Chapter Text
“The lawyers already reviewed this, Mr. Ackerman.” Theo Magath leaned forward in his seat with a smug little half-smile filling his face. “Do you intend to review all one hundred and fourteen pages while we sit here?”
“Shit, I’ll need a drink for that.” The blonde man to his left chuckles before pushing his glasses further up his nose.
Levi’s jaw tensed as he sent a final glare over to Erwin, still enraged over their decision to move forward with all of this. “We’re thorough in our work, Mr. Magath. Perhaps that is something you’re unaccustomed to.” He stared over at the two men sitting across from him, noticing the tiny chuckle his comment appeared to garner. Not that he expected them to become particularly concerned with his snarky choice of words – this was practically a done deal, after all. Erwin, Miche and Hange had already signed, what could Levi do at this point? Shit all, that’s what – and Theo Magath knew it. Still, Levi took his sweet damn time flipping through the paperwork for the next several minutes before finally lifting his pen to begrudgingly sign on the dotted line.
“Excellent.” Magath looked a little too pleased for Levi’s liking, nodding for one of his shoddy looking lawyers to come over and collect the paperwork, ensuring they would each receive a copy in the mail within three business days. “Gentlemen,” he kept the pompous look upon his face while nodding towards Levi, Erwin and Miche before turning to Hange to smile, “Madame –” That earned a rather strange look from Hange, yet the older gentleman appeared clueless and so he continued, “May I suggest a few drinks this evening to celebrate?”
Levi watched as the blonde man cleared his throat, causing Mr. Magath to nod his head and chuckle, “Ah – that’s right. Suppose I should conduct introductions. This is Zeke Yeager, Special Advisor to Marleyan Enterprises and my ears and eyes on the ground. He’ll be travelling back with you all to work out of the Paradis office for a few months – you know, to ensure things are running smoothly with the acquisition.”
“Excuse me?” Levi raises an eyebrow while sending a glare over towards Erwin and Miche. Did they know about this? No, they didn’t. From the look on their fucking faces, they were just as surprised. Already issuing orders? The ink had barely dried on these piece of shit contracts placed before them and Magath was already filling their office with his little spies.
Just fucking great.
“Along with a few others.” Magath grinned like the clueless idiot he was.
“A few others?” Miche cleared his throat.
“Mmm,” Magath nodded. “I’ll be sending our Lead Environmental Specialist, our Manager of Accounting and Manager of Auditing. Good group – lots of experience there.”
“We already have a manager of accounting.” Erwin cut in with a look of concern spilling out from his eyes. Yeah, Levi glared at him. Now, you see how this shit is going to go. Don’t you? I fucking warned you, eyebrows.
“Looks like they’ll be taking a backseat for a few months.” Magath shrugged his shoulders as if giving one of your long-standing employees a sudden demotion for an uncertain period of time wasn’t a big deal. His tone made it pretty damn clear that this wasn’t up for negotiation and so Erwin leaned back in his seat, unwilling to press the issue further.
“We’ll make it all work.” Zeke winked over towards the group, sending a revolting feeling down to Levi’s stomach. This guy looked as untrustworthy as they came, fuck his special advisor title – he was there to report on their behavior to Magath.
“What’s this environmental position?” Hange cut in with her brows furrowed in thought as her interest had apparently been caught. “This sounds like something we could leverage for publicity. I’ve heard that Magath Enterprises is making a move to becoming one of the leading green-conscious companies over the next ten years.”
“Precisely.” Zeke clicked his tongue while giving Hange a thumb’s up. “She’s great, will talk your ear off about that sort of thing – if you’re interested.”
A grumble must have escaped Levi’s lips, revealing to the others in the room exactly how enthused he was to hear that, because Magath gave another chuckle before pushing his chair back and slapping a hand down upon Miche’s back. “Drinks are on me, shall we?”
“This was a mistake.” Levi hissed towards Erwin as they all rose from the table.
“Let’s remain optimistic, Levi.” Erwin forced a smile. “Perhaps we will find their skills and experience an asset.”
