Chapter 17 - "I can't wait."

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 Chapter 17 "I can't wait."

Robert

Brow furrowed, Allen kept his eyes on his mahogany desk as Conner laid large photos in front of him. I didn’t have to see them to know they were all of Rhylee and that traitor. Nor did I want to look at the pictures; every single one of them was a reminder of what we had. She still loved me, I knew she did, but she was scared of me. Why was she scared of me? The entire room stiffened and looked to Allen as he sighed, running a hand through his thinning blonde hair. “Well, this isn’t good, not at all.” He announced to the room, as if we didn’t know that already. One doctor snorted, but quickly averted his eyes from Allen’s cold stare.

Quietly and swiftly, his gaze flicked to me. “Robert; do you have anything to say for yourself? You let her get away, yet again. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t care if she’s alive or dead – bring her to me.”

I gave a nod in response, biting my tongue. How could he say that about Rhylee? He didn’t know her like I did; if he did, he couldn’t say ‘dead or alive’, and it would only be ‘alive’.

His eyes narrowed at me for a moment before continuing, “But since you can’t seem to get to her before they run I’ll have to take matters into my own hands. You want something done right, do it yourself, right?” He mused himself. With one flick of his wrist, the entire room cleared as he scooted closer to his desk and looked at the pictures. The last thing I saw was him pulling documents out of his desk.

The door closed gently behind me, closed by another doctor, but I was already storming towards my room. If he was going to steal my things, I was going to steal his.

“I expect to be back within days – maybe even hours.” Allen smirked to himself. “This shouldn’t take much effort. However, I know our business is never calm. And so, until I come back you’ll be in charge. Think you can handle that, Robert?” He raised an unkempt eyebrow at me.

Though I knew he was insulting me, blatantly, I kept a straight face. “Yes, sir,”

Happy with my response, he turned and walked away, carrying a small suitcase. I watched him walk into the garage where he would get into his car and drive off. By then I should already have this place under my thumb. My mouth curled into a sly smile as I turned, myself, and headed towards his office. Well, soon it would be my office.

Just as my hand wrapped around the handle I heard someone behind me, “Robert, what are you doing?”

I turned and saw Conner, looking between the door and me, obviously confused. He never was the brightest; I don’t see why he works here. “Conner, round the others up. Things around here are going to change. By the time Allen comes back with my Rhylee, he won’t be ordering any of us around again.”

Conner gave a nod and ran off to get the others, leaving me to turn back to the door and walk inside. The room smelled of brandy and leather polish. Along the walls were expensive paintings of nearly naked Greek goddesses. Knowing Allen, these paintings were purely for the one exposed breast, and not for the artist value of them. They would be gone shortly, though. Maybe replaced with more modern paintings.

The mahogany desk seemed out of place; it was very regal looking, with its intricate carving and shading. Perhaps a sleek, black desk would be more suitable for me? I smirked and sat in the leather chair behind the desk. With one sweeping glance around the room, I gave a satisfactory nod and reached into my pocket, retrieving a single gold pill. I wonder if Rhylee is still taking her medicine. With a chuckle I swallowed the Gold; we’re taking the same medicine now, how cute?

The door opened and I watched as everyone filed in one by one, coming to stand in front of the desk at me. They all looked confused, asking with their expressions what was going on. “Ah, men, thank you for joining me.” I smiled and stood. “There are a few things I wanted to share with you all. As you all know, Allen has left to find my Rhylee. In the time of his departure I will be in charge. Well, that’s fine and all, but I don’t think I want to give this up.”

Realization flooded their faces as they relaxed more and nodded in understanding. I smirked, “I take it you all think this is better?”

They nodded.

“I’d be more than happy to take over this place. Allen is getting old, he’s getting delusional; he’ll run us into the ground if we don’t get rid of him. I’m far more capable of handling this place on my own. Don’t you agree?” After raising an eyebrow for some kind of response, they all agreed quickly. I sat back down, holding out my hands. “So, what are you waiting for? Get to work.”

Rhylee

Hours must have gone into this mental debate with myself – maybe even days. Well, probably years, when you think about it. Though with every breath I took my mind changed again and again, I finally worked up the courage to sit up straight and turn to Justin in my seat. “Justin, I made up my mind.” I announced.

Not taking his eyes off the road, he raised his eyebrows in question, “About what, Rhy?”

With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and forced the words out quickly before I could change my mind. “I want to go to my parents’ house.”

When he didn’t say anything I opened one eyelid to see his reaction. It didn’t take long to see the smile that was steadily spreading over his face. “I think that’s a fantastic idea, Rhylee. What made you make up your mind?”

With a sigh, letting out the deep breath I had taken in, I sat back down, deflated. “Yesterday, when I was dreaming about the day I was kidnapped…” Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw Justin’s smile disappear, but continued anyway. “It was mostly about my parents. They loved me, and I remember that. Even though I was a rude little brat…” It was true, I was, and my dream pointed that out. I denied my mom’s affections and rolled my eyes far too many times at them. “I think they would still love me if they loved me that much. I mean, I love them, and I haven’t seen them in six years.”

Justin looked to me once before looking back at the road, smiling again. “Of course they’ll love you, Rhylee. Who wouldn’t?”

I blushed subtly, but looked down at my pants and picked fallen hairs off of them in order to keep myself busy. “I just hope you’re right.”

Justin’s hand reached out and was placed on my knee. My eyes stared at his fingers that gently squeezed my knee in comfort. “Like I told you, we’re slightly on the path there anyway. From here on out, no goofing around, huh? If we miss traffic jams and speed a lot, we’ll be there within two days.”

Excitement made me forget about Justin’s hand and made me bounce slightly in my seat. “I can’t wait.” I admitted, feeling like a little girl again.

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