The sun had reached the other side of the house, and its slanting rays shone into the open window, and straight into Layla's face. Slowly, she opened her eyes and squinted rubbing off the sleep crust from her face.
It was already morning, and she felt so refreshed after a peaceful sleep.
Yawning and stretching, she looked around the room, her eyes searching for Zane,but he was nowhere to be found. 'Where was he?' She wondered in silence, feeling the sudden urge to use the bathroom.
She yawned again as she got out of the bed and headed for the bathroom. But when she opened the door, she felt her whole body freeze.
Zane was there, standing inside the bathroom unclad. His back was facing her, and it seemed as if he had just finished bathing because he was toweling his wet hair.
Layla forgot to use her brain for a moment, and just stood there shamelessly gawking at the handsome man.
she couldn't help but let her gaze roam up and down his body, resting on his sexy bare back.
Feeling a presence behind him, Zane hastily reached out for a bigger towel, tied it around his waist and turned around only to meet Layla's lost gaze. And only then did she recover from her shock.
Her throat constricting, she swallowed hard and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm very sorry."
And before Zane could react, she closed the door on his face and rushed back to the room, fidgeting and panting hard.
'Oh my god! What had she done?' A surge of fear rose within her, and she couldn't stop herself from trembling.' What would happen to her now? Was he going to kick her out? No! No! No way!' She shook her head vigorously, praying to the heavens to come to her aid.
Creak!
The door opened and closed, startling her. She looked up and was in time to see Zane walk into the room.
'I.. I didn't mean to..to.. do that," Speaking with a pronounced stutter, she stared at him with pleading eyes, "I'm very sorry."
Zane sighed heavily as he wearily rubbed his temple. Was he angry with her? He couldn't tell, he didn't even know what to think. "It is fine," He simply told her, "It is not your fault anyway. I am the one who forgot to lock the door, I completely forgot there was someone else with me in the house." He smiled slightly at her as he went to the balcony to hang his wet clothes.
His response was meant to assure Layla, but she was somewhat not satisfied with it.
' He forgot her, forgot about her existence, wow!'
"Why are you still standing there?" Zane's voice brought her out from her confused state. She quickly adjusted herself and forced a smile. " I thought you wanted to make use of the bathroom."
" Yes! Yes!" Nodding frantically, she rushed to the bathroom.
Zane stared after her, puzzled. ' Why is she so weird?' He almost rolled his eyes as he walked into his closet.
"Make use of the new toothbrush, and the towel beside the faucet." He called out to her and towelled off before he began to change into his clothes. He wore a black top and a blue ripped jeans, then dabbed a little perfume behind his ears. Hanging the towel on the door, he left the room and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Layla used the toothbrush, and the towel just like he instructed. And when she was done with bathing, she returned to the room and changed into a beautiful pink dress. She stared at herself in the huge mirror hanging on the wall and smiled when she saw the beautiful girl staring back at her. Satisfied with her look, she fixed her hair and put on a simple necklace before going to the sitting room.
She met Zane in the dinning area setting the table, and joined him. ' Toast, scrambled eggs and tea!' The aroma of the food made her mouth water and her stomach growl.
Zane glanced at her sidelong, and she felt her face heat up in embarrassment.
"You can start eating." He said softly as he started walking towards the room.
She nodded and sat down on one of the chairs. " How about you?" She picked up a plate, filling it up with food, " Aren't you joining me?"
"I already had coffee." Was his response as he slammed the door shut. Picking up his phone from the bedside table, he went out onto the balcony and dialled a number.
"Hey, Leo," He said as soon as the said man received the call.
"Hey, Zane."The man, Leo greeted back, "How are you doing?"
Zane ignored his question, and asked Instead, " Have you heard from the president today?"
"Sure," Leo replied, " This is about the girl you brought, right?"
" Yeah. Can I bring her over to your dispensary today? You know, I don't want to take her to the company yet.
"Sure," Leo immediately agreed, " I'll begin the arrangement. You have a day off today, right?"
Zane breathe in a sigh before replying. " Yes, I will resume work tomorrow."
"Alright, see you later then."
He gave no reply to that, and ended the call, still staring at his phone.
Leo was the main doctor of the company, a deadly doctor.Aside from him being responsible for all the workers health, he also took care of all the company's dirty work. As a doctor, he could easily get the permission to handle any kind of drugs—both good and bad. He could also forge death certificates, making a homicide look like a normal death. A very intelligent and brainy man, his position was quite important in the company and he had his own personal lab and office in the building—even though he had a show-off dispensary outside.
Zane returned to the sitting room only to find that Layla hadn't still finished her food, and was now playing throw and catch with an apple.
