Fool Me Once | T. Drake ✔

[04] The Test

She was passing by the corridor to go to her room when a hand closed on her wrist and pulled her aside into a darkened room. Her breath hitched in her throat but she started counting her breaths to release the tension.

The grip on her wrist was tight and there was only one person in her home who could have the liberty of treating her as such.

"Romero, is anything wrong?" She asked in a low tone, not wanting to make him angry.

His dark brown eyes were blazing furiously and he did not let go of her hand, pinning her to the wall in front of him.

"Who is he?" He demanded, voice low but threatening.

She knew he was referring to Tim, "nobody..."

"I thought you had stopped taking lovers after what happened to Adrian," his voice seethed, pouring into her like molten lava.

She closed her eyes briefly, schooling her expression not to give anything away. 

"He is not a lover, I only introduced him as my boyfriend because I did not want to hurt his feelings," she replied, ignoring the pain in her wrist from being twisted forcefully, "he's just someone I am using to bid my time with while you're away."

His eyes pierced through her, judging whether she was telling the truth or not. She held his gaze resolutely, knowing full well that any mistake could result in worse consequences.

At last, he let go of her wrist and stepped back, hand running through his messy hair anxiously. Her hand had closed around her throbbing skin, seeing the marks of his fingers etched upon it. But she said nothing to him, only waiting for him to let her leave.

"So he's just a plaything to you, nothing more?" He asked, wanting to be fully sure.

"Nothing more," she replied but her voice was choked as she was trying her best to keep herself calm.

He nodded, the anger dissipating at last. "He's a Wayne boy, I don't think he is with you just for the fun of it. He would definitely need something in return."

"Don't worry about that, I have it all taken care of," she remarked, letting herself calm down as well as it felt Romero wouldn't lash out at her again. 

"Right..."

She considered his state before speaking up, "Rom, maybe you should go see Colin and Anya. You must miss them."

Anya was Romero's wife and Colin was his son but they no longer lived with him for security reasons. Only he and Roxanne knew about their whereabouts and kept in touch with them.

"I have a lot to do here," he replied, brushing his hair back again, an act he did whenever he was disturbed, "I will see them later... And I will bring you back a present."

His eyes had trailed down to the mark on her wrist and she quickly hid her hands behind her, "no need. I have plenty."

She knew that was Romero's way of saying that he was sorry for the outburst. He had a very short temper and she would often have to be on the receiving end of it but then he would try his best to make it up to her by buying her jewelry or presents.

She had gotten tired of it all by then but knew there was no way out. At least not yet.

"Roxy, you know I didn't mean to..." It seemed as if he didn't want her to stay stiff with him either as he was somehow looking around for ways to make amends.

"I know," she mumbled, taking in a deep breath, "actually there is one thing you can do for me. A tiny little favor."

He paused, "and what is that?"

She took his arm, leading him to his bed, and switched on the lights in the darkened room. Her eyes swept over the glass of wine and the pack of cigarettes discarded on the center table in disdain. 

"I want to borrow your men. Two, maybe three will be enough. Just for tomorrow night."

His brow furrowed, "are you in danger?"

"Not yet. I want them to be the danger," she remarked, her eyes focusing on him, "it's a test for Tim."

He looked a bit surprised, "but you just said you were not serious about him."

"I know. I told you he's a plaything, right? Consider this a new game. I make sure my toys are worth the effort," she whispered, picking up the bottle from his table and walking out.

***

Tim was waiting outside the Donnelley residence at five, exactly the time he had given Roxanne to pick her up. He had texted her to let her know that he was outside and a while later the door opened, revealing Roxanne Donnelley dressed in an elegant black dress.

The dress stopped at her knees and she had pulled her hair back in a half updo. She looked gorgeous nevertheless and gave him a smile as she got into the car.

A heavy diamond bracelet covered her left wrist although it did not match that well with the outfit. But he didn't point it out.

"You look stunning," he mustered a compliment, watching her smile widen.

"Thank you," she replied, "I didn't know what would be appropriate to wear for an event like this one. I hope it's not too fancy."

"The bracelet is," he remarked but then quickly added, noting her discomfort, "Jason would love it though. He is a big fan of accessorizing."

He had backed the car out and drove to the suburbs where Wayne Manor was located. He noticed she was silent throughout the ride as if his remark on her bracelet had offended her.

"Roxanne," he spoke up and she was surprised that he addressed her by name, "I am sorry. I shouldn't be intrusive."

"It's fine. I just got into a little accident," she mumbled, removing the clasp of the bracelet to show the bruised skin underneath, "not wearing it would be more distracting, I think."

He would have asked her immediately what had happened and how she had gotten that mark but he didn't because he had just said he wouldn't be intrusive. Plus, the contract he had signed clearly mentioned that they were not supposed to interfere with each other's personal lives.

"How's your brother?" He asked instead, feeling that he should keep a conversation going.

"He's edgy. He will be fine if he spends more time with his family, I am convincing him to go back."

"Oh okay."

She fixed the bracelet once again, hiding the bruise from view, "is your family really excited to meet me?"

"I told them you're my girlfriend so naturally, yes."

She nodded, "and what did you tell them about our meeting or any backstory...?"

"I didn't tell them anything and they didn't ask because they know I prefer to keep my love life private," he replied, "but we do have to work on a backstory."

She leaned back in her seat, "what did you think about it then?"

"I attend business conventions, we could have met there," he remarked, noting she looked slightly distracted.

"Alright. Whatever works best for you."

The gates of Wayne Manor's property parted and Tim drove the car inside, parking it. But before she could get out, he had left his seat and come to open the door for her. She looked up at him, finding his blue eyes gazing back at her in concern.

"I am fine," she spoke up, sensing the unasked question but paused, seeing the offered hand.

She took the offered hand and got out of the car. His eyes looked into hers assuringly and he gave her hand a light squeeze, "don't be nervous. We are one dysfunctional lot but we are nice to guests."

A smile crept up on her face and she squeezed his hand back, "no doubt."

Her hand softened in his grip, feeling the worries dissipate. She liked Tim being nice to her instead of snapping back at every remark.

Unlike her, he was a genuinely nice person.

***