CHAPTER TEN
MALVINA:
I stab the trowel into the ground with much force than needed, and gather the soil in a pile. "I hate doing this!" I grab the small sapling and place it in the small dug up space. "Hah! Why is it so hot today?" I wipe the sweat off my face and pat the soil around the plant. The events from a day ago replays in my mind.
'Malvina, I have a small request for you. As you know, I have to visit my hometown again. I want you to look after the place for a week. Don't entertain any guests, the hotel will be closed till I return. And remember, under no circumstances should you let anyone here. Okay?"
Ms. Lily, each year around the early fall, visits her hometown. I know nothing about it, nor have I ever seen anyone in her family. No one visits. She never talks about it. Ever. But, like a ritual, she always goes to them.
Strange thing is, she never asks me to look after this place, at least not in this sense. It's always left locked up, leaving the staff and us behind. This time seemed a little different. Like she wanted to hand me some kind of responsibility.
I sigh and pick myself up. "Ah! Finally." I rise from my position.Ouch, my back hurts!" I do a few stretches. I look down at my clothes, covered in dirt.
My white shorts are stained with soil marks and my discarded cardigan is on the ground. I removed it a while ago, and now only in my white camisole.
I take a deep breath while massaging my shoulder. A few tendrils of hair escape my loose bun and I tuck them behind my ears. "So much for not yelling at me, it was her idea of punishment. All because of that dark-eyed idiot." I speak to the empty air. My mind drifts back to him. Warm breath against my face. Strong arms carrying me. That intense stare.
The truth is, I haven't been able to stop thinking about him since that night. It's as if he has imprinted himself on my mind. Him. His dark stare. His sinful smile. Even his stupid smell, which is not stupid at all and reminds me of a deep forest, covered in fog. It was a one-time meeting and sadly- no- good thing that I will never see him again. Sigh.
"Are you calling me an idiot?" I jump at the sudden sound, falling face-first into the ground, almost.
His strong arms cradles me, close enough to feel his warm breath on my face. I feel my heart beating wildly in my chest, heaving as if I ran a mile. He looks at me, no, he stares at my soul, devouring me with those eyes, which never left my mind since the day I saw them.
"Are you always this clumsy?" His husky voice penetrates my ears, but my body doesn't respond. A stupid 'Yes' leaves my mouth and I instantly regret it. The corner of his mouth tips up for a fraction of a second and that does weird things to my mind. I wonder how beautiful his smile must be.
"Yo-u?" I pull away from him, fumbling with the hem of my shorts. He looks at me, up and down, he grits his jaw and removes his suit jacket. Before I can utter anything, he walks towards me and pulls in over my body, buttoning the first two buttons.
I look over his shoulder to see a tall man, in a black uniform, suit, and tie. Does he follow him everywhere? Is he the bodyguard? He just stands there like a wall, starting straight into, God knows what.
I look at the jacket over my body, navy blue, then at him. Except for the scowl on his face, he looked every bit like a runway model. Black shirt, and an open top button.
I clear my throat, "Why are you here?"
"Given our last interaction, I hoped you would be a little sweeter than this."
"Sweet? Our interaction where you carried me like a bag of potatoes and forced me to sit in your car?"
"No, one where I sincerely offered to take responsibility, get your injury checked and drop you home like the gentleman that I am." He shrugs.
"Ha! Gentleman? If that's what being a 'gentleman' is, I don't wanna know what your 'not being a gentleman' is like." I scoff.
He takes a lazy step toward me, and I take one back. "Hey, stand there and talk." I extend my arm to shove him, but instead, I step on the trowel. He grabs my arm and pulls me closer. He grabs my chin in a tight grip and makes me look at him.
"This mouth of yours, darling. It will put you into trouble one day." He places his mouth near my ear and whispers, "But don't worry, I can take care of that." My breath hitches. I grit my teeth and turn my face away. "And I am sure you will like my not gentlemanly side even more." He pulls away, leaving me frozen in place.
"Enough with the chit-chat, darling. Now will you kindly show me the way? I have a business to discuss with Ms. Lilith Rosa." He starts walking towards the double doors of the hotel. I realise that I have never heard her last name and was never curious enough to know.
Her name is Lilith Rosa. A strange feeling invades my mind, that name "Rosa", I have heard it somewhere. But where?
I walked up to him."Let me." I open the door and let him and the other man walk inside. We walk down the corridor, towards Ms. Lily's office. We stop in front of the dark wooden doors and I knock twice.
"Come in." I open the door and step inside.
"Aunty, someone is here to meet you." Before I can turn around, I feel his presence behind me. The temperature drops and a sudden silence echoes in the room.
"Hello, Lilith. It's been a while." His voice, ice cold, sends a shiver through my whole body. I look at Ms. Lily, she looks calm, a small smile appears on her face.
"Malvina, give us some privacy." Ms. Lily's words make me leave the room. I walk out and close the door, not before catching a glimpse of his face, now stone-cold, gone from the previous soft edge.
I stand outside Ms. Lily's office door, leaning against the wall. It has been quiet for a long time, it's been almost fifteen minutes and no sound can be heard.
What are they even talking about? I press my ear on the door, a faint sound of Ms. Lily's voice penetrates my ears. "And do you think that it won't affect you?" What is she saying? A few more incoherent words later, a loud crash echoes in the room. Something broke, a glass object. What is going on?
A second later, the door flies open. I stumble back, steady myself and am about to run away, when a strong grip tightens around my wrist.
"How much did you hear?" I am met with an angry Adrian, a concerned bodyguard, who appeared out of nowhere after walking out of the room, and a worried Ms. Lily.
"How much did you hear?" Adrian repeats his question. This time calm but furious.
"Nothing.I heard nothing." I gulp. He backs me into the wall, my back firm against it.
"Don't lie to me darling." He give me a half-smile, his face a mixture of rage and amusement.
"I really-" He places a hand on the wall by my head, his face inches away from mine.
"I hate liars, love." His voice is deadly calm, so calm that it scares me.
"Adrian…I really didn't hear anything. I promise" I whisper in a firm voice. In a moment, the tension around his brows softens, his hand on the wall comes down to my face. A soft caress against my face.
He pulls away fast, as if touching my skin was burning him. He turns around and walks away, and just before turning the corner, he looks at me.
An intense emotion swirling in his eyes. Longing. But why? I catch a glimpse of his hand, a trail of red, stains his shirt and drips down his fingers. He's hurt, how?
"Ask Tulip to get the guest room on the second floor ready." I listen to her words but my mind remains on the red stains.
I look at Ms. Lily. Her face morphed into a calm and collected form, like the tension and worry on her face was just a fragment of my imagination.
"Is someone coming here? But, you won't be present here." I look at her confused. No one is scheduled to come by, not at least at this time of the year.
"Do as I asked you to. They will be arriving in a week or two. Tomorrow,I will leave for my hometown."
"So who will look after them? You said the place will be closed." I face her, shocked. It has never happened before. Ever.
"You will. You will take care of everything they need. Be good." With that she turns around, enters her office and closes the door behind her.
Who is coming? I don't care to think, I run towards the front door. Right now, I care about something else.
Him.