I weave my way to Mr. Xi's office, dread fans into my pores, but as the distance shortens between us, it fades away replaced by a calmness I didn't know I was able to muster. I knock on his office door.
"Come in," His voice drones out.
Breathing in, I slowly wave a hand on the hologram door knob, and it turns green and the door fades away, melting away before my very eyes. I didn't know that Mr. Xi has such technology, I wouldn't know because I have never been called to his office by him.
He sits behind a desk, his crisp suit isn't crisp and well iron like it always is, it looks like he woke up and throw on clothes and hurried off to work. Dark circles adorn his eyes, bags sit under his eyes. His gaze settles on me and moves by the window, he swallows visibly. I follow his gaze and settle on the beautiful woman that was with Yu the night before.
She gives me a perfect, polite smile, showing small, perfect, pearly white teeth. She wear a daffodil yellow dress, a sun-hat on her head, matching yellow pumps, and bag.
"Hi, I had dear Mister Xi call you. I hope you don't mind," she sashays to where the man sits, and lays a hand on his sweaty brow.
"Now, now Xi, this isn't anything to be nervous about. It won't affect you in anyway, you're just the witness to make sure the message gets across."
"Thank you Miss, I'm grateful."
"You should be, I'm lenient when it comes to those who are loyal. Aren't I?"
"Yes, you're Miss, the best."
"Now. Where was I? Ah yes, I want you to stay away from Yu's path. He's mine, we're to be engaged soon. And I can't have some backwater bottom-dark piece of shit distracting him. Here, this should be enough to take you to the far-off lands, or one of the three united cities of Ausbutch." She riffles in her purse and pulls out a slip of paper and stuff it in my hands.
I stared at the numbers on it, even in a hundred reincarnation I can never get this much money.
"Take it and disappear from our lives."
This much money I could do what I wanted, everything, exploring all the cities in the scattered. I have always wanted to see the scatter. But the thought of leaving Yu behind, of never seeing him, ever again worms it's course in my head. I grit my teeth, and push the cheque back in her hand. She scoffs in disbelief.
"What a fool. I thought you were intelligent. You're turning down a billion credits all for him?"
"It's not for him. I don't even know him. This place is my home, and I'm not going anywhere for all the money in the world."
"No. This isn't your home," she circles me a predatory look in her gaze, her hands lay gently on my shoulders and she leans and whispers into my ear."Your real home is the bottom-dark, where you crawl out from, and I will make sure you crawl back into it." She steps back and smile politely. I watch the smile melt from her face.
"You have until the dinner party to take the offer, I will have the money wired into your account, if you disappear it means you have accepted, if not I will make you regret ever coming up here, wish you had stayed in that hell hole."
She turns on her heels and matches to the door, she glances back to Mr. Xi, "Make her see reason Xi, or I will show you how displeased you have made me." she blows him a kiss and walks out of there.
Mr. Xi pulls out a small bottle of liquor from his desk and downs it all in one go. He belches and lay his head on the desk. "Take the offer Aida, this does not bode well for either of us. We cannot afford to displease Miss Tiangchi, people who have been aren't around to tell the tale. Take it and go, do you think if someone offers that much money I will stay in this gods-forsaken city."
"No Mr. Xi. I'm sorry. I don't think it's right. How can someone buy whatever they want, this is my life and I won't let anyone tell me how to live it."
"Then you are a walking-dead fool."
I walk out of there, deaf to Mr. Xi's screaming to come back, to please take the money and go. I shudder at the thought of going back to the bottom-dark, back to that hellish life, back to starving, stealing and hiding. If I go, no one is there to protect me, I won't last a day in there.