“Tsk,” he clicked his tongue in annoyance. They didn’t need any more skills or experience; they’d been doing just fine for the last few years. Great, actually. It was the sole reason he’d adamantly argued against this proposal for the company to be purchased and acquired as a subsidiary of Marleyan Enterprises, all too pleased with the level of professionalism and success they had managed to create with Paradis Corporation. What had started as a half-assed idea with Erwin back in their undergrad days quickly became one of the most promising up and coming architecture firms in Canada. They were highly sought out for their work, on track to break themselves both into the status of multi-millionaires soon and busy enough that Levi barely found any time to sleep as it was. The only reason the other three had taken an interest in this shitty deal was to develop their reach across seas: to break into the European market and expand across North America.
It came with a giant fucking signing bonus, but still didn’t feel worth it. Until a few moments ago, they had been their own boss. Why the hell had Erwin, Miche and Hange been so willing to sacrifice that?
“Levi,” Magath pointed towards him. “You in?”
“No.” His lips pursed into a thin line as he gave the curt response. No, he had zero interest in pretending they were all one big giant happy family now. He’d much rather have a scotch by himself in the comfort of his hotel room while finishing his book. Entirely no interest in socializing with Mr. Magath or Mr. Yeager. Nor the other associates they’d be shipping down to plant within their office next week.
None whatsoever.
__________________________________
“Hello?? Evie?”
Huh? My eyes flick back up from my cellphone to the eyes of my two friends, elbows flung across the table and eyebrows raised in a clear annoyance that I haven’t been listening to them. If I tell them the reason my hands grasp ever so tightly onto my phone, they’ll forgive my rudeness; but I wish not to get into that right now… “Sorry, what were you guys saying?” I offer a soft smile and apologetic wince.
“How long are they sending you over there?” Sasha asked again.
“Oh, I’m not sure. Probably a few months at most.” Another buzz goes off, another drop in my stomach as I start to lose myself in old memories which deserve to remain pushed down inside. Releasing an unnoticed held breath, I reach out for the glass of wine before me and hope they’ll not notice my unsteady hands.
“I looked into this company,” Petra grins before retrieving her phone to slam it in my face mere moments later, tapping her nail up against the screen as I focus on a picture of four people standing before a building which reads, Paradis Corporation. “Do you see him?” Petra sighed while directing my gaze to the right of the photo.
“Which one?” I laugh, all too familiar with Petra’s type. “The tall blonde one or the tall blonde one?”
“Exactly my point.” She quips with a sheepish grin.
“Wait, let me see,” I grab the phone as she begins to pull away. Eyes pulled over to the other side of the photo, to the one who does not reflect the reincarnation of a giant Greek god – seriously Petra, I laugh to myself. The girl is so predictable, it’s absurd; but I digress. The one with the dark hair, the one with the slightly narrowed eyes as if merely standing there on that particular afternoon for what was likely only a few short moments was the biggest annoyance of his goddamn life.
“He looks like he’ll be an ass.” Sasha cringes while taking another sip of her drink.
“They’re all hot though.” Petra winks. “Maybe this trip will be good for you!”
“They’re her new business partners, Petra. Not potential suitors.” Sasha sighs with a giggle before the phone is thrown away and our conversation moves elsewhere. Though my mind is caught on those silver eyes, the ones which leave a person feeling cold yet comforted, a little frightened yet wishing for more. I can’t place him, but… still stuck on the strange feeling that he looks so very familiar.
“Someone certainly isn’t clear on the no-suitors-at-work memo.” Sasha rolled her eyes and I already know what she’s referencing. As does Petra, apparently, for she rolls her eyes while looking over at me, “Zeke asked again?”
“He’s very persistent.” A sigh and my mind is pulled off from the mysterious raven to the man who has attempted to cajole a date from me at least half a dozen times since I joined the company last year. Another buzz. This one catches the attention of my dinner companions as Petra’s eyes flick down to catch the restricted number which flashes before I silence it. “Who’s that?” she scrunches her nose.
