I had no idea that twenty minutes would turn into more than three hours for Lucas and he was still not out of the building. I had been sitting next to the glass pane, waiting for him to show up but there was no sight of him and my frustration was at its peak. The sun had set, and he still hadn't arrived. I wondered what was wrong with Lucas for the past few months as he had been neglecting me and it really was hurtful. I realised I had already gulped down three hot chocolate mochas when Uncle Jay called. I already had a lot on my plate and more kept coming. When I checked my phone, I found that he had called me eleven times. He could have called me for one of the two reasons: Bella should have told him everything or the bitch should have informed my dad herself.
It was extremely exhausting for me because he kept calling me constantly when I was already filled with a mix of emotions. When I answered his call, he asked, "Anna, where have you been? Dad has been waiting for your response for a long time, and he wants you to reach him as soon as possible. Send me the location right away, and I'll send you the guards to pick you up," he said all in one breath. He sounded anxious and I'm sure Dad would have whacked him.
"Uncle Jay, I know Bella told you everything, and yes, the teacher insulted me in front of everyone. But I'm not stupid enough to repeat the same mistake to consult her again and I know how to take care of myself, so please, for God's sake, leave me alone," and I hung up the phone.
I'd been sitting on the same couch, not moving an inch, staring at the people walking down the street, enjoying themselves with their loved ones. But all I was doing was just sitting there, eagle-eyed, waiting for my guy to arrive while constantly looking at the door. I was irritated by everything that had happened in the last few days and desperately needed to blow off steam. I plugged in my earphones and stared out the window and soon drifted into another world where it calmed me down a bit. Ms Finn's tone of voice, the words she chose, the way she insulted me and moreover insulted Bella right in front of my eyes. The incident replayed in my mind like a movie, and I felt compelled to do something to prove that I was Mr Roy Williams' daughter. At the same time, Lucas was keeping me waiting for so long, not returning my calls or responding to my texts. Like Bella, I ceased to have doubts about Lucas because he hasn't been concentrating on me lately, and I'm not sure if he was working or perhaps seeing someone else.
Everything was perplexing me, making me feel cramped and suffocated. When I looked up, a vibrant flash of light struck the ground, followed by an extremely loud clap of thunder. I admired the lighting, which was stunning. If it wasn't for the café owner's puppy hiding under my table in fear, I wouldn't have realised how serious the weather was. As I took off my earphones, there were people rushing out and only a few people entered the cafe drenched in rain.
Nobody had expected the weather to change so abruptly and when I looked out the window, I saw dark clouds on the horizon, slowly blanketing the sky. When one of them asked to change the channel to the headlines, the news reporter announced that a storm was on its way to hit New York in the next six hours, and people who were outside were advised to seek shelter. The first person who came to mind was Lucas and when I called him, he did not answer. So, I texted him, "What the hell is the matter with you? Why have you been avoiding me since this morning? You know me well, so why are you doing this to me? A hurricane appears to be on its way. I'm really scared Lucas, please come and take me with you," and yet again, he didn't respond. When I checked our texts later, I found that he had read my text just ten minutes before and had chosen not to respond to it. When I tried to call him, his phone was switched off. So, I dialled Harold's number, and he, too, did not answer the phone.
It made me worry even more when Harold too, didn't pick up the phone and my mind began to wonder what if he was doing it all in purpose, did he have another side of his life which was making him do all, not even his secretary was helping the situation. I kept calling him in fear, but the fucking weather decided to screw me over by not allowing me to reach them as my phone lost its signal.
When I looked out the window, I noticed that all of his office's employees were leaving quickly which made me scan everyone who walked into and out of his office. My eyes kept searching for the person I wanted to see but as time passed, I was sure that Lucas and Harold didn't leave the building that night. While I was thinking of ways to connect with them, I remembered him speaking to someone on the phone in an aggressive tone yesterday while we were watching a movie and when I asked who it was, he said it was something related to the office. Trying to figure out a way with no solution to anything, I was on the verge of crying thinking when I had the worst day and needed him the most, he was not there. That's when Harold called me back, at last, literally after summer.
