Karl spent almost twenty minutes in Ben's office, he sat calmly on the swiveling chair which was across from Ben on the table. After a while, there was silence in the room and Ben suddenly asked "What exactly did you come here for?" Karl was someone who could come into his office at any time he wanted—even without a reason, but Ben felt like there was something else he had to say other than exchange words with him. Karl clicked his tongue, "I did come here for something and it's a bit urgent, I thought I could speak to you about a few things." His expression turned serious and he stopped spinning the chair back and forth.Ben's brows furrowed in curiosity at his friend's next words. Karl glanced at Aliyah, after which Ben ordered her to go make some coffee for them."What's this about now?" "I've got something for you," Karl said as he brought out a file from a bag that he had brought with him, Ben's gaze followed the file that Karl handed out to him and he received it, partly c
Aliyah was still reeling in the thought of how this situation came to be as those words fell out of his mouth, her mind traveled far and wide to all possible scenarios and reasons why they ended up making preparations for them to share one room.She had to share a room with him, the idea of it made her skin ting with discomfort. But for some reason, she did not seem to outright think it was a bad thing, apart from the apparent awkwardness and pressure she'd be immersed in, breathing the same air as the man. The displeasure of the situation was apparent on her face, but there was something else that also came afloat in her mind, they were finally all alone with nothing standing in her way, not Drago, not Karl, not even work, just the two of them, she finally had her chance to speak to him, to appeal to him for a helping hand, she prayed that his soft side would still be in there somewhere and she'd somehow get reach that part of him.She stared intensely at the unsuspecting man as he
The thought of all that exchanged swirled and turned in her mind throughout the rest of the day, she was all alone in the room, with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company. She was sprawled over the bed, restless. Although he had not outrightly decided not to help her he also didn't say anything that indicated that he would. She tossed and turned on the queen-sized mattress of the luxury suite. The bed was placed against the center of a wall right opposite the entrance of the glamorously spacious bedroom, with top-class hand-carved furniture that looked exquisitely opulent. The complexity of how Ben's mind worked was puzzling to her; he'd beat up a defenseless man in a feat of rage within an inch of his life, and he'd make her do all sorts of unreasonable things, but then he suddenly drew the line when it came to her to make her pull off her clothes. He was unreasonable enough to warrant adding 'sexually exploiting man' to his tags. The scent he carried still lingered around an
She stood there and watched him as he wrapped up and got onto the bed. Without even caring to look her way, she scanned the room for a suitable place to lie down, and then her eyes darted toward the couch, without a second thought she strode slowly toward the sectional couch. Lying on a sofa wasn't comfortable for her, she was a little tall and her entire length could not fit well on the couch, leaving her legs propped up over an arm of the cushion. she managed to squeeze herself somehow onto the foamy structure. The comfort of sleeping on a proper bed was worlds apart from sleeping on the couch, but even so, she preferred that, by far to sleeping on the cold bare floor. It was better. The next day, Ben had to leave early also and she did not see him go because she was too deep in sleep. When she woke up, her neck was sore. Twisting and turning was made impossible cause of the size of the couch, so it made her position her neck and body in unnatural ways, being that much of a d
She turned slowly to meet the gaze of the person who just called her, it was someone she did not think she'd be seeing anytime soon, someone she'd rather not see even. "Clarice?" she asked." It's been quite some time""I know right?" She tilted her head fetchingly "What are you doing here? " her eyes glistened with curiosity and delight, at meeting someone she hadn't seen in a long while, somewhere far way from home. She embraced Aliyah who was still reeling in the shock of meeting Clarice here. She tried to maintain the look on her face, enough to look glad to see her without giving herself away. "I came with someone actually" she paused "What about you? ""Oh I'm here with my father, he goes nowhere without me these days, he can't seem to let me out of his sight" she quipped Clarice was a close friend of hers, she used to spend most of her time around her when they were younger. "Strangely, you know," she continued. "we've been in the same city for such a long while, and even
3 DAYS LATERBen hadn't had much time to pester Aliyah since they returned and she was beyond glad that other things were gobbling up his attention, so much so that he did not look her way. All she was doing was either staying in her room or watching the house help do their thing and also helping them out if need be, she still had a task he had given her after all. Since the day she was made to clean the whole house, she came to understand just how difficult and intense the work of housekeeping was, and the effort and dedication they put into making and keeping the entire space flawlessly clean. "Anything I can help with today," Aliyah asked with a smile on her face. Viola had helped her out during her illness and since then she had felt somewhat indebted to her, plus, she also found her to be someone she could talk to, kind of like a friend in this hellhole, "Don't worry Miss Aliyah I wouldn't want you to break down today" she joked. While fervently cleaning up the tabletop. Aliyah
"Thanks a lot, Aliyah, thanks for standing up for me, you saved me back there" Viola smiled faintly. To think that she was saved from losing her job by Aliyah, for now, was unexpected but a welcomed development. "Don't worry about it," but it is not even over, If I don't find a way to make something appealing to him he'll still—" she paused, frustration evident on her face. They both knew what was at the end of that statement she was making. "That's the first time I've seen him rethink his decision to fire someone, he must have a soft spot for you."A soft spot? For me? Aliyah almost found herself breaking out in laughter, that was an inconceivable joke, she could not even imagine such a possibility. Never, nothing the man had done so far indicated such. the closest thing to whatever they could have between them was hatred. Nothing more. "I don't think so" she brushed off the idea. "I'm sorry I got you dragged into my mess, I'm really sorry" she apologized, her tone carrying a hint
She stepped into the kitchen, joyfully and without a care in the world, strolling across the room with a smile on her face after such a silly stunt. After opening the refrigerator she picked up a bottle of water, and her eyes caught a glimpse of a drink that seemed exquisite, Aliyah's interest was piqued so she decided to reach for it. It seemed like it would taste nice and she just couldn't wait to have a feel of it, she did not know who had put it there and did not remember seeing that this morning, either way, her curiosity got the best of her. She smiled, examining the contents of the bottled drink, contents which would soon be filled down deliciously by her. Ben's angry gaze flashed through her mind, but she shrugged it off. With the bottles brimming with Juice and water in her hands, the sole items she intended to take, Aliyah wore a satisfied smile. However, as soon as she forcefully shut the refrigerator, an unnoticed shadowy figure materialized right where the opened refr