“No one.” Dry throat, heartbeat wildly moving up to reside in my ears. No one, if I whisper the words over and over will they become true? A shaky sigh as I dig into the plate of pasta before me, quickly raising another topic of conversation to distract from the short beep to notify I have another voicemail. Another one… eight, now – is it? The thoughts drill into my mind for the rest of the evening as if a jackhammer attempting to break through my skull, spilling little fragments of unwanted memories all over my mind, flashes all across my eyes.
By the time I find myself back inside my apartment, the short breaths have turned into an all-around panic attack. Trembling fingers pull out the tiny pill holder which always resides within my purse – an ironic little metal tin with Rosie the Riveter giving her best You Can Do It – with medication. Still brings a smile to my lips every damn time, a great investment. I stand by it.
Slumping down against the door as I wait for the lorazepam to kick in, counting the second, the minutes, the ticks from the kitchen clock. Slowly, I feel the fear begin to crawl back; almost as if the shadows slick back over the floorboards and crawl back into the walls as I feel myself begin to breathe again.
Another call.
“Shit.” I fumble with the damn thing before turning it off. Doesn’t this count as harassment, at this point? Do they think they’re sly calling from a restricted number this time? Leaving voicemail after voicemail… the first one caught me so off guard I nearly fell over while standing in line for the subway. Evie Kitz, this is Detective Markinson regarding the police report you filed back in… everything went blank, after that. Memories I wish could be plucked out of my mind, ones I fixate on far too often when it’s time to sleep at the end of a long day.
Speaking of, it’s been a hell of a day if ever and I probably could skip this little ritual to merely go to bed but then I begin to think of all the progress I’ve made, all the work… “Fine.” I grumble while pulling myself up from the floor, making my way over to the bathroom where I quickly begin to draw a bath and flick my phone back on, yet not without setting it to silent. Kneeling on the cold tile floor with eyes fixated on the rising water, fixated on that little chip in the ceramic – perhaps I should attempt to have it fixed but for now, it’s a perfectly useful marker. A marker for where I frantically flick the water off as soon as it touches, it’s far enough.
With a final breath of bravery, I peel off my clothes from the day and place a cautious foot into the water before climbing in and settling into the most comfortable position I’ll find. For how comfortable can one truly be when they’re terrified? Hmm… am I, anymore? Terrified – is that truly the word I’d use?
As I start the time for exactly ten minutes and lean back against the inflated pillow, a cold shiver runs up my spine regardless of the warming water and I resign myself to accept that, yes: terrified. Most certainly, it’s the word I would use.
Seven minutes remaining.
My eyes are locked onto the screen as the numbers slowly lower to the beautiful zero I wish for. Doing well so far, relatively calm… the pills are likely helping.
Six minutes.
How many times did that detective call me today? Perhaps I should place a complaint into the station… am I allowed to do that? Shit, if I call to complain can they force me to answer their –
Five minutes.
I’ll just let it be. They’ll stop calling eventually… right? A sudden flash of air bubbles and water splashing fills my mind, causing my shoulders to jolt and every nerve inside wishes to fling myself from this bathtub but, damnit – there’s still four minutes left. Four fucking minutes… I can do this. More images, they always do this. It’s like the shitty times know when you’re almost in the clear, when it’s almost over and then that’s when the true hell is released. Some sort of final, sick test – right?
Three minutes.
Screams and pleas fill my eyes as I fall back further into the past. Can almost feel my fingernails digging at the edge of the tub, lungs filling with water as his hand tightens its grip upon my hair and my face is pushed further under. The dizziness then began to wash in when lungs emptied of air, the bizarre echo of attempting to scream underwater – it sounds so strange, to hear the sound that your own voice takes on when you’re convinced you’re dying. My head bobs as I push back, as I fight, as I try to –
Beep.
