Middle Child Syndrome - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Ch 22: The new job
The sinister smile on Roxx’s face sent a shiver down Rika’s spine. She knew this man only found joy in the most twisted circumstances.

Currently, the only thing Rika could find amusing around her was her situation.

‘Oh god! Am I going to be fine out like this? No matter how desperately I needed a job, I should have never entered the mafia territory to look for one. Nothing good ever comes out of going into the family territory.’

Rika bit her lip to stop the curse from leaving her mouth.

The harder she fought to stifle her words, the more Rocxx’s amusement grew. The glint in his eyes mirrored Emily’s before she embarked on a thrilling adventure.

“Hey Rika, do you know this alpha? He looks like a total madman, and elders like us should be worried about him. Tell me what you want me to do, and I will try my best to help you.”

Charon promised with a tense look on her face.

It was brave of her to offer this, but Rika knew Charon could not help her realistically.

Rocxx was a king in his territory; only someone higher than him in the family could bring him back down.

Someone could be Rika’s brother, but not her.

“It’s okay, Charron. As unfortunate as it is, I know this person quite well, so you do no need to worry about me.”

Rika assured Charon about this. Charon did not look as assured about all this as Rika hoped she would. But Rocxx seemed delighted by Rika’s assurance.

“Aww, I did not realise you thought of me like this. This is such a memorable day for me. Rika has acknowledged me after all this time. I know! I should call your brother and share this good news.”

Rocxx pulled out his phone, and Rika immediately felt a slab of fear go through her heart.

Her brother was the last person Rika wanted to know what had happened. He would freak out and demand that Rika be back.

“Rocxx, can we talk about this? How about I do you a favour if you don’t tell my brother what happened here? What do you say about it? Do we have a deal?”

Rika asked in an almost desperate tone. She needed Rocxx to take her side here.

“Eh! Well, this sure is something I did not expect to happen. But since Rika is asking me a favour, how can I refuse? I will not tell your brother anything about what happened here.”

Those words made Rika sigh in relief.

“Now, I don’t think being out here where anyone can see us is a good idea. Let’s head into old lady Isana’s shop. She will not mind us baring in and making ourselves at home.”

Rika was unhappy about barging into an old lady’s house, but Rocxx did not have such a problem.

“Old Lady Isana, we will take the back room for our talk. Please tell me if someone is coming to look for me.”

Rocxx asked the old lady, and she nodded without looking at them.

From the looks of it, Old Lady Isana was an omega, and she relied on her sense of smell to check where people were.

When Rika noticed this, she realised she could not work with the old lady.

‘Ah, what a bump! I was looking forward to finally working a job I liked.’

Rika followed the alpha into the back cabin, and Rocxx instantly closed the door behind Rika and Charon.

“What are you doing? Do you want to hurt us? Don’t come any closer! I might not look like it, but I know how to defend myself.”

Charon pretended that she would fight Rocxx, but the alpha only laughed at her cute efforts.

“Aww, this is too cute. Do you want to try fighting me? I am afraid you will not have much luck if you do.”

Rocxx smiled at Charon, but there was something in his eyes that made Charon back down with fright.

“Tsk! This is not fair. That man is using pheromones to make me back down. This is not fair!”

Charon complained in a low voice, which was the only reason Rika knew that pheromones were involved.

“So, what brings someone like you into my territory, Rika? Are you here to see me? I bet my cousin would be jealous once I tell her about it.”

Rika needed to stop Rocxx before he called Emily.

Her friend, Emily, will be here in the next few hours.

Maybe Rocxx noticed or saw her worried expression, but he put his phone down and did not make the call.

“I was just joking! There is no way I will call Emily here. She would make my life much more difficult if I called her now. So, now it is time for you to answer my questions.”

Charon replied before Rika could.

“We do not need to tell you anything just to boost your ego. Rika, maybe this was not a good idea. Let’s return for today. We can return to take care of our business some other day.”

Charon grabbed Rika’s arm and pulled her outside, but this was not a permanent solution to her problem.

Now that Rocxx knew about Rika’s nearby presence, he would take full advantage of it and come after her. There was no point in hiding from him anymore.

“It’s okay, Charon. We cannot run or hide anymore. Can’t you tell by looking at Rocxx’s face? He has no intention of letting us go.”

The will to curse was building up in Charon’s body. Rika could see the second Charon would make a mistake that would gather Rocxx’s interest.

That was why Rika grabbed Charon’s arm and pulled her to sit back down.

“I don’t think this man means us any harm. If he wanted us dead, then we would be dead by now.”

Rika was not kidding when she said that. Rocxx ran this territory, and that was a fact.

Ven, even if this man behaved like a useless kid most of the time, his status as one of the most dangerous alphas in their organisation’s current structure did not change.

“Aww, I feel honoured to receive all this praise from you, Rika. Since I am in such a good mood, I will listen to what you want. Come on! Tell me what your wish is.”

Rocxx asked the question, and Rika saw no point hiding what she wanted from him.

“I came here looking for a job. I heard that the florist was hiring people to help her out. However, now that I see the old lady’s condition, I don’t think it is a good idea.”

Rika concluded, and Rocxx had a knowing look on his face.

Charon was inching away toward the gate door and dragging Rika behind her.

“Hmm, now that you say it, Old Lady Isana needs to retire. I will ask someone to take over this business so she can rest now. Will it resolve your problem as well, Rika?”

Rocxx asked, and Rika cursed in her mind.

The older alpha was making it more and more difficult for her to refuse.

The bottom line was that Rika knew she could not back out of this deal. She knew her fate was in his hands from the second she was discovered.

Rocxx knew that as well, and his grin said it all.

“If you need time to consider your options, you can take it. Work starts tomorrow. I hope to see you then.”

In the end, Rika did find a job. But none of her wishes associated with it came true.

“What the hell-! Can you believe how rude that man was? He expected us to do as he wished just because he was an alpha. There is no way in hell you will be working here starting tomorrow! Did you hear me? We will find you a new job.”

Charon spoke confidently. But it was wistful thinking on her part.

Rika was sure that Charon had recognised the marks these goons had.

“It’s fine, Charon. I am not as bumped out as you would expect me to be. I will get used to this job soon enough. Besides, now that these people know I have protection, they will not mess with me.”

That was the only silver lining in this whole situation.

Charon dragged Rika to many job posts to find a decent one. But most of these places took one whiff of the air around Rika and decided to retreat.

That made Rika clear that she had no option but to do as asked.

‘Fuck! I just wanted to get away from my family. Who knew this single task would prove to be this difficult?’

Rika cursed as she opened the door to the shop in front of her.

On the other side, the previous owner, the old lady, waited for her. Along with her stood Rocxx and a man Rika had never seen before.

The unknown man looked almost like an alpha with his colossal frame and intimidating gestures, but somehow, Rika was not afraid.