4/ GET OUT OF MY OFFICE

"No. no. no." I mumbled under my breath and crouched down beside him. I reached out to help but he slapped my hand away and glared at me. I almost recoiled but instead sucked in a deep breath and reached out again. This time, I matched his gaze. Icy blue eyes glared daggers into my soul but I could see the fear hovering like a cloud in them.

"I need you to put your head between your legs, can you do that?" I asked with a straight face.

"Stay away." He growled.

"I-I don't like you either," I blurted out. "But I am a trained psychologist, I am trained for situations like this, so please—"

"So, you are a shrink?" The man spat and I blinked in exasperation. "I knew you were bad news." He added and continue struggling to breathe. "When are these doors going to open? How can an entire team be so incompetent?!" His thick arrogant tone almost made me flinch and I backed away a bit.

Sharp breaths escaped his lips and he rocked back and forth. His fringe was drenched and beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. I sat down and scooted closer to him. He scooted farther. I sighed internally.

"The walls of the elevator have turned red and — and this place smells like Lavender.." I blurted, trying to test his senses. Especially since he was on the verge of a panic attack.

"Now I am sure your senses don't work. They are still silver and Your annoying perfume is in the air" I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arms around myself, scooting closer to him for warmth.

So many strange things had been happening lately, but the last thing I thought would happen today was an encounter like this.

The elevator door opened moments later and the man sprinted out without even acknowledging me. I sincerely could not care less. I felt fulfilled enough knowing I had tried my best. I walked out of the elevator and locked eyes with Belene.

"Where were you?!" She demanded with wide, worried eyes. I rolled my amber green orbs and smiled at her.

"You won't believe it, even if I drew it out," I commented and we silently exited the Mall. Tomorrow I would figure out if my application at Moore Hospital was accepted or not.

I needed to find a means to sustain myself; especially now that I was completely stranded. I couldn't live on Belene all my life.

—————————————————————

I sucked in a sharp breath and stared at the large building in front of me with Moore written all over it. Nostalgia hit me in waves and I recalled how Belene and I had fantasized about working here someday.

We had practically pictured how our entire lives would turn out after college and with a Job at Moore. Ha! That was at the top of the list.

Now that we were finally standing in front of the hospital, my acceptance letter tightly grasped in my right hand while Belene held on the left for dear life. I could practically feel the anxiety oozing off her and she had every right to be anxious.

It had been exactly one week since the little incident with that stranger at the elevator. I honestly had no clue what to make of the encounter and I didn't have much time to process it either. Before I knew it; my job application at Moore was accepted and now I was walking into the Hospital itself as an employee.

"Miss Scottland, Head of psychology." I signed in at the counter and headed over to the office the director had shown me two days ago. I was finally ready to resume work and I was thrilled.

The office was nicely furnished and has two soft chairs opposite my chair. The furniture was chocolate grown and the entire place was painted cream. I sat down in my chair and sucked in a sharp breath. This was my job. This was my life now.

"Your first patient is here, Miss Scottland," Irene's Irish accent rang through the room and she popped her head through the door. I ran my hands through my hair and sighed.

"Send them in," I instructed and glanced through a few files the director had sent in.

"Miss Scottland." The voice was deep and painfully familiar. I raised my head and locked eyes with the last person I expected to see.

My jaw hung loose and my eyes widened. The man in front of me took quick steps toward the chair in front of me and sat down.

The dominance and arrogance in his stance seemed nonexistent and his shoulders slacked. It was clear that the man in front of me was nothing like the one I had encountered in the elevator.

He reminded me of the night Stefan had crawled into my room; It was around midnight back then and he had been struggling with a nightmare. Half of the time, the role of the older brother and younger sister had been twisted. Even though we were fraternal twins.

"I wouldn't be here if I had other options, just so you know." He asserted sharply and I sat up in my seat with furrowed eyebrows.

The man was wearing a blue suit with a cream tie. His fringe seemed perfectly styled and his aura was strong; yet for some reason, it felt like he lacked the audacity and dominance that had me on edge from before.

I sucked in a sharp breath and decided to be professional. It was the least I could do on my first day. "What exactly do you need me to do for you, Mr—"

"Mr Alexander." He finished.

"Alright, Mr. Alexander, what can I do for you because I don't get—"

"You- you are my last option," Alexander confessed. "I'm at my wit's end," He added. "I need you to… I need you to marry me. Just for twenty-five days. Just until everything is cleared up, I can't lose everything and you – You are my last option."

It felt like I had been thrown out of some Disney movie that was just too cliche to be true. "Excuse me?" I responded sharply and stood up. "You paid to see a psychologist, I presume?" I checked, because at this point; I was sure the man belonged in the psychiatric unit.

"Yeah." He whispered; His voice came out so broken and weak; helpless. "But—but—this is the only way to fix this, to fix this mess and you are a perfect fit for the job. It will only be twenty-five days." Mr. Alexander stood up, "Think about it, Miss Scottland. This offer will be life-changing for you."

"Get out of my office now. Right now." I added and stared at him with bewilderment.

"If I were you I would listen to him." A blonde-haired girl with blue eyes stepped into the room. "Alex just wants to fix things and I desperately need my family back together, this wedding and alliance —" I glanced between the two of them before I broke out into laughter. This had to be a joke, a bad one at that. They had to be pulling my legs. Yes, that was it.

"This isn't a joke, sign the the papers." The lady said and dropped a file on the desk. "Once you sign them we can move forward and you can finally do what you came to Los Angeles to achieve. It is a win-win situation."

I blinked and frowned at her forwardness. This girl seemed no less than eighteen, but she was bold and had too much audacity.

"If you accept this alliance, My family will be united and you will be able to ruin yours, Do we have a deal?" She asked and put her hand forward for a handshake.

These people seemed completely ridiculous. They surely can't just barge into my office and ask me to get married to someone I don't even know. This wasn't how things worked in Los Angeles, was it?

The fact that she knew so much about me was nerve-wrecking as well. Who were these people, and where did they get so much audacity?

"My answer remains the same. No. Now, with all due respect, get out of my office." I spat.