Deep in thought, Chloe wondered when she was going to get that one lead she was looking for. Time was moving fast and having nothing to do but chores upon chores was starting to get on her nerves.
True, it was part of her work so she had to be very patient and vigilant to get what she was there for. But, she didn't have all the time in the world to spend months in a huge house working her butts off. She had issues of her own to deal with.Her hand clenching the edge of the tiled surface, Chloe let out a swear word.Then, her train of thought drove in another direction.Recalling Gabriel's and most importantly Amir's words about Nathaniel liking her, she wondered if she wanted to use that channel to get what she wanted.Toying with real emotions was something that could become dangerous for her.She let out a huge sigh, nothing was clear to her anymore. Maybe that was because her reason for being there was not yielding results. Assuming she had gotten that one lead she was so desperate for, she would at least know how to go about things then.“There you are,” Lucille's voice cut her thoughts short. Her legs skimming the surface of the water body, Chloe looked up at her and her mouth had to fall open a bit.Perhaps it had been a while since she saw Lucille, but her obvious weight loss was crazy. Crazy in the sense that it had been just four days since she last saw her and she was definitely looking okay the last time they briefly exchanged glances.So, Chloe just had to ask concernedly, even though she still didn't like her, “Lucille,” her eyes roamed her protruding collar bone. “Are you fine?”“Yeah, obviously.” Even her eye sockets seemed to be gradually swallowing her eyeballs.“You don't seem fine Lucille.” Chloe insisted as she got up from the edge of the pool and stood at eye level with her.“I…” A small pool of tears had already formed in her eyes and it seemed for a moment that she was about to say something, but a second after, she had a scowl on her face.“It is none of your business if I am fine or not.”“I know we don't like each other, but I am willing to help you the way I can with whatever.”Lucille let out a shaky breath, her hands fisted as though she was trying desperately to not let a secret out. But, like earlier, that look of sadness and pain disappeared and got replaced with a sneer.“Mind your business. I just came to tell you that Gabriel needs your help with some stuff in the library.”“Okay.” Chloe wondered what it was that was wrong with her. But she decided to not bother herself much about it as she watched Lucille leave. After drying her feet and putting on her shoe, she made for the house.She was already a few feet from the library when she saw Nathaniel come out of his room dressed casually in a fitted tee-shirt and skinny jeans. Immediately, without thinking, she threw herself into a dark space that just happened to be close by.Chloe watched quietly as he suspiciously surveyed his surrounding.'He must have sensed my sudden movement.' She thought as her teeth gritted in an unfamiliar manner. She was acting like she did him wrong and the best she could do was hide from him.Now, that was just wrong.What was more wrong was the manner with which her heart pounded as he walked by with his head buried in his phone.As she left her hiding, Chloe had to ask no one in particular if something was wrong with her because even after his scent had left, her chest was still racing like he just confessed his love to her.Frowning, Chloe managed to keep her system a bit calm and as she did, she analyzed her earlier reaction. So many thoughts flew to and fro as she made for the library and those thoughts were just rather silly.So, Chloe did what she does best. She ignored her earlier silly, dramatic reaction.~"Why don't you girls have dinner with us this evening?" Gabriel said to break the crazy silence that ensued after their meal had been set on the table."Uh? Really ?” Lucille asked a bit too excitedly, Chloe had to roll her eyes. At that moment, her drastic leanness was not a concern anymore.“Sure.” Nathaniel who had just entered replied and had his seat. “Is Madam Lugi still around? She can also join us.”“She already left,” Lucille replied as she helped herself to a seat.“Chloe?”“Uh?” Her mind had traveled to the time she had stupidly hidden from him.“Have your seat.” She nod and made for the chair opposite Gabriel. So she was not close to where Nathaniel was but she sure was prone to glares from both Amir and Lucille.Minutes later, they were halfway into their meal which was fried rice.“So how did your day go Chloe?” Nathaniel asked, his cutlery clinking as they kissed his almost empty plate.“Cool, cool.” Chloe gnashed her teeth mentally. What sort of response was that?“That sounds interesting.” She did not even manage to look him in the eye. “Cool, cool?” She heard him ask lowly.“Gabriel, isn't it Donald's birthday party tomorrow?”“Yes. And you know he is expecting you. And I mean, especially you.”“It's like he is obsessed with me or something. I think I should go with someone. Or what do you think?”“Hmm,” Gabriel put his fork down. “It is not a bad idea. Parties these days tend to be boring actually.”“Chloe?”“Yeah?” She managed a straight face as she stared into his blue eyes.“Would you love to go with me?”“Huh?”“It will be like a date.”“A date?” She had no idea why she acting so slow, it was not as though she embarrassed herself in front of him or something. And even if him liking her was what was making her act silly, she needed to get her act together since she didn't even like him in that manner in the first place."I'll go if she doesn't want to.""Nobody asked you, Lucille," Amir spoke for the first time."Uh… sure. But I don't…""Don't worry, I'll take care of whatever you need.""It will be fun, Chloe," Gabriel said, a huge smirk on his face that said- I told you he likes you.“Oh okay.” At that point, Chloe knew she had one more mission. To guard her heart against the man with the gorgeous blue eyes that liked her.“How do you manage to make any dress look good?” Gabriel complimented from the doorway.“Oh, Gabriel,” Chloe said shyly as she played with the end of her curled hair.“I think the dress just happens to fit me. But, isn't this a bit too much?"She looked into the huge mirror that came with the team that had come earlier to take care of her appearance. The dress which was long and black with a bit of silver sprinkled at its silted ends, really took Chloe aback who was just expecting a regular-looking gown.“I think you look amazing.” Gabriel moved closer and stood just behind her to continue admiring her look. “I love how daring your eyes look, it suits your personality even more.”“But what do you know about my personality?”“I know for sure that you have a crazy side that you are managing to keep in check because of your job.” His hand came up to help adjust the strand that was resting uneasily on her shoulder. After, he looked at her image with a small smile that brought out his cuten
Chloe hated the fact that she was finding it hard to get the feel of his lush lips against hers out of her mind. She hated, even more, the fact that it was the next day already.As she almost unconsciously recalled the night, Chloe turned on the tap of the wash hand basin and let the sound of rushing liquid ease her a bit.Nathaniel didn't come back after he left her standing in what one might as well call shock. Instead, after she had stood for almost an hour, he sent a driver to come get her and take her home.It was quite rude of him, but it was established that he did weird things sometimes.Sucking her lower lip in, Chloe got off the toilet seat and walked to the door handle where her smartwatch which kept vibrating was hanging.After she successfully connected her headset, she said, “Agent Pepper here.”“How did yesterday go?”“It was a short night. I noticed a few things though.”There was a brief silence before Agent Connor said, “Do tell .”“Well, Nathaniel Stone seemed to be
Nathaniel kept a hand on his waist as he almost confusedly watched her crawl out from under his bed. “And what on earth are you doing under my bed?” He finally asked once she was standing.“She gets weirder every day,” Amir mumbled loudly earning himself a glare from his friend."Well, I thought you were the one coming into this place with a woman. I definitely won't want to watch you go down on a woman," Chloe kept her arms folded as she talked, her shoulders occasionally shrugging.“But you were listening anyway,” Amir muttered again and the half-naked Lucille beside him nod in agreement causing Chloe to almost sneer at her.“There was nowhere else close by to hide,” Chloe continued her glare at Lucille.“It is okay Chloe. I don't have any issue with you but I have with this man-whore on my bed.”Amir immediately got up. “Who the heck are you calling a whore? Look, pretty boy, don't -""Don't what?" Nathaniel squared his stance and glared back at the seething man in front of him who
“So,” Chloe leaned in on the wash basin. “If it is not a car's plate number, does it at least have something to do with a car?”“No.” Agent Connor made a tutting sound before continuing. “Suarez thinks it might be a coded bank account number. So, I think we could work with that and sees what comes out of it.”“This Miss Sanquire, what do we know about her so far?”“She owns a clothing line and changes boyfriends the way she does with clothes.”“Is she rich enough to pay Nathaniel twenty million pounds?”“Actually, no.” Chloe's ears picked a knock from outside.“I see. I have to go, sir.”“ Good work so far Chloe, just make sure to go about undetected.”She took a look at her dirty uniform which reminded her of the remaining work waiting for her in what Amir called hispersonal space. “I sure will sir.”As the call ended, Chloe turned off the tap, and took a deep breath which she instantly regretted- she had also inhaled dust in Amir's abandoned space. Just when she thought she knew th
Knowing how reluctant her body would be to get up in the middle of the night- especially after the day's work, Chloe had made sure to set an alarm on her phone. And it was currently piercing her ears and doing a good job of keeping her from hugging her pillow closer. As Chloe got off the bed, her eyes landed on the clear night outside and her mind immediately went to the reason she was up at that moment. The screams had a message but there was no way for Chloe to fully understand the message until she found the source of the cries. That was her main problem. It was as though the noise came from somewhere far away this minute, the next minute, the noise resonated all the way to her feet sole. So, she had two choices to work on. She could search for any alternative routes at the two places she had heard the noise. And the other- easy yet difficult- option was to look for the blueprint of the building. “Okay, let's do this,” she said as she checked the time. In no time, she was
Chloe never once thought she would have so many opportunities to step outside once she stepped into the abode of the NAG brothers, but there she was neglecting an expensive gown to put on a more comfortable wear of jean trouser and denim shirt with a very convenient pair of block heels.And... there she was, trying to remind herself not to get carried away with the date, her senses had to be up and working throughout.Chloe wished, she really wished that would be the case. Nathaniel's voice had began to find it's way into her head at night before sleep comes for her. The way he used the word 'craving' the other night made something stir in her.Immediately, she shook her head. Once again, she needed to be focused.In no time, she found her way downstairs which was as silent as an abandoned church, Chloe wondered if no one else was at home but her. Indeed, Nathaniel had sent a message home di
The ride to the clubhouse was a very fast one. Without a doubt, the rush was to make sure the news didn't get out. Chloe doubted that. Such news never wasted time.As she adjusted the strap of her shoes, she wondered if she would find any strong evidence at the scene. It was high time she found that very, very strong lead that would change the game."Does she have to come along?" The grumpy man asked Nathaniel who waved off his question. "But we hardly know her.""You hardly know her. I am not leaving her out here, it is too dangerous." He got down and helped her with her door. Chloe inwardly appreciated his sense of protection, but she would have been able to take care of herself if she were to be left alone.But she was nonetheless more glad that they were allowing her accompany them.Chloe's darting eyes did not miss the two police vehicles around a corner which meant either the cops had come for Amir or they just came to have a crazy n
There was anger evident in his punches. Chloe could feel the rage he was exerting on the poor bag. She had once being in his shoes...in a way. So she could tell the punches were not enough to soothe his anger.Slowly, she made her way into the gym which she had not visited in a while. "Amir..." she called from afar, trying to check if his area was safe to some extent.He stopped the punching and took a quick look back before he resumed dropping blows on the hanging leather bag. "What do you want?" The hitting stopped again. "Are you here to rub some snarky words in my face?""I...""I want to be left alone." Amir's words put a stop to her approaching steps. But that was not enough to turn back a determined Chloe. So, she walked even closer even when the look on his face spelt nothing but anger.With her hands spread out in front of her as though she were trying to create some kind of safe barrier, Chloe said cautiously, "I just want to talk to you.