Chapter 44: Inside My Head

< Shirley >
I was floating in the sky of chocolate. Suddenly the clouds started turning black, and it started thundering. One of the thunder was about to fall on me, just then my eyes jolted open.
I gasped for breath and looked around myself. I wasn't in my bedroom, nor was I on the terrace. I sat up to realize I was in Dylan's bedroom, on his bed.
I repeat, on Dylan's bed.
Okay, okay, Shirley, don't freak out. It is not like you slept with him or something. So chill, I told myself.
But you kind of slept with him, argued my subconscious.
Oh, shut up! I haven't seen such good days yet, I argued back.
Ahem, ahem!
Fuck off, subconscious!
But Dylan did bring me here. Thank goodness, he wasn't that cold-hearted to leave me there on the terrace. Cause that would have been freaking weird if I woke up to find myself alone on the terrace.
And to think that he carried me here bridal style, made me want to hide myself six feet below the ground.
I heard the door open all of a sudden. Dylan entered the room, looking as handsome as ever in a simple white shirt and black slacks.
"Wow, Ms. Disastrous sleepyhead is awake finally," he let out sarcastically. "Do you even know what time it is?"
I said, "Good morning to myself too."
He rolled his eyes. I glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was past ten in the morning.
"Are you going to the office on Sunday?" I asked in confusion.
"No. I have some important work," he replied and stood in front of the dressing table. He started brushing his hair as if he was trying to make me ogle him.
"Stop staring. It's creepy."
I frowned at his words. "What important work?"
"It's mafia-related work. Your little non-existent brain won't be able to understand it."
I pouted at his response. Back to sarcastic Dylan.
"If you make me understand, then obviously I would understand," I insisted. I just realized I probably looked like a zombie. I tried to comb my hair with my fingers to fix it up.
"You already look okay," Dylan spoke up.
"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"You are trying so hard to fix your hair but you already look okay," he rephrased his words, making me slightly blush.
"You still didn't make me understand." I tried to divert the topic.
He sighed. "I won't repeat. So get this straight. People from other gangs stole some of our goods and weapons and killed seven of my men. I will be just paying them back what they deserve."
"Oh, I see."
"Right now, I'm going to the headquarters. Tonight we will launch a surprise attack on them and bring our goods back."
"Surprise attack? You mean, you will be engaging in killing and stuff?"
"Yeah, sorta. My job is to command everyone and join the front line when things go downhill." My heart calmed down a little bit at his indirect assurance.
"So—"
"Boss, are you read—" Xavier barged in without knocking on the door. His eyes widened when he saw me on Dylan's bed. "Did I interrupt something personal?" he asked with a devilish grin on his face.
"Yeah, you interrupted but nothing personal," Dylan retorted.
Meanwhile, I just gaped at them. I removed the blanket and got down from the bed. I noticed my shoes were lying near the edge of the bed.
Wow, Dylan was kind enough to remove my shoes, too. Or he didn't just want to spoil his bedsheets. Well, who knew?
"Guys, that's enough." I tried to put an end to Dylan and Xavier's bickering after putting on my shoes. But they paid no heed to me and continued their fight. "Shut up, guys!" I yelled.
"You shut up!" Both of them yelled back at me. I flinched back a little bit. My jaw hung wide open.
"Xavier, I told you to bring—" Riley cut himself off when he saw both of them arguing. He sighed. "Both of you, shut the hell up."
I thought they were going to yell back but rather they became quiet. Xavier scoffed and walked out of the room. Talk about being biased.
"Do I need to give you an invitation, Dylan?" Riley glared at Dylan.
"Yeah, yeah, I am coming. You guys go on ahead."
"Well, whatever." Riley went away as well, leaving me and Dylan alone.
"I will be going now. If you want to take a shower, you can borrow any dress from Sienna's closet. Sienna won't mind if you open her closet. I already told Trisha to make breakfast for you. Since you didn't do your morning workout, you will do it now. According to today's schedule, go on a drive and maintain a steady speed of 180 mph for at least one hour. Then you can do whatever the hell you want," Dylan informed me in a breath.
"Aye, aye, Sir." I saluted him.
"Goodbye," he said and walked out of the room. I was left alone in his room.
