5: Another Man

(Present)

Hades glanced up at the clock just on top of the cashier and it was well past ten now. He was clearly late for work since he had to stop by at a café just to buy a few things.... Ahem... For Lilith.

"Here you go, freshly baked donuts, with chocolate filling, am I right?" The woman behind the counter asked as Hades nodded and fished out his wallet. She turned back to the hot drink he ordered and placed it beside the bag. "And a hot chocolate, sweetened plus heavy milk and a cookie." She finished and he simply nodded again as he handed out the money, getting her to frown since he literally did not answer any of her questions, even her good morning.

He quickly grabbed his bag and cup after he paid her and walked out of the café, half running and walking towards his car.

He glanced at the watch again and hissed under his breath once more before cruising into the road, nearly hitting into a car that honked at him loudly and aggressively.

With a simple roll of his eyes, he ignored the man and drove off as quickly as he could, wanting to make the ten minute drive to his work a five minute drive instead.

Once he reached the company gates, he quickly fished out his ID and flashed it to the guard who clearly didn't even take a look at it, knowing he was the secretary.

He opened the gates and Hades rushed in, quickly finding his reserved spot still unoccupied as usual. He turned the ignition off and grabbed the drink and brown bag before stepping out and frantically rushing into the building.

The phone in his jacket buzzed countlessly and he knew that was his uncle calling, making it hard for him to pick it up with the things in his hands.

He stepped into the elevator and clicked onto Lilith's floor number and sighed out as he waited. A workmate, a female, who was already in the elevator before him, glanced at him with raised brows.

"Are you late?" She deliberately asked as she stared at him wide eyed. She was a year older than he was and the first person to give him a tour of the building, though she clearly didn't have to.

She simply insisted.

"No." He hissed out and watched as the numbers took forever to reach the thirteenth floor.

"You went to a cafe, hm?" She smiled out deviously. "You know, you're making it so obvious to everyone that you're hitting on Lilith." She chuckled as he rolled his eyes in boredom.

"I wasn't trying to hide it." He said as he pressed his lips together and glanced up to the numbers just as the elevator hit the seventh floor.

"Well you should." She crossed her arms on her chest as she glanced up at the numbers as well. "Because it's just very uncomfortable for the rest of us when you're clearly being rejected."

"It's none of your business." Hades clenched onto the cup tightly, only to stop when he noticed he would deform its fragile body.

"You're a stubborn one, huh?" She chuckled as the elevator doors opened on the tenth floor. "Well, this is my stop, good luck Romeo." She laughed out as she waved her hand whilst walking away.

He shut his eyes the moment the elevator closed, knowing she was right, it was a bit embarrassing she wasn't acting, in the slightest, nice to him.

The doors finally slid back on the right floor and he sighed out shakily as he stepped out, immediately grabbing a lot of attention.

Strange... He thought as he walked towards her office. Not many would really look at him that much when he got there.

Of course others would simply shake their heads at him for openly trying too hard but this time they all seemed cautious and somewhat suspicious.

Was something wrong?

He noticed her door was open as he simply ignored the eyes of the coworkers and stepped into her office, not bothering to knock since it was already open.

"Lilith-" he was caught off guard as a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, forcing the cup to lose its lid as it got squashed against the two, spilling the contents mostly on Hades' white T-shirt as the other person moved almost instantly.

Pressing his lips together, he tried hard to keep from crying from the pain of the burning hot chocolate soaking his shirt.

"Oh sh*t... I'm really sorry." A man's voice filled his ears, almost making him flash his shut eyes open in complete shock.

He didn't work here.

The man in front of him looked completely unfamiliar, yet he felt he kind of knew him. He had short blond hair and some really bright pale blue eyes. The man dropped his eyes to Hades' T-shirt that was now stained brown.

"You don't work here." Hades pointed out as he straightened his back and stared into the man's eyes.

"Oh no I don't." He smiled slightly as he noticed who the coffee supposedly was for. "Ethan, by the way."

"Mhm." Hades furrowed his brows in boredom. "You need something here?"

"Oh no, I was just visiting Lilith." Ethan nodded and Hades glanced over his shoulder to Lilith who wasn't looking at the two but at her monitor, peacefully sipping on some hot coffee that Ethan had clearly brought her. "Was that for her?" Ethan asked as he pointed at the stain on Hades' shirt. "Sorry, I already brought her some."

The grin on Ethan's face clearly told Hades that he was onto him. He was clearly trying to show competition.

"Good for you." Hades smiled and patted his shoulder, getting Ethan to frown a bit as he was expecting something else from what Lilith had said about Hades. "Throw this on your way out." Hades said as he shoved the cup with the remaining contents into Ethan's hand and pushed him out the door. "I'm the secretary here and we don't accept prolonged visits, you can leave if you have nothing else."

"I was on my way out actually." Ethan chuckled out before walking away and towards the elevator.

Hades frowned as he watched Ethan walk away before turning to Lilith who hardly paid him any attention.

"He seems nice." Hades said as he walked towards her desk. She simply nodded and continued to type. "I bought you some chocolate donuts..." He said as he placed the bag on her desk, staring at her while she kept her eyes glued to the monitor.

"Ethan brought me some cookies, so I'm fine." Lilith pointed out, getting Hades to clench his jaw tightly.

"I've never seen him before." He pointed out, staring straight at her. "Is he a new friend?"

"No." Lilith furrowed her brows as she finally glanced up at him. "I've known him for some time."

"How long?" Hades asked a little more like demanding, getting her to frown at him.

"If you don't mind, Hades, I'd like to go back to work." Lilith said and did not wait for him to respond as she turned back to her monitor.

He clenched his fists and turned, walking towards the door.

"Take your donuts too." She said as she held up the bag. He turned back and took out a sharp breath before grabbing the bag and walking out in pure irritation.