Dinner with the
Beaufort (2)
After Alana's classes, the driver picked her up and took her back to the penthouse.
"Good afternoon, Miss. Welcome back," Jane greeted her the moment she walked in.
Alana simply nodded in response.
"How has your day been?" Alana asked.
Jane smiled. "It has been wonderful so far," she replied. "What would you like to have for lunch?"
"Don't worry. I already ordered pizza," Alana replied, and Jane nodded before carrying on with her work.
After freshening up, Alana picked up her phone and dialed her aunt's number. She listened as the phone rang, waiting for the line to connect.
Just when the call was about to end, it connected.
"Hello," she said into the phone the moment the call connected.
She waited for a response but didn't receive one. She removed the phone from her ear, glancing at the screen to ensure that the call was connected before placing the phone back close to her ear.
"Hello, Aunt? Are you there?" Her brows furrowed when she still didn't get any response.
Just when she was about to hang up, someone finally said something.
"Where are you exactly, Alana?" Ryan's deep voice came from the other side of the phone.
"Ryan?" Alana called his name and glanced at her phone screen again to ensure that she had dialed the right number.
Seeing that it was indeed her aunt's number, she placed the phone back close to her ear.
"What are you doing with your mom's phone? Where is your mom?" she asked.
"She stepped out a while ago. I don't think she'll be back anytime soon. And I'm cloning her phone," Ryan replied casually.
He lay on his bed in his dark room, lying on his side, his hand supporting him, a laptop placed in front of him as he tapped on the keyboards.
"You're what?!" Alana was slightly thrown back by his reply.
Just when she thought he was being serious, she heard Ryan's hearty chuckle vibrate through the phone.
"I'm joking with you. It's just humor, just humor," Ryan replied, a playful smile on his face which Alana could not see.
Alana sighed, wondering what kind of joke that was.
"You didn't answer my question," Ryan said, more serious this time.
"What question?" Alana asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about.
"Where are you staying? Just give me the address so I can come visit you tomorrow and also get acquainted with this friend of yours," Ryan said, pausing when a maid entered his room with a bottle of whiskey and a glass in her other hand. "I'm sure I would love him," he added.
"Who said it was a he?" Alana asked.
"Oh, I thought this friend of yours was a he. So it's a she then," Ryan said, his eyes pinned on the maid as she poured herself a glass, gulping it down before setting the bottle and glass on the table and approaching him.
"She doesn't like having visitors," Alana said, making up the perfect excuse she could think of.
Ryan sat up, and the maid climbed onto the bed, straddling him and crossing her hands behind his neck. She tried to kiss him, but Ryan placed a finger on her lips, stopping her.
"Why do I feel like you're hiding something?" Ryan asked, suspicion in his voice.
"I'm not hiding anything. Just tell your mom I called and said hi when she comes back," Alana said in a breath, hurriedly cutting the call.
She placed her phone down and exhaled. Ryan was very smart, and she knew that the longer she kept talking, the more his suspicion would grow.
A knock on the door distracted her thoughts from Ryan.
"Your food is here, Miss," Jane said from the door.
Alana got up and opened the door, taking the pizza box from Jane, mouthing a thank you before closing the door.
Meanwhile, after the brief pleasurable action with the maid, Ryan pushed the woman's passed-out body from his lap to the bed. He picked up his laptop, his eyes setting on the screen, as a frown marred his face.
He got up from the bed, poured himself a drink, and gulped it down in one go. His grip tightened on the glass as his frown deepened.
...
Roman also returned home from work early that day. He simply took his shower and went to the room on the second floor, barely saying anything to Alana.
There was no sight of him until dinner when Jane went to call him down.
Alana would occasionally glance at him as she ate. He hadn't touched his food yet; he was busy tapping away on his iPad.
Pushing her empty plate aside, Alana cleared her throat to get Roman's attention.
"What?" Roman asked, not raising his head to even spare her a glance.
"We need to discuss the curfew you mentioned the other day," Alana paused. "It's not going to work."
"And why not?" Roman asked, seemingly unfazed by what she was saying.
"Because you have no right to enforce a curfew on me," Alana replied.
Roman's fingers ceased their movement, but he still did not look at her.
"You didn't read the final page of our contract, did you?" Roman asked, a smirk playing on his lips.
Alana fell silent as she attempted to remember the contents of the last two pages of the contract, only to realize that she hadn't even given those pages a passing glance.
"Something about um penalties?" She replied, uncertain of her own words.
Roman sighed, setting aside the device before turning to look at her.
"Has no one ever told you to thoroughly read a contract before signing it?" Roman asked, his expression serious.
With her lips pressed together in a tense line, Alana avoided meeting his eyes. She felt foolish for her impulsive actions that day. What had she been thinking, rushing to sign the contract without taking a moment to read it properly?
"Other than the curfew and penalties, there wasn't anything significant in those final two pages, so you can relax," Roman reassured her, redirecting her focus to him. "Regarding the curfew, I can make some exceptions, but I will ask for something in return," he added.
Alana gave him a suspicious look. "What do you want in exchange?" She asked.
"Who knows..." Roman replied, wearing a pensive expression. "We'll both find out when the time comes."
Alana rolled her eyes at him. "I'm thinking of going for a run later tonight, perhaps around 11, if that's okay with you," she said.
"That's not an issue. I'll be waiting for you outside the building," Roman said, and proceeded to eat his food.
"You're coming with me?" she asked, surprised.
"Yes," Roman replied, and Alana simply nodded.
....
Alana tied her hair back in a ponytail as she entered the elevator. She was dressed in her sports attire, wearing a hoodie.
Stepping out of the elevator as the doors opened, she entered the first floor. Her fingers fumbled with her zipper as she exited the building.
When she raised her head, her eyes landed on Roman's back. His hands were shoved in his pockets as he gazed up at the sky, as if searching for something.
The road was now less busy, with fewer people walking by. Alana moved closer and stood beside him, glancing at the sky and then back at his face, trying to discern what he was thinking.
"The stars are brighter tonight," Roman commented. "My mother always said that the stars are angels watching over good people from above. She said they were watching over me." He chuckled softly, a bitter undertone in his laughter.
Alana stared at him, sensing the sadness in his voice.
"Maybe she was right," Alana commented as she gazed up at the sky.
Roman scoffed and looked at Alana.
"It's all nonsense. Even if there were angels up there, they wouldn't be concerned with someone like me. I'm not a good person, Alana," Roman said. "Forget about the stars. We should start running. The sooner we start, the better." He said and began jogging away.
Alana watched him for a moment before running after him to catch up.
"Hope you can keep up," she smiled said as she ran past him.
Roman smiled. "Is that a challenge?"
"Maybe," she replied as she increased her pace.
They ran for at least an hour, with Alana in the lead. Although Roman could have easily surpassed her, he chose to stay behind to keep an eye on her in case of any mishaps.
After the run, they returned to the penthouse. Alana headed straight to the room, while Roman stayed in the living room.
He picked up his phone and dialed a number upon seeing ten missed calls from the same number. Although the number was not saved with a name, Roman recognized the caller.
The person on the other end of the call said something that caused his entire demeanor to shift.
"I'll be there in an hour," he said, before hanging up the call.