Chapter 23 continuation 3

Footsteps were heard outside the door, and after a knock it opened and James Foster entered the room, holding a mobile phone.

His mouth dropped open and his eyes filled with stars as he noticed a brown-haired woman with a reddish tint of hair standing in a towel beside the bed.

'Jay?' The young lady was amazed, not intending to see him here.

His lips closed and his eyes took on a pleasant blue hue as he regained control of himself.

'Well, how are you after yesterday?' The blond man grinned.

The girl rolled her eyes at the familiar question. How many more times will she be asked about it?

'I wish it were better, of course.'

Mackenzie looked away, then back at Foster, but when she realized she had just noticed, her eyes widened in fear that James would notice.

'I... Hmm... I need your help,' the brown-haired woman slowly walked towards the thing, trying to figure out how to distract the guy from her on the go. 'There's a leaking faucet in the bathroom, I don't know. Can you see, please?'

'Yes, no problem,' the young man turned towards the bathroom, heading there to check the health of the plumbing.

Reaching for the black T-shirt, Hailey kicked it under the bed, immediately hearing a soft laugh from under it.

'But it's all right, angel!' Foster called as he walked back into the room.

On the move, he loosened the sleeves of the jacket down, forcing the girl to pay attention to his hands. She looked at his large palms, at the bulging veins that were visible and immediately hidden under the jacket.

Something black and imperceptible flashed on his fingers, and the brown-haired woman began to peer in interest, what was it.

'You can go out with Rosie today, as long as you have security, of course.'

A neat black heart appeared on his ring finger, causing Hailey to hold her breath in shock. She instinctively glanced at her heart, then back at his.

And then she understood everything, but only one thing was not clear.

'When did he draw it?'

'Thanks for letting me,' Mackenzie replied sarcastically.

'I have to go,' the young man said, paying attention to the ringing telephone. 'It's good for you to rest, but only now without alcohol.'

James left the room, closing the door behind him, after which his voice was heard again with an accent, because he was talking on a cell phone.

'He drew this heart, Nick,' the girl said loudly so that the brown-haired man under the bed could hear her.

* * * *

'Rosie, stop doing this bullshit on my brownie!' The girl laughed out loud, wanting to stop this little game already.

Two friends were sitting in a cafe, waiting for their next order, because they had already ruined their cakes in such a short time. Two mugs of hot coffee stood on the table, next to dirty plates on which spoiled desserts were placed. It all started spontaneously, Hailey once sprinkled sugar on Rosie's cheesecake, after which the brunette got her revenge by doing the exact same thing with Mackenzie's chocolate cake.

They rioted around the table, trying to put more on the cakes than the other one.

'I will only stop when you stop!'

'Okay, I give up,' Hailey raised two hands up, showing that she had calmed down.

'That's good.'

'But only in your dreams,' the brown-haired woman giggled, abruptly grabbing a sugar bowl and sprinkling its contents on a white cheesecake.

'Oh, you bitch,' Rosie exclaimed, setting her plate to the other corner of the table so that her friend could no longer reach her.

A young guy in the form of a waiter with a tray in his hands, went to a table that was on the terrace to take their order.

'Girls, here are your new cakes,' the young man announced, placing two servings of cheesecake on the table.

'Thank you,' the young ladies thanked him as they watched him arrange the kitchen appliances.

'Can I pick up an old order?'

'Oh, sure.'

The waiter took two spoiled desserts on a tray, about to leave: 'Bon appetit, I hope I don't have to bring the same order a third time. Don't fool around anymore.'

The guy winked, leaving the cafe hall.

'Joe, you can sit with us if you want,' Rosie called to him, to which he stood up and sat next to us, placing his chair next to us.

Of course, Foster couldn't send them out alone; he assigned Joe as their guard. Worrying no longer for their protection, but for the fact that they might run away.

His eyes darted to Hailey, and a déjà vu effect went through her head. It seemed to the girl that it had happened somewhere and once, that it had already happened to her.

Brown eyes stared deeply into the soul, remaining absolutely calm, but at the same time they were insane. Joe was just the kind of person from whom you could never expect anything specific. He was completely unpredictable, and too reasonable with an admixture of cunning in his blood.

'Joe, how are you? Tell us something interesting,' the brunette cut off his invisible connection with Hailey, turning her attention to herself.

'I don't know,' the young man answered too calmly and softly, shrugging his shoulder as his gaze slowly drifted from the girl to the table.

