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"Do you have your driver's license with you?"

Perplexed, Laurence stared into the scrutinizing sea-green eyes while he tried to grasp the question. He glanced at the black electric car next to them, looked up at the ND Corporation building, and then returned his gaze to the man in front of him, who now had his attention on his tablet.

As he mentally listed the contents of his wallet, he remembered he had Florence's professional driver's license in it. And thankfully, there were still over three years until its expiration date.

Laurence opened his mouth to respond to his boss, but before he could say a word, Isaac was talking again.

"Mr. Garcia had called in sick this morning. He could not drive us today, that's why I was asking if you could do it in his place. It was an unexpected leave, so we could not schedule someone else for the job." The young CEO stopped scrolling on the device and took his eyes off it. Like his tone, his expression was calm when he regarded Laurence once again. "But I understand if you think you can't because you have forgotten to do it too. In that case, I can drive. Just let me know."

Isaac closed the tablet's folio case.

Because he had a hard time believing the young CEO's last statements, Laurence did not immediately answer. He blinked, wondering if it was all just a dream. After all, how often did one hear a big boss offering to do the job, even something as small as driving, for his own assistant?

"Florence Villena."

At the firm utterance of the name, Laurence snapped out of his reverie.

"Oh. Oh, I'll do it... sir." He gave Isaac an apologetic smile while struggling to keep his cringe at saying the honorific from becoming obvious.

Up to this moment, he had yet to get used to addressing the young boss with so much deference. Isaac Ruiz might have grown into this prominent person in the business world, but until now, Laurence could not erase the image of that punk he'd encountered once upon a time on the rooftop of their school building.

"I'm sorry for spacing out."

"And you seem to be doing that often lately. Staring into the void, I mean. Are you sure I can trust you to drive?" The sharp look on Isaac's face dulled as a shadow of emotion flitted across his eyes. His voice dropped into a whisper as he added, "I'd rather not have any other fatal car accident happening."

"Please trust me, sir," Laurence said, a sigh of relief following his words when he noticed his voice did not tremble out of irritation. "It's not gonna... It won't feel right for me to let my boss do what's supposed to be my job. This may come off strange and hard to believe, but even though I have this so-called amnesia, my subconscious still remembers how to do some of these things I might have already known before I lost my memories. Otherwise, I'd have also forgotten how to speak and eat."

"Driving is not as basic as speaking and eating."

"I know. But please let me do it. I just hate being made to feel like I'm damn... Like I'm useless. And I already said I was sorry for spacing out. It's just a bad habit, but I can assure you I know how to focus when situations ask for it."

The beeps and honks of various vehicles from the highway filled the pause that came to pass. A subtle scowl settled on Isaac's expression while the intensity reappeared in his teal eyes.

Laurence shuffled his feet, feeling uneasy about the way the young boss was inspecting him like he would examine the terms and conditions of an important contract.

The lack of immediate response drove Laurence to think that Isaac must have resolved to keep him away from the steering wheel, and there was no changing his mind anymore.

But then, Isaac was saying, "I'm taking over at the first sign that you're not yet up for the task."

Laurence's round eyes snapped back to the young boss. His first instinct was to ask if Isaac was already certain he'd let him, but he decided against it, remembering how the man had thrown cold answers to his foolish questions from the previous days.

"Thanks... Thank you, sir."

Fighting the urge to smile, Laurence swiveled around and walked to the car. He stretched his hand toward the backseat's door but paused, his fingers just an inch away from the handle, as he stumbled upon another dilemma. He remained motionless, unsure if it was okay for him to open the door for the CEO without coming off servile.

While Laurence was busy contemplating whether the act was too ingratiating or if it was only a basic courtesy as a subordinate, Isaac seemed to have already made the decision for him. The young boss approached the passenger side and unlocked the door.

"What are you doing?" Isaac asked, handing the key fob to his temporary assistant. "I thought you'd drive us. Then, get in immediately."

Dumbfounded, Laurence held out his hand without thought and accepted the small remote control device. He gaped at the CEO as the latter settled on the front passenger seat.

A puff of air wafted against his face, and the swish of the car door closing brought him back to his senses. He threw a quick glare at the obscure silhouette on the tinted glass before he rounded the front of the vehicle to go to the driver's side.

Isaac was occupied with his tablet again when Laurence got inside the car.

The subordinate faced ahead and knitted his brows. From the corner of his eyes, he sent a furtive glance at his companion in the vehicle.

Why did you even choose to sit there? Shouldn't the top dog be relaxing in the back seat?

Truth be told, Laurence had never been in the opinion that there was a hard-and-fast rule about where a leader should sit in the car. Even so, he would have preferred it if Isaac had opted to be somewhere he could not add to the distraction.

"Where are we going, sir?" Laurence asked, ensuring his formal tone was in order. He maintained the pretense of having his interest in front of him as he put on his seatbelt.

"The lot next to the Athena Academy. It's along the L. Canete Street. Does your subconscious still remember the road too?"

Despite detecting only honest curiosity and not an ounce of taunt in Isaac's voice, the question grated on Laurence. He clenched his jaw and gripped the steering wheel to keep his hands from flying over somewhere else.

