Chapter 65: An Extra Hand

 "That's a first even for me" Jason said

"Well I'm actually impressed that you would rather not hurt someone's feelings in the name of having fun" she said as she gave him a nudge

"Yeah,I would never take advantage of anyone " Jason said slowly like he was giving the thought more insight as he said it

"Is everything ok?" Kyla asked 

"Oh yes, everything's good. I just drifted away for a second" Jason answered as he turned and looked at her and his smile came back

"We can just assume the whole thing that happened,I wouldn't want to lose you as a friend too" Kayla said as she put her hand on his lap and then realized what she might be doing unknowingly before suddenly withdrawing her hand. When Jason realized what she had done and couldn't help but laugh

"You just did that out of reflex" he commented

"Yeah,ever had that oh shit moment?" She asked

"This was it " he said with a smile

"Definitely" she said as they were about to finish their fries

"By the way,there's been something I've been meaning t ask you for a while" she said

"What's that?" He asked

"Since you came some things have been happening. First of all,Alpha seems to be on his toes and for some reason one of the hottest, actually the hottest woman in the agency seem to be somehow to be on your radar " she said

"Well maybe they just have a thing for newbies" Jason told her as he tried to make out where she was going with that conversation

"I don't think so,like I've been working here for some years now so I've gotten to know Alpha for a while. For him to even listen to you and give me this break actually surprised me. No other person can do that,no matter how long they have been here, especially since he knows the stakes that are on the table this week" she said

"Well all I did was just reason with him. I mean how is it logical that you work yourself to the bone without a break? If it was me I'd have made sure that you guys even get your own personal Expresso machine " he said with a smile at the end

"For sure,but I guess we have to make the work worthwhile. After all, Alpha isn't such a bad boss after all " she said as she took a sip of her soda

"You say that with a lot of heart,in this line of profession it's very rare to meet a boss who gets all the good reviews from his employees" Jason commented 

"That's true ,I'm sure you can walk and interview everyone who works here including even the janitors to the doorman. Alpha treats everyone with respect and acknowledges the work that is done around here" Kayla said

"If you don't mind me asking by the way, what do you know about her?" He asked as he tried to change the topic slightly

"Don't tell me you have a thing for her" she teased

"What? No! Of course not,I mean we are working together in the same office but she barely talks about anything outside the office parameters " he told her

"That's funny,she is one of the most social people in the agency. Maybe she hasn't just become comfortable with you. But I can say all that I know is that she is confident when it comes to anything work related. Rumour is that Alpha poached her,the same way he poached you. But so far none of the rumors have ever been directly acknowledged. But in general,she happens to be a friendly person,we have sometimes gone for a drink so she's ok " Kayla said as she tried to think if she had left out any details

"Well I wish that's the person I meet at the office everytime I go inside that room" Jason said

"Is she giving you a don't come around me kinda vibe?" Kayla asked as she tried to gesture to Jason using her hands like some Kung Fu kind of actions which made both of them to laugh

"No,not really" Jason said amidst laughter

"How is she working with you? Like she's the boss and you're the intern kind of work environment?" She asked

"I think the best way to put it is in one word, unorthodox " Jason said as the memories of the number of quickies he had with Athena just the previous day 

"That's funny" Kayla said

"The word?" Jason asked

"No,I just realized that as you're asking about her Athena also asked about someone just a few days after the company started handling the Magraff case. It seems like you guys dont know who you're working with or working on" Kayla joked

"Who did she ask about?" Jason curiously asked as he suddenly became alert but he tried his best not to show it

"She was asking about someone who has been underground for a while. I didn't see any relation with the case" Kayla said absentmindedly

"Kayla,who did Athena ask about?" Jason asked her again

"She asked about the Ghost of Europe,it was a surprise that she didn't even know a thing about him " Kayla answered him

"I guess that comes as a surprise to both of us" Jason said as he appeared to be deep in thought

"I mean it really does seem kinda odd for her to ask that question just out of anywhere" Kayla said as Jason continued nodding his head though his mind was very far off

"Earth to Jason, Jason hello" Kayla said as she waved her hand across his face to which Jason looked up like he one who was just pulled out of a daydream

"I'm sorry,I might have drifted of there for a second" Jason said as he looked at her then at his soda before taking a drink. Just as he said this the door to the lounge opened making both of them turn to see who was at the door . Kayla tried to make out the face of the stranger but he didn't look like anyone she had ever seen in the building . Jason was actually the one rose to his feet and went to say hi to the stranger.

"Took you long enough" Jason said

"I got here as fast as I could" the stranger said as he eyed Kayla over Jason's shoulder curiously then looked at Jason like he was waiting for some sort of explanation

"Well at least you made it,come in" Jason ushered him in 

"Remember when you said at one point I should go out and make friends and all that blah blah blah " Jason said as he was directing his conversation to the stranger

"Yes I do" the stranger responded

"Well I want you to meet Kayla. Kayla,this is Tyler and he will be the one to help you with the work that I said I would help you with" Jason said as he introduced Kayla to Tyler

"Uuhhm,it's nice to meet you"Kayla said somehow unsure of whatever was happening

"Nice to meet you Kayla" Tyler said with a smile before turning to Jason with a frown," you called me and told me you have something for me"

"Yes,and the thing that I had for you was to help out a fellow colleague of mine with her work " Jason said with a smile

"If I heard you correctly,you said that you were the one to help her and not me" Tyler protested

"I know but then I remembered how you really need the people skills more than me so I took it upon myself to give you a boost so that you get a headstart " Jason said with a teasing smile as he prepared to leave the lounge room

"I hate you so much" Tyler said to Jason as he watched Jason leave the room

"Don't you all" he said as he disappeared through the door