I didn’t find anything at all again during the time I spent in the office, in fact, I barely had any time at all. Tobias had me in meetings with him all day and when I wasn’t, I was sorting his diary and making coffee for his clients. It was four by the time I sat down at my desk, my injured foot aching and a dried sweat making the skin on my brow tight.
It was unusually busy, but at five past four Tobias gets another meeting. Three men walk towards me, and I recognize them easily. I would recognize them from the sheer warning shrill that shoots down my spine.
I didn’t like them.
The young one especially.
He was lethal grace embodied. I couldn’t pin it exactly, what it was that made me go on high alert, but it was something. His glasses were in place, his suit impeccable, and to anyone else he probably looked like a normal businessman.
My mind whirls back to that first day I met them, when he shifted, just slightly, and I caught a glimpse of that gun tucked into his trousers.
Paranoia, I scoff inwardly. All this work with Kingston has me paranoid.
“Gentlemen,” I stand, greeting them, holding all the steel in my spine I can muster, even if I feel exhausted and drained.
“Eleanor,” Clayton grins, “What a pleasure to see you again.”
I cringe.
“We’re here to see Tobias,” The young one says.
“Of course.” I press the button on the phone to dial through to his office. He answers on the first ring.
“What is it, Eleanor?”
“Clayton and Derek are here to see you.”
Silence.
“Tobias?”
“Now?” He questions.
“Yes, sir, they’re with me now.”
“I didn’t know we had a meeting scheduled.” He says quietly.
I say nothing, giving a polite smile to the men as I click open the calendar and realize the slot is empty. “We didn’t.”
He clears his throat, “Please see them to the meeting room, I’ll be there in a moment.”
“No problem.” I hang up.
“Is there an issue?” Clayton asks.
“Not at all,” I smile, sliding out from behind the desk, “Please follow me.”
They follow me down the hall, the busy sound of the office filling the silence, yet the thuds of their footfall sends a chill down my spine, like a prey backed into a corner and the predator closing in.
Kingston was a predator, he never hid that, but I knew what I was dealing with, with him, or at least I did to a certain extent, with them though, I had no idea. Was this something I needed to address with Kingston?
I chew my lip, knowing eyes are on me, not in places they should be, and that fact alone sends a jolt of fear to bloom in my stomach, making me feel sick.
I stop at the meeting room and open the door, showing them inside, “He’ll be through in just a moment.”
Derek and the young man enter but Clayton lingers. I freeze when his hand comes up to rest on the middle of my back. His hand slowly moves down my spine, “We are very thankful for your hospitality. Perhaps Tobias should invite you to more dinners of ours.”
NO! I scream in my head.
“Clayton,” Tobias’ voice is a surprising comfort.
Clayton snatches his hand back, whirling on Tobias with a grin, “Tobias.”
Tobias stares at me, telling me without words to leave. Now.
I don’t wait. I rush away as quickly as these heels will allow, power walking back down the hall to my desk. Heels were such a bad idea when I still had an injured foot!
It was only four thirty, but the message in my inbox had me packing my bags now.
Tobias Franco: You can leave early today, I’ll be wrapped up the rest of the day, and we can reconvene in the morning.
Have a good evening.
Tobias Franco
I don’t question it, I don’t think about how he orchestrated it, knowing what Clayton would do or how he would take an interest. The man I knew, and the man Kingston told me about were blurring. Letting me leave to keep me away wasn’t the man Kingston had portrayed.
I bring up the address Kingston texted through earlier and head down to the lobby, calling an Uber. It wasn’t within a walking distance, at least not in these shoes. It’s still busy, far too busy for anything to happen, but I still feel goosebumps on my skin, and my stomach churning, fear a very palpable thing around me.
That was the truth. I was scared.
Always scared.
Weak.
I didn’t know how to defend myself. How to escape.
If something were to happen to me, I’d have no way of ever hoping to get away.
The cold bites at me, but it isn’t long before my phone buzzes with the information of the Uber and then the car pulls up.
I climb in the back, sighing with relief at the warm air as it chases away the chill. The driver says nothing as he makes his way to the address provided, and I just stare idly out the window, watching the city roll by and with it the miles that stretch between me and Tobias’ building.
“Thank you,” I say to the driver as I step out, feet screaming in protest after the twenty-minute rest, as I stand up right onto the pavement.
I stare up at the building, a huge half glass structure, modern, sleek, the very top jutting into the sky. There are no buzzers on the door but as I enter, I notice two security guards eying me and a doorman who steps towards me as I linger in the foyer.
“Can I help you, miss?”
“Uh, yes,” I bring up Kingston’s text, “I’m supposed to be seeing Kingston.”
I didn’t even know his last name.
The doorman frowns down at me, eyes traveling over the clothes, the body, “there isn’t a Kingston here.”
“This was the address he gave me,” I frown, had the Uber got it wrong?
“It’s okay.” A sudden feminine voice says, soft and when I turn, I realize the voice does not match the person at all, “she’s supposed to be here.” The woman walks towards me, her hips sway, long legs and brutal beauty. Straight black hair hangs around her face, a harsh contrast to the pale skin that suits her so well, she looks as if she’s just stepped out of a book. Painted red lips are upturned into a smile so concealed it may as well not be there, but it’s the eyes. Eyes of ice so hot it burns. Blue but not any blue I’ve ever seen other than in Kingston’s eyes. She wears a tight burgundy colored dress, a pair of high, pointed black stilettos on her feet and gold rings on her fingers.
She stops by my side, “Eleanor, did he not give you the code?”
It feels like a dig, but I shake my head anyway. Out of my league. Completely. She pouts as she guides me towards a single elevator separated from the wall of them across the foyer. Her manicured fingers punch in some digits that I don’t keep up with, and then she ushers me inside. The doors close. Soft, melodic music fills the space. I feel her eyes on me, burning into me, but I keep my head forward, straight, not once looking in her direction.
The woman was fucking terrifying.
When the doors slide open again, I can’t wait to get out. I rush towards the open space not really thinking about what lies on the other side.
Luxury and opulence, grace and sleek design. It was a palace built into the very top of a building.
“Welcome to King’s home.” The woman laughs before stalking away, leaving me alone.
It’s Micha who finds me.
“Eleanor?”
“Uh, hi?” I awkwardly wave a hand, before my face heats and my cheeks flame red, remembering the last time I saw him. He likely knows what happened. They probably all do. My voice shakes as I say, “Kingston told me to be here.”
“I’m sure he meant to meet him in the lobby,” Micha frowns.
“Uh, there was a woman, she let me up. Dark hair, blue eyes.”
His face pales, “Isobel.”
I shrug, “She didn’t give me her name.”
Micha pauses, “Do you often follow strangers?”
“Well,” I swallow, “No,” I pause, “I don’t know. Maybe?”
His eyes widen. “Jesus Christ.”