THE ALGORITHM

10.

Penny sighed and shrugged. She didn't care who escorted her. She just wanted to make it to his office. Her mind wandered as she grew curious about Bilal. He wanted her to stay calm and consider her options. Of course, Penny reflected on the decisions she made—she regretted taking the shortcut, but she felt Decon and his friend were to blame for committing the murder in the alley.

I must gain his trust. Penny said in her mind as she followed behind Decon closely. She knew she would be at the mansion for a while. Gaining Bilal's trust was the best way for her to survive and possibly make it out.

A few knocks later, she was sitting in front of Bilal. He was busy pouring himself a glass of whisky. She watched as he held the decanter tightly, poured the brown liquid inside the snifter, and wasted no time taking a few sips.

"Is this why you called me in here? To watch you drink alcohol from your fancy ass glass?" Penny questioned him without hesitating.

Bilal was stunned by her witty remarks. He set his glass down and placed his eyes on Penny. Slowly, he narrowed them into slits as he examined the woman. Bilal found her spitfire personality to be...intriguing. Cold-blooded killers surrounded Penny. He didn't think she was aware of that. Her foul mouth and rebellious behavior told him everything he needed to know.

"We have to do something about your mouth and attitude." Bilal began as he leaned back into his chair. "Don't we?"

"I don't have to do anything..." She trailed off. "But leave this house."

"Now...we talked about that already," Bilal responded with ease. "I don't want to have another conversation on why you can't leave."

"I'm here all day doing nothing..." Penny trailed off. "I have nothing to do in that room. All I do is calculate the floor space." Her eyes widened in disbelief after she allowed those words to slip from her lips. "I calculated the entire floor space of the bedroom—so unbelievable." She laughed at herself and quickly ceased it.

Penny felt a little weird about being locked inside the room for days. She stayed on the go and never confined herself to a room for several weeks. At the mansion, Scoop was always around her and watching her closely.

Bilal furrowed his eyebrows. He figured Penny had been in the room for too long. She seemed a little stir-crazy. He knew that she wouldn't be able to stay in the room forever. However, he didn't trust her enough to allow her to remain outside the room without supervision. Bilal clasped his hands as he contemplated his decision.

"I hear you're a chef." He spoke wisely.

Penny diverted her attention towards him. She didn't bother to smile or show any signs of friendliness. She just observed him. Penny wasn't sure where he was going with the information he blurted out.

"I figured..." Bilal trailed off. "You could make yourself busy by cooking in the kitchen."

"When I cooked, I cooked for a wage," Penny spoke sternly. She leaned over, getting as close to Bilal as possible. "I'm not cooking in your kitchen for free."

Bilal could see the malice in Penny's eyes as she eyed him with hatred. Out of spite, he leaned over and rasped, "You will if I tell you to."

She stayed quiet for a while as she challenged him through her defiant eyes. Penny didn't like his decision. She didn't want to be stuck inside the kitchen with his cook all day. She knew that Mei didn't care for her. Every time Penny entered the kitchen for breakfast and dinner, the woman always threw glares her way and sucked her teeth at her.

"Consider this something you can do while you're here." Bilal tried to coax her.

"I had a job..." Penny stated nonchalantly. "This is not what I want to do."