Sweet, sweet zero. I gasp while flinging myself out of the tub, grabbing the towel which is placed out and wrapping it tightly around my shivering body. Those goddamn memories… why can’t they just stay down? Ten minutes. What would have felt unimaginable mere months ago has become my new norm, the time I’ve been able to handle for the past several nights. Am I feeling brave enough to bump it to eleven? Hell no. But, ten minutes. I slide into bed with a goofy grin, a little too pleased with myself for having accomplished something so silly as ten minutes in a bathtub, but… if you knew.
If you knew, you’d be smiling too.
“Fuck.” My hand slams down on the alarm clock as I find myself cursing the early flight which has been booked for me. Who the hell chooses to fly at 7am on a privately chartered plane?! Sociopaths – that’s who. Though I suppose Mr. Magath didn’t become one of the world’s richest for lazy mornings and sleeping in. With a sigh, I pull myself out of bed and begin to dress in the outfit which I’d chosen the following evening.
At exactly the decided upon time, a knock is placed upon my front door and I’m quickly downing the rest of my coffee before running over to greet Zeke. “Good morning, Evie.” He winks in that way which always leaves my face involuntarily twitching. He’s in my condo… great.
“Evie.”
My eyes are pulled back to the door as I notice Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover standing in the hallway, which instantly puts a smile back where it belongs. Hard to believe I’ve only known Reiner for a year, as he’s quickly become one of my favorite humans in this entire shitty world. Yes, I had an instant crush on him from the moment I saw him and threw myself at him far too furiously at a drunken corporate outing – only to find out that he’s very gay and very much in a committed relationship with Bertolt – but thankfully, I was forgiven; and now I have a hot new bestie instead.
“I’m all ready.” I blow a kiss to Reiner as he grabs my suitcase and before I know it, we’re all rushed off to the airport. Paradis Corporation, here we come…
__________________________________
Shit, I should be listening to this. The friendly brunette is chatting my ear off about the layout of the office – where the bathrooms are, how to get my parking pass, things like that – but I’m stuck mumbling the four names I just learned over and over in my mind, hoping some of them will stick. I’m garbage at things like this, it’s one of my oh so very many lovely little weaknesses this world blessed me with.
Erwin Smith, Senior Architect. The tall blonde one with eyes that leave me feeling like I need to grab hold of something. A cringy cliché, I know – but seriously. How the hell does someone who looks like that exist?
Miche Zacharius, Manager of Client Relations. The other tall blonde one, though a little more sandy blonde in person – another one who leaves my knees a little more wobbly than necessary. Focus, Evie – focus.
Hange Zoë, Head of Public Relations and Advertisement. The one I should be listening to right now instead of repeating their names over in my mind. In less than five minutes, I’ve learned where they studied, what they studied – communications, by the way – where they live, what they had for breakfast today. This one is a talker; we’ll get along just fine.
Levi Ackerman, Senior Architect. The one who caught my attention in the photo pulled up on Petra’s phone. He’s shorter in person, likely my height if I had to guess without standing right next to him – something which I’ll very likely never do because he looks so pissed off and prickly right now, the mere thought leaves me taking a step further back. Mergers are never a piece of cake and truthfully, this isn’t a merger. More of a voluntary takeover when Mr. Magath waved a few hefty cheques around, from what I’ve heard, and promised connections.
Truly more of a hostile takeover from the look upon this one’s face… sheesh. His eyes flick over to mine as if he’s somehow capable of reading thoughts, those silver slithers narrowing just a little further as he seemingly hisses at me. You remind me of a grumpy little cat – I find myself thinking while lips curl into a tiny grin. Something which he catches and likely assumes I’m laughing at him, something which I’m sure I’ll pay for later from the look on his face. For the hundredth time today: shit.
“Now that you’ve heard about us,” Miche places a hand on Hange’s sleeve to slow them down, “why don’t we give you an opportunity to speak?”
“Well, you’ve met me.” Zeke grins, motioning for Reiner to start. “Reiner Braun,” he nods, “Manager of Accounting.”
“We already have a Manager of Accounting.” Levi coldly remarks, causing Reiner to give Zeke a questioned stare.
