A few days went by, with Mia Mills getting used to her new job. It was not easy to be in the cleaning department. She had to get to her father’s building early to start the cleaning in the offices before people arrived. By the end of the day and after everyone went home, she would go to other offices to clean up what she and her team didn’t have time for in the morning.
Her co-workers, most of them middle-aged women and men, wouldn’t let her kneel on the ground to clean a toilet or use any kind of detergent without gloves, for as much as she complained that she wanted to do everything like everyone else.
It didn’t take long for all her work to be opening doors for the cleaning team where she was or filling up the cleaning cart. But after so much complaining that she had to learn everything she could, her team finally agreed to let her do what they did, with the condition that she always had to use gloves and a pillow to put on the floor to protect her knees so that she didn’t get any calluses or wounds.
When she asked why, the women almost shouted in her face that such a young and pretty lady should have the utmost care with her skin, and considering that she was always wearing skirts or short dresses outside work hours, wounds or calluses on the knees would be ugly.
Despite all the hard work Mia had to do in the cleaning department, she got a new grasp of how things were in her father’s business. Not only because she would meet people she never saw when she worked in the mail department, but also because she started to memorize all the corridors and stairs and learned how to get to each different department faster.
During all the days she had to start work so early, Jack would escort her there with her driver, and Sophia arrived at school earlier than any of the students because she would take a ride in the limousine and use that free time before classes started to go to the school’s gym to train. Be it running, boxing, or physical exercises to improve her stamina and reflexes.
She found out ever since she arrived on Earth that her Human body was slower and weaker than her Demi-Cat body in Crosslot. The previous owner of that body kept it in shape, but being a Human was far from being as fast and strong as a Demi-Cat. So, Sophia trained daily.
In the beginning, she ran home with her father after school. But when Mia started to live with them, Sophia changed her exercise routine by doing exercises early in the morning, as soon as she got up, and before going to bed.
As for Jack, he also adapted his daily routine. Ever since Joseph Mills gave him the files about the men in that group who threatened Mia, he would take her to work, leave to the shooting gallery where he went every morning, greet the owner, and leave through the back door after changing his clothes to disguise himself.
After telling the owner that he wanted to use the shooting gallery as his alibi, the man gave him a spare key to the back door and made sure the cameras were always off in the back corridor that Jack would use to leave.
The mornings served as a means for Jack to follow the members of that group, confirming their schedule mentioned in the files that Mia’s father gave him.
He would get back to have lunch with Mia, and in the afternoon, he would stay in the building and help the other security guys or talk with his friend, Billy Patel. Occasionally, he would leave the building disguised and check on the members of that shady group, noting down the time they would leave work, at which hours they would arrive home or have dinner, and in a few nights, Jack would camp outside their houses, checking the hour they would go to sleep and how late all the neighbours would turn their lights off.
All in preparation for the next part of his plan: revenge. Or what he preferred to call, a preemptive attack.
One morning, Joseph Mills called Jack and Mia to see him in his office. While they were walking along the corridor, Mia asked in a low tone, “Do you have any idea what he wants this time?”
“I might, but let’s see what he says. For all things worth, I am going to say I didn’t do a thing. But I did. But I won’t say what, how, or when, so don’t ask me.”
Mia glanced at him and saw that his eyes had a scary shine in them. She felt a shiver along her spine but kept her mouth shut.
As soon as they sat in Joseph Mills’ office and his assistant closed the door and left, he said, “The weirdest thing happened. My foundation got a few enormous donations; all of them were anonymous, but every single one of them was such a fortune that I am pretty sure you have your finger on it, Mister Jack Cross.”
Since Jack remained silent and dead serious, Joseph Mills continued, “My rivals, the ones in that group that were trying to buy the company where I am now a business partner, made me a few offers. Or should I say, they almost begged me to buy their companies, but at such a cheap price that it made me suspicious. I did some digging, and it seems they lost all their money, and they are almost bankrupt. Not only that, but they are all in the hospital with serious wounds. Some of those men looked as if they were tortured. The police questioned them, but they all said they were attacked on different occasions during the night, in their own home, and the security cameras got broken before the attack, and the security guys that were working for them didn’t hear a thing. And the ones who did are also in the hospital with gunshots or knife wounds. There were no casualties, but the professionalism behind such attacks makes me wonder if they were all attacked by a professional team.”
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Jack Cross raised slightly one eyebrow and asked, “And why did you call us here? If they are not a threat to Mia now, why did you think you needed to tell us all that?”
