Chapter Text
Keith’s face was stuck in a frown. He was having a shitty day, utterly terrible. This morning, while he was on the train, the weather had suddenly decided to drop like, twenty degrees, and Keith had frozen his ass off on the walk from the train stop to work. The wind whipped around him, blowing at him from all directions. It felt like ten people were simultaneously trying to shape his hair into a mohawk in the time he took to walk to the office. His skinny jeans, no matter how alluring they made him look, was useless in protecting his ass from the nipping cold.
Lance would have said something idiotic, like ass-icle or something.
He quite practically rammed his right shoulder into the door, shoving it open as forcefully as he could, startling a poor young girl who happened to be walking across at the moment. She’s probably one of the new interns, he thinks, as he shoulders his way through the crowded lobby. He jammed his finger at the up button for the lift.
After a grand total of five seconds, he started fidgeting. He shook his legs, trying to get the blood to flow. There was absolutely no way he was going to start slapping his thighs and butt in public. Keith desperately needed to bend his knees, his joints were itchy (there’s no other way to describe it). Just as he was going to cave in, a lift made a high pitched ding. He was aware of the swarm of people around him wanting to get in with him, and the moment the doors cracked open, it was like everyone moved in a wave, sweeping him along.
Initially, he was close to the front, but he’d ended up smack in the middle of the carriage. There were way too many people in there with him; Keith was surprised the 'over-weight' sign wasn’t lit. Slowly, as the lift ascended, he could feel the body warmth of the seven people around him radiating into his space. He grimaced and chanced glance up.
Lvl 1.
Really, the lift was moving at a snail’s pace. Maybe it was the weight of the other passengers, or maybe he always felt this jittery when there were people invading his personal space - which was a two-meter radius - like this. Luckily, he was a little taller than everyone else, and he wasn’t stuck breathing the scents of their shampoos or lack thereof.
Lvl. 2
The guy next to him coughed, but he couldn’t cover his mouth because there was no space to lift his hand. So, he leaned his head down to his left instead. Which was Keith’s side. Keith tilted his face upwards and tried not to breathe.
Lvl 3.
He saw his blurry reflection in the mirrored ceiling of the elevator. His hair was a mess, bits clumped together. He’ll fix it later.
Lvl 3A.
The lift stopped. He shifted his eyes to look at the display. Not my floor, yet. He took in a breath as some people got off. A few people shuffled around to fill the empty spaces.
Lvl 5.
The carriage slowed, and the guy talking loudly on the phone near the front got off. Someone to the back awkwardly coughed. Keith sighed ran his hand through the tangles and pushed at them until they let up.
Lvl 6.
Finally, freedom. Keith stumbled out through the doors and onto the landing. He immediately started towards his office, sliding around people, dodging coffee cups and files.
As he approached his office, he noticed some shadows moving around inside. He had installed one-way glass since he didn’t like knowing people could see what he was doing at any time. Shiro insisted that it was to maintain his image of 'mystery' as the 'illusive co-founder of the company', but that was fake.
Another fact many didn’t know about Keith: he owned this company, and he owned everyone in it. Okay, maybe half of it, since Shiro’s got half of it. Okay, he didn’t own anyone, just the 'intellectual property' or whatever that is; he just likes the thought of it.
Subtly grasping the switchblade he kept under his belt, concealed by his shirt, he stepped carefully towards the door. He knows that the whole floor is full of witnesses, and there’s literally a security guard over there, but he wants to see it for himself, first.
He shoved open the door, with his knife in front of his chest, completely focused on where he thought the shadow was. He had this manic glint in his eyes, kind of like light reflecting off the blade of a sharp knife.
His eyes instantly flicked to the intruders. They got up and surrounded him in one quick motion. He gasped as he registered exactly what was happening.