Anger swept over him seeing her waste his food, the food he bought with money, and his nostrils flared. He looked around him for anything, anything at all and found a small kitchen knife laying on a small stool. Picking it up, he aimed and threw.
The knife pierced through the apple, and Layla screamed in fright taking her hand back. And with her hand clutching at her chest, she felt her heart racing in unreasoning panic.
" This is my first and last warning." Zane's thunderous voice reached every nerve of hers, and she slowly turned her head to look at him. He was glaring daggers at her, his chest heaving up and down as his breathe. Her stomach twisted into a knot and her throat constricted.
"I don't like someone wasting food in front of me, I don't like it at all." He shouted and warned her sternly, and coldly. " And remember this, there will be no next time. My next aim will be directly on you."
Layla fought the lump in her throat and nodded her head convulsively, determined not to cry.
"Now, finish your food and finish everything including the apple." Zane uttered before storming back to the room.
Layla wasted not even a single second. She devoured all the food, and gulped down a huge glass of water, too afraid of what the consequences might be. And at that moment she realized something, Zane was too scary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
They left the house by 12pm on the dot and headed to Leo's dispensary. Zane drove in his car this time around—An Audi sport car, and Layla just sat beside him silently. She was still a bit shaken by his outburst, and Zane was less concerned about that. He was staring at his front with an unreadable expression, and was sighing deeply from time to time.
When he parked in front of the simple but small building, he saw that Leo was outside already waiting for them.
"Hey, Zane." Leo greeted him as he and Layla got down from the car.
He nodded
"Hey, Zane's sister." Leo smiled widely at Layla. She returned the smile shyly and he laughed.
"You are welcome to my little office." Saying this, he walked ahead of them to the small room. Layla started to follow him when Zane patted her back from behind.
"Walk straight, and keep your head up." He whispered. She nodded and did as he said, fully aware that he was watching her from behind.
They got inside the room, and Leo offered her a seat. She nodded her thanks and sat down, looking around the room filled with medications. Zane leaned against the wall beside her.
Leo cleared his throat before asking, " What is your name, miss?"
She glanced at Zane seeking for permission. He nodded telling her to go ahead.
"Layla. Layla Kings." Her voice showed her nervousness, and Zane could only sigh to that
"Alright, Layla. I'm Doctor Leo," Leo introduced himself to her. She nodded. " I am the one who is going to run a test on you, I am going to examine your body to make sure you are alright." He explained to her as if he was talking to a little child, "It may take a teeny weeny bit of time, be patient. Okay?"
She nodded again
"Good," He praised, then he stood up from his chair, took Zane to the side, and asked, " You found her in your last mission, right?"
Zane nodded
"Then you must have known everything about her?"
"Yes," He replied, " She is an orphan, I picked her up from the slum. No family except an uncle, and he is not important. She is naive and a little bit stupid. But that is not an issue, right?" He gave him only the major details, hiding the others. Well! It was not like he knew much about her, right?
For a moment Leo just stared at him observing his expression, and then he nodded his head slowly
"Both of you, come with me." He gestured at them to follow him. And they obediently walked behind him to a smaller room where there is a bed and medical equipments.
Layla was asked to lay down on the bed, and Leo began to examine her. Zane watched them for a few minutes, and then he went outside to puff out smoke.
Seeing him leave, Layla became nervous, so nervous that she couldn't stop her hands from trembling.
Leo sensed her anxiety and whispered." It is fine, dear girl." The softness of his voice calmed her down a little, and she somewhat relaxed on the hard bed.
But not until he was about to take a sample of her blood. At the sight of the needle, she screamed and began to thrash about her hands and legs.
"Please..no..not the needle, please." She begged, her eyes pleading with him to understand her, for she hated injections so much.
Leo mentally face palmed himself. "You are not a kid, how can you be afraid of syringe." He chided her. When that didn't work, he called Zane to come help him convince her.
Zane marched into the room, a look of irritation crossing his face." So you mean to tell me you can't handle a little girl?" He barked.
"You know I can, dude." Leo chuckled at the angry expression on his face. It looked kind of funny to him. "But she is not just any little girl, she is Zane's little sister." He said, giving him a knowing look and Zane internally cringed at those words.
" I care for my head, you know. Just hold her down and let me do my business."
Zane murmured some curse words as he massaged his temple. Then he moved closer to the bed stopping in front of Layla and held her hands to stop her from moving. " He needs to take your blood. Don't panic, it won't hurt at all." He spoke to her in a soft but firm voice.
Reluctantly, she nodded in agreement. And without wasting time, Leo took her blood sample. She flinched as the needle pricked her skin, but Leo was quick to rub the affected area tenderly.
Zane scoffed Inwardly. ' What a cry baby!'
Tbc