23. Wavering

"All warehouse staff, please assemble at the front!"

After the call of the order, the entire warehouse staff marched quickly to the front to line up neatly. At first, Danni and Ben didn't understand why they had to line up neatly. They just followed their coworkers.

Danni and Ben stood next to each other while reading the situation and guessing what was happening.

"Okay... are you all gathered here?" the team leader asked for confirmation.

"We have, sir!"

"Good job! This time, our Madame will come."

Danni frowned, glancing at Ben who was doing the same. Madame? Who is she? Even so, they tried to listen to the team leader's explanation.

"Madame will be here soon. So, stay in line like this neatly. She'll be inspecting the goods in the warehouse. You must not riot. Understood?"

"Yes, we understand!" The entire warehouse staff answered in unison.

"No one gets out of line!" the Team Leader continued to emphasize before leaving somewhere.

Even then it was a moment for Danni to ask the other staff beside him. "Excuse me, who exactly is the Madame in question? It seems very important."

"You're the rookie, huh?"

"Yeah. I've only been working for a few days. Less than a week," Danni said innocently, raising her glasses.

"Ah, meet me, I'm Shaun." He offered his hand first.

Danni happily returned it. "I'm Joshua. Nice to meet you."

"Okay..." Shaun faced Danni aka Joshua without the need to get out of line. "So, here goes... I'll explain it to you."

"Yeah."

"The Madame in question is Madame Cassandra."

"Madame Cassandra?" Danni looked as enthusiastic as an innocent new employee. She portrayed Joshua's character well.

"Madame Cassandra is the head of Genie Market."

"I see."

"But it's not that simple, brother!" she argued.

"Why, is there a problem?"

"No, I don't. Nor do I know if it's a problem or not?" Shaun chuckled.

"Ah, yes, yes."

"Madame Cassey is a perfectionist. She also has a sharp tongue. Shaun shuddered in horror at the thought of how sadistic the woman's way of speaking was. "You know what? A lot of the staff here wanted to try to kill her a few times."

"Kill?"

"That's right because of the heartache."

"But no one could?" Danni confirmed.

"That's right. Madame Cassey has a lot of bodyguards and she's good at martial arts herself. So, there you have it."

Danni as Joshua seemed to nod enthusiastically.

"Joshua," called Shaun.

"Yeah?"

"You might be the target." Shaun grinned.

"What target?"

"He hates bad employees and vice versa. He'll flirt with a handsome employee like you," Shaun chuckled, which gave Danni goosebumps. Then, the man whispered. "She's a horny woman."

+++

As her husband wanted, Irene had to continue with her usual life even though he was on assignment and rarely came home. Irene got out of her car after parking it near the tarot cafe. She took a short walk to the cafe before opening time.

The wife of Dannielle Morgan looked sexy and radiant in a boho-chic style. The off-shoulder crop top and white lace skirt she wore showcased her slim figure. She also paired her outfit with a straw hat and sunglasses. Her long hair looked more curly.

While humming and carrying a bag, she opened the door of the cafe, which was unlocked because Jeff usually comes first.

"Morning, love!" greeted Jeff.

"Hay!"

"Special tarot customers come at special times." Jeff showed her the back of a man in a suit.

Irene opened her glasses, squinted, and whispered, "Who is he?"

Jeff leaned closer to Irene's ear. "Alex Matthew."

"Oh, Hay, Madame!" greeted Alex from his desk.

Irene was wide-eyed. She was in a panic when she didn't even have a mask on her face. She swallowed her saliva in reaction to her panic. She then gave her colleague a cursing look for making such a rash decision.

"Why did you let him in? At least you let me wear a mask," Irene whispered emphatically.

"I'll explain later. He was very pushy. Very annoying," Jeff explained quietly.

Even Alex got up from his desk, approaching the awkward Irene. She cleared her throat and rolled her eyes.

Alex grinned. "Is this fate? I finally met that seductive girl I met at the bar." He chuckled. "No wonder your lips feel so familiar. Thick, sweet, and biting."

"You pervert! So what do you want?"

"I want a lot." Alex put both hands in his pants pockets. "I want you too. But more important than that for now is... help me find my girlfriend, Celine."

"I don't accept insolent customers like you. I've made that clear before, haven't I?"

"Again," Alex exclaimed casually. "I'd also like to know... who you work with."

Irene's beautiful eyes flashed. Her body was trembling.

Alex brought her face closer. "You must be doing something for your stakeout."

"I'll help you find Celine... but I don't want to have to deal with you."

"Why? I thought we could work together. Sleep together. Make love together?"

"Do you want my help or not?"

"Psychometry. Do you have it?"

Irene felt like swearing. The man seemed to know everything. Jeff didn't stay silent either.

"What's that? I just heard," Jeff said pretending to be stupid.

"Do you have an ability that this tarot is your way of covering up your unique ability? That's why you set me up to get laid in a bar."

Irene was not easily swayed. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't know what you mean, but I just want to emphasize one thing."

Alex tilted his head with a cold face. He braced himself for the rest of her sentence.

"I'll help you find Celine."

"That's a must. But will tarot help you find Celine?" Alex squinted. "That doesn't make sense. You might be able to make future references based on the tarot cards chosen by your customers. But to find the whereabouts of a person seems impossible." He let out his breath for a moment. "If it's possible, you can only find useless clues from the tarot cards I chose unless you have psychometry."

Irene chuckled in annoyance. "You've been babbling on and on."

"Of course, because you're weird."

"Alright, we'll give you the secret behind the success of this tarot cafe!" Suddenly, Jeff interrupted with a statement that made Irene gasp in panic. "Irene is not just a tarot reader."

"Hey, asshole!" sprayed Irene angrily. She felt that Jeff had gone too far in revealing her biggest secret.

"Let's be honest. Irene has..."