“Because… Well, I got the feeling you were behind everything. I gave you the files about those men, so…”
Jack said as he got up, “I have no idea what you are talking about. Now, if you excuse me, I need to go to the shooting gallery to train. Buy those companies, make sure the families of those men receive proper treatment, and perhaps you can find them a job. As for the men who caused all that stress for Mia, let them rot in poverty.”
While helping Mia get up, he stared at the curious father and said, “Unless you want the police to nag you about what happened to those guys, I would advise you to get rid of any reports or files about those men, as well as any memory about saying anything about them to me. Are we clear?”
“Yes… Perfectly clear…”
The silent Mia held Jack’s arm tighter and left the office with her father staring at his hands over the desk, lost in deep thought.
As they were going for the elevator, Mia whispered, “Thanks… But did you have to do all that?”
“I had to. I overheard some of them preparing an attack against you some days ago while I was surveying them. Now, they won’t try anything, and you are completely safe. So, what if we forget about it and go for a coffee before you start your work?”
She gently pulled him near and whispered so close to his lips that they were almost touching, “It is because of things like this that you are making me fall deeply in love with you. You should be more careful, you know? If you keep acting so cool and overly protective, I might not control myself and rip your clothes off. I am almost-”
She went silent with the kiss, and Jack answered in a whisper when their lips were apart once again, “You can’t do that here because we are working, remember? One of these nights, perhaps when you put on that cute underwear of yours, I might actually try something fun with you.”
“We should tell Sophia to sleep in her friend’s house again so that I can have you all for myself! There are a couple of things I want to do with you, but we need to have a night all for ourselves for that!”
“I think that can be arranged. I just need to tell her to talk with Emma.”
Mia leaned her head on Jack’s shoulder as they were going to the elevator, while everyone in the open-space office was looking at them with a smile.
Despite Mia’s and Jack’s attempts to keep it professional during work hours, everyone knew how they felt about each other and that they were together. Everyone was also relieved to find out Mia had changed a lot since she started seeing that serious security man.
She was more friendly; she would smile a lot more, and she would stop occasionally to ask about their lives and work. It was strange to see her delivering files and reports or doing errands all over the building when she was working in the mail department, but it was even more surprising to see her in a cleaning team uniform, emptying rubbish cans, cleaning desks with a rag and detergent, or washing windows from the inside.
While Jack and Mia were talking with her father, Sophia was with Emma in their school’s cafeteria, eating a slice of bread and juice. On the nearby table, Eliza Francis and her two friends were also seated, eating.
Sophia noticed that Eliza was glancing at her occasionally, and she got enough. She turned to face her and asked, “I got something on my face, Eliza? Or you are so attracted to me that you can’t stop looking at me? You are kind of cute, but you are not my type, so I am sorry for breaking your heart like this.”
With her face all red, Eliza said, “I am not in love with you! I just…” She glanced around and noticed that the kids nearby had overheard the conversation and were now staring at her. She looked at Sophia again and said, “I heard you were going to participate in the Schools Sports Competition, and you are going to do all the events.”
“I am, so what? What does that have to do with you?”
“I… I am also going to participate!”
With a wicked smile, Sophia said, “Good for you! We need a mascot! Are you going to use pom-poms to cheer? And throw kisses around? Because that would be funny!”
“No, of course not! I just… I won every single running competition ever since I entered kindergarten! I can run very fast! We are probably going to race against each other! And I am also going to participate in the other events!”
“Nice! I do hope we will face each other in the Dodgeball event and the Boxing one! I am going to mess up your face so much that your mother won’t even recognize you! Don’t you look so surprised! Do you perhaps think I forgot everything you have done to me ever since I entered this school? The last time you annoyed me, I sent you to a hospital for a few days! This time, if you are dumb enough and try to fight me, I am going to put you in a coma for an entire year! I am going to beat you up so much that you will stop feeling pain while you bleed all over!”
Eliza turned pale, but Sophia didn’t finish, and she looked at the two scared girls next to her. “You look prettier without the two teeth you lost, and you have a nice scar on your nose.” She then faced the now-scared Eliza Francis and continued, “You still have a lot of scars on your forehead and your chin, but after the Schools Competition, you will have a lot more! I told you already! I wasn’t running away every time I saw you because I was afraid of you, and I wasn’t reacting every time you beat me because I didn’t know what to do! I just didn’t want to hurt you. But you and these two morons next to you thought I was weak and hopeless. I bet you felt really hopeless and weak when you were recovering in that hospital bed!”