, yes I am. Thank you."

She was frowning, her beautiful features distorted into the most ugly of faces as she threw a hateful glare in the direction of the door, and at Hans' retreating figure down the hall.

"Don't mind Mr. Castellan. He's not known for his good manners, I tell you."

I was shocked at the amount of distaste she held in her voice, prompting me to think that perhaps it was the spite of a woman who'd been wronged emotionally. But it was her next words that confirmed she spoke of corporate vendettas, not personal ones.

"And to think that unrefined man is to take over this company one day." Her gaze softened when she turned back to me, loosening her hand on my upper arm. "Are you sure you can walk okay? Or would you like me to call someone from your floor to help you out?"

I shook my head at her, mind still reeling in what she'd just said. "That won't be necessary. Thank you."

I ignored the small streaks of pain that shot through my ankle as I slowly walked back to the elevator, all the while trying to digest the events of my short trip to the forty-second floor.

_____

Song: I'm Into You by Chet Faker

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