After thoroughly inspecting himself, Trent decided on finally meet Mr. Derby with his new look. Hopefully, he will be surprised, but not too surprised that he doesn't recognize him (or her?). And not just appearance, but also with skill and expertise. Trent could feel some of Kirsty's skills and work experience within grasp in his mind, starting from Kirsty's own first day of mistakes to the recent masterful negotiation with a tough client. Surely, this new wealth of knowledge would put him as "more than just an intern".
Brushing his now silky hair and smoothing his outfit due to one of Kirsty's natural habits, Trent walked over to Mr. Derby's office. On the way, he met up with David, one of the older colleagues. He gave a smile and said, "Hi, Tracy! Just coming back from your afternoon break?"
At first, Trent gave David a blank stare, wondering who he was referring to. But after noticing that David was facing no one else besides him, he gave a quick reply, "Oh um...yea. Gotta head back to work haha..." David gave a small nod and said, "That's great. Well I have an errand to run before the end of today, so I'll catch you later!" After watching David turn a corner in the hallway, Trent gave himself a mental facepalm for his own silly answer. But yet somehow, the response felt reasonable. Kirsty did have a more cheery and playful attitude with her coworkers, probably why she was popular among all the employees.
Reaching in front of Mr. Derby's office, Trent found the door to be locked. He recalled earlier that Mr. Derby would be out on a trip this afternoon to deal with some local clientele. Since it was late in the afternoon, he might not return to his office today. As he breathed a sigh of despair, he thought about what he should do next.
As he looked around the mostly empty office as most workers are out on errands or taking calls with Asian clients overseas in the call center upstairs, his eyes landed on his own desk. Walking over to it, Trent realized that his work files were still scattered about from the job he was doing earlier. However, some of his personal items were missing. Most noticeably, the picture he had with his family disappeared. Trent gave a small gasp, wondering about the fate of his own identity in this reality. So what happens to the old "Trent" after merging? Does "he" just disappear from memory as if he doesn't exist? Is it the same with Kirsty and if so, are both replaced by this "Tracy"? It would make sense given that David earlier was able to call him by name and treat him like a usual employee in this company. But just to verify, he slid over to the adjacent desk, where another intern name Alex was working on some paperwork. Tapping on Alex's shoulder to get his attention, Trent asked with the most cheery expression he has naturally mustered, "Hey Alex, do you happen to know about the guy who works next to you?" Trent gestured at the adjacent desk.
Alex first gave a small jump when being tapped on the shoulder, before answering "Oh hi, Tracy. How..um.. may I help you?" AFter the question, he gave a puzzling look before glancing over. "I don't recall anyone owning that desk before. It was supposedly empty when I first started working here, although someone was probably just using it earlier or some work or something." Trent obviously didn't believe his ears. Even though he and Alex rarely talked nowadays due to work, they were both admitted as interns at the same time and were on good terms. Secretly, Trent also thought that Alex was attractive, given his slim form, spiky blonde hair, blue eyes, all similar to his previous attributes. As if by instinct, Trent leaned in closer to confirm, "Are you REALLY sure?"
Alex impulsively lurched back, stammering, "Of course...why would I lie? And you were here longer than I was, so I think you would know about it more than I do." Trent could see that Alex's cheeks slowly reddened. "Um..sorry, I have to get back to work now." With that, he quickly turned back to his work, as if he was trying to hide something.
Trent was obviously saddened about his previous identity, which has seemingly disappeared from thin air. However, he found Alex's sudden shift in demeanor quite peculiar. Was he hiding some information? But then why would he hide that? It didn't make sense to Trent until an air draft from a nearby AC blew towards his chest, prompting him to step back to cover his low cut blouse from the cold air. Glancing down, he noticed that his cleavage was mostly visible, and immediately realized that Alex must have looked at those during their conversation. Part of him felt embarrassed, and he quickly walked away to hide this new realization. Brushing his forehead, he felt a small headache from the numerous events today.