“You do.” Zeke chuckled before placing a hand on Reiner’s shoulder, “And he’s right here.” He turns to mumble to Reiner, “Mr. Magath already took care of this. Ignore him.”
Bertolt clears his throat, no doubt praying not for a repetition as he introduces himself as the Manager of Auditing. No words – meaning he must be in the clear. Either that or Levi has decided to proceed with the silent treatment.
“Evie Kitz,” I give a quick nod. “Lead Environmental Specialist.”
“Which means what exactly?” Levi raises an eyebrow with a look of bemusement upon his face.
Hmm… not the silent treatment, I see. “I assess current and future projects with a lens for environmental concerns, mitigation efforts, recommendations for increasing a project’s greening strategy – things like that.” I smile while hoping this conversation ends here. I can see a skeptic from a mile away and this one’s only a few feet in front of me.
“Tsk,” he rolls his eyes. “You don’t think we consider those aspects before initiating a project?”
“I’m sure you do, Mr. Ackerman.” I respond with the curtest of nods. “Though I cannot imagine you would consider it through the lens of a Masters in Environmental Science and specialization in infrastructure investment and procurement green-energy strategies – or am I mistaken? Perhaps you found your studies in architecture to be dull enough that you had time for another degree?”
Well, now I’ve done it. His face tenses in a fit of rage, mouth pulled into a taut line as his chest rises with a round of anger. Usually I’m not such a bitch in front of a new colleague but something about this man just rubs me the wrong way, leaves me wishing to push back a little where I can only imagine typically lacks resistance. I’m left waiting for the inevitable response but then his friend beside him chuckles and nudges his arm, seemingly ending the conversation.
“Nice to meet you all. I’m sure the flight was long and tiresome, shall we all head out for a late lunch?” Erwin smiles. The charismatic one of the group, naturally, and we’re all whisked off to a little spot across the street for tacos and tequila. Honestly, my kind of lunch.
“This is a cool spot.” I choke out after biting into my lime – it always gets me. “Do you take clients here? Nice that it’s close to the office.”
“Hell no.” Miche grins, “This is our spot. We keep those assholes far, far away from here.”
“And we don’t discuss work over tacos.” Hange winks, causing me to pull a hand up to zip my lips, nodding back: Got it.
“Where are you all staying?” Hange turns to the others, listening to Zeke explain how we’ve all been put up in a nearby condo building. The rooms are lovely, a little exhausting to consider just how much the company is paying for them. Truthfully, I’m not entirely sure why we’re here – this place was doing fine before the acquisition. A quick glance over at the scowl I’m getting from Levi reminds me of just how very much we are unwanted. Not that I need much of a reminder, his face has been glued into a permanent frown since our arrival.
“The four of you founded this company, right?” I force a weak smile while calling across the table towards him. I’m stuck here for a few months, might as well attempt to make nice – right?
No answer. Did I really expect one? Gods, this is painful. With another sigh, I go for attempt number two. “I can understand how this all feels… encroaching? Like we’re pushing into your space but I can assure you, we’re not here for that. You four are the experts, we’re here to help.”
“Unneeded.” He deadpans.
“Sorry?” I tilt my head as I lean closer to the table.
“Your help.” He glares. “It is unneeded.”
Oh for fuck’s sake. “…so is your attitude…” I mumble before throwing back another drink. “Mr. Ackerman, I only meant that I can understand why this is difficult for you. It’s a company you started from the ground up, it must mean a lot to you.”
“How long have you worked for Marleyan Enterprises?” Miche cuts in, noticing the dark cloud which has seemingly settled over our end of the table. Thankful for the interjection, I respond it’s been just over a year.
“Where did you work beforehand?” Levi asks. Ah, not so prickly after all? Is the tequila settling in? Not such a grouch with a drink in his hand, perhaps. “I was finishing my thesis. Mr. Magath interviewed me not long after and I –”
“I knew it.” Levi’s lips purse into a thin line. Arrogance and amusement seeping off of him, I’m left wondering what the hell he’s talking about before he chooses to continue. “You look young.”
