Page 16 of Doubts of the Egoist
His hand fell to his side as he stared at the smooth wooden door. His professional curiosity, nurtured by years of service, urged him to follow the men. However, his rational mind demanded otherwise.
“I’m not a cop anymore. Whatever Yugo does has nothingto do with me,” he repeated the words like a mantra as he turned away from the entrance. To confirm his decision with physical action, he pressed his back to the door and closed his eyes.
CHAPTER 5
Yugo circled thewide hardwood desk and slumped into the deep chair. The late summer sun pervaded the office with lazy drowsiness, creating an atmosphere not conducive to solving problems or working. It was quiet, as if nature anticipated the change of season. Only a fat black fly buzzed hysterically against the glass, though the window beside it was wide open, letting in the intoxicating scent of herbs exhausted by a long summer. Like the fly, Yugo felt trapped in the room, even though the exit was only a few steps away.
He pulled a smartphone from the inside pocket of his jacket and glanced at the screen. His brow furrowed as he saw four missed calls—one from Greg, three from Tobias.
“Huh, you really did call…” he muttered to no one in particular. He called Greg, pointing to the guest chair in front of him with a curt jerk of his chin, offering a poor attempt at hospitality. As soon as he heard a ‘yes’ through the speaker, he said, “Come to my office. Now.”
He slipped the phone back into the jacket pocket as he leaned against the soft backrest and grabbed a cigarette pack from the desk. If there was one good thing about Tobias’ visit, it was the opportunity to smoke, now that Kuon wasn’t around. With his eyes still healing, anything could cause a corneal rejection, even cigarette smoke. For someone who usually smoked a pack a day, holding back was pure torture.
The sparkwheel screeched under his thumb, and the flame caught the cigarette tip, sending the first swirl of aromatic smoke into the air. Taking a greedy drag, Yugo loosened the knotof his tie and undid the top button of his shirt, releasing the inner tension with a long, smoky exhalation.
The door opened silently. The bulky man sidled into the office as if trying to cause as little disturbance as possible or hoping to go unnoticed. As soon as Greg’s deep-set black eyes locked on Tobias, he scowled.
Is it a surprise to you? Interesting…
Tobias turned to the newcomer, chin lowered in a silent greeting. It was a little insulting that, while Tobias did everything he could to get on Yugo’s nerves, his jokes with Greg were almost toothless. An air of respectable neutrality always surrounded them. Due to the age difference between Yugo and both men, it barely bothered him when he was young, but this behavior was getting on his nerves more and more as the years passed.
Greg nodded too, straightened his shoulders, clasped his hands behind his back, and stood still, staring somewhere over Yugo’s head, probably at the unfortunate insect.
“So, what brought you to my bedroom, Tobias? Did you miss me that much?” Yugo asked, looking directly at his right-hand man, trying to make Greg utterly uncomfortable. Taking care of security and making sure no strays snooped around the mansion was one of Greg’s unspoken duties, or so Yugo had always assumed.
Greg’s throat spasmed, but his expression remained blank. Only the baggy jacket tightened around his shoulders, betraying his discomfort and causing the thick fabric to crease under his armpits.
Tobias chuckled, and his pale, almost colorless eyes zoomed in on Yugo, unblinking. “That too. Besides, I wanted tobe one of the first to witness the return of the prodigal son.”
“Who told you that?” Yugo asked, his fingernail jabbing into the brown cigarette filter, but otherwise not a single muscle in his body tensed.
“A little bird brought a rumor on its tail.”
“Your chicken coop is starting to get on my nerves. As my military adviser, what would you suggest I do to stop the annoying clucking? Would breaking a few necks quiet the noise?”
“It should. Don’t forget to pluck them well. You don’t want feathers in your broth.” Tobias lifted a shoulder, eyes gleaming with amusement. The bastard enjoyed the banter. “Do you want me to pick some suitable birds?”
“Although I know of your affection for the feathered kind, you are not anornithologist. It would be a tragedy if you accidentally mistook my hawks for chickens. Greg will manage.”
“Ahhh… Got it.” Tobias turned to the man standing behind him. “That’s why you ‘ringed’ that peahen. Ornithologist, huh? When is the mating season again?”
“I’ll send you an invitation to the wedding,” Greg deadpanned.
“Ah, thank you very much. I’ll buy you a chicken incubator. That should come in handy in an ornithological family.”
Greg jeered, “I would expect nothing less.”
“Enough with the bird talk, or for the rest of your life you’ll receive your payments in the chicken equivalent.” The men chuckled. Yugo had to click his fingers a few times todraw attention to himself, already feeling exhausted. He never expected Tobias to play his cards face up, but this metaphorical conversation still irritated him. “So everyone already knows?”
The blond’s attention snapped back to Yugo. “Lucky for you, not everyone. But that won’t last forever.”
“Do me a favor; stop the rumors from spreading further.” Yugo’s tone cooled a few degrees and, for a long moment, they studied each other with new intensity.
“Fine, but don’t expect your honeymoon to last forever, even if I keep my mouth shut. Also, a word of advice, a cop in the family is a bad omen.”
“A former cop,” Greg corrected.
“Potayto, potahto…” Tobias rolled his eyes.
