The Cursed King

Actually, Loriel had three cats. They followed him everywhere he went when he moved to a new place. The oldest one just passed away last year after living with him for 25 years. Her name was Brick. 

The other two were Brick\'s sons. Loriel named them Pot and Pebble. Pot was completely black and Pebble was completely brown.

Loriel was so proud of the names. Unlike Elise who sucked at naming, he actually intentionally named the black cat Pot, from the saying \'Pot calling the kettle Black\'.

Get it?

Pot and Pebble were the laziest cats he had ever met in his life and he loved them to death.

"They seem to like you," said Loriel with a smile.

"They do? Well, I like them too. They are beautiful!" said Elise.

She patted both cats with her hands. She was smiling so broadly when Pot and Pebble rubbed their heads on her knees affectionately. It looked like they understood how she just called them beautiful.

Loriel cleared his throat. "Why don\'t you eat first? You need to eat well since it\'ll be your first day on the job. Working with an empty stomach isn\'t a good idea."

"Thank you, you\'re quite considerate." Elise pulled up to her feet after she petted the two cats and then she took her seat. "I\'ll promise to spruce things up once I get back from work."

"I\'d appreciate that." Loriel smiled.

Elise soon ate her breakfast and savored the taste. It wasn\'t a simple meal, Loriel prepared numerous types of breakfast dishes for her to eat and she enjoyed her fill with different food options from toast in a box, oatmeal, grilled bacon, boiled eggs, and even a bowl of fresh fruits.

Once she was done, Elise thanked the man and stood up. "I\'ll put these in the dishwasher and I\'ll get going, Loriel."

"Would you mind if I joined you?" Loriel said. "It\'s around the area and it\'ll let me enjoy a morning walk."

"It\'s fine, you don\'t have to accompany me." Elise smiled. "I can do this on my own. Remember, you already taught me how to use GoogleMaps."

"Yes, I did. Well, that\'s fine then. Enjoy your first day at work, Elise." Loriel smiled at her. "You\'ll do great!"

"Thank you."

Right after that, Elise quickly went out of the penthouse and made her way to the streets. There was no way that she\'d be late on her first day of work.

Elise opened the GoogleMaps app and typed down the address that her now-boss Marc told her from last night. 

While Loriel offered to bring her there, she turned him down.

How would she be independent if the man kept helping her out?

As much as Elise appreciated having such a helpful person around, it made no sense for her to be completely reliant on Loriel. 

Once the map finally showed the address, Elise smiled in relief. So, she just followed this arrow sign and walk in the direction showed?

She could do this.

It was really great that Loriel\'s building was located not far from the Sanderman Group office. 

She could take a taxi or bus, but walking would not take long either. She thought it was good for her to get a morning workout to keep herself healthy.

The temperature was quite cold, but luckily she had a decent coat to protect her from the wind. Elise walked leisurely toward her new office, enjoying the scenery and the city.

***

Loriel glanced at the woman walking alone on the street pavement. He was currently behind a tree and keeping himself out of sight. 

Although Elise turned down his offer to help her arrive at the Sanderman Group\'s building, that didn\'t mean he\'d simply let her go all by herself.

It was for his own wife\'s protection and for his peace of mind that Loriel trailed after Elise and kept his distance.

Whenever someone else appeared on the street, Loriel\'s gaze hardened slightly. 

If Loriel could close the entire block from the rest of the people then he\'d do it, but that would be too suspicious when there were other residents living here and other commercial buildings that people visited.

So in the end, Loriel was forced to follow after Elise. He didn\'t want to compare himself to a stalker, but if Elise were to catch him tailing after her… then it would sour things between them.

However, he only wanted to keep her safe.

Once Loriel saw that Elise arrived safely at the Sanderman Group\'s building, he felt relief flood into his chest. There was no harasser or any unsavory people that Elise encountered on the road.

Loriel actually wanted to stick around and see how Elise would fare, but if she looked out the window then she\'d see him and eventually realize how suspicious he was.

He needed to get out of sight.

But first, Loriel sent a text to Marc and reminded the man about their arrangement.

[Make sure to take care of Elise once she meets up with you, Marc.]

***

Elise blinked at the phone screen before she looked up at the tallest building in front of her. It was difficult to tell how many stories this building was, but it was obvious that it was extravagant and exclusive.

This was the address that Marc gave to her.

The two of them reassured her that it was a small company where Elise can work comfortably, but it seemed like their idea of \'small\' was different from Elise\'s.

Elise glanced around her immediate vicinity to see if she got it wrong, but then eventually stepped inside of the building.

While Elise was able to enter the building without any problems from the security in charge at the door, she quickly found herself under a scrutinizing stare from a woman in the receptionist area.

Elise walked towards the woman and smiled. "Good morning, I\'ve been instructed by Marc to meet up with him here. I have an appointment with him."

Did SHE just say Marc?

The receptionist eyed Elise up and down. This woman couldn\'t be talking about THE Marc Sanderman, could she? An appointment with the man himself? Surely this woman was trying to pull her leg, wasn\'t she?

The receptionist wanted to scoff at the suggestion.