My CEO Boss Is A Masked Internet Sensation
Chapter 63: The Ominous Note

Chapter 63: The Ominous Note

(Arata)

My mood remained soured throughout the day, and I didn’t go to check up on Karsten, nor did he call me with his thousand requests. The caring side of him I received on the weekend seemed to have transmigrated to Neptune.

Maybe that’s where he was originally from; cold and dark.

Astronomers were spending trillions looking for aliens, all they needed to do was study my boss. I was sure they would find the alien within him from a distant cold planet.

I had a relaxed lunch with Chan and Miranda, although the only relaxed person was me. Miranda’s phone kept blowing up by all departments for updates. They were not allowed to call me; only outside clients and the personal tasks of Karsten were under me.

Chan was tense that the sales would dip if this particular order was not completed and delivered.

"He is going to reprimand me again," he sadly pouted, trying not to play with his food.

"Something will come up. Don’t worry too much." I had texted Mom and told her to talk it out with Karsten, and knowing how efficient my mother was, I had no doubts that we would get the shipment of the cotton soon.

Relaxedly, I enjoyed my dumplings, they were delicious.

"He hasn’t eaten anything and hasn’t even taken his coffee. It’s worrisome," Miranda fretted. "I should speak to Mr Ranold, he is the only one who can make him eat."

Forgetting her own food, Miranda picked up the phone and dialled Ranold, telling him to have a talk with Karsten.

After finishing my lunch, I headed to my office, and soon enough, I received a text from Mom.

{It’s done, Arata. Don’t worry, I got you. We will deliver the cotton tomorrow.}

A sense of accomplishment and joy ran through me seeing her text. I knew she always had my back.

Quickly, I typed back.

{Thank you! Mom. I love you.}

{I love you too, Arata Chan.}

I placed my phone down and the elevator dinged. Ranold emerged from the glass cubicle carrying what seemed like take-outs.

Seeing me, he waved, flashing me his extremely white teeth. I offered a professional smile and focused my attention on the task at hand.

An hour later, Ranold left waving at me as if I was a child.

What was with this man? Treating me like a small kid when I was sure we were the same age.

The day ended with a drag and I decided to head back home. My work for the day was done, which was not much considering Karsten hadn’t given me his usual thousand tasks.

I was packing up when my desk phone rang.

Picking up I heard Karsten on the other hand.

"Report to my office before you leave for the day."

-Click-

The call ended at this.

See, alien from Neptune or beyond. Humans mostly use greetings and names at the start of a call.

Drawing in a deep breath, I readied myself for more of his bad mood and left my seat. But, no way was I going to let him walk all over me. He was going to get an earful if I detected any taunts in his voice.

As I entered his space, he was waiting for me with his huge arms crossed over his chest as if ready for another confrontation.

I could feel them around my flesh and now knew how they felt.

Comforting, soothing and most importantly safe. Irrespective of his horrible moods there was this sense of reassurance and deep trust in his embrace.

"You called for me?" I asked, boldly facing him and he took his time answering me back. The touch of authority that always remained on the tip of his nose was very much in the air.

A silent step he took forward, letting his arms go and thrusting his hands into his pockets. As always his feet never made a single sound against the floor.

His dark eyes seemed less hostile now and that rigidness on his face seemed to have melted a notch.

"I received a very interesting call from someone today. They offered to sell us, Swanzi Land Cotton."

Another dangerous step closer and now he was almost in my personal space. My eyes never wavered from his and he hardly blinked. Although I did have to crane my neck to stare back at this giraffe, a very buff giraffe. "So tell me truthfully, do you have anything to do with it?"

Did he suspect my involvement?

He should never know that I was trying to make this deal happen. He was too smart and would easily connect the dots.

"I am not sure what you are referring to but I have no involvement in this." My heart thudded so loudly at the lie I had just told him but I tried to keep this nonchalant façade.

He couldn’t know, he shouldn’t know.

His eyes narrowed a fraction and his lips twitched as if wishing to say something. I kept a straight face, not backing down. Not even when his scent permeated my senses and I was reminded of the kiss we shared.

’It meant nothing,’ I reminded myself and kept repeating the mantra in my head, trying not to breathe through my nose.

"I shouldn’t have snapped at you but that’s what happens if I don’t get my coffee on time. Don’t be late tomorrow."

My icy boss had a shitty way of apologising. He found a way to turn it on me again. I wanted to retort that Miranda brought you coffee but you were a brute and too stubborn to take it from her, the woman who had been serving him coffee for the past many years.

Seriously, he baffled me at times, but then there were so many layers to him, and I had hardly scratched the surface. The absence of a father figure in his life seemed to be another factor which had shaped him like this.

"I won’t. Do you need anything before I go?" I asked, knowing he had been tense all day.

"No, I will see you tomorrow." With that, he took a step back, and I let out a breath I had no clue I was holding.

"Good evening, Sir," I gave him a nod and turned on my heels to walk out of his office. He put me on edge and that unwavering gaze of his unsettled me on so many levels.

Reaching my car, I pulled open the door and settled inside. Dropping everything on the passenger seat I buckled myself in when my eyes fell on the other side of the windscreen. There was a paper placed on the outside of where the passenger seat was.

What was that? Unbuckling, I let myself out and went around the car to get to the paper. It had been folded and tucked under the wiper.

Curiously, I opened it to read and a shriek left me as my hands trembled and the paper dropped from my hands on the floor.

In blood red, it was written. It was most likely dried blood.

"I know the dark secrets your parents hold and one day; I will bring them out for the whole world to see and then I will come for you, ARATA."