Chapter 43: Chapter 43
Alex
"Oh yes you are," Adrian’s sarcastic drawl fizzled through the earpiece. "But we have to get Thea out of there first."
"We already know where she is."
"Yeah but I can’t go in there without Simon suspecting me. I’ve got the file by the way. Don’t worry, you don’t need to thank me." He added with a dramatic sigh, clearly pleased with himself.
"I don’t know, make a distraction. Just do something to get his attention, I would’ve helped but I’ll have to keep this woman busy." My eyes flickered to the receptionist who was doing a terrible job pretending she wasn’t trying to eavesdrop.
"Thanks to me, she still thinks you’re in the bathroom."
"Thanks buddy. Now she thinks I’m battling for my life on a freaking toilet seat." He shot back with exaggerated offense. "Just the image I wanted to leave with the pretty lady. To think this is how you repay me for saving your ass."
"Relax, you’ll live." I rolled my eyes. "And look on the bright side, she won’t expect much from you now."
"Mhmm."
"Just get that girl out of there so we can leave this damn place." I said, ignoring him. "We’ve already spent far too much time in here."
"Sure thing boss."
My brows furrowed. "Don’t call me that."
"Noted. So...Supreme leader it is?"
"Can you ever be serious for just a few damn minutes?" I bit out.
"What are you talking about, I am serious."
I let out a small sigh as I shook my head wearily. "Just get the girl Adrian. I trust you’ll be able to do that in three minutes?" My eyes darted to the receptionist again.
"I can try, but don’t hold your breath."
"Three minutes Adrian. I’ll start the countdown." I said, knowing fully well he could handle it in less than two minutes.
Satisfied with the plan, I took the phone out of my ear and made my way to the front desk returning to my unfinished business—with a smile playing on my lips of course.
And just like I had expected, it wasn’t even up to a minute before Adrian strolled out with that confident smirk on his face.
When the receptionist gave him a questioning look as to why he was coming from the side of the office that definitely didn’t lead to the bathroom, he quickly said, "Yeah I may have gotten a little lost, this place is like a labyrinth. Tell your boss to hand out maps next time, okay?"
"But..."
"Can I steal my friend for a while? Thank you." He began dragging me away without waiting for her response while my eyes flicked around for a tiny now hazel eyed troublemaker. "By the way, your eyes are gorgeous."
"Do you always have to flirt with every woman you set your eyes on?" I asked when he pulled us near the elevator.
"I can’t help it." He shrugged before narrowing his eyes at me. "And I definitely needed to fix my reputation after someone ruined it for me."
Ignoring his stupid comment, I proceeded to ask about the only thing that was bothering me at the moment—though I wasn’t quite sure why it did.
"Where’s Theadora?" I lifted a brow, my gaze drifting towards the hallway that led deeper into the building—straight to Simon’s office.
"She’ll be here any second now," Adrian said, sounding way too proud of himself. "I called for his assistant using his office phone, and I also called Theadora with my own phone, pretending to be a neighbor who just saw her brother coming home. Just incase her phone was on speaker." He further explained when I gave him a confused look.
I narrowed my eyes. "You took her number from my phone."
It wasn’t a question.
"I only took the number alright?" He said defensively with his arms raised. "I didn’t go through anything else I swear." He let out a small chuckle.
"Anyways his assistant should be looking for him right now and Theadora should be making her way out of there so we can go now."
"You really think Simon is going to let her walk away just like that?"
"Oh I know Simon and he definitely won’t. But I also know Theadora—even though I just met her today—and..." Adrian paused his lips curling into a knowing grin as his eyes flicked to something behind me, making me do the same. "There she is."
I turned just in time to see Theadora approaching us with a calm, knowing smile tugging at her lips. "Yeah...unless you two are ready to answer a lot of questions from that crazy psychopath," she said, nodding subtly in the direction of Simon’s office. "I suggest we leave now." She said before slipping into the elevator.
Adrian and I exchanged a glance, but her words quickly drew our attention back to her. "But of course if you guys wanna stay I have no problem with that. Just know that I won’t be joining you..." she added with a grimace. "Actually, I think I’m about to throw up." She mumbled that last part to herself with her nose crinkled in disgust and her hand resting on her stomach.
"Um okay then." Adrian muttered before turning to the receptionist and whispering a few things that I didn’t bother to catch. My attention had already shifted as I joined Theadora in the elevator.
She leaned against the side of the elevator deliberately avoiding eye contact as her fingers scrolled idly across her phone screen. "You’re welcome." She said coolly, eyes still glued to the screen. "...even if I knew you weren’t going to thank me anyways."
I scoured through my head searching for something—anything—that sounded remotely appropriate to say to her, but I came up empty. Just when I finally pieced together a reply, Adrian dashed into the elevator, tapping the close button frantically like his life depended on it and when I raised a brow in question he grinned at me.
"Well...let’s just say Simon isn’t exactly thrilled about being played." His gaze bounced between us and knowing how he was, it wouldn’t take long before he sensed the tension.
Great.
The last thing I needed right now was Adrian trying to play peacemaker.
As for Simon knowing that he’d just been played, well, there was no reason for me to worry about him now.
As a matter of fact, he should be the one worried about me. It’s only a matter of days before his time runs out. He should better pray I don’t find him then.
"Whoa, okay," Adrian said suddenly, cutting through the silence like he’d read my mind. "Your murder face is showing again. Maybe dial it back just a little bit? We’re still in a moving box and I’d rather not be trapped between you and your homicidal thoughts."
I shot him a look making him throw up his hand in mock defense with a deep chuckle.
"Hey, you okay?" He said to Theadora as the elevator doors finally slid open.
"Yeah I’m fine." She flashed him a weak smile as we walked towards the car. "I’m just glad that’s all over." She gestured towards the building.
"Yeah, me too. What even happened to your earpiece?"
"Broke. But don’t worry I didn’t leave it there." She said as we approached the parking lot and suddenly the thought of sitting next to her in a cramped car made my chest tighten so I decided I’d sit in front instead.
But apparently my plans were thrown out the window when Theadora spotted a couple of security guards heading towards us.
"Umm, is it just me or are those..."
"Shit." I cursed, taking in the group of men in black. "Get in the car."