anwhile, Benjamin sat in his office quietly, working.
One of Benjamin’s traits was that he often engaged in a lot of extracurricular activities at work. However, despite all of those, he always got the job done. Lately, though, he hadn’t been procrastinating or gossiping with the other employees. He didn’t even have the energy to hate on William or Dean. Even when he ran into them, he just felt the usual bitterness and moved on.
And it had been this way ever since he walked out on Mint.
"Tsk." He paused, glancing at his phone. "That cruel cousin. Not even a hint of remorse."
Another click of his tongue echoed as he shook his head.
It wasn’t like he and Mint hadn’t fought before. In fact, they always fought — Mint always found a way to make him angry. If he ever got early-onset hypertension, she’d be the cause.
Still, in most of those fights, Mint would always reach out to him and apologize. She’d spew nonsense, praise him to the heavens, and lt his heart again.
But this ti... days had passed. And still, not a single call. Not even a ssage. Just nothing.
"Who cares if she ends up with complications from her injuries..." he muttered, then pressed his lips together, frowning at his own words.
He shook his head. "Whatever. Why should I care whether she lives or dies when she doesn’t even care about her own life?"
"It’s not like this is for ," he added bitterly. "It’s not like I’d benefit from anything."
As Benjamin tried to convince himself not to care about soone who clearly didn’t value her own life, his mood soured further. He shoved his phone out of sight — after all, he was at work, and having his work phone was enough.
Then, unexpectedly, a tub of ice cream appeared on the corner of his desk.
"Huh?" His brows furrowed as he looked up and saw Zoren standing there. But what really caught his attention was the sunglasses Zoren wore.
"Sir, why are you wearing sunglasses indoors?"
"Ice cream is good for cooling your head," Zoren said mildly, completely ignoring the question. "That’s what Penny said. She asked to bring you one today."
Zoren gave him a small nod before turning to leave.
Benjamin stared at his boss’s retreating figure, biting his lower lip as his eyes started to sting. He sniffed and reached for the tub of ice cream, already topped with a spoon.
See, Mint?! I didn’t even notice my boss left and ca back—because of you! he thought angrily, stabbing the spoon into the ice cream. Cruel! Cruel cousin! Not even thinking of or how your actions have affected !
Thanks to the ice cream, Benjamin managed to hold back his tears. He kept shoveling huge spoonfuls into his mouth, venting all his frustration into it.
But just as he thought that finishing the ice cream would make him feel better, soone else approached his desk.
"Hey there!" Slater greeted cheerfully with a raised hand.
Benjamin blinked. "Third Brother? What are you doing here?"
"Just checking on you, that’s all!" Slater leaned against the desk, glancing between Benjamin’s ice cream and his clearly exhausted face.
Benjamin’s weariness might not be obvious to most, but to soone who knew him well, it was clear he hadn’t been sleeping well.
"Actually, that’s not all. Your boss called ," Slater said after a beat. "Told to get you out of his sight. Said you’re a sore eye in the office."
"A sore—? Hey! My boss would never say that!"
Slater shrugged. "He’s been wearing sunglasses indoors lately, hasn’t he?"
"N—" Benjamin froze, blinking. Wait, he has been wearing sunglasses lately?
If so, then he hadn’t even noticed.
Had he really been neglecting his boss that much?
Benjamin frowned, unaware that Zoren had only started wearing the sunglasses minutes ago. But his drifting mind led him to assu otherwise.
"So, my brother-in-law called his most reliable brother-in-law for help!" Slater grinned and pulled two tickets from his jacket. "There’s a bakery supply exhibition at the World Trade Center today. And guess what company is going to be there?"
Benjamin’s brows lifted slightly. He studied Slater before an idea popped into his head, "That...?"
"Yes!" Slater’s eyes sparkled. "That chocolate."
A short silence passed before Benjamin thumped his chest. "And I’m getting kicked out of work today?"
"Yup. With pay," Slater said knowingly. "Jas and Allen are coming too."
"They’re getting kicked out too?"
"No. Jas didn’t have a choice—I’m dragging him with us. As for Allen..." Slater’s grin widened. "My First Brother isn’t going to kill him."
"What’s that supposed to an?"
"Just co help ." Slater pushed away from the desk. "Quick! I don’t want to be late! The person making the chocolates will be there!"
Still confused, Benjamin rose from his seat instinctively. He ant to grab his stuff, but Slater ended up dragging him away. In the end, Benjamin left everything behind — except for the tub of ice cream and the spoon.
—
A while later...
"Nooooo!" Allen yelled, arms locked between Slater and Benjamin, who dragged him like a prisoner. "Please don’t do this to ! Sir Atlas is expecting my report! He’s going to kill !"
Benjamin frowned. "I didn’t want to do this."
"You’re doing it anyway!" Allen shouted, only for Slater to add:
"Co on. My First Brother isn’t going to kill you. Just maybe hurt you a little."
Allen’s face twisted with misery as he wept, calling for help from every employee they passed. Unfortunately, no one helped.
But once they reached the parking lot, far from judging eyes, they all looked around cautiously. When they confird no one was watching...
"Hehehe." Allen rubbed his palms together, grinning.
Slater and Benjamin grinned back. The three high-fived.
Success!
At that mont, a van pulled up in front of them. The window rolled down to reveal Jas, looking like their getaway driver.
"Hurry up! I saw Atlas’s car headed this way!"
Without hesitation, the trio jumped in. The van sped off toward the World Trade Center to finally et their chocolate god.
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