My Most Precious Human novel Chapter 54

I thought that going back to work would help me cope with my situation. Of course, my main argument was to avoid places that reminded me of Sariel's existence. I even found myself excited at the mere thought that I would dive into numbers and paragraphs, burring my anxieties and longings somewhere deep in my heart and mind. I went against Martha's suggestion and went to the bank's headquarters right after eating breakfast. I thought that anything that would get me away from the castle was a good idea. That was until I walked past the entrance.

I stopped in the hallway and felt that my head was spinning. My body started to shiver as the images of the recent attack flashed before my eyes. My breathing rate increased, almost matching my already racing heart. The high-frequency sound that filled my head made me cringe, covering my ears.

"Are you ok?" A female voice overcame the high-pitch sound and immediately became my anchor.

I raised my eyes while trying to slow down my breath and saw a woman around my age. She was leaning over me with a concerned expression.

"Y-yes…" I muttered, putting an awkward smile on my face, "I just felt a little dizzy."

I stood up while holding my hands at my back just to hide the fact that they were trembling.

"Are you sure you're ok? Maybe you'd like to go to our medical facility?" she asked.

"No!" I protested in a feverish reaction.

The woman looked at me suspiciously. I must have looked insane in her eyes.

"I mean… I'm just a little stressed out." I chuckled nervously, trying to diminish the fact that I had just had a brief panic attack.

"You must be overworked." She looked me up and down, feeling sorry for me.

"It's not that bad in general… I just had a few really bad days recently." I smiled awkwardly.

I bowed and started walking towards the elevator. She quickly matched my pace, heading in the same direction.

"I feel you, you know…" She chuckled, "I had a client yesterday that wanted me to explain to him each paragraph in the forty-five-page contract. He was a real pain in the ass…"

I kept the awkward smile on my face until my mimic muscles became sore. I had no reason to feel comfortable around other bank employees, and that wasn't an exception. I really wanted to get into that elevator already.

"By the way, I'm Colleen Wood, Senior Manager." She reached out her hand towards me.

I hesitated with my response. I knew well that I was hated, and the last thing I wanted right now was to start the day with another direct attack. However, I didn't recall putting any Colleen on my blacklist. I took a chance…

"I'm… Lilith Leber, Audit Specialist," I said faintly while shaking her hand.

"Oh," she replied.

"Oh?" I glanced at her nervously.

"You are… quite popular." She chuckled.

"That is a very polite way to describe it," I smirked.

"Well, I feel confident about my work, so I don't have a reason not to like you." A sly grin popped on her face. "Why don't we grab a cup of coffee once in a while?"

Her straightforwardness caught me off guard. I examined her thoroughly. Colleen had dark-blonde, curly hair and blue eyes. Her complexion was light, but her cheeks were slightly blushed. She definitely didn't look like a vampire. Nonetheless, her expression seemed to hide a pinch of mystery. She looked elegant. She wore the newest collection's Chanel skirt suit and Jimmy Choo's classic heels. The only thing I couldn't recognize on her was her perfume. Her scent was a peculiar mix of lavender, vanilla, and mint, yet I thought it would be strange to reject her offer merely because I couldn't name her perfume.

"Coffee sounds nice." I smiled back at her.

"Great!" she called out merrily, "Give me your number."

"It might sound weird, but I don't have a phone," I confessed hesitantly.

"That's ok then. I'll email you," she stated confidently while getting into an elevator.

I nodded and joined her inside. It was quite unexpected to finally find someone inside the company who didn't want to kill me just because I was reviewing his or her work. I liked that.

Colleen got off the elevator on the sixteenth floor and wished me a good day at work. She was the first human employee to say something like that. I had to say that meeting her was quite refreshing. I smiled back at her, wishing her a good day as well. It was the first time that I didn't feel like an outsider, trying to make a mess of the company.