It felt like a relief that I had gotten some positive response after a very long time and when I answered the phone, I began to fume. "What the hell is wrong with you two? Why are you punishing me like this? Is he all right? Why is he always playing with my emotions? Why is he not returning my calls? And why did you even bother to dial back this late? "Where the hell..."
"Anna, Listen! "
He sounded out of breath as he said, "Sir has an important meeting today, so he won't be able to make it."
"What? Is it that so damn fucking important for him not to pick up my calls even for a minute? Lucas has never been this way. So, Harold, don't give me this bullshit answer and what is happening," I asked, my voice shaking.
"You won't be able to meet him today, so leave before the storm hits even more," he said, holding his breath.
I'm not sure what it was, but I had the perception he was giving me a white lie and when the ambulance passed by, it echoed through the phone too. It proved that they were in the office all the while and Lucas was in too, making me wait all the time.
"Lucas and you in the office, isn't it? Harold, don't try to play me for a fool, and this..."
"ANNA. Will you just pay attention to what I say? Just do what I say," Harold said, raising his voice to me for the first time. His voice was breaking and I could tell he was afraid of something while he was trying to keep me away from it. I have never heard him raise his voice ever to me and is making me leave the place by hook or crook, maybe he is trying to help Lucas, hiding his secret.
"ANNA, GO HOME, SAFELY, BEFORE THE STORM HITS YOU. All I can say is that I don't want you to get entangled in this whirlpool and suffer for the rest of your life. So get out before the storm comes, it's a warning for your own good," he said as he hung up the phone.
I was already perplexed but he rubbed salt in my wounds by making me wonder what he was trying to convey to me. When I called him back, he hung up the phone.
As he stated, I am suffering and will continue to suffer for the rest of my life. I had often wondered what would have happened if I had taken a cab home instead of taking a different route. Will my life have turned out the way I wanted it to? What would have happened if I had arrived at his office earlier? Perhaps I would have been in that position of hell.
Since I had nowhere else to go or do anything, I decided to leave with exhaustion and disappointment thinking what a loser I was in my life. But suddenly my eyes fell on a car entering his office, which happened to be Lucas' personal car which he used for his daily routine. Where had Lucas been all day if he was just getting into the office? Why Harold, even though being with Lucas didn't want me to come to the office and acted to be the boss, ordering me to go home. What was the truth? I had a feeling then, that something was going to happen and I didn't want anything bad, just wanted him to be with me. I had a belief that Lucas and Harold were trying to hide something from me and needed to know right away what it was. When I looked to the side, the viper on the car had switched to the fast phase and I noticed a girl driving it. So, it wasn't Lucas but a girl in his car.
I couldn't see the face properly because she made a sharp turn into the parking lot, but I knew it was a girl for sure. What makes a girl want to ride in his car? He'd never let me touch that car because it was special to him; it was only for him and his important meetings so why give it to a random car. It added to my doubts about him, and I wondered why a girl would enter his office in the middle of a storm.
I was desperate to find out what was going on, so I ultimately went inside to get all the answers to my questions. The rain was heavy and I quickly grabbed a random umbrella from the holder, dashing to the other side of the road. When I entered the valet parking, I tossed the umbrella to the side and to my surprise, there was no security present, which was never a case in his office, even if the world was about to end. Wait, Lucas should have told them to leave, I believed. Even though it is located in the middle of the city, it appeared to be haunted. Everything that happened that evening around me seemed suspicious and things became increasingly twisted as time passed.
I checked to see if his car was there, but I couldn't find the car in which the girl drove and arrived. Instead, there were two black Benz cars, which he usually drives to his office.
But I was certain she came to this valet because there was no other way out or in. When I checked the security cameras, they were turned on, so I hid behind the pillars for no one to spot me. My brain began to work really at a rapid pace and started to find even small details to be suspicious. Before going inside, when I checked one last time for any clue about their whereabouts, I discovered tire imprints on the floor which was a recent one. As I followed it all the way, the car was parked at the corner, and realised there was another way out, unknown to me.
