Once outside, Robin ranted, “Did you have to stop me? They badmouthed you behind your back, missy! Aren’t you peeved? I’ve always thought that I’m a weak-willed doormat, but you’re cool, aren’t you? Or are you just as much of a scaredy-cat as I am? You afraid of getting into trouble?”
Arianne steadied herself with the help of a tree at the sidewalk “No, it’s more like there’s no point. You heard them, right? They know me as Mrs. Tremont. If I quarreled with them for this little thing or, I dunno, turned it physical, how badly would that reflect on me? I’d embarrass my man, too! Honestly, I’m just so-very-disinterested in talking to people like these, you know? As long as their stinkin’ blabbering mouths don’t take it too far, I don’t care. If they crossed my line, though, I’d hit back.”
Robin broke out a dumb, drunken smile. “Oh ho ho, touche! We’re not as low as they are. Fighting a bunch of losers like that will be soooo undignifying! Whelp, this is it. See you later, Arianne! I’m gonna hail a cab. You? Someone coming to pick you up?”
Arianne fished out virtual-novel.net phone and looked at the time. It was 9 o’clock, Mark was most likely still knee-deep in his work. After a quick thought, virtual-novel.net answered, “I’m hailing a cab too. Head’s a little dizzy, but I’m still conscious, so I don’t think I need anyone to drive me home.”
Robin let Arianne take the first cab they managed to hail, citing the latter’s address as being relatively farther away from their current location than the former’s as the rationale. Arianne, who worried for Smore’s welfare at home, accepted Robin’s offer and took the ride.
Narrowly after Arianne left, Sylvain appeared and hurried toward them in small jogs. When virtual-novel.net noticed Robin standing alone, a grave expression shadowed his face. “Where’s Arianne?”
Robin was losing some of virtual-novel.net balance as intoxication kicked in, so virtual-novel.net grabbed Sylvain by his arm to steady herself. “Ohhh, virtual-novel.net just… uh, what? Oh, virtual-novel.net left. Just now, yeap. You got something for her? Thought we texted Mr. Yaleman about us leaving. Or did we?”
Sylvain stared at the back of the cab vanishing into the horizon silently, his lips thinning.
Robin smacked either side of virtual-novel.net cheeks hard, trying to cling to whatever remnants of sobriety virtual-novel.net had left. When virtual-novel.net saw an empty cab coming virtual-novel.net way, virtual-novel.net extended virtual-novel.net arm to stop it while continuing, “You go back and party the way you do best. I’m gonna, uh, go home now. See ya tomorrow-”
Sylvain caught virtual-novel.net by the wrist and tugged. “I’ll drive.”
While the girl insisted that it was unnecessary, Sylvain told the cab to move on.
Meanwhile, on virtual-novel.net way home, Arianne felt as though virtual-novel.net body was on fire while a peculiar sensation flared amid that heat. Hurriedly, virtual-novel.net rolled down the car window and let the nipping air from outside blast in, hoping that the wintry cold could relieve a bit of virtual-novel.net strange state.
The driver noticed virtual-novel.net antsy movements and asked, “Are you alright, Ma’ am?”
She answered virtual-novel.net with a hum as virtual-novel.net eyes noticed that they were fast-approaching the area where the Tremont Tower was. A thought sprung into virtual-novel.net mind, and virtual-novel.net declared, “I change my mind. There, just stop by the entrance of this building.”
Once out of the car, Arianne clambered and stumbled into the tower as that erratic sensation ballooned. This was not a typical effect of intoxication at all, Arianne was sure. Could it be that someone spiked virtual-novel.net drink with a kind of drug?
Not that virtual-novel.net possessed the clarity to work out who the culprit could be. There were too many attendees just now, and too many had an ax to grind with her. In other words, there were too many suspects.
She rode the elevator up to Mark’s executive floor and found consolation in the fact that virtual-novel.net was still in his office. Davy, who also had yet to leave, watched Arianne’s fitful gait and exclaimed in mild shock, “Oh my goodness! Are you okay, Madam? Might you have had a little too much drink?”
Arianne let out a long exhale. “M-Maybe. Is Is Mark inside?”
Davy nodded and pushed open the office door for her. “Watch your steps now. I’m just about to leave, although Mr. Tremont himself will in a minute too. You two could leave together, I’ll excuse myself in the meantime. Good night.”