Anita's eyes, hidden behind her large sunglasses, gauged the appearance of the man standing before her.
Pale grey hair contrasted with the slightly tanned skin that glistened and reflected the light falling on it.
Those cold blue eyes as well as the stern expression on his face were the same as she had seen in the past which only irked her further.
Nine years had passed since she last saw him but he looked as though he had not aged a day.
"Still in love with your sister?" She mocked without bothering about the darkening look on his face.
The two men standing behind him glared at her for her poor choice of words and for bringing up something that should not be addressed in such a public place.
There were too many curious pairs of eyes and ears focused on them, eager to catch any piece of gossip about their boss.
Therefore, they glowered and glared at the young lady who dared to touch such a sensitive topic in broad daylight.
Anita's smirk from earlier only grew wider when she saw how the man at the front had silenced his men by shooting them a glance over his shoulder.
Like whimpering puppies, they obeyed his command and no longer raised their eyes to look her way.
While he may have silenced his men, he seemed to have no intention of letting her have the upper hand in this unexpected and most certainly unpleasant encounter.
Thus his lips also curved into a smirk, emulating the one she now possessed.
"I see that the runaway brat has found her way back home." The same gruff voice from before was heard and this time he had an appropriate and befitting retort for the mocking words she had uttered earlier.
Anita's jaw clenched ever so slightly but she relaxed her nerves in no time.
She could not let it appear on her face that he had touched her weak spot as well because that would reveal that she was still affected by this topic.
Unfortunately for her, even the slightest shift in her expression had already been noted by the other man.
"Stay out of my way, Valken!" He spat out with equal animosity that had been directed towards him by the young lady who had been the reason they had halted in their journey to catch their flight.
His words finally managed to infuriate Anita as she gave him a look-over, scanning her eyes from his head to his toe before a scoff escaped her lips.
"Who even wants to meet someone that smells like a wet dog?" She glowered while shooting a glance at the slightly damp hair she had caught just earlier.
The two men behind him widened their eyes at this blatant disrespect being shown towards their boss but said nothing as they had been ordered to stay out of it.
"Valken, you!" He narrowed his eyes at her, intending to give her a piece of his furious mind.
Seeing that furious look on his face, she knew that she had managed to break the level-headed and calm facade he maintained at all times.
She had already achieved her goal of infuriating him so she had no desire to stick around to continue this conversation.
Thus, with victory glimmering in her eyes, she was no longer interested in interacting with him any further.
"Goodbye, old man." She waved him off and turned around as though she could not be bothered with him or whatever he had to say.
As she began walking away from them, she could sense three pairs of eyes glaring daggers at her but she continued strutting away, not sparing them another glance.
Assistant Milo Gavin had stood rooted in the same spot ever since he had heard the very first sentence coming out of her mouth to taunt the other man.
From that spot, he stood frozen and watched the entire interaction between these two individuals who surely weren't friendly in their words.
Initially, he had intended to caution the young lady and take her away before she said anything she might regret but for some reason, he had been unable to take another step in her direction as his feet were stuck to the ground with no hope of moving an inch.
Therefore, with widened eyes filled with trepidation, he watched as the Miss, whom he had been tasked to escort back home today, mocked one of the most respected yet feared men in the city.
'Boss, why did you have to leave me alone!?' Milo lamented his pitiful state because he would be the one to clean up the scary mess that the young miss was creating.
While he was making contingency plans to rescue the young miss from the scary man and his entourage, something unexpected took place.
Contrary to the concerning events that he had been expecting to take place after she mocked him, what he was witnessing now made his eyes pop wider than ever before.
The fierce man whose very presence demanded respect did nothing but watch as the young lady, who had just insulted him and dared to mock him so openly, walked away from him without even waiting for him to complete what he was about to say.
While this man glared at her with a ferocious look in his eyes, he made no movement to let her know what the outcome of offending him would be.
This was equivalent to letting her off the hook even after she had been disrespectful to him right to his face.
This discovery stunned the assistant so much so that he was in a daze even when that young lady had reached his position.
"Let's go." Anita's cold voice was unlike the cheerful one she had used while being snarky and snide towards that man.
This contrast in her attitude snapped Milo out of his daze but his eyes continued to alternate between Miss Valken, who seemed unaffected by the chaos she had caused, and the man who was still glaring in their direction.
Noticing the assistant's troubled appearance and constantly swaying gaze, Anita rolled her eyes but this act went unnoticed thanks to her large sunglasses.
"Don't worry about him." She pacified the seemingly terrified assistant by patting his shoulder and nudging him forward to lead the way once again.
Through her guidance, Milo was no longer looking at the man and his group but toward the exit.
Thus, under the gentle coercion of the Miss of the Valken family, he walked out of the airport without daring to glance at the man and his group who stood rooted in the same place as before.
Once outside, Anita took a deep breath, taking in the air of the city she had left nine years ago.
Her lips curved into a subconscious smile at the nostalgic memories that overwhelmed her at this thought.
However, now was not the time to take a leisurely stroll down memory lane as there was a crisis at hand that needed to be averted at the earliest.
"To the Valken Manor." She ordered and the assistant did not waste another second as he escorted her to the car which would be driving them to their destination.