The next day, for the first ti in over a week, sothing Arias had done wasn't on the headlines of Gotham's news. Instead, the headlines covered a nationwide event that had many triggered. Arias, unaware of the plotting being done by Gregor, proceeded to go to the Iceberg Lounge in the afternoon.
Normally, he would isolate himself in his office when there, leaving most of the groundwork to be overseen by Roulette while he studied different information at his disposal and planned for the future. As he was going about this, a knock resounded on the door, and Barbara appeared, wearing a Gotham Heights school uniform with a tiny, cute bag strapped over one shoulder.
"I'm here to report for work," she spoke casually, while Arias looked at his wristwatch and cast her a side glance before replying.
"It's already 5 p.m. Just go ho. The last thing I need is the dia hounding about how I have schoolgirls visiting my office every evening, the commissioner's daughter no less. Co back on the weekend." Arias waved her away with one hand, causing her to frown before tossing her bag into the corner of the room.
"Well, my father already knows I work here and is fine with it as long as I'm ho by 9. Also, I saw a lot of other girls and guys in uniform downstairs. This is a popular hangout for most students until the adult hour at 10 p.m., so there's no problem there either."
She spoke with her modest chest puffed out proudly, as if her argunt was completely sound and without fault. Arias was uninterested in dealing with her at the mont, so he let her be. "Then go serve so guests as a waiter or sothing. I have nothing I really need from you today."
Barbara frowned at that instruction for a mont before moving closer to his desk and running a finger along its surface, collecting a bit of dust in the process.
"How about I clean the room instead? I an, it's really dirty. Yeah, let do that." Not waiting for a reply, Barbara dashed out of the room, returning monts later with a broom and getting to work.
Arias ignored her for the most part until she chose to start sweeping near him, reaching the broom under his desk and sotis making contact between it and his foot. He sighed loudly, rubbing his temples before gazing at her with annoyance. "That's enough. You can clean tomorrow when I'm off. You're interrupting my work at the mont."
"I still have plenty of ti until I get off. Anything else you want to do?"
Arias closed the folder he was going through and leaned back into his chair before replying, "Dance."
"Dance?" she repeated with visible confusion.
"On your CV, it ntioned you do both gymnastics and dance as hobbies, so dance for my entertainnt. If that's too much to ask, then you can leave."
'He's trying to get rid of !' Barbara could see what Arias was trying to do, and it made her quite upset.
"F-fine, I can totally do that." With a vexed expression on her otherwise cute face, she loosened the tie of her uniform and unbuttoned the first two buttons of her shirt before starting to move.
"Wow, you must do this often." Arias teased to make her squirm, and she imdiately fired back in defense.
"I don't! and my best friend just dance like this at karaoke sotis. I'm not so stripper!"
Arias shrugged and nodded. "With moves like those, I believe you. I hope you don't expect to pay for this diocre performance."
Arias continued to push her buttons and anger her even further, and it worked.
"Hmph! Just watch !"
She didn't try to defend herself with words but instead began dancing more seriously in front of him, although her frown never left her face. While dancing, she occasionally glanced over at him to see his reaction towards her moves but found his expression remained rather unimpressed.
She then kicked things up a notch and danced more provocatively, letting her skirt move around freely, occasionally flashing him her panties.
"Cute panties, definitely not stripper material."
When Arias said those words, Barbara stopped dancing as if she were in a daze before quickly lowering her skirt and giving Arias a stink eye.
"What would you know! I'm out of here!" Too embarrassed to say anything proper, she picked up her tie and rushed out of the room. Arias then glanced over at the bag she left in the corner before shaking his head and returning to his work.
A mont later, Roulette walked in, swaying her hips in an exaggerated manner as usual, before placing a hot cup of black coffee on his desk.
"I didn't know you liked them young, boss. I'll keep note of that," she comnted with a cheeky smirk.
"I'd prefer you didn't. What are your thoughts on the announcent earlier today?"
Arias took a break from his work and began to converse with Roulette while occasionally sipping from his coffee.
!!
Suddenly, he felt his heart throb, and a great pain took over his entire body, causing him to grit his teeth and clutch his chest while giving Roulette a glare.
"Oh, don't look at like that. I told you before, I'm only loyal to money."
Roulette made herself comfortable and sat on his desk before crossing her legs with a smirk plastered across her face.
"It's not every day a girl has a billionaire knocking on her doorstep. It was a simple choice, really. A sha, I did enjoy your company to so extent."
As Roulette was speaking, her phone rang, and she imdiately picked up while wearing a smile.
"Lex, darling, talk about timing. I just finished your little task. Hm? Oh, don't worry about the properties. He gave free rein to make decisions on his behalf. You just ready the money, and I'll have the transfer papers ready by morning. The body? Yes, yes, I'll be sure to get rid of it properly. Tell that spineless mayor to relax; this isn't my first rodeo."
Click~
"Shade! It's about ti we wrap things up."
After she spoke, Shade appeared from the corner of the room while casually flicking his cane.
"Right, where to?"
"The harbor. We'll lay his body in a block of cent and sink it to the bottom of the sea."
Shade gave a wicked grin as he stepped forward, but just as he did, Arias's body began to convulse violently. His vision blurred, and a suffocating pressure filled the room.
"W-what's happening?!" Roulette stamred, taking a step back.
A dark aura surrounded Arias, and his eyes burned with a piercing light.
"Arias?" Shade called out, his confident deanor faltering.
In a raspy voice that wasn't entirely his own, Arias muttered, "You thought... you could kill ?"
Suddenly, the entire room trembled as Arias's body began to undergo a terrifying transformation. His skin started to crack, revealing a glowing light underneath. The air grew thick with power as the dark aura expanded, forcing Roulette and Shade to stumble back in shock.
A low, sinister laugh echoed in the room, a blend of Arias's voice and sothing far more ancient. As his transformation continued, the pressure in the room reached a breaking point, and with a flash of blinding light, the room was consud in darkness.
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