Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"You have a really nice place here, Michael." Suzanne complimented as she raised the drink to her lips.

A slight smile touched Michael's lips. "Thank you."

"It must have cost a fortune though," Suzanne continued.

Michael stared at her, slightly swaying in his chair. He outlined the colours of her eyes and lips with his eyes, the pink flush of her cheeks, her thick dark brows.

"It must have cost God a fortune as well," he mumbled almost silently as he took in every perfect details of her face.

"What?" Suzanne didn't quite catch his words.

"Nothing important," Michael replied, a soft smile on his face.

"Can...I use the restroom?" Suzanne asked after a few seconds silence.

"Of course. It's by your right down the first hallway." Michael replied, gesturing at the direction.

"Thank you," She replied, and walked away. She walked down a long hallway with bright chandelier hanging from the ceiling, illuminating the place clearly. Suzanne was heading towards the direction Michael had shown her when she walked past a door slightly open. Suzanne paused, and reversed.

It was dark inside as well, and immediately, curiosity took the best part of her. She moved close to the door, and gave it a gentle push. The door widened further, inviting Suzanne into the dark room.

She swallowed hard, and glanced back to make sure no one was watching before slowly walking into the room. Blindly, Suzanne searched the walls with her hands, looking for any possible light switch she could find. Luckily, her fingers found one, and quickly she pressed with her heart beating sp fast against her chest.

Light flooded the room, and Suzanne scanned around. Immediately, her eyes widened in shock at the sight that greeted her eyeballs.

"What...the hell?" Suzanne cringed, her eyes widening.

The air in the room hung thick and metallic, a cloying scent that clung to the back of Suzanne's throat. The sheer scale of it was terrifying. Racks of rifles lined the walls, gleaming under strategically placed spotlights. The room was filled with different sorts of ammunitions, even the ones Suzanne was beholding for the first time.

A glass-fronted cabinet showcased rows upon rows of ammunition, neatly organized by caliber and type. Brass cartridges shimmered like gold coins, stacked with clinical efficiency. Beside them, boxes of shotgun shells, an opened box filled with fat bullets and a bag of headgears lined meticulously.

Suzanne took in every detail in the room with a look of horror sitting boldly on her face. At the right side, display cases held an array of hunting knives. Some were Bowie knives, the size of small swords, others were smaller, more tactical blades with serrated edges and textured grips. One especially caught Suzanne's eye: a gleaming Damascus steel knife, its swirling pattern like a captured storm, displayed on a velvet cushion.

Her knees buckled making her too weak to stand. But her eyes continued to travel frantically around the room.

A heavy oak table dominated the center of the room, littered with cleaning kits, gun oil, and disassembled firearms. It looked like a workshop, a place where the tools of destruction were meticulously maintained and prepared.

Suzanne’s heart hammered against her ribs, and at the back of her mind, Davey's words appeared; Michael O'Connor is a dangerous man. Stay away from him.

This was a room dedicated to the art of killing, a shrine to power and control. The air in the room pressed against her, heavy with unspoken threats and chilling implications.

She felt a cold sweat break out on her forehead. She imagined Michael, the man she barely knew, moving through this room, handling these weapons with practiced ease. The image was both repulsive and profoundly disturbing. The urgent need to relieve herself was forgotten, replaced by a primal urge to flee.

Backtracking silently, Suzanne retreated, her mind reeling, but as soon as she turned, her eyes fell on Michael's tall frame, blocking the doorway. She screamed, her palms pressed over her lips.

Michael stared at her, and looked past her into the weapon filled room. "You were here." He muttered coldly.

"I'm...sorry for intruding. The door was open. Please, don't me. Please." Suzanne whispered, now very scared of the man in front of her. Come to think of it, she actually knew nothing about Michael. How could she trust him this much?

A smile played across Michael's lips, and slowly, he started to walk towards Suzanne. Her innocent display of fright amused him. She looked ever cuter now, her round eyes etched with a worried look.

Suzanne moved back in the room until her back collided with the wall behind her. She closed her eyes, and waited for whatever was coming to her.

Michael got close enough, and settling his gaze on her face, he reached out with an handkerchief hanging in his hand, and gently wiped off the beads of sweat gathering on Suzanne's face.

She quickly opened her eyes, shocked at Michael's action. She placed her hand on her chest, trying to stable her breath.

"Come on, we don't have enough time on our side, there are things I want you to do before we call it a day." Michael said, placing his palm on the small of Suzanne's back.

Suzanne followed him out dumbly, letting Michael guide her out of the room.

************

"Still shaken?" Michael queried Suzanne who sat across him in the office. On the table, placed in front of them were the contract papers.

Suzanne clutched her mug of hot chocolate which the house keeper had made for her close to her lips. She studied Michael through careful eyes with her tongue heavy with questions she didn't have the courage to ask yet.

"I'm...okay. Should we sign now?" Suzanne asked.

"Don't you have anything to ask me?" Michael asked, picking up his pen. "You look like you have a lot of questions."

"I don't think it's in my place to ask any questions. We are just business partners and should respect each other's privacy. I'm sorry for going into where I wasn't invited." Suzanne replied and cleared her throat. She knew she'd just lied. Yes, she wanted to know what that weapon filled room was used for.

