Athena watches as her captor arranged his desk while paying no heed to her. Jim had already brought the car around but 'the handsome man' had some paperwork to do and so she sat and watched him work. She honestly wished he would be done already, not moving at all made her more anxious. Whether she was leaving with him or going back to her town to face certain death, she preferred any of those outcomes to the deafening and quaking silence as well as the uncertainty that filled the room.
She sighs and leans her body on the door. This catches Aiden's attention and he clears his throat while raising an eyebrow in question of the reason for her sigh. She shakes her head to signal that there is no complaint. He looks back down at his work but this time, it was to pack up. He grabs the papers, stuffs them back into their files, and puts the files on the shelf.
He gets up, walks slowly towards Athena and pulls open the door for her. She walks by herself through the door but with more limping involved than the actual walking process. They get to the stairs and she stops, hesitant to continue and he understands completely. In her current state, she could not go down a flight of stairs without risking free fall. She might end up making a misstep which could ignite her takeoff. He wanted to point out that the building had elevators but he didn't. Rather than do the obvious, he watched her, trying to figure what her next move would be since she was so stubborn.
She put one leg down a stair and took it back, mouthing an 'ow'. She tries a different style of stepping down but still comes up mouthing another 'ow'. He watches her try the same thing multiple times up until the point where he could not take it anymore. He laughs hard and she turns her head to face him looking very irritated and annoyed.
"Is there something amusing you would like to share with the class?" She asks, scowling.
He stops laughing and she turns her head back to the stairs. She finally succeeds in going down a step. She looked so proud of herself that she placed her hand on her hips, looked around, and nodded with a smile. He sighs.
"See, I took the step. Hey, what are you doing?" She protests as he lifts her up and carries her down the stairs.
"What do you think you are doing? Put me down!" She protests.
"You are going to fall, let me carry you", he says.
'You are going to fall, let me carry you'. She had heard this before, she thought. It was an often used phrase but she lived a lonely life, no one cared enough to utter those words to her. She gaped at him, squinting as though she was trying to figure something out.
"You are starring again, it is a very bad habit you possess. You might give people the wrong idea here", he says looking down at her as she suddenly feels bare and naked again but this time, there were no blankets to cover her up.
"Okay, that is enough; you can put me down now. I am capable of walking the rest all on my own", she declares in an attempt to wriggle herself out of his arms but he doesn't let her.
He pulls her back even closer to his chest and holds unto her tighter. She stares at his face as he moves with so much concentration and then runs her eyes down his neck that glistened with sweat from the work of carrying her down the stairs.
He stares down at her and their gazes intercept. She seemed to be peering into his soul. She now appeared so fragile and thin in his arms for someone with a lot of attitude and bullheadedness. He looks away casually and keeps moving.
"Stay put, stop resisting. Don't be naughty, you do not want me to teach you a lesson, Thena", he says and stares down at her again.
Her body feels hot from his stare, the tone in his voice and the words he just uttered had done something to her and she didn't know how to act on it. She looks away, trying to hide the warmth that had made its way up to her cheeks. She desperately tries to shift her focus to anything that wasn't his face and also take her mind off him and the way she felt, being so close to his body. She doesn't even notice that people had been staring at him until she finally looks away from him. She shields her face from the public by burying it in his chest.
"I hope you don't mind, I just don't want them to see my face", she mutters against his chest and his breathing quickens immediately.
"Athena, please don't speak against my skin", he says before shutting his eyes for two seconds and opening them again.
"Oh, I am sorry", she returned.
Her voice had resonated through his shirt and unto his skin. She had affected him and she didn't know it. She looked so innocent and so he pulled her face back to his chest.
"You can hide your face in my chest", he says to her and as she is about to reply, he adds quickly.
"But do not talk against my skin", he said.
She nods in agreement and buries her face in his chest again. After a few stairs, they finally arrive at the lobby. He checks out of the office with Athena still cozy in his arms throughout the process. The receptionist stares at her with distaste, she guessed the receptionist must have seen her when she was brought in unconscious and the rumors circulated.
After all, the whole event took place in front of the company. She had learned to put away the embarrassment she felt being called a thief for survival all these years but the stares she got from the staff and possibly, the customers of the company made her feel so embarrassed and worthless.
He holds her tighter to give her comfort and then, walks out to the open, closing the doors with his feet. When they get to the car, a tall man with brown eyes and brunette hair, possibly in his twenties comes out and opens the door for them. He was dressed up as a pilot and Athena thought he was probably Jim. She went in first and then Adrian followed. Jim closed the door, got back into the driver's seat and drove them away from AB Company, to the airport.
In the car, Adrian and Athena barely speak to each other. They both stare out of their respective windows. She takes her gaze away from the window and settles in on him instead but he does not take notice. She notices the look of anger on his face. His facial features were squeezed in frustration and worry, and that all turned into rage. She swallows and wonders if she made a wrong choice following this man that she did not know. She guessed it must've been her attitude that managed to put him in such a foul mood. She began to dread the sort of punishment that awaited her once they got to Boston. She would have taken off immediately the car pulled up at the airplane hangar but as she stepped out, her legs were not in sync with the elaborate scheme she had prepared. If she ran, it would not take ten seconds for this man to catch her, possibly tie her down and toss her into the trunk.
Athena realized there was nothing she could do and so, she removes her gaze from him and stares out the window again. She sits there in silence but prayed vigorously in her mind that the lord spared her. She didn't believe in the almighty but she was terrified of the unknown and needed something to hold on to at the moment and so, she prayed.
Athena got bored of staring out the window and also tired of trying to hide the fact that she had been stealing glances at this man, she would stare for a while and once she noticed his face moving to face her side or forward, she would stare out the window as quickly as possible. As she is about to drift off back to sleep as a result of tiredness and body pains, the car comes to a halt and she sits up. Adrian and Jim both get down, leaving her in the car. She was not sure whether to follow suit or stay put and so, she stayed put. She watches as Adrian walks up to a man clothed in black pants, a baggy turtle neck sweater, dark boots, and dark shades. They converse very casually and then, they both start to tread towards the car. She waits for them to get to her and on reaching the vehicle's position, her captor opens the door.
"Step out, Miss Ellis", he utters, sounding more formal now and then the other guy opens the door on her other side.
"Mike, this is Miss Ellis. She is the one flying with me tonight", he says.
Mike offers his hand which she takes and he pulls her out of the car. Mike keeps a weak smile softly as he supports her and they both make their way to the jet with her captor walking behind them. She looks back at him and then looks forward again, she was in no position to request favours from the boss of a multibillion dollar company. She had no say in the matter but she had thought he would carry her again. That moment it seemed, was over.