Nora held her phone very tight as Lila's words repeat itself in her ears.
"Kill someone? You can't be serious at all." Nora repeated, her voice was shaking.
"I am more than very serious, I'm offering you the only truth, but the truth actually comes with a price. You want to know what really happened to your parents, don't you?" Lila replied very coldly.
"What exactly are you asking me to do?" Nora said as her stomach churned. She tried to let her breathing be stable but her mind was still racing.
"Oh, it is very simple seriously. Ethan Black has an associate, the name of the man is Lucas. He has all the information I need, but he is... not cooperating at all." Lila said, chuckling.
"Not cooperative as how?" Nora said as her pulse quickened.
"Let us just say he is a problem, You get rid of him in your way and I will give you every piece of information you have been dying to know about your parents. Doesn't that sound like a fair trade to you?"
Nora was silent for a while, the weight of Lila's words was on her.
"I am not a killer," she whispered finally.
"You don't have to pull that trigger, my darling. All you need to just do is set the stage. I will take care of the rest." Lila said dramatically.
"What makes you think I would even try to consider this?" Nora asked shakily.
"Because you are so desperate, Nora, desperate people really do desperate things. Think about it and don't take too long. Time is not on your side or your grandmother side, for that matter." Lila said as her voice softened, almost very mocking.
The line went off immediately.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nora sat at her place, looking at the phone as if it might ring again anytime soon.
Her grandmother's weak face was flashed in her mind, followed by the image of the file that has her parent's names on it.
"Kill someone? What kind of person does she even think I am?" Nora muttered, running a hand through her hair.
As she was thinking, the sound of the phone that beeped cut through her thought.
Ethan: Be in my office by 8:00 AM. Do not be late.
Nora's heart skipped, she was actually thinking about the next thing she is going to do.
"I need answers but I need to be very smart about this." She whispered to herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, Nora walked into Ethan's office, determined to keep her thoughts and everything going through her mind hidden.
Ethan was seated behind his desk, a folder was opened in front of him. He did not really look up as she entered.
"You are here on time. Good." He closed the folder and told her to sit.
"Today's schedule is very tight. We have some meetings that are back-to-back with important partners. I expect you to take thorough notes and make sure the interruptions are to a minimum."
"Yes, sir," Nora replied, keeping her voice very professional.
"Good and Miss Hayes, No distractions at all, whatever is on your thoughts lately, put it aside. I need your full attention today please." Ethan added, his eyes was narrowing.
"Of course, Mr. Black." Nora forced a tight smile out of her face.
As she followed Ethan all through the day's tasks, she kept her expression very normal but her mind was really in a lot of thoughts.
Lila's demand was really on her mind but she knew better than to make any silly mistakes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in the office, Ethan was very excited because they just got the LL to sign their deal, he was in the office with his confidant.
"I told you, Lucas, No one can beat me. Especially when I know the game better than anyone." He said with a satisfied grin on his face.
"You sure know how to break people, Ethan. But when it comes to playing the game, you always come out on top, who knows you can actually beat Lila in that deal like that." Lucas said giving out a low chuckle.
"And Lila? She will really learn the hard way that no one plays me at all." Ethan said as his eyes shined with victory.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later that evening, as Nora prepared to leave for the day, she paused at the front of Ethan's office.
His voice was heard outside the door.
"I don't trust her yet," Ethan said, his tone was low but very firm.
"She is sharp, though, If anyone can handle the pressure, it is definitely her." Lucas replied him.
"That is not what worries me. I noticed something different about her." Ethan said as his voice sound more colder.
"I even heard that Lila gave her her business card, Lila might really want to start telling her about Project Hayes." Lucas said.
Project Hayes? Nora's breath was caught hearing that.
She pressed herself more against the wall, straining to hear more.
"I want to really know every details about what Lila is planning to tell her especially about that Project Hayes." Ethan continued.
Lucas whispered a response, but it was too low for Nora to hear.
"Make sure no one finds out." Ethan continued.
Nora's mind was racing, she did not even know what to think.