''That was epic. You were awesome. How did you pull this one through.'' He asked amazed.
''Well, am not that useless after all.'' I whispered.
I was super excited about my hard work. Even though I wasn't sure about any of this. Still, I managed to pull this one up. Countless time I doubted myself, yet I found a breakthrough. Never in my wildest dream have I thought about doing a business presentation.
''Good job, Anny.'' He whispered back.
I slightly curved my lips. It was the first time that he acknowledged my hard work. Mr. Arnold was the one pleased to the maximum. After the meeting he came toward where I was seated. We both looked at each other for a while.
''I was right about you.'' He started.'' And I can see Max really fancies you.''
I looked towards Max who had eyed us suspiciously. Didn't seem like he was pleased seeing me that close to Mr. Arnold. Few seconds later he walked to where we were.
"Seems you are having a good time with Anny."
That came out more like a bad gesture compared to how calm his face was. Doing the opposite was his thing, yet I never understood how calm he could be in such situations.
"Yah! I do love her company. There is more to what she seems to be thinking of." He bragged a little bit.
Tension seemed to be engraved in both of them. As the saying " Two bulls fighting, the grass was the only thing to get hurt" In such a scenario bet you already know who the "grass" will be.
" Max it's kinda late, we should probably get going." I intervened.
"We should." He agreed.
Looks like he was kinda looking forward to getting the hell out of there. It took me as a surprise. The little time I've known him, he doesn't agree easily with anyone.
Moments later we were marching out. It was more so like sneaking . We never informed any soul of our plan. We had the perfect timing. When everyone else was busy mingling, it was our time to demonstrate our actions.
"Didn't think we would pull that off."I broke the silence once we were on our merry way down to the hallway.
" Me neither. "He added.
Suddenly, I felt my body being slammed against the wall. I ached all over.The next thing I heard was Max's voice. He was angry. Before I could digest what was happening, he was already on to something or someone.
" Max, don't. " I warned.
Even though I was a little dizzy, I managed to walk near to where he was. Several times he hit something hard. My eyes flashed when I made out the body of a person lying down, subdued by Max.
"Don't... You... Ever... Lay... Your... Hands... On... Her." He ordered.
His voice echoed down the hallway. Soon few members of the organization were out. They seem to be handling well such situations. Yet Max put up a fight.
"Max, keep it together." Mr. Arnold ordered.
"Get him out of my face before I do something worse." Max ordered.
"You have already done enough." Mr. Arnold insisted.
"Not yet, the mother_fucker slammed Anny against the fucking wall." He cursed.
Suddenly Mr. Arnold held the man by his collar. That came as a shock to everyone. The next we saw, he had already pinned the man against the wall. Didn't think he had that kind of energy considering the fact that he was old.
" Identify yourself. Bet I have never seen you here."
This in turn created a sense of curiosity amongst many. To my surprise, he wasn't scared. His eyes bore into mine as if he had a grudge on me.
"Hey! You bastard. Eyes on me." Mr. Arnold twisted his face rapidly toward him.
"She's cute." He spoke.
I felt Max grip tightening against my hand. He was angry.
"Max...It hurts."
My eyes went straight to our entangled hands. Bet he understood. Soon he loosened his grip. That felt a lot better.
"He is a tough one. Luckily I've got million ways to make such bloody bastards like him talk." Mr. Arnold directed his statement to Max.
With just a wink, I knew then none of this was normal. The two seems as if they understood the situation better than any of us.
" Rd sent me. " he paused.
There and then I knew everything was wrong. By the looks of it, both Max and Arnold were tensed in one way or another. Eyes glued onto each other for a brief second before Mr. Arnold walked away with the culprit. One last time he looked at me.
"Careful with who you choose as companions." He whispered.
"Let's get out of here." I heard him speak from afar.
My mind was so distant that I didn't notice him carrying me.
"What are you doing?" I was shocked when I came to my senses.
" That was a hard blow. You should probably rest."
He was right. My head was still spinning and I had no energy to digest anything at the moment. Yet what bothers me wasn't the fact that I was almost murder but the warning of that Strange guy.
"Max. What did he mean?" I asked in a faint voice.
Soon we were in the car as he helped me buckle up my seat belt. Not once did he talk. He remained silent. Even though I asked him twice about what the strange guys warning meant.
"Max seriously." I tried to get his attention.
"Anny. Goddamn it, leave it alone." He spoke in pure anger and annoyance.
" Just rest. Okay." He then spook soothingly.
None of this was okay. He was angered by a simple question yet he expects me to leave it be. Yah! I was hurt. He had literally raised his voice at me. I just wanted to know what's up. Yet here I was being annoyed by his silence.
