Buried Love Of The Riches

24: The Best Friend

The Best Friend

I didn't know what to do when I watched her inhale the tobacco. It's evident that she had done it before. The way she held it between her index and thumb then exhaled through her nose confidently.

The man that gave her the cigarette smirked as he eyed Gabriella up and down. She wore a black tank top so he would naturally stop at her cleavage. My jaw tightened as she put the thing to her lips again and inhaled.

My feet continued to move yet slowly and quietly. I watched when she removed it from her lips then flicked the ash on the ground. When she put it back to her lip, she deeply inhaled and tilted her head back.

She gave the cigarette back and exhaled the smoke into the air. The man looked over Gabriella's shoulder, and his eyes widened as he locked eyes with me. He nudged his friends, and a few of them walked away.

"M-Mister Clarkson?" he spoke up since his friends ditched him. I noticed how Gabriella's posture straightened. Everyone looked at me except her.

"Afternoon," I nodded as I stood next to Gabriella and made sure my shoulder brushed against hers. "don't any of you have work to do?"

"Of course, sir Miss Smith was just introducing us to her team." One of the men spoke as he gestured to the men and women who were working. Once they caught sight of me, they immediately turned away.

"Yeah with the extra work, this renovation should be completed in no time." The one with the cigarette between his lips spoke in which I forced a smile at.

"No time huh?" I cleared my throat as I stared at him. "Then get back to work."

The few people that stood in front of us nodded in unison then walked away. The guy with the cigarette gave me a once-over then glanced at Gabriella. She ran a hand through her hair and stared at him through my ray bans. I noticed that we were taller than him, but he didn't seem phased as he dropped his cigarette in front of us then walked off.

"If this building burns because of you then we'll watch you rebuild it, brick by brick," Gabriella said causing him to stop. He let out a grunt as he walked back and crushed the cigarette with his shoe. Once it was out, he walked off, and I ignored the many cuss words he muttered.

I stuffed my hands in my pockets then spun around. I was suddenly annoyed, not only at that worker but Gabriella because she hadn't told me she was a smoker. I heard shuffles behind me, and that's when I knew she followed on.

"We should head back to the apartments." She said as she finally caught up. She wrapped her hands around her arms and slouched. "It's getting quite chilly."

"Yep," I said as her hair blew in the wind.

"Something wrong? Do you want your glasses back?" she asked as we turned the corner. The company car was parked underground the Clarkson Hotel, but due to the renovations, we went through the back.

"Nope," I said as we walked through the back door and towards the shaft. They already dug up the underground floor that was needed for the store so they only way to get in was to use the shaft.

We stepped into the shaft, and I pressed the big button. It shifted beneath our feet and cranked as we were lowered into the ground. The deeper we went I saw workers turning their heads towards us.

"So, you're a smoker?" I spoke up. Gabriella remained silent as we reached the bottom floor. Half the side was currently in use for parking while the other half was cleaned.

"No." she said as she trailed behind me.

"Then what was that back there?" I asked as I took out my keys. We walked to the car, and I stood by the driver's door while she walked to the opposite side.