Chapter 58
MELANIE.
IT WAS MONDAY AND I WAS BACK AT WORK.
I don't think I've ever been so happy but I sat at my desk with a dreamy smile on my face. I was so far gone that I didn't even hear the phone ring until the vibrations brought it closer to my hand.
I was too busy thinking about my new car, and my new phone, and my new wardrobe allowance. Whoever said money couldn't buy happiness was a damn liar, today was the first day in a long while I hadn't woken up thinking about murder.
That day Jordan had refused to let me test-drive the car, going on and on about how I was still recovering and it wasn't best for me to drive in my condition. I'd called him a mother hen and got in the car.
After a bit of grumbling he'd gotten into the passenger seat saying he was coming with me and since my driving skills were rusty I'd better not kill us or he'd never let me rest in the afterlife for murdering him when he didn't have an heir.
I'd almost forgotten the feeling of being behind a wheel with the wind running through my hair as the car flew down a free road. For the first time in a while, I got a slice of freedom.
I picked up the telephone “Sunset Corp, how may I help you?” I said in a normal tone.
Jordan had been so nice to me lately that I wasn't even going to annoy his clients with a different accent or language. There was a slight pause on the other end of the line until the person spoke with more than a little trepidation “Why do I know this voice?” he said. I cocked my head and frowned as the voice sounded familiar too.
Anyway, I take a lot of calls so that should be expected “How may I help you today?” I asked again. I thought I heard the person swallow “Um.. I want to book an appointment with Mr. Alonso” he said.
“Why do you sound so scared? Jordan doesn't bite...all the time” I asked. “Excuse me. Did you just say Jordan?” I heard him ask and raised a brow “I believe that’s his name. So what's the nature of the appointment you want to make?” I asked, flipping open Jordan's appointment book.
“Business” he replied. “Alright. You have a slot...in thirty minutes actually. He's just finishing up a meeting and will be free for exactly twenty. Is that okay?” after getting his affirmation I took out a pen “Your name?” I asked. When I didn't get a reply I asked again and, very reluctantly, he replied “Enrico Giraldo.”
I dropped my pen as I started to grin; no wonder he'd sounded so scared “Rico! My man, my day one. How've you been?” I exclaimed. Instead of a reply I heard rapid Spanish in a low voice.
Frowning, I listened closer. “Padre nuestro, que estas en el cielo” “Enrico, are you..praying?” I asked in bewilderment. He ignored me and continued, and when he got to a certain part “No nos dejes caer en tentacion y libranos del mal” he said it loudly, then hung up.
Puzzled, I pressed the intercom button “Yo, boss.”
“Again, don't call me that. What is it?” Jordan replied.
“Enrico booked an appointment in thirty minutes.When I answered he sounded terrified and after a while started saying something in Spanish” I repeated the words to him.
There was a beat of silence and then a light chuckle. Did he just laugh?
“I believe that was the Lord's Prayer. He prayed for deliverance from temptation and evil” Jordan replied.
My mouth dropped open at the sheer audacