ログイン“I've not laughed this hard in a long time. Were you a comedian in your past life?” Alex joked as he pointed his fingers at Elena, who gave a quiet laugh to avoid awkwardness.“I haven't lived more than once, hey.” Elena said, her gaze hilariously holding Alex's, whose smile looked totally forced. She knew that, but kept the expression on her face composed. She couldn't afford to give up on playing along, not even at this moment when the words they exchanged with each other felt forced.Both of them knew they were trying to keep the conversation alive and not ruin the fun they came to have. Elena knew she was there on a mission to play her role, and Alex also knew the exact reason he showed up late to the restaurant, even though he came up with believable excuses to cover up his intentions.Just outside the restaurant, tens of Dominic's men stood at different corners, communicating effectively with one another and waiting for the next big update. The team leader was inside the restaur
Standing a few meters away from the restaurant, I could clearly see the faces of people going in and coming out of the restaurant. I hadn't heard a word from my team despite the number of people arriving almost every minute.I heaved a deep breath, relaxing my muscles. Everyone was on alert, and no one could just find their way to Elena without our knowledge. A reminder of that was pretty capable of keeping my mind sane.As soon as the voice of one of the members of my team came through, I paid closer attention, keeping my eyes closed. I was hiding in the darkness opposite the restaurant, watching everything from my angle, and no one could easily spot me standing there and doing my job.“They seem a bit livelier now,” the team leader said. He must have positioned himself at the best angle to watch the reactions on the faces of Alex and Elena. “Elena has seen my face and she knows I am part of your team. She looks a bit more relaxed now. I had to keep my gaze away when Alex turned back
“Red Lobster, here I come.” I lowered my head, clasped my hands and placed them below my jaw as I stood in a distance from the most famous restaurant in the vicinity of the hospital. Earbuds remained stuck to my ears as I patiently waited for updates from my men. They had already surrounded the restaurant in clever ways. They didn't have a uniform. That would be a dumb idea. Alex was currently inside the restaurant with Elena, believing in his mind that they had come for a date. Each time a message came from the leader of my team, a smirk would dance on my lips. Alex could be aware of possible secret security guards for Elena, but he definitely didn't know the number of people walking past them every minute to ensure she was totally safe and free from harm.The leader of my team's voice interrupted my thoughts and I quickly closed my eyes to pay full attention to his statement. “They are chatting like they've been friends for a while, but I notice the tension that has now arrived.
“I should check on her sometime but pending the time that happens, extend my greetings to the little girl. Would love to see her again.” I diffused the tension in my head with the short response. Elena nodded appreciatively, trying to not repeat the question. Judging by the look on her face, that was not the exact response she wanted to hear but she took it anyway. “She is getting better and I will extend the greetings.” She said, but she didn't look at my face. I could feel the tension in her voice and body language, but she was trying hard to hide it. Truth be told, I was doing exactly the same thing, but could I be so sure she knew how tense I was? “Place more orders?” I juggled the empty bottles on the trays placed on the table to catch her attention, then she raised her head. “I've had more than enough. Place more orders for yourself if you'd like.” She said with that sweet smile that always made my way in the premises of the hospital. That was one of the many things that mad
Until Alex notified me, I didn't know I was drumming my fingers on the table. Was he starting to realize how anxious I actually was, or was he pretending to be in love with my casual and weird gestures?He looked like a weirdo. Weirdos enjoy weird stuff. I turned to him with a sharp gaze, which made him raise a brow, waiting for an explanation for why I did that.“I was deliberately drumming my fingers on the table,” I said. “I remembered a famous song. I used to sing it during my college days. I miss my friends too.”“That sounds lovely. What's the song?” he asked, his gaze settling on my face as I struggled to think of a song name. Nothing like that ever happened. I just had to come up with something interesting to keep the vibe alive and, at the same time, avoid the weirdness from being addressed.“You have to earn the right to know the name of the song,” I said, giving a soft wink. “Ready?”“Of course, Elena. I'm ready to earn the right,” he said, closing his eyes as soon as I com
I held his gaze as he spoke over dinner in the restaurant. Everything looked peaceful, except my mind. I was waiting to spot any abnormality so I could raise an alarm quickly.Trying to stay calm and composed was a tug of war inside my head. He could go ahead and praise my ability to listen to people’s rants, but that wasn’t the actual case.“I’m so glad I picked this restaurant,” he said, relaxing his back but keeping his gaze on my face like he wanted me to tell my story next and keep the vibe active. But I stayed quiet and only gave a nod.We resumed eating and for the next few minutes, no one said anything to the other. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t tell if it could ruin the plans Dominic already had in mind. I just had to act according to the script.“Maya.” He suddenly called the name and his eyes darkened. My heart jumped out of my chest, but I caught it in time. I heaved a deep breath and pretended to sneeze so he wouldn’t notice my anxiety.“What about Maya?” I asked
The dinner was at the Meridian, which meant the usual crowd.Old money and new money in the same room, pretending they had always been comfortable with each other. Hospital directors and research heads sitting alongside the kind of businessmen who wrote cheques large enough to put their names on b
I was at the hospital by seven thirty.Not because my shift started that early. It started at nine. But the apartment had felt too small that morning and Maya had still been asleep and I had not wanted to sit at the kitchen table with my thoughts for another hour and a half, so I had dressed quiet
The drive back was quiet.Not the comfortable kind of quiet that sometimes settled between Elena and me after a long evening. This was the kind that had weight to it. She was sitting in the passenger seat with her face turned toward the window and her bag in her lap and her hands folded over it,
The three of us were standing in a triangle and the space between us felt very small.The sponsor had already quietly removed himself, which I was grateful for, because the tension coming off both Adrian and Dominic was enough to manage without adding a third person to it. Around us the party cont