"Best of luck," I wished but it went unheard.
I ran a hand through my hair, getting frustrated by the pile of works that was pending for me. I went to the nightstand where Dylan had placed my bracelet before running off to do my tasks.
At first, I needed to look for an apartment the whole day with my friends. Not to forget the bunch of shopping I had to do. After all, I required formal clothes which I didn't have much. People should really pity me.
Thanks to my friends, I now had loads of clothes, even unnecessary clothes. But there was something else that was bugging me
"Look alive, Shirley!" Violet jerked my shoulder to bring me back to my senses.
"Huh? You were saying something?" I asked, being clueless. All of my friends slapped their foreheads dramatically. I was currently in a restaurant for dinner with my friends, in celebration of my new job.
"What is wrong with you?" Richard asked in disbelief.
"Nothing is wrong with me. I am just—I am just tired. That is all."
"Something is definitely wrong with you. You have been zoning out a lot since the last few hours. You aren't even eating properly," Savannah said, giving me a questioning look.
Grace nodded in agreement.
"C'mon, tell us, Shirl." Eric nudged and poked my left cheek thrice.
"Guys, I swear, I am fine." I tried to make them believe me.
"Whatever you say, Sugar." Daniel rolled his eyes, getting annoyed with me.
I let out a sigh.
They started talking again, getting lost in their juicy gossip. Meanwhile, I looked outside the wall-sized window which had a nice view of the city.
I wonder what Dylan was doing.
From the moment he left this morning, I have been getting a really bad feeling. On top of that, I kind of missed him. Everything reminded me of him. I couldn't get him out of my head. Also, my worry for him wasn't helping.
Ugh! It was like he was inside my brain!
Dylan told me that he was going to settle scores with some other gangs, that meant bloodshed. And the thought of him getting hurt was eating me alive. I didn't even know why I cared so much.
I mean, he has been in the mafia even before I knew him. He survived till now. So, he was going to make it out just fine. Therefore, my worry was basically pointless.
Yet...
"Tigress, is everything alright?" I heard a concerned voice say. I turned my face to look at him.
"Yeah, everything is perfect, Ryan." I flashed him a fake smile. I still felt guilty for what happened to him because of me. I couldn't meet his eyes for that reason.
"Are you sure?" Ryan asked with concern.
"110% sure!" I chirped and started digging into my food to ignore his intense gaze.
When I was eating my eyes fell on the waffles on Violet's plate and it instantly reminded me of Dylan.
It was official, Shirley. You have gone nuts. Maybe you should get myself admitted to the asylum.
———
"Good morning, Mr..." I trailed off, not knowing the name of my senior officer.
Finally, it was Monday. One of the most awaited days of my life, my first day at work.
"Brian Taylor," he replied with a smile. I looked at his appearance. His light brown hair was neatly brushed backward. He had honey-brown eyes and was as tall as Adrian, as in six feet.
"I take it you're Ms. Hamilton." I nodded and he spoke further, "I hope you don't mind if I call you by your first name, do you?"
"Sure thing, Sir."
"Sir makes me feel old. Just call me Brian."
True that. He looked three or four years older than me.
I said, "Okay."
"When I saw your profile, I thought you were beautiful. But you are really gorgeous. I like your fashion sense as well," he complimented me.
I mumbled a small 'thanks'.
I wore a white top along with royal blue formal pants and black heels. I paired it with a stone necklace, diamond bracelet, and a golden wristwatch.
"If you don't mind me asking, why do you look so dull?"
Of course, I would look like a zombie. I didn't catch a glimpse of sleep last night. It was maybe out of excitement and nervousness for my first day or... I didn't even want to think about the other possibility which could be related to Dylan.
"Uh, I was very excited for my first day." I scratched the back of my neck sheepishly.
Brian let out a chuckle and shook his head. "It is relatable. Anyways, let's get to work, shall we, my dear assistant?" He grinned.
I chuckled at his enthusiasm and followed him.
He seemed like a nice guy. For now, I was stuck being his assistant. However, I didn't plan on being an assistant for long, soon I would be one of the main designers in the company.
I caressed the bracelet around my wrist, a smile forming on my lips at its sight. It was now my inspiration to do better every day. Let's just hope for the best.
___