He was incredibly secretive...

Hailey stared at the boy, not losing sight of every feature of his face. Something happened in her head when she started to look at him or listen to his voice, which even in low calm tones, led her into a panic.

'Okay, what do you like?' Rosie persisted in her questions.

'Girls,' Joe chuckled, and a smirk instantly appeared on his face.

'Well, that's understandable,' the brunette laughed. 'but I'm serious.'

'I love the night,' the boy said.

'Because no one can see me' was the first thought in his mind.

'Clubs,' he looked at Hailey, smiling slightly.

'Because it's always very noisy there. Nobody can hear each other, drunken bodies always don't care about each other,' thought Joe, not noticing his lingering grin, which slowly appeared on his lips.

'Empty tunnels in some cities. They literally cast fear on you and the feeling that you are not alone. Footsteps start to sound in your head behind you, and you pick up your pace more and more,' he continued to stare into Hailey's eyes, getting too carried away with his story.

He really spoke to Mackenzie now, forgetting everything around him. The girl cringed, pressing herself into the chair as hard as she could.

She swallowed nervously at the heavy lump in her throat as goosebumps ran through her body.

He would have continued on if Rosie hadn't silenced him with her two cents.

'That's creepy, Joe,' the brunette shuddered. 'your tastes are quite varied.'

'Exactly,' the boy grunted, leaning back in his chair, then rolled his eyes at her remark.

The mobile call defuses the whole situation, scaring everyone a little with its unexpectedness. Mackenzie, realizing that it was her phone that was ringing, pulled it out of a small bag, noticing instead of a number the inscription: 'Unknown'.

'I'll leave,' the girl warned, rising from her chair.

'I'm with you,' the guard quickly threw out his words, repeating the same actions for the person he was supposed to guard.

'I won't run, Joe. I give you my word,' the brown-haired woman said confidently.

The girl went out of the terrace to the street, stepping aside so that no one interfered and did not hear her conversation.

A brown-haired woman with a red tint of hair accepted the call, after which she raised the phone to her ear, carefully listening to the interlocutor: 'Hailey Mackenzie, good morning. This is Williams Foster.'

'Hi, I, uh...' the girl was completely at a loss, trying to collect her thoughts back into a pile. 'You're talking about documents, right?'

'Yes, honey.'

'I really looked for them, and yet I found them,' the brown-haired woman stumbled over her words, considering her decision. 'I will not extradite your son, I do not wish him even more pain than the one that you have already caused him.'

'Oh, my dear girl, keep your nose out of your own business,' a rough male voice was heard from the other side. 'I promised you freedom, did you have Stockholm Syndrome?'

'You are mistaken...' but the young lady was interrupted, not allowing her to finish her begun sentence.

'Anyway, I called you to tell you that our contract with you is cancelled. I don't need paper anymore. As for you, you can also come over to my side. I have some work for you.'

'No, Mr Foster.'

'It's your decision, then goodbye, Miss Mackenzie.'

'No, no next dates with you. Farewell, Mr Foster.'

'Anyway, Hailey, I'll see you again.'

The girl dropped a mobile call, completely unaware of the last phrase of the interlocutor.

At the same time, James, on the other side of the city, was having fun with his friends in a private country house.

Millions of people circled around him, and in his head there was loud music that led his thoughts astray. His body flopped down on the sofa, completely relaxing, after which James's gaze accidentally fell on the incoming girl, who was immediately taken aback, noticing such a huge number of people she didn't know.

The guy forced his drunk, but still thinking body to rise again, heading towards the blonde through the crowds of drunk and stoned people.

'Melanie!' The young man called out her name, drawing attention to himself.

The girl's head turned in his direction, her eyes trying to find the person who called her. After a couple of minutes, Melanie still found the blond man with her eyes, and a stunning smile immediately formed on her face.

She was dressed in a short, tight gray top and black jeans that accentuated the thinness of her legs. The blond hair was loose, reaching to the waist, and curled at the ends into excellent ringlets.

'Hi, Jay!' Melanie exclaimed happily, after which the guy concluded her in a strong hug.

'So, Melanie Stevenson, how did the taxi driver take you? Everything was fine, no incidents? I'm sorry, I couldn't pick you up,' Foster whispered in her ear, quickly moving from 'you' to 'you' and being quite close to her.

'It's all right, really.'

'Would you like something to drink?' The young man asked, giving the girl some personal space, but still holding her hand.

'Yes, I wouldn't mind.'