Chapter 21 A Salad and Water.
Delilah
I walked down and entered the car. I had texted Darius prior, letting him know where I meet him in the next couple of hours, once I have showed up at work to let him know that I have properly resumed for the month. Appearances mattered.
I entered the car and drove to the site, picking a small, intimate restaurant for the meeting. I parked in front of the restaurant, walking in and adjusting my jacket as I went. I looked down at myself, hoping the stripes of my suit gave me a little more height, so that I was just as intimidating.
I entered the restaurant and found no one there, even at a time when there was supposed to be some kind of lunch rush.
I took a seat to one end of the restaurant, the side closest to the door I just walked in through, so that I'd be close enough to just walk out if things got too bad.
I sat down and ordered some food, scanning the menu and realizing that none of it was edible for me, so I just opted for a salad and water.
Whilst I waited, I thought about how everything was going downhill, and I didn't know where to start to get things to work easier. I breathed, wondering what the next line of action was, and decided that he was going to be late, once again.
It was not hard to tell with Darius, it was never hard to tell. He walked in through the doors, looking around for me.
As he sighted at me, he smiled, and walked towards our booth, sitting down easily, and asking if I've ordered.
“Yes,” I answered, smiling at him, waiting for us to get the pleasantries over with and get to talking, now that the restaurant was empty.
“Okay, Darius, I'm here to explain. I don't want Aria alive at all. I want her dead. I want her more than dead. I want her very dead.” I started giving enough to sound interesting.
“And I hate that she was with my husband at some point, but I have some grievances of my own.”
“And what grievances are those, might I ask?” For such a cold man, he was quite nosy.
“They're just very personal, they're things I don't want to say, but I just know that I don't want her alive.” I wanted to get this over with and get home, immediately.
“So this is not about her, it's about Jess. You don't want to share your man.” His smile was questionable, almost scary.
“The question is, what makes Jess so special to you? Why would you be willing to kill for him? You haven't told me that. You barely kill.” I frowned. This was going bad. I didn't have the energy.
I needed to get this over and done with so I could go home and settle with a bowl of ice cream. Coming back to work was a joke. I breathed.
“Look, Darius, I told you, they're personal grievances. It's not about Jess. I want Aria dead. It was that simple.” It was actually that simple. I don't know why he refused to believe me.
“I did not call you here for you to repeat the things you told me the first time we met, you know. I called you so you can tell me the truth and what ties you have to Aria and what ties that this Aria has to Jess.” I want to hear it from your mouth, not from Bruno's.
I thought about Bruno, frowning at the thought of him. The short, nimble idiot.
“Well, he was Jess's ex. She worked at Alex Corp for a while before she eventually quit.” If he wouldn't believe my story, he'd believe something else.
“Oh, so she quit. She wasn't fired.” He nodded , eyes open in surprise. He didn't believe a word out of my mouth.
“Yes, she quit. She walked out on him once she realized that he picked me over her.”
“And does that make you happy by any chance?” I looked at him. Rage flashed through his eyes. Cold. Sudden. This was bad. I breathed again.
“No. No, not like that. Of course it does. It feels good to be picked over somebody else. It doesn't change your place in my life, though.” I reached out and stroked his jaw to show a little bit of connection between us two. He smacked my hand away, massaging his temples.
“I will not ask you again. If I have to, you’ll get whatever comes to you. What do you want from this girl? Why is she so important to you? Or is this a Jess situation?”
“Like I said before, personal grievances. She has done something in the past that I don't want to talk about.” I looked away, unwilling to rehash it.
“Even with me?” He was becoming unbearably annoying.
“Yes, Darius. Yes, you count.” He banged his hands on the table, shaking the table decor.
The waitress walked to us, putting a cup of water in front of me and a salad and looking to him. He waved her away and I nodded her a thanks.
He took my hand and held it and squeezed. Hard.
“Now you listen to me,” He squeezed further. “I've warned you over the phone, but I think you need a little extra warning in person. I found out everything. If you do not explain your ties with her, then whatever you see, you will get.”
“I have no ties with her.” I couldn't weaken my resolve now. Anything I said from here would cause problems.
He continued to squeeze my hand red from the increased blood, my bones screaming through the skin.
“I have no ties to her, Darius. Believe me.” He smiled, getting up
and walking out of the restaurant.