Anna laughed, leaning back in her chair. She was so drunk that she didn't understand the danger she was in, but no one would have been able to tell in a few years whether she would have acted differently if she had been sober.
"And you invite a 'good-for-nothing' to lunch with you and ask for favors... That's not very coherent."
Adam looked at Anna's empty, clean plate. She hadn't even served herself.
"Aren't you hungry?" he asked annoyed.
"Yes, Adam. I am." She said and looked at him suggestively.
Adam stood up.
"Come on. I'll show you the safe."
Anna stood up and overbalanced, but managed to hold on to the chair before falling. She turned to Adam.
"If I'd fallen, you'd like that, wouldn't you? You're the typical bad boy." She said and burst out laughing.
Adam looked at the door, and Jenna was watching them with a smile on her face.
"Take her. Remind me not to serve alcohol next time." He said coldly and angrily and went into the apartment.
Jenna went over to Anna and hugged her for support as she took her to her own apartment. She helped her to lie down and covered her up. But as she was leaving, Anna held her hand tightly and when she turned around, there was no longer the debauched, happy smile in Anna's eyes.
"All threw mine in the trash. I need more."
Jenna knew what she was talking about. She thought Anna might have forgotten about her, but she was wrong. She carefully removed Anna's hand from hers and took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, miss." She said and walked away.
Anna stood up. Suddenly believing that she was very lucid. She looked at the window she had broken to jump out of. The boards prevented the sun from coming in, and her from going out. She went to her bedroom door and opened it. The corridor was empty. Barefoot, she ran down it and out of the apartment. What she had always imagined was that in an opportunity like this, the victim would do everything possible to escape and get as far away as possible from her fear. And what she did was insane, inexplicable, foolish.
She returned to Adam's apartment.
Jenna opened the door and stared at Anna in surprise. The two of them were at a loss for words for a few minutes.
"Come in, Anna." Jenna asked a little suspiciously.
Anna entered without knowing what to say. She didn't know what she was doing there. For a few seconds in her room, she had a reason, but she couldn't remember it.
"I..." She stammered and looked at the table, which was still the same.
"Anna, if you came back thinking I could give you more of that, you've wasted your time. I was hasty. I suspect the boss knows better than I do what you're doing..."
Anna turned to her.
"Can I help myself?"
Jenna looked down at the table indecisively.
"I'll make a plate and you take it, the boss..."
"He's still here."
They both heard the voice that completed the sentence and Anna looked at the door through which Adam had entered. He was standing there with his arms crossed. Jenna left without Anna noticing.
"I..."
"You're hungry. I get it." He said and pointed at the food with his chin.
Anna looked at the table again and helped herself. It was better than having nothing to say. What was she doing there?
Adam stayed in the same place. Sometimes Anna heard voices calling him on the radio, men talking to each other, and he continued to ignore them all, as if watching her was the most important task of the day.
Anna stood up after finishing her meal and faced him.
"Thanks for lunch, next time keep it hot. It's rude to serve cold food to a guest." She said and was about to leave, thinking Allister would have a good laugh, when she heard a voice behind her.
"I hope you'll remember, without help, everything that's been said here today. I won't accept any apologies if I make a mistake."
Anna turned to him.
"Show me the safe."
"Come on."
Anna followed him into the apartment. It wasn't small. It was marvelous. The layout of the rooms and the furniture was not very standardized, and that enchanted Anna. Could it be that Jenna was his mistress there? The thought disturbed her.
He entered a room with a single bed and a photo of himself above the headboard. Anna stopped near the photo and looked at it with a debauched smile on her lips.
"Is it funny?"
"In a way... It corroborates an impression I had of you."
Adam stopped next to her, his hands in his trouser pockets, and stood silently looking at the photo intently before looking at Anna.
"What impression?"
"You're very self-sufficient. You don't need parental love or any other kind of love. You love yourself, for everyone."
Once again, Anna saw the amusement sparkle in his eyes, before he looked away.
"Why did you come to that brilliant conclusion?"
"You sleep looking at yourself. A mirror would save the poor painter the trouble of having to..."
"It's my grandfather."
Anna felt like hiding under the bed. If he was telling the truth, it was shameful the way she had judged him. She moved closer to the painting and stared at it intently.
"But you two are identical! How is that possible?" She exclaimed and stared at him.
Adam took the painting off the wall and revealed a huge iron box behind it. A safe.
"The password is 15051977. Will you be able to remember it?"
"It's my birthday!"
Adam put the painting back and stared at Anna.
"Being a spoiled, arrogant, overbearing kid who's never heard no has its advantages. I can buy any toy."
Anna realized that he had said toy with lasciviousness in his eyes, that he was undressing her and looked towards the bedroom door, intending to leave.
"I didn't know you were listening." She said to defend herself.
"If you had known, would your opinion have been different?"
"No. But I'd let you talk about her while you were gone."