“Um… thanks?” I let out an awkward laugh. Sure, I’m guessing that he and the others here are a bit older… like maybe eight to ten years max? I’d place this one before me in his thirties, if I had to guess.”
“Not a compliment.” He continues to stare.
“Levi, be nice.” Miche nudges his shoulder while giving me an apologetic smile.
“What do you mean by that?” This guy is going to be a fucking peach to work with. Fuck me.
“Inexperienced.” Levi pushes his friend’s arm away while continuing to meet my stare. “You have none, yet you’re placed in a rather high – and ridiculous, if you ask me – position.”
“Excuse me?” My jaw clenches and fists ball. Just what the hell is this guy suggesting?
“It’s obvious how you got here.” He shrugs his shoulders. “You’re the old man’s little whore.”
“Levi.” Miche winces yet I hardly notice the words which are whispered into his friend’s ear. Red, rage – how greatly I’d wish to grab this drink and hurl it over onto the asshole’s face before me.
“Let’s not get off on the wrong foot so soon, hmm?” Zeke attempts to smooth it down while motioning for the waitress to bring another round of drinks. Buzz. My phone is the only thing which stops me from following through on that threat, caught off guard from the restricted number which flashes again before my eyes. Shit – these assholes just won’t leave me alone.
“What did he say to you?” Reiner leans back in his chair to hiss over at me, starting to pick up on some tension from the other end of the table.
“Nothing.” I mouth back while shaking my head. There are larger things going on in my life than the jerk who sits across from me. Metaphorically and literally – I make a snarky joke about his height inside my mind. “You’re mistaken,” I glare over at Levi before shifting my attention back to the food. While I can’t say that I’ve never played the role, I’ve most certainly never been such a thing to Mr. Magath – nor would I.
The rest of the lunch goes smoothly – as smooth as it could go after one is called a whore, I suppose. Levi and I go out of our way to avoid eye contact, no further words are exchanged and I refrain myself from splashing liquid in his face by unfortunately downing far too much of it – leaving the table a little too late in the afternoon to go back to work and a little too tipsy to be demonstrating any sort of good judgement right now. Likely the very reason that when we all part and the four of us start to head back to our temporary homes, I find myself accepting Zeke’s offer for a ‘debrief’ of our first meeting with the Paradis group.
“That short one is a prick.” I grumble while flopping down onto his sofa, happy to accept the glass of water which is pushed my way. Buzz. “Shit, how can you block restricted numbers?” I hiss out while turning off my phone.
“I don’t think that’s possible.” Zeke frowns while taking a seat beside me. “Let me know if Mr. Ackerman is giving you any further problems.”
“Oh yeah?” Rolling my eyes, Zeke always likes to do that. Play the hero – pretend he can actually do something about it.
“I’ll talk to him for you.” He nods.
“Don’t bother. I can take care of it myself, don’t need your help.”
“I never said you needed it.” He chuckles to himself while leaning back to stare out at the view. It’s not the penthouse but they have us on a damn high floor, overlooking the city in such a way that screams at our foreignness. Why does this all leave me feeling so unwanted? Another glance down at my phone – why does it feel like my past is still right here beside me? How easily problems seem to follow across seas. Bullshit, if you ask me.
“You okay?” Zeke’s hand lands on my knee, though I have to give it to him – the look of concern on his face actually appears genuine.
Still, fuck confiding in him. Not interested. “Got anything to drink in here?” I mumble instead.
“The mini-bar is stocked.” He holds an arm out to its location. “You trying to get shit-faced or something?”
“Or something.” I mumble while pulling myself up to root through the bottle of minis. Unfortunately, the something turns into a whole lot more as I find myself failing to leave Zeke’s place that evening. Waking up the following morning with his arm draped lazily around my waist and our clothing scattered across the floor, I mumble out a groggy groan before grabbing my phone to check the time.
A message flashes across the screen from Petra. Stopped by to water your plants today. Card left from a detective? Seems urgent. Want the number?
Fuck.