Chapter 140 – Trying to Improve
“Come in!”
I opened the door and saw that Ulum was sitting at her desk, writing something on a document. Her office was small but she didn’t have to share it with anyone, making it a much better deal than the open spaces that were so popular back in my world.
As I came inside, she glanced at me before going back to her work.
“You’re here.”
That wasn’t the most welcoming greeting but it suited her personality.
“Ulum! I missed you a lot!”
“Nonsense. Close the door and sit down.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I took a seat on a chair in front of her desk and she continued working without making eye contact with me.
“What’s wrong, honey? Are you very busy?”
“Don’t call me that. I’m not busy, I just like doing paperwork in the morning.”
“How’s the job going so far? Is it interesting? Are your colleagues treating you well? Why don’t you look at me?”
She sighed and finally took her eyes off her document. She put her pen down and stared at me with mixed emotions.
“One question at a time. The job is going well, it’s neither boring nor very interesting. I have some nice colleagues and others who are jerks, like everywhere.”
“You still didn’t tell me why you took on such a job. And why you didn’t take a break after the exams. And why you came to inspect our stall last time.”
This made her frown.
“I said one question at a time. Why are you so curious anyway?”
“Hey, it’s cool, right? I just want to know more about you.”
“Hmm.”
She glared at me with suspicion but still answered after some time.
“Even if I take a break, there’s nothing much to do in this small dome.”
She obviously avoided the other two questions, which made me smile.
“I see. I’m glad you like me so much that you wanted to support me with this job. I still have to thank you for the inspection last time, that was very professional of you.”
“Enough. Why did you come here today?”
“Do I need a reason to visit my good friend Ulum?”
“Speak the truth.”
“No, no, for real.”
“Then, what did you do last week?”
“That’s a secret.”
“I don’t like secrets.”
“Why do you dislike me touching you?”
This shut her up, and I took the opportunity to tease her some more.
“Hello everyone, I’m Ulum. I have tons of secrets I’ll never share with anyone but I hate other people keeping secrets from me. Keep that in mind when you interact with me. Looking forward to working with you!”
Her gaze was now very dark, in proportion to how much she liked my joke.
“Someone needs to slap you someday, Tila.”
“Too bad it won’t be you.”
Her expression changed at that moment. She hesitated for a while before continuing.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
“Oh?”
“I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Tell me anything. I can’t promise I’ll do it but I can at least listen to you.”
“Yes, shut up and listen. I want to… try fixing my touching problem. And I want you to help me. I’m aware I can’t go on like this forever. Will you do it?”
“To think you want to slap me that much.”
This made her smirk.
“Yes, my hands have been itching since the very first time I met you. I’m even dreaming of it at night now.”
“Wow, you’re dreaming of me. I already said it but I don…”
She interrupted me mid-sentence, probably because she knew I would spout something ridiculous.
“Will you do it?”
“Haha. And here I thought you’d ask for back-breaking work. No problem, of course, I’ll help you. What should I do?”
She nodded and took some deep breaths. After a minute of doing so, she extended her hand toward me, fist closed except for her index finger pointing in my direction.
“Try to touch my finger. A little.”
Just like she was doing, I extended my index finger toward hers and noticed she started to tremble anxiously. I moved quickly to avoid her staying apprehensive for too long, only slowing down when my finger was right next to hers.
I poked the tip of her finger with mine and she shivered, her face distorting in disgust. It didn't feel good to be at the receiving end of that expression but I decided to put on my doctor’s hat and think of this as a treatment without taking it personally.
She forced herself to keep the contact for a couple of seconds but soon couldn’t take it anymore. With a gasp, she broke the connection and rubbed her finger hard on her clothes as if trying to clean herself of some revolting substance.
‘It’s not because of you, Tila. You just took a bath and you’re perfectly clean. It’s definitely unrelated to you.’
While I was mentally hypnotizing myself, Ulum’s scrunched face progressively relaxed as she took control of her trembling and breathing. She looked back at me and scowled.
“There’s a lot of work to do… I knew it, though.”
I grinned to encourage her.
“And that’s with the person you love the most in the world. Imagine if it was someone you hated.”
This made her shiver and it felt like she could think of at least one such person. After a while, she shook her head.
“Let’s do it some more.”
“All right. I have to say, I’m very impressed. Not many people try so hard to fix their issues. I’m falling in love again.”
“Be quiet and do it again.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Just like that, I spent a few tens of minutes helping with her problem. While she could barely tolerate me touching her at first, by the end of the session, she could last as much as fifteen seconds, which was an impressive improvement. I suspected her willpower was high, and she could become great in the right circumstances.
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