Chapter 5: Hidden Threats

But just as fast, he regained control, his face carving itself to cold and emotionless again.

Sherry’s heart pounded. What was in that document? What might have happened to Enzo Blackwood to make him so restless?

Victoria’s gaze moved to Sherry, her smile triumphant.

“I wonder…does your assistant even know what she’s gotten herself into?”

Sherry’s stomach twisted. The room felt colder, the air heavy with tension. Enzo said nothing, his grip tightening on the papers.

Victoria’s voice was a taunt, dripping with malice.

“Oh, this is just the beginning.” She stood gracefully, her victory clear.

“I look forward to seeing how this works out. Welcome to Tokyo, Sherry. I hope you survive it.”

Through that, the door opened and her laughter followed her.

The room felt hollow in her absence. Sherry turned to Enzo, but his eyes were glued to the cityscape beyond the glass, his knuckles white as he gripped the papers.

“What… what was that about?” Sherry dared to ask, her voice trembling.

Enzo didn’t look at her. His voice was cold, and controlled, but underneath, she sensed something else.

Something darker. “We have more work to do. This deal isn’t over.”

Without even waiting any more, he marched out of the room, his movements were stiff as if leaving her standing after Victoria's words had hit.

Sherry's thoughts raced, as her heart sank in worry of the things to come. What does Victoria know?

What is she scheming?

And what is Sherry's role in a situation, the details of which she has thus far not been able to fully grasp?

She felt a buzz in her pocket when her phone received a message and the words on the screen appeared.

Unknown Number: “You’re not ready for this. Bail out while you still can.”

Sherry's blood turned into ice. Who is watching her? How could anyone have her number?

She swallowed hard, her gaze darting rapidly back through the doorway; Enzo had swiftly disappeared.

She desperately needed to figure out who was watching her and whoever sent those weird texts from somewhere nearby suddenly.

She needed answers from Enzo before proceeding anyway. She hastily shoved her phone into the bag and hurried out of the conference room, her heels clicking loudly against the polished floor.

Her pulse hammered in her ears loudly as she scanned the surrounding terrain rapidly, trying to pinpoint Enzo's location beyond nearby foliage.

Suddenly she caught sight of him now. He stood near massive windows at the far end of the hallway, his broad shoulders rigid, his back turned away from her suddenly.

Tokyo's skyline glittered faintly beyond the sleek glass, and Enzo wasn't admiring that view so much anymore tonight. His fingers gripped the edge of the document Victoria handed him; his knuckles turned white with intense pressure suddenly. Sherry approached cautiously.

"Enzo." He didn’t turn.

For a brief instant, she thought he would utterly disregard her presence. His voice cut through the silence, low and edged with something fairly dark and intensely menacing, suddenly.

"You should go back to the hotel." Her brows knitted together.

"What? She ought to head back to the hotel now, her brows scrunched up tightly.

“What exactly just happened suddenly? I need to know what's happening now. Something's possibly hidden deep within those pages. Threats?" She hesitated, but there was no point in lying.

Suddenly, Enzo turned his piercing gaze, locking onto hers. Darkness flickered deep within his eyes, utterly unreadable.

Threats she murmured under her breath and there was no point lying now somehow.

"Who else knows you’re here?" he demanded.

She pulled out her phone silently and handed it over his way.

"Besides you? He scanned messages, his jaw tightening rapidly with every harsh word that flashed before his eyes suddenly. He looked up at last with a face frozen solid as stone. He demanded to know who else was aware of his presence now.

Sherry blinked suddenly in slow motion. Who else then? Nobody exists apparently.

"We need to move. Sophie's back in New York now anyway. Enzo let out a harsh breath, suddenly rubbing a hand down his face. "Enzo…."

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her rapidly toward the elevators nearby.

"I’ll explain later. I'll get around to explaining that bit later somehow. Right now we're not safe here.”

The words sent a shiver spiraling rapidly down her frail spine suddenly. Safety seems dubious somehow. Right here somewhere, apparently deep within a heavily fortified skyscraper somewhere in Tokyo.

Elevator doors slid open abruptly, and then Enzo ushered her inside with a firm grip that was not painfully tight. He pressed a button down beneath ground level for parking somehow.

The unreadable billionaire was gone. In his place stood a man on high alert, calculating his next move with military precision.

"Enzo, tell me the truth. Enzo spits it out straight, no beating around the bush. She spoke quietly, her voice barely audible, as she enquired if he knew who dispatched those cryptic messages suddenly.

"I have an idea." Her pulse quickened. "And?" He hesitated, then exhaled. "Someone wants to ensure you don’t interfere with the Tokyo deal. “They're willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure that.”

The elevator dinged, signaling arrival downstairs suddenly. Doors slid open suddenly, revealing a dimly lit parking garage downstairs beneath harsh fluorescent lights. Darkness enveloped a sleek car, its engine already purring softly nearby.

"Get in." "Not until you tell me what’s going on," she shot back, crossing her arms. Enzo’s eyes darkened. "Sherry. Now is not the time to argue."

But she held her ground. "I deserve to know. Are we in danger? Who sent those messages? What does Victoria have on you?" Enzo’s fingers flexed as if restraining himself.

Finally, he exhaled, his expression softening just a fraction. "We’ll talk. But not here. Please, just get in the car."

The fact that Enzo Blackwood, cold, ruthless, and never-pleading, had just said "please" sent alarm bells ringing in her head.

She slid into a seat beside him swiftly suppressing her deep-seated fear. Enzo shut the door behind her rounded car quickly and got into the driver's seat.

He peeled out of the garage suddenly, tires screeching loudly against concrete as doors slammed shut behind him. Sherry gripped the armrest tightly, her heart pounding rapidly against her ribcage.

She had a deeply unsettling feeling Tokyo would soon morph into something far more fraught than merely a business trip.

Tokyo's urban landscape blurred rapidly past Enzo as he navigated through chaotic traffic with remarkably skilled finesse. Sherry cast a fleeting glance at him, taking in a rigid set of his jaw beneath faintly visible tension lines in his grip. "Are we being followed?" she asked, utterly unable to shake the paranoia slowly creeping silently up her spine.

"Not yet. But I wouldn’t be surprised if we soon are." A cold chill washed over her. "Why me? I’m not the one closing this deal."

He exhaled sharply. "You’re connected to me. That makes you a target." His words weighed heavily somewhere beneath surface tension.

Before she could ask anything else, Enzo made a sharp turn into a narrow street, pulling into an underground parking lot beneath a fancy high-rise building suddenly. He parked, then turned, facing her with an utterly inscrutable expression.

"We’ll be safe here for now.” Safety seems assured in this place at present. Sherry trailed behind him silently, her heels clicking loudly against marble floors in a ridiculously lavish penthouse upstairs.

Enzo sat down and called Sherry for brief instructions on her next steps of action in Tokyo.

She took a seat opposite him and watched him lustfully. Even in their present situation he still looks hot. She wondered what it would feel like to run her hand on his well-arranged black hair. She looked from his head to his lips and realized that his lips had curled up into a smirk.

Urh…. he caught her staring at him again.

Are you done

I…um…., Sherry blushed.

"From now on, you don’t go anywhere alone. You don’t answer unknown calls. And you stay close to me."

Her breath hitched. "Enzo…."

"No arguments, Sherry. This isn’t just business anymore. It’s personal." Something in his tone sent a thrill of fear and something else, something deeper, racing through her.

Whatever battle Enzo was fighting, she was now in the center of it. And there was no turning back.