There was an itch in his body every time he saw her. A rush of intrigue when he saw her intelligent eyes and the pretense on her face. It didn't go away. He kept asking himself what it was, and couldn't find a clue. She was mildly suspicious but nothing too intriguing for him to pay attention to, but he couldn't keep his mind off her.
Now, he was fazed.
"Dealing with a religious group like us, really? You and I both know you weren't cut out for that," the other woman said, trying to regain Ladislas' attention. The woman in front of him hit him blow by blow. "Besides, you don't exactly have a lot of friends to keep us away, Ladislas."
"You would be surprised."
"These dogs you comment about are only faithful because you hold their leash." She crossed her arms across her chest, trying to make a point. "We could easily take that leash away from you. So, don't be surprised if your dog bites and devours you whole."
Amused at her taunting, Ladislas let out a chuckle. "Your puny little cult doesn't scare me."
"Quite the contrary. You should work with us, Ladislas."
Ladislas tapped his fingers on the table, trying to figure out this woman's ulterior motive. And then it hit him. "Don't tell me. You want me to hold people's hands and sing kumbaya while healing the sick at your… church." He snorted.
She ignored him. "Ten million dollars," she offered.
What an insult.
Ladislas scoffed at her poor attempt at flattery. She really didn't know anything.
"Ten? It is as if you are intentionally trying not to make a deal with me." The expression on his face was hard as stone.
"Fifteen."
"If they sent you here to convince me to join you, you are doing an awful job at it, sweetie."
"Twenty."
"No," he said sternly.
"Thirty." The woman's stare was blistering, trying to pierce through his steely resolve. She stood up and grabbed her pouch, slowly walking over to Ladislas' side of the table to lean on him.
Once again, his eyes traveled to where Anna was. Only, this time, their eyes met.
Meanwhile, at Anna's table, Lewis started blabbering about something that happened sometime somewhere at university. She politely pretended to listen to him but her eyes darted around the room instinctively.
"Uh-huh," she said. Nonchalance hung in the air as she nodded to what Lewis was saying. Her eyes fell on the handsome man in a suit eight tables away from them. Her eyes were glued to his.
Ladislas noticed that her blue dress hugged her body. The very thin strap of her dress held it together and covered her completely while her short hair grazed her bare shoulder. Despite this, no one in the room apart from her date seemed to stare at her.
He was lost for a second, only to be shaken to reality when he felt the other woman's breath in his ear as she whispered. "Thirty million dollars, Ladislas. Take it or leave it."
Meters apart, she could see the change in Anna's face when she saw the woman he was with.
Ladislas saw vague interest in her eyes but no sign of an overwhelming intrigue.
He turned to the vile woman and leaned away from her. "Money holds no interest for me. Instead, what do you think about selling your soul to me?" He wrinkled his nose shortly after. "I don't think I can salvage much use from it, but if you offer the souls of every member of that weird cult of yours, I might consider joining and having a little fun," he taunted.
The gloomy sternness in the woman's eyes was palpable one moment and then it was gone in the next. Ladislas didn't care to see it, though. He was looking at Anna. She, on the other hand, reacted strangely. One second she was interested and in the next, he had expected mirth or mock exasperation. Instead, her eyes were filled with disinterest.
She was across the room, yet he could see her clearly.
The other woman walked away, the sound of her heels becoming faint by the second indicating that she had left.
Left alone at his table, his eyes never left Anna's direction.
'There was something about her,' he thought. A pull. At first, he thought it was about undeniable curiosity. So, he tried to fill it. Yet he wanted more and more. He was like a gambling man at the casino, never satisfied by a win.
The warmth from the alcohol seared his throat, but it was no match with the heat he felt at seeing Anna.
She stood from her table and made her way in his direction, not leaving the locked gaze they were in.
Anna looked like the epitome of sin to him in that blue dress of hers.
Smiling triumphantly as his student walked towards him, he stood up to regard her. Only, he was dumbfounded when he caught a whiff of the scent of her hair and nothing else.
She passed by him and never looked back.
.
Anna stared at the water coming out of the faucet straight to the drain as she waited for the application to work its magic on its own. Her mind flitted to a certain someone. Her palms leaned on the marble sink of the restroom, contemplating if she should also splash her face to get a hold of the excitement she felt. There was also anxiety.
It was perfectly fine for her to dress up and eat outside. Ladislas Forester's presence didn't change how she would go about her job.
It was just a few more days.
This was all about work and nothing else. She had remained unseen for so long. She got her fix from something exciting, she was well aware of that. But there was no way she would allow it to hamper her work.
She should have never gotten invested.
She should have never gotten emotional and let her curiosity rule her.