Reiner – Real Work Starts After Work

“Zero, thanks for coming. It’s been many years since we last met,” Reiner said before smiling pleasantly.

“Don’t worry. I remember you well enough, Knight,” the huge man said, and his voice was surprisingly light and cheerful.

Unlike the stern and scary-looking photo of him in his profile, this man smiled a lot and seemed to have a good sense of humor. He shared some small talk with Reiner before laughing loudly. The way he laughed made me feel a lot less intimidated by him. It was like, this giant of a man had a human touch to his character. He seemed like a nice and very friendly guy. When he turned to smile my way, I found myself smiling back at him with ease.

“Right, let’s get down to it. We want to improve agents’ survival rate on missions and my secretary here believes that talking to you and asking you some questions will help us achieve that. So please, answer all questions truthfully. There’s no need to hold anything back,” Reiner explained.

“I never hold anything back,” Zero said confidently.

Finally, it was time for the last interview for the day. Unlike the other two interviewee before, this agent was a woman. Famous for her strategy work in the field and her ability to command teams on the ground, this woman has been an agent for more than fifteen years and she started out very young.

“Hi there, I’m Karin,” the woman with curly auburn hair said seductively.

There weren’t many female agents employed at this agency and perhaps there wasn’t that many female agents to begin with in this world so getting the opportunity to see one up close and in person seemed like a privilege to me. She’s very big for a woman and very muscular. Her face is super pretty though and she wears mascara and light make up too. I guess even female agents care about their looks. Wow…

She’s so pretty. Even prettier than the photo on her profile. Karin was tall and had a well-toned body. I could see it clearly because she only had a pair of very short shorts on along with a crop top that did nothing to hide her bare arms and stomach. Her legs were long, and she had an authentic tan. She eluded confidence and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

“Thank you for agreeing to this interview. I’m Knight,” Reiner said politely.

Karin narrowed her sharp eyes at him before nodding and taking her seat.

“You look like your father,” Karin said with an alluring smile.

“I guess, I do,” Reiner replied smoothly.

“You have questions for me, right? Ask away…” she said as she stared intently at Reiner.

…

By the time we wrapped up the final interview, it was around 6PM which meant that we had just done one hour of overtime. Honestly, I didn’t mind at all, and it was a surprise that the interviews did not run overtime. It was also good that the secretarial department was consider enough to arrange for time between each interview. It gave me time to go through my note and jot down anything that I may have missed the first time around.

It's time to head back now. Reiner seemed to be reviewing his notes. Silently, I slipped out of his office and closed the door behind me. After gathering my stuff, I was prepared to leave the office to head back to my apartment. Since I was no longer staying at his mansion, there was no need for us to share a ride back anymore and that meant that I could leave at any time. I placed my handbag onto my shoulder before heading towards the door.

Just when I opened the door to leave, I heard the sound of another door opening. I turned to see Reiner walking out of his office and I could feel his eyes on me.

“I’m done for the day so I’m going to head out now. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I excused myself politely.

Reiner approached me until he was standing right in front of me. His large hand planted itself flat against the door and pushed it firmly closed behind me. The door closed with a solid thud, and I found myself trapped between Reiner’s large frame and the closed door.

Great. What does he want with me now?

“I called you many times yesterday, why didn’t you answer my calls?” Reiner asked in a low voice as his eyes searched mine as if he could find the answers that he was looking for in the depth of my eyes.

“You called me? Sorry that I missed your calls,” I said, sounding apologetic.

“Why didn’t you call me back?” he demanded to know.

Because I didn’t want to talk to you?

“I guess it just slipped my mind. Also, it was a Sunday, and I don’t work for you on Sundays. It was work related, right? You know, the thing you wanted to talk to me about,” I replied, trying to sound as normal as I could.

“You should have told me that you were moving out,” Reiner whispered and for a moment it sounded like he was in pain.

It must have been my imagination and nothing more.

“I told Queen about it. I thought you would hear it from her,” I replied.

Reiner stared at my face silently as if he didn’t know what to say to me. As for me, I had nothing to say to him either. I just want to head back to my apartment.

“Why did you leave so suddenly?” Reiner asked as his voice softened.

Was he worried because there’s no need for him to be.

“You don’t have to worry. I was planning to move out sooner or later. I can’t stay as a guest at your mansion forever. Better sooner than later, right?” I said before smiling bravely at him.

“I see…” Reiner said softly.

“I should head back now. If there’s nothing else, I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” I said politely.

“Is your place around here? I can drive you back,” Reiner offered.

--To be continued…