Douazecisitrei || Territory

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Hey guys,

If you like this book, please vote for this chapter! I'm needy :-) My work is free, and your votes give me a boost!

- Shar

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Mila felt both rested and deeply disturbed. Turns out, sleep was the answer. Until recently, she hadn't had a decent night. Not since she stepped foot in Laurent Manor.

Turns out, living in constant fear had adverse effects on your health. According to the internet, (she'd done a quick search at work) it was impressive she'd kept it together this long.

While it had become easier to focus on her job, her mind was now preoccupied with a new set of problems. Work gave her temporary relief from said thoughts, and she used it to fixate on every task that came her way.

It was starting to pay off, and she was performing better. Consistently showing up early gained her coworkers' respect, and a few weeks in she was finding her footing.

Mila put her packed lunch in the refrigerator and waited for the coffee machine to brew her favorite beverage. That morning the office was dead quiet, exactly how she liked it. As the brown, bubbly liquid filled her cup, her mind reeled.

It had been some time since she'd slept in bed with a man, and she couldn't help thinking how warm and comfortable his body felt. How she'd pliantly fallen asleep, as if under some spell. To make matters worse, he'd actually started being nicer. Even showing her a video of her dog.

Hating Alec was easier when there was space between them. It gave her hate room to grow, like a plant sprouting in the wild, versus being confined indoors. She could view him as a dark entity instead of a human being.

But lately, with every sniffle, yawn, and breath she felt from his chest, she viewed him differently. Dangerous thoughts were seeping in, like what if she stopped desiring escape? Could she eventually be content with Alec? Happy even?

Most importantly, how long could a person last before going crazy?

Shortly after her accident, she'd been diagnosed with anxiety. She'd been prescribed medication for it, but refused due to the many, many others she'd been on at the time. She was regretting that decision.

For now, she relied on calming down organically, reading her notes and sipping her hazelnut-flavored coffee before everyone else got in. She'd found a reading nook next to the lunchroom with a nice view of the city. It was her favorite place to unwind, and part of her morning ritual— the only time of day that was truly hers. The other day, she's even thought of a way to possibly sneak the USB into the building. Yep, Mila did a lot of thinking in that nook.

It was peaceful.

It was quiet.

Until it became clear she wasn't the only one with an affinity for the space, or rising early. Before she could take a sip of her caffeine, she had company. Daniel, her boss's nephew and Bonnie's mysterious brother.

She couldn't shake him. It didn't matter what time she arrived, he would always show up at some point. Or more annoyingly, already be there, sitting in her spot. Mila felt she had every right to be territorial. The time was invaluable to her.

To make matters worse, Daniel loved carbs. Mila was secretly dying to know how he stayed in such good shape. He was constantly eating scones, muffins, pork buns, you-name-it. Always something delectable she could never partake in. It wasn't fair.

It had all been a mild inconvenience, maybe even entertaining—until now.

It was the earliest she'd ever arrived, 6:30 a.m., and the corners of her eyes still stung from waking so early. She figured she had at least 30-45 minutes before Daniel came in. But as she soon found out, her sacrifice was in vain. Daniel was already there. Sitting in her spot, eating a breakfast burrito, her favorite breakfast food!

She wanted to punch him in the face.

"No matter where I go, you seem to follow." he said, looking just as displeased to see her.

It could have been his dismissive attitude, or persistence in ignoring her, but Mila made the decision to not back down. She wasn't bending to any man if she didn't have to.

"Looks like we'll have to share." she said indignantly, sitting her things down and planting herself in the space across from him. 

At first, Daniel looked like he wanted to object, but he continued reading and paying her no attention. She followed suit, working next to him without a sound.

Daniel, however, periodically sighed in frustration, ruffling his free hand through his hair. She could only ignore it for so long.

"I'm having trouble concentrating." she said.

"I'm sorry you're having a hard time." he said flatly. "Maybe you should find a quieter place to work."

"I don't want to find another place." she said. "This is the only time of day I have to myself, and I would like to spend it here. Not the desk I'll be glued to for the next 8 hours."

After work she had to go to Salva's and fulfill her duties as model for his exhibition, whatever that meant, so it was going to be a long day.

Daniel stopped what he was doing and straightened his glasses. Mila had never seen glasses look so well-suited to a man. The only comparison she had was Clark Kent, and appearance-wise, she'd always liked Kent more than Superman.

"This has been my area every morning for the past few years and I've never had a problem until you came along." he said.

Right, technically she was the intruder.

At this point, they were at an impasse, so she leaned closer to see what was making him sigh so much. It was a page riddled with marks in red pen.

"Press release?" she asked.

He moved it further away to block her from seeing, but she already caught a glimpse.

"Sung Han honored with benchmark international humanitarian award." she read out loud.

"Wow!" she moved closer. "This is a huge deal! Don't they only give out one of these every couple years?"

"This is proprietary information, so please don't repeat it." he said. "And it's every three years."

She rolled her eyes. "I've already seen it, so you might as well let me help."

He didn't budge.

"Just from a glance, I can see the title of the award needs to either be in quotes or italicized." she said. "And 'United States' needs to be abbreviated with a period between the 'U' and the 'S.'

He looked at her perplexed.

"May I?" she asked.

Reluctantly, he handed over the release. Cockily, she held out her other hand, and he gave her his red pen as well. After ten minutes or so, she'd read through it and marked changes he'd missed. There were many.

"Thank you." he said, sounding grateful. "How are you so... good at this?"

"You're welcome." she said. "I learned this type of technical writing in grad school. I'm happy to look over anything if you want another set of eyes."

"I might just take you up on that." he replied.

"Daniel, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course." he said.

"Did you draft this release yourself?"

"I did."

"Why are you writing a press release with little knowledge of AP style?" Mila knew from experience the type of work Daniel was doing was meant for someone much more qualified. Even more qualified than her.

"Why is someone with a master's degree picking up my uncle's dry cleaning and lunch orders?" he countered.

Touché. She would have had a solid reply or comeback if he hadn't caught her off guard. She could have lied and given him the same answer she gave his uncle during her interview, but something made her not want to lie to him. Instead, she said nothing and shrugged it off.

They'd taken a few steps back, and were really at an impasse now. Trying to figure out how to proceed with the conversation was more work than it was worth.

Daniel started to say something, but Mila stopped him.

"How about a schedule." she said. "What if I take the nook from 6:30 to 7:00 in the morning, and you can have it after? Sound good?"

"I guess that works." he said.

"Good." she said, happy to resolve it. She picked up her now lukewarm coffee and left to start her day.

She could see right through Daniel. He used his standoffish and reserved demeanor to hide the fact that he's a nice guy. Despite the way their conversation ended, she still enjoyed their interaction. It was fun going toe-to-toe with someone and getting her way for once. So-much-so, she was still smiling about it a good while after—The anxious thoughts from earlier taking a back seat.













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