Chapter Four: Overstepping Boundaries

She quickly pushed Jerome off her and moved as far away from the couch as she could.

Ryan averted his gaze, cursing his stars for coming in at the wrong time. 'I'm a dead man' he cursed under his breath.

He stared at his boss who was just few steps away from him.

"I didn't mean to boss...I didn't know you were busy, otherwise I swear I'd have waited"

"Ryan," Jerome's voice was as calm as usual "wait for me downstairs"

Ryan's run made Sophie stifle a chuckle.

"Funny huh?" 

"What? I..um..I just-"

"You'll want to re-apply your gloss"

Her face flushed a bright red matching her swollen lips; She bent her head slightly, staring at the floor with faked interest.

"Jerome," he looked at her bowed head and imagined all the things he'd rather have it do other than looking at the floor 'I'll take out the marbles if she continues to look at it like that'

"What's wrong?"

"Um..I'm not sure why Ryan was scared but...I-i know he's really good at his job from what I've seen so far"

He stared at her with amusement on his face- a dark glint in his eyes "Don't worry, he won't lose his job"

"Okay" 

"W-what're you doing?"

he kept on approaching her at a steady pace 

"Do you fancy my bodyguard Sophie?" He gave his usual smirk at her terrified face.

"I-i don't"

'Good, otherwise, he won't see the light of day' he thought within himself,staring intently at Sophie 

(Phone ringing)

"Hi Mum" he winked at Sophie as she sighed in relief, obviously grateful for the second interruption.

"Jerome son, I just got the result...the blood isn't Mrs Richards' "

  He gazed back at Sophie before covering his phone's speaker and leaving hurriedly.

She walked towards the chair and collapsed briskly on it. 'What have I done? What will he do to me now? Thankfully, Mum's surgery is done, I have nothing to lose.

(Phone ringing) “Hello Doctor Byrnes, I called to let you know th-”

  “I already know Miss Sophie”

  “You do?

  “Yes. Some men came over to collect your mother's medical files, how is she?”

  “Oh Doctor Byrnes, the transplant has been done! I'm so happy, mum called earlier to inform me”

  “Thank goodness”

  “Doctor Byrne, I hope we haven't annoyed you in any way? You see, you've been our doctor for years and now we withdrew mum from your hospital only to admit her into another”

  “It's alright Sophie, I'm sure you have your reasons, I'll have to go now..duty calls”

  “Bye, doctor”

 ***********

"Mum, I asked Ryan to get back to me on this, h-"

"Apparently, you were 'busy' earlier this morning so Ryan had to report to me instead"

"Oh-um yeah I was pretty busy"

"What's going on son?"

"Mum, it's nothing really. We need to figure out who did this "

"Seth's on that..the men that were at the security checkpoint know something, but they're refusing to talk-"

"Send me their location, I'm on it(hangs up) Ryan!"

"Boss!"

"Let's go"

**********

  She bounced happily to her room, getting ready to visit her mum at the hospital where she was still admitted, then she remembered - 'I'd have to get the name and location of the hospital'

  “Good evening Mrs Robinson.”

  “Good evening Sophie "

"Um, Mrs Robinson, do you have any idea where Jerome is? I just wanted to go see my mum, and he wasn't in his room”

  “You just missed him Miss, he stepped out few minutes ago with Ryan and they seemed to be in a hurry"

"Oh? (Humph) he just knows how to get on my nerves"

"(Chuckling) Miss Sophie, Sir Jerome always keeps to his words and I doubt this time will be an exception" "Can I get you something to eat while you wait for him?"

"i'd sure love to have your tasty pancakes, if you don't mind"

"Not In the least. Coming right up"

The sofa was very comfortable to lay on after eating.

********

  She could feel someone's gaze on her, she opened her eyes and blinked trying to make sense of the silhouette before her, ‘Jerome?!’ she screamed and sprung up but was quickly caught and pinned down on the sofa, his breath fanning against her face.

She twisted in agony “ughh, please let go of me". She stole a glance at the large grandfather clock--exactly 8pm...'how long have I slept for?'

"Why should I?" 

"You said we'd visit my Mum today, but you left before I even came downstairs (pouting) I don't want to speak to you" palms placed flatly on his chest, she pushed him away roughly.

"You're overstepping your boundaries Sophie Richards" his deep voice made her legs feel weak but she knew showing it was dangerous.