I slouched in the car seat and close my eyes. As tired as I was, I wasn't really ready to put up a fight. I'll let it be, just for today.
"Anny. Wake up."
I felt a tap against my shoulder as a warm hand tucked a strand of hair to my ear. The only thing I wanted to do was sleep. My joints kinda ached.
"We are here." he whispered.
Slowly he helped me out of the car. We both slowly treaded to the first floor of the hotel where the elevator was. Once were were in, it felt a little awkward since he was barely looking at me. Each time our eyes met he would immediately look in the other direction.
"Feeling guilty?" I asked.
"Nah!" He answered in a low tone.
"You sure do have the nerves."
Jackpot. He watched me in awe before shaking his head slightly and clench his fist while he bit his teeth together. Judging by his actions, I pretty much angered him compared to how he was earlier.
"Jeez! Anny you suck."
The elevator dinged while the doors opened. We both walked out heading to our suite. As soon as he opened, I barged in. I made my way to the bathroom. Maybe a hot shower could help ease the tension. That's what I needed.
"Can I join?" He just had to ask.
"Hell no! Wait till am done." I shouted back at him.
Soon I was heading to the shower cubical. That was not until he stood in front to admire than I pushed him aside only to meet his strong arms that restrained me.
"My bad." He whispered. "For shouting at you. I didn't mean to. It's just..."
"Hey! It's okay." I shushed him.
This wasn't the time for this. I just wanted a hot shower with my man even though I said no at first and a good sleep. Soon he joined me. That was after putting in so much effort on convincing me of how much he misses me. I gave in only because I knew he won't stop until he gets what he wants.
"Anny you do know I love you right?"
Is that supposed to be a question or a statement. I watched him step away from me. Just enough for him to savior everything in.
"You do not understand what you do to me. Am so messed up every time I watch you. Just like now. I never want to loose you."
With that he walked away. Through the translucent glass I watched him dry himself while hot water trickled down my body. I turned it off and walked to him. He was already dressed.
" Going somewhere? "
My curiosity couldn't let me watch him leave without asking. Whatever I saw in his expression made me feel uneasy. It's like he was nervous or maybe worse than my imagination.
"Yah! I've got some business out of town." He answered.
"... and now is the time you thinking about telling me?"
"Anny not now." He watched me while I covered myself with a towel.
"Then when. Max, you have been acting strange since the incident."
"We will talk about this later."
He wasn't giving me any benefit of doubt. I was tired about everything. Just when I get time to spend some alone time with him, he is bailing out on me.
"You always do this. Why am I not surprised?"
Tears stung my eyes. Never wanting to show him, I walked away to the closet. Soon I was in my pj's. He sat on a table watching me. His mind seemed so far away.
I stood at the edge of the balcony watching the trees. My mind was in deep thought on how to make everything better. Couple of minutes later I felt his arms wrapped around me from behind.
"Anny."
That wasn't helping at all. Right now I needed to think about everything and join all the dots. First meeting with my brother then this strange guy who almost killed me. Now Max, he's been acting as if he's hiding something. I wanted to know so bad what's happening yet he wasn't saying anything.
"Just go."
For a couple of minutes he didn't utter a word. His breathing was unstable and his grip on me tightened.
"When this is over i promise to tell you everything."
So there was something. My doubts were confirmed. One way or another I knew this was bad even though he kept himself calm. Soon he left leaving me alone in my thoughts. I had a million questions on my mind.
"What's the point of having questions with no answers." I thought loud.
I had an idea, but it wasn't the best. It could land me in trouble, yet I was ready to trade my peace of mind for it.
Making up my mind. I decided to pay his study room a visit. I made my way to the direction of his study room. It wasn't big but it was big enough for a cozy place to work.
At first I had conflict with my mind whether or not to enter. Here I was in the middle of the room looking around for something that could possibly give me answers to my many bombarding questions.
Searching round I settled for heading to his computer that laid on the office table. Luckily I knew his pass code. Quickly I turned it on and started going through his folders. Half an hour, still I had not gotten anything out of it.
My patience was minimum. I was so annoyed by the fact that it had nothing on it. I got tired and decided to sleep. Moments later I was in bed thinking of other ways to get my answers.
"Boom!" I shouted once an idea popped in my mind.
This I wasn't doing alone. If the information wasn't on Max then it's probably on Lukah. He is the most trusted associates in Max's circle. Well I haven't met the others. For now I'll go to bed and put my plan into order before I execute it. Soon enough I was in slumber land as my mind kept wilding.