2024-12-17 14:50:26“I know I messed up last night, and I am deeply sorry,” Laxus started to plead immediately. If he was lucky enough, this man would not report his misbehavior to Mr. Henry, Laxus’s boss.
The man smiled and walked fully into the room. Then he settled himself comfortably on the settee that was just beside the bed.
“You did not mess up last night,” the man said.
Laxus was not a fool, neither was he a child. He knew that he must definitely have done something inappropriate the night before; maybe talk too much, dance on the bar table, spill his drink, throw up, or even worse, talk rudely at one of the restaurant’s biggest customers.
One report and Laxus knew that he was done for.
“I know I did,” Laxus insisted, “You are just trying to make me feel better,” Laxus said. He knew how most people like this operated. They would act as though they were not bothered about unprofessionalism, but the very next day, they would stroll into the working space of that person and ruin the person’s life.
It was all familiar to Laxus.
When he worked his butt off at the Kinkaid company, he had witnessed a man come in to make a complaint about one of their diligent and hardworking staff about his misdemeanor. According to him, their staff had been playing loud music all through the night, hosting a wild party. Instantly, Laxus’s father, Darwin, had fired the staff.
Laxus had tried every means possible to change his father’s decision. “Dad,” Laxus had implored, ""This is one of our best and most hardworking staff. If this man feels that his night was disrupted, he should be reported to the police and not to us. Besides, a suspension would have been just fine,"" Laxus had pleaded, especially after the staff had confided in Laxus that he had asked for forgiveness from his neighbor the next morning and promised that it would never repeat itself.
The neighbor had smiled and told their staff not to worry about it, only for him to show up at their company first thing Monday morning.
But as usual, once his father’s mind was made up, there was no turning back. “He goes, Laxus,” and that had been final.
Laxus ended up picking the staff’s work until months later, when they were able to get a suitable candidate. It had been frustrating, and now, Laxus was about to see it all play out again, only that this time around, he was the victim.
""I promise, whatever I did last night will never repeat itself. Please do not turn me in,"" Laxus begged, still lying on the bed. He could not even bring himself to stand up and leave. Even though Laxus was having a hard time at his place of work because of Drake, he still was not ready to leave his job just yet. Plus, being fired did not make a good profile at all.
“And I can assure you, you did nothing inappropriate,” the man insisted.
Laxus found it hard to believe him, but what other options did he have? He would be foolish to keep pushing until the man got angry.
“Do you feel any better?” he asked Laxus.
“Yes, I do. Please, what is your name?"" Laxus asked. In his mind, he would find a proper way to make his apology more acceptable. Now that he knew his house address, he would probably send an apology gift with a convincing note attached to it.
To save himself, Laxus had since realized that he would have to go the extra mile, and even if it meant using his last money to buy something worthy of an acceptable apology, he would do it.
""You don’t seem to remember much from last night. Did the coffee help at all, or is there something else you know that works perfectly well for your hangovers?"" he asked.
“Hangovers?” Laxus repeated after him. ""No sir, I barely have alcohol. To be very honest, I haven’t had any alcohol in a really long time,"" Laxus tried to exonerate himself.
The man smiled. ""Relax, Laxus. We all have our days of alcohol, okay? No one is going to crucify you for a few bottles,"" he assured Laxus.
Somehow, Laxus relaxed. The man was as old as Laxus’s father even though he sounded and acted nothing like his father, because if he did, his domestic staff would not feel so much at ease and act so nicely towards strangers in the house.
“I woke up with a headache, but I am better now,” Laxus finally answered. “The coffee did work on me,” Laxus said. Then something clicked in his head, and he turned to the man and asked, ""But how did you know that coffee was my cure for hangovers? Did I reveal this to you last night?""
Laxus’s voice was close to quivering.
“No, you did not say that to me,” the man sniggered. He seemed to be having a good time watching Laxus suffer with self-imposed guilt and humiliation. “It is just basic knowledge, and a lot of people cure their hangovers with coffee,” the man explained.
Damn, Laxus just kept shooting himself in the leg.
Well, now that he was already here, he might as well do what he started. “So, um, what else did I say or do last night that was inappropriate?” Laxus finally summoned courage to ask. Maybe if he knew his exact offense, he would know the right way to seek forgiveness.
The man attempted to shrug off Laxus’s question, but Laxus pressed on. “I know I must have, because if I didn’t, I would not be so drunk as to end up in another man’s house unknowingly.”
“Alright then, you asked for it,” the man said, but he remained relaxed in his chair. “You told me the cause of your misery last night.”
If one could die of shame and embarrassment, it would be Laxus Kinkaid. Worse, he had revealed his true identity to a total stranger, and now he might as well be doomed. He needed to leave immediately.
Laxus jumped to his feet. “I sincerely appreciate your kindness, but I have to leave,” Laxus said, but as he attempted to walk out of the room, the man’s firm voice stopped him.
“I have a deal for you, Laxus Kinkaid.”
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