She dropped her mug close on the table, and picked up a pen as well.

"Shall we begin?"

***************

"There's an emergency!" Tiana Harper, Michael's head secretary blurted out, bursting into the control room. Her face was filled with desperation and a frantic look as she approached the men sitting in front of the large screens.

They all turned to look at her, wondering what was going on. They removed their headphones so they could hear her properly.

"What happened, Ms. Harper?"

"I can't seem to log into our official website! I don't know what's going on. I keep on getting the red signal. My God, I think we've lost it to some hackers." Tiana looked scared. She knew this could cause her her job. She'd been in the website, sharing informations of the new stick prices with their investors when the signal suddenly crashed. What had happened?

"We are looking into it, calm down." Craig, one of the men snapped, but Tiana was far from being calm. With their fingers fast and rampant on the keyboards, the men in the control room tried getting into the website but failed every single time.

"I think we lost it. How did it happen?"

"Oh no. He's going to fire me!" Tiana cried. She knew her boss would never condone aby form of loss or carelessness from any of his employees. Tiana was a senior staff who had been working for close to six years now, but she knew that would never stop Michael from taking her out of the job when necessary.

"Tiana?" Naomi called behind her at the doorway.

Tiana turned to look at her, scared at whatever she was about to say.

"I...think you should come tell him. The boss just got here." Naomi mumbled.

"I'm fucked up. Please, can you guys keep on trying? Please, just try a new password...or...or something!" Tiana begged before zooming out of the room.

*****

"Sir, we have a problem." Grayson informed Michael as soon as he walked into the lobby with Suzanne. He'd personally come all the way down to the last floor to be the one to announce the news.

Michael stopped in is tracks, his brows narrowing. "What has happened?"

"The website crashed. I think it has been hacked. It happened when Ms. Harler was updating the new stock prices." Grayson reported.

"What? The official website??" Michael thundered, devastated.

"Yes, sir."

"How the hell dud that happen? What are the control team doing!" Michael flared, hurrying off towards the stairs. Grayson followed.

"They've been trying, but nothing is working." He replied.

"Where is the control room?" Suzanne broke into the conversation, and Michael turned to look at her.

Exactly. How come he forgot what Suzanne had said about being an hacker?

"Right up the corridor. I will go with you." Michael replied, and together, they all hurried to the control room.

"Nothing seems to be working, boss. I also suspect it's an inside work." Craig told Michael as Suzanne took a seat by the screens.

"Just pray she solves this. Everyone of you will pay for whatever loss this will cause." Michael snapped at him.

They watched as Suzanne operated smartly on the keyboards, navigating through strange sites they'd never seen before. The men in the control room stared at the lady's fast fingers, focused eyes and brilliance. It was a pleasant sight to see, and Michael couldn't stop watching her.

She knew exactly what she was doing. Even the blind could see it.

"She's...good..." Grayson mumbled quietly as he watched Suzanne as well. He'd seen many experts working, but the lady hers with ease and experience. She looked like she's been doing it her whole life.

Suddenly, a bright green signal sign showed up on the screens, and Suzanne threw her hands in the air excitedly.

"Yay!!" She laughed happily, turned to look at the men staring at her. "It's done. The website has been recovered." She announced, and got up from where she sat.

"Wow. You...are a genius. How...how did you do all that?" One of the control team asked.

"Well, I just got back what was stolen from us. The hacker is still a baby. I didn't do anything much." Suzanne replied, and glanced at Michael. He was looking at her as well, his eyes deep with admiration.

***********

After they had left the control room, Michael took Suzanne to his office, ordered a steamy cup of coffee for her.

"You saved me a whole lot of losses." Michael someone after a few minutes silence. He was trying his best not to appear to impressive, but he couldn't help it. He had never seen a woman as smart as the one sitting across from him in the office.

Suzanne managed a smile, and shook her head. "It's all part of the deal, Michael. You don't need to thank me."

"I'm not thanking you," Michael replied with impatience, sounding cold as well. "It's a compliment that you deserve."

"Okay..." Suzanne drawled, wondering why he sounded angry.

"You were awesome back there," Michael muttered, reached out across the table, and touched the tip of her jaw.

Suzanne looked at him, startled at his act of affection. She wondered if this act was part of their deal or if it was coming from somewhere else. The touch of his fingers under her chin was warm and chilling. Slowly, she withdrew, letting the fingers slip off.

"We... aren't in our characters right now, Michael."

"Does this look like a played character to you?" Michael asked, his voice sounding icy.

"Then what are you doing?" Suzanne fired back, her eyes glistening with tears she didn't know where they came from.

"I will help you get revenge on your husband. Whatever you need us to do so he can regret ever letting go of a rare gem like you, you just let me know. I'm ready to partner up with you, establish you into the great woman you're.

"This is no longer just a fake show of affection in public. It's a journey of becoming an empire owner." Michael said to Suzanne, and with the stern look in his eyes, she could see he meant every word.

"Why? Why are you doing this for me?" Her question came out in a whisper.

"Because I'm beginning to like you." Came Michael's reply.