  “Boundaries (scoffs) says the man who wants to sleep with m-” he stopped her mid-sentence with a forceful kiss - she could feel the salty taste on her tongue as he let go.

“Last warning Miss Sophie “ he drawled before getting up and leaving with the speed of light. ‘Huh? He's so weird, and very annoying’ she clutched her tummy in despair

  Mrs Robinson stepped out of the kitchen carrying a tray filled with assorted dishes - fish soup, fried snails and a chilled glass of mango juice.

She gobbled the whole dish down with Mrs Robinson watching in amusement. “You might end up swallowing the plates if care is not taken (laughing)”

  “Oh Mrs Robinson, I was so hungry, that man is sooo mean”

  “Who? your husband, you have him to thank you know?”

  Sophie choked on her food and immediately gulped down her juice.

  “You know, sometimes, I tend to forget that I'm married to him, and all because Mum and I don't have enough money(sniffling back tears)”

“I'm sure it's not that bad, Sophie, Sir Jerome always has his guards up–true, but I'm very sure that once you get past it, you'll realise that he is a really nice person”

  “I think he derives pleasure in torturing weak people, and I'm not happy being his victim”

  “Sophie, darling, I think it's best you don't look at it that way - think of it as a happy marriage between you and your first love; That way, you'll start loving him gradually and naturally”

  “Oh well…the meal tasts very delicious, as usual” she didn't want to ponder much on the topic because she knew very well that she wasn't going to take Mrs Robinson's advice no matter what. Jerome wasn't love-worthy, she thought.

  “(Beaming with pride) Thank you very much, you know..you're the first to ever commend my cooking; every other person eats and leaves, sometimes even leaving their meals unfinished”

  Sophie couldn't imagine leaving leftovers of Mrs Robinson's dish.

  “Well, I don't know how possible it is to leave your dish unfinished, but I do know that if you eventually decide to own a restaurant, it'll be well patronised”

  “Oh Sophie, you never cease to flatter me”

  “Do you know how Sir Jerome would act if he had heard that?” She stood up and walked towards the staircase in a bid to imitate Jerome.

  “(In a deep voice) I see you want to steal my cook from me huh, Mrs Robinson, have you got no other thing to do?”

  They both burst out laughing at the accurate imitation.

  “What's so funny?” Jerome always seemed to materialise at the least expected time.

  The two stopped laughing immediately.

  He continued, “Mrs Robinson, please make something for me to eat” He sat down briskly at the table and quietly munched on the food Mrs Robinson served him.

  “Where are you going?” He looked up at Sophie.

  “To my room” she replied, 'where else?', she thought to herself.

  “Sit with me”

  She glanced at Mrs Robinson who had returned with Jerome's meal, and back at Jerome.

  “But Mrs Robinson is here and I'm sleepy”

  “I'm sure Mrs Robinson is tired from working all day?”

  Mrs Robinson got the message and quickly retired to her room for the day.

  Sophie, on the other hand, sat sulkingly back on the chair and watched as he ate, averting her gaze when their eyes met.

  She was already asleep by the time he finished eating.

  

  The next morning came quickly. She fluttered her eyes due to the blinding light emanating from the windows.

  Her thoughts wandered - it's been a month since she's been here, her mum was fully recovered and would be discharged the next day, she hadn't gone to see her because of the incident but had maintained steady phone calls with her; The doctor hadn't allowed video calls in the first few weeks but after about three weeks, he'd said it was okay to video call; Her Mum's voice even went back to normal.

'I'm so happy she's fully recovered'.

Her mind went back to the previous night, she'd slept off on the sofa while watching him eat.

‘how did I get here? Mrs Robinson went to her room several minutes before I slept off’ Her mind raced as she raised the sheets up vowing inwardly to make sure he paid in any way she could if he defiled her. Nothing.

  ‘(heaving a sigh of relief) Thank goodness’

  She quickly had her shower, brushed her teeth,  and changed into fresh clothes.

  She was brushing her hair when a knock jolted her back from her thoughts.

  “Get ready we'll be leaving for the hospital in an hour” Jerome's voice sounded.

  “I haven't had breakfast”

  “Then go on and have breakfast, your hair looks nice already. And we leave for work from the hospital, I hope you haven't forgotten your own end of the contract” he slammed the door before she could muster up any words.

‘Did he just compliment me?’

Her phone lit up with a text message - 'Won't you like to know why they always stopped you from visiting your sick mum? The Kens aren't good people. Be careful.'

"...."