I had been to his company numerous times and only then discovered that there was another way out which made me feel that did I even know him at all. Immediately I checked my pockets to see if I had the access card to his office and took the stairs instead of the elevator to keep him from realising that someone was in the building. It was pitch black, and I had to rely on the torch of my phone to make it all the way up to the sixteenth floor. It was killing me, and I was out of breath very soon, unable to climb further. My energy had completely drained by the time I reached the eighth floor and I took a minute to catch my breath.
I wouldn't have taken even five steps to the ninth floor when I heard a loud thud. It almost scared me and when I went to see what it was, there were only a few boxes on the ground which made my heart race. Someone had pushed it down and my mind kept telling me that there was someone else there, beside me. I felt the presence of another person on the same floor, but ignored it because I knew I overthink things a lot. I was completely exhausted by the time I got to his floor and my body needed a break from all the things it went through from the morning. The entire floor was devoid of human beings and appeared creepy at its best.
The reception area was dark and had an appearance that the receptionist had left in a hurry, as all of her belongings remained intact on the table. While passing by, the computers on the employees' desks were also not shut and one of the computers still had the tabs open on the screen, with everyone's belongings on the desk. Looking around, it felt strange, as if it was a fire evacuation drill.
Everything was tangled and I was trying to draw conclusions, but kept coming back to the same place. For a while, the conversation with Uncle Jay kept hitting me and connecting the dots became really difficult; the way he spoke to me was unusual and he sounded impulsive.
Is it true that everyone knew about him before I did? Was that why they warned me so many times not to enter that building? Why didn't I trust my mind when it alerted me that something bad was about to happen but still came here? I regret not listening to them; perhaps I would not have fallen into a pit if I had. Maybe the old saying "LOVE IS BLIND" made it factually true. I shouldn't have fallen for him.
He was not the type of person who would leave the office cameras unchecked, turn the entire office building into a haunted land and allow employees to leave their computers partially powered on. He was a perfectionist, who took care of all his possessions without allowing anyone to touch them. I wondered how a random girl could show up one day and drive his car to his office, knowing how much he valued his car. All of these questions could only be answered by the man, but he was nowhere to be seen.
I noticed the door was slightly open as I was about to scan my access card to get in. When I peeked inside, the entire room was dim with the small ceiling lights and all I could see was him standing in front of the glass view window, holding a bottle of rum. I was relieved to know that he was fine. When I walked in, lightning struck in front of him, followed by a loud thunderclap. The weather was really getting bad and the lighting on his face increased the eeriness. I noticed a grin and a look of madness on his face.
He gave off a different feeling that I had never felt before and I was suddenly afraid to move forward due to the ambience in the room. But, yeah, he looked good with his sleeves rolled up, and even though the lights were dim, I could see his body figure perfectly. I deemed surprising him by hugging him from behind and took a few steps, moving silently and on my toes.
"WELCOME, MY LOVE," he said arrogantly, and I immediately got goosebumps all over.
I was about to lash out at him for making me wait and all the other things that had happened, but instead he started saying, "At long last, you have arrived. My love, what took you so long? Actually, no it's not you I had been missing but the control I have over your body," he laughed as he looked down at his glass of wine.
I looked behind me to see if there was anyone else in that room because he was speaking strange. I knew something was wrong when he addressed me as "MY LOVE, " and thought maybe he was looking for someone else? The girl in the car perhaps?
Everything was intriguing and all I wanted was for Lucas to turn around and explain what was going on. When I was about to call him, my gaze was drawn to a gift box on his desk. A present out of the blue, I wondered, was it for me? And also, why the present, because my birthday wasn't until the following month, then I realised he was expecting me to come here to find him, and maybe for all his mistakes, he was attempting to make amends with a gift.
"Lu.. ," I said, but he replied, "the present is for you, but I didn't get it of course," leaving me even more dumbfounded.
I was about to rip my head off, and I was willing to go to any length to find out what he was talking about and who was he expecting instead of me. When I took another step forward, he said, "Don't you think you should have come sooner? Now take a look at your poor little sister," he said dramatically.