"We're going to see how the building for a new office branch has been going." The young boss put his tablet on the center console and fished his phone out of his pants' pocket.

Intrigue replaced Laurence's annoyance as he watched Isaac mount the mobile device on the holder on top of the dashboard. The CEO opened a navigation app on his phone before picking up his tablet and leaning back into his seat.

As much as he wanted to thank Isaac for the simple gesture, Laurence had a hunch the other man would only brush it off as no big deal, so he elected to save his energy by keeping the appreciation to himself.

"Building a new office," Laurence muttered to no one in particular. He pressed a button on the key fob to start the car. "Doesn't the ND Corporation have a construction firm under them too?"

Isaac grunted. "So you've relearned about it. It's the Black Crystal Builders we acquired in 2022. Obviously, they're the ones contracted for this project."

Laurence's hand jerked, letting go of the key fob by accident. He swooped down to fetch the device from the floorboard, not noticing the other man doing the same. His head grazed against Isaac's, but it was too late for Laurence to draw back because of the hand that had mistakenly covered his fingers.

Surprised by the physical contact, Laurence flung his gaze toward the young CEO, only to inhale sharply when the pair of pretty eyes arrested him.

He whiffed a scent that reminded him of the soap bubbles floating in the summer breeze or of the blue ocean's ripples on a bright, peaceful day. Cool. Fresh. A mild aquatic fragrance that transported his mind to the coastline.

Refusing to drown in the daydream again, Laurence snatched his hand away from Isaac's unintentional touch and straightened his back. His heartbeat sprinted. Yet, he could not tell whether it was because of what had transpired a second ago or because of the name of a small company that Isaac had mentioned prior to that.

Black Crystal Builders. It was his old workplace, the construction firm that had accepted him for the job without issues, and where he had met his two best friends in recent years.

"Are you sure you're in the good headspace to drive?"

Contrary to Laurence's confused inner state, Isaac sounded unaffected.

Laurence returned his grasp to the steering wheel. Determined, he said, "I'm perfectly fine. I promise I won't stay stubborn, and I'll let you handle it, sir, if it becomes obvious I can't do it."

He didn't give his boss the chance to argue as he restarted the car and drove out of the ND Corporation's premises. At first, he had feared that the memory of the accident with Kian last year would get in the way of the job, but he was relieved to discover he had not developed a trauma.

Laurence slackened his grip and relaxed his shoulders once they arrived at the main highway without a hitch. He cast a glance to his side to check Isaac's reaction, hoping to receive his approval. However, the young CEO didn't seem interested since his attention was back on his tablet.

Unimpressed, Laurence glowered.

As they exited Sampaguita Street and rounded the corner that connected to the long road of L. Canete Street, the traffic became heavier. With the slow motion of the vehicles, Laurence got the time to reflect upon what might have been awaiting him when they reached their destination.

Since the workers were from the Black Crystal Builders, there was a good possibility he would see some of his old colleagues today. There was a chance that Kian and Grey were part of the construction team for this project.

Apprehension crawled through Laurence. While waiting for the traffic to move, he leaned his right arm over the steering wheel. He fiddled with his left earring and pondered what he would feel if he saw his best friends again.

Would Kian and Grey be able to recognize him? What had Kian felt after the accident? Could he tell them the whole truth about this strange occurrence that had befallen him? Would they believe him? Did they even know what exactly had happened to his original body?

The silver van behind them blared its horn, shattering the questions in Laurence's head.

He put his concentration back on the road. The rest of the travel went faster, and Laurence felt he had not yet prepared himself enough when they made it to the area beside the Athena Academy.

Isaac got off first as soon as they parked in front of the site hut. On the other hand, Laurence gave himself a brief period to calm his nerves inside the car. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, willing his mind to empty itself of unnecessary concerns.

Mustering his courage, Laurence followed his boss outside.

Immediately after his feet touched the ground, the acrid smell of combined fumes, dirt, and wood invaded his nostrils. The whirs and hums of machines, as well as the rumbles of metals and concretes, filled the area, jumbling with the noise of the vehicles from the nearby highway. Normal citizens might have found the atmosphere unpleasant, but for Laurence, it was solace. This was the environment that had literally given life to him for years.

Laurence looked up at the bright sky and reveled in the air of nostalgia. He reminisced about the good times he'd spent with his coworker at the construction sites before. The jokes to lighten the mood when the job became too demanding. The lighthearted stories they shared that added to the flavor of their simple meals during lunch breaks. He didn't realize how much he missed all of it until now that he was back in a similar place.

"I'll check in the site hut, you guys!"

Upon recognizing the speaker's voice, his focus darted to the ongoing building a few meters away from the temporary office.

The figure of the man walking toward his location rendered Laurence frozen on the spot. His eyes popped out of his head. His heart thumped as though it was trying to break out of his rib cage. Cold sweats trickled from his temples to his chin as he studied the appearance of the approaching person.

Tall build with firm muscles, partly due to the nature of the construction work. Irises the color of espresso. Brown complexion. He could never mistake these features for anyone else.

Especially that all-too-familiar scar.