Adam headed in the direction that Stella had run into, taking huge strides. He looked everywhere but couldn't find her. He was worried sick. He would have preferred her giving some response to that arse and his assistant rather than running away quietly. He tried to find her in every nook and corner of the hall but couldn't succeed.
He found a waiter standing by the entrance of the hall and decided to ask him.
"Excuse me! Have you seen a girl going out of here? She's wearing a navy blue blazer and black jeans, her hairs tied up in a bun. She's around this tall." He asked him, using his hand to depict her height.
"I think I did, Sir. She was running down the hallway and took the elevator." He said, pointing to the corridor to his right.
"Thank you." Adam made his way to the elevator after thanking him. There were twenty floors in the building, excluding the roof, he wasn't sure which one she took the elevator to but decided to start looking from the roof.
He took the elevator up to the twentieth floor. Exiting it, he made a left turn, taking the stairs he made it to the roof. His eyes looked everywhere for the little lady but couldn't seem to find her.
"Stella?" He shouted at the top of his lungs only to get no response. "Stella? Where are you?" He shouted again but did not get any reply.
Just as he was about to give up and leave, he heard a slight sniffing sound followed by another one. He tried to find the source of the sound looking everywhere. He had a rough idea about the owner of the sounds.
After two more minutes he finally found the girl sitting in an inconspicuous corner all by herself. He went close to her and sat down next to her, taking off his coat. The night breeze was a bit chilly since autumn was approaching. He draped his coat over her shoulders, careful of his actions as not to startle her.
Feeling someone sitting next to her, Stella was a bit shocked but as a familiar scent surrounded her, her senses calmed down a little. She felt a pair of eyes boring into her as if trying to peek into her soul. After a few minutes, she hesitantly looked up to her left.
A pair of gray eyes looked back into her teary hazel ones. Adam felt his soul being sucked away looking at her pitiful state. Her eyes were red and swollen as a result of being rubbed over and over again. She was biting down her bottom lip hard which shivered ever so slightly.
'She must have been crying, sitting here all by herself.' Adam thought to himself. His heart was a mess right now.
"Stella? Are you alright?" He asked her trying to remain calm, his voice as gentle as a spring breeze.
Stella broke down in tears listening to his usual tone.
Adam couldn't hold it in anymore looking at her crying like a child. "Hey hey! What happened? Are you hurt somewhere? Did I do something wrong? I am sorry."
The more he talked to her gently, the more she cried. Adam didn't know what he could do to make her stop. He couldn't stand to see her so broken like this. He threw all his rationality away and engulfed her in a hug, holding her tightly in his embrace.
"It's alright Stella. I am here. No one's going to harm you. I promise." He said, patting her back lightly as if lulling a child to sleep.
No matter what he said, her crying didn't stop. He stayed there quietly, holding her close to him. Stella cried her heart out holding tightly onto his shirt.
After a while, Stella calmed down, her crying turned into occasional sniffing sounds. "I didn't do it." She said looking up at him.
Adam heaved out a sigh hearing her talk finally.
"I didn't do it! I didn't do any of those things." She added in between her sniffs. Adam was confused about what she was talking but soon realized that she was referring to what they had accused her for.
"I know. You don't have to explain it to me." Adam replied to her, patting her back lightly.
His response made Stella's grip on his shirt tighter. Adam looked at her tilting his head back slightly. She looked like she wanted to say something but was hesitating.
"You don't have to talk about it now. We'll talk when you feel like talking about it." He said gently to her.
Stella nodded her head which now rested on his shoulder. "I-I swear, I didn't do it." She said only making Adam frown.
"If you said you didn't, it means you didn't. I trust you. And I don't want to hear another word about it." Adam scolded her, his arms still wrapped around her, holding her close to himself.
They stayed like that for a while. After her emotions were stable, Adam helped her up.
"Let's get you home." Adam said, patting her head.
"What about the event?" She asked, looking up at him.
"What event? I am taking you home and that's final." He said, narrowing his eyes at her.
Stella could only nod in response. Her gaze fell on Adam's shirt which now had a wet patch along with her smudged mascara. She felt guilty about it.
They headed downstairs together with Adam's coat still draped over her shoulders. When they were leaving the ground floor, Adam didn't notice a pair of eyes observing them as his mind was still occupied by the lady next to him. A few minutes later a black Audi left the venue, heading towards Stella's apartment.
Just after the car had left, a girl entered one of the suites. "It's done, Sir." She said, a smile blossoming on her face.
"Good job." A man replied, leaning back lazily against the sofa, twirling a glass of wine in his right hand with a dangerous smile on his face.