When a Hitman Gets Haunted by a Ghost
Chapter 64: Pulled in All Directions

Chapter 64: Pulled in All Directions

"This can’t be right," Gabriel murmured, flipping to the next page. Just like the previous one, it showed resources being pulled from William’s domestic projects to support the Sicilian deal.

"Outrageous," Hale muttered, peering over his shoulder. "Sam has been sabotaging other projects to make his look better! That vicious snake!"

Gabriel frowned as he skimmed through the documents. His hand froze over a contract. Signed agreements with an unfamiliar Sicilian firm.

"He’s already made a deal?" Gabriel quickly pulled out his phone to take pictures. "Wasn’t he only presenting the idea for now?"

Hale laughed darkly. "I wouldn’t be surprised if he has joined hands with the Sicilian mafia. That man is the devil!"

Gabriel shot him an annoyed look. "Can you stop slandering my uncle for a minute? I’m trying to focus here."

The sound of the conference room door opening down the hall jolted him upright.

Gabriel’s pulse spiked as he scrambled to put the files back in order. "Shit, shit, shit, he’s coming back." His hands shook as he returned them to the drawer, trying to be quiet with the keys.

"What are you doing? You didn’t take pictures of everything!" Hale protested.

Sam’s steps stopped outside his office, hesitating. He must have been searching his pockets for the keys.

Gabriel stood by the desk like a pole, torn between hiding and facing Sam with a nonchalant act.

As the door handle turned, Hale clapped, his shadow running through the room like a jolt of lightning. The blinds fell down and the lights went off, plunging the office into darkness.

Gabriel crouched down, hiding behind the desk, his breath held.

"What is this?" Sam flipped the light switch by the door on and off, trying to get the lights to work. When it didn’t happen, he let out a frustrated exhale and left to find someone to fix it.

Hale pulled the bottom drawer open again and took the documents back out. "Take pictures!"

"No way, I need to get out of here," Gabriel hissed, standing up, but a heavy glass paperweight was lifted over his head.

"Do as I say, or else..." came a menacing threat.

Gabriel stared at the glass orb for a full three seconds, stunned. "Y-You won’t do that. No one else can see you."

"You have not proven yourself to be useful so far," Hale lifted the paperweight higher.

"Fine, fine, I’ll take more pictures!" Gabriel knelt, cursing in his head.

The flash blinked through the room as he snapped photos of the crucial bits, hoping his shaky hands hadn’t made too many of the pictures blurry.

"Alright, that’s enough. I’m leaving." Gabriel shoved the files back into the drawer and locked it.

He left the keys on the desk and crossed the dark room with a few big strides. He stood by the door for a few seconds, listening for any footsteps in the hall. Hearing nothing, he quietly opened the door, then hurriedly padded down the hallway with his phone gripped in hand.

This was insane. Risky. Dangerous, even.

Gabriel burst into the bathroom, his heart pounding in his ears. If he’d been caught, God knows how deep in trouble he would be. Sam had ordered his death once already, and nothing really kept him from doing that again.

"I bought you time! You dare waste it?!" Hale went into his usual shouting fit. "You should have taken pictures of Every. Single. Page! But what did you do? You ran away!"

Gabriel turned sharply, adrenaline ramping up his anger. "Oh, I’ve had enough of being pushed around!" He turned on the faucet to do something—anything—with his hands. "It was bad enough before, but now even a dead man orders me around as he pleases!"

The bathroom stall on the furthest end opened. Startled, Gabriel whipped around. He had thought he was alone in there, save for the evil spirit hanging off his shoulder.

Gabriel’s heart hammered in his chest as he saw his father standing in the bathroom doorway. His mouth opened dumbly.

Oh, this looked really bad. Really bad.

Clearly, the "dead man" was directed at Hale, but with the sickly-looking William there, it took on a completely different meaning. William’s expression was inscrutable, but judging by the cool stillness in the air, he definitely thought it was directed at him.

For a long moment, neither of them moved. Then William’s gaze slowly slid off Gabriel like water running off glass, and he went to wash his hands.

"I suppose I haven’t done a good job of teaching you respect, have I?" William noted in his monotone voice, drying his hands unhurriedly. He didn’t sound angry, but Gabriel could tell he was deeply offended.

"I..." Gabriel couldn’t find the words. This was horrible. He felt like he had to apologize, but then it would be admitting he was talking shit about his father in the office bathroom.

The silence thickened into a heavy mass that couldn’t be eased. Finally, William discarded the used paper towel and turned to face Gabriel. His gaze was like a biting wind, difficult to face.

"Tell me, did I force you to come into the office today? Did I give you no chance to refuse?"

The questions sounded more rhetorical than a genuine attempt to understand.

Gabriel lowered his head. He felt no better than a kid who just couldn’t stay out of trouble. "I’m sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" William glared at him, his frustration slipping momentarily. "Humiliating me at the board meeting, or humiliating me in the public restroom?"

"I wasn’t trying to humiliate you. It just... came out wrong," Gabriel murmured. His hands hung stiffly by his sides, still dripping with water as his fingers cried at the absurdity of this situation.

William’s eyes narrowed. He adjusted his glasses, but it did little to hide the offense. "It always comes out wrong with you, doesn’t it?"

Gabriel stared at the floor tiles as the door closed. The patronizing sentence slid off his head like a wet toad slipping off a stone, leaving a slimy feel all over him.

It’s not like he was hung over earning his father’s approval anymore, but screwing up his image in the man’s eyes even more didn’t feel great.

Hale, who had watched it all from the side without any comments, slowly came up to him. It looked like he wanted to say something.

Gabriel straightened and looked up, resetting his smile. "I’m fin—"

"How many pictures did you get?" Hale interrupted him with urgency.

Gabriel’s face flattened. His eye almost twitched with the urge to verbally send the evil spirit to hell. But he didn’t. Not after Hale threatened him with the paperweight.

"I think I’m starting to understand why Kant was always annoyed," Gabriel muttered under his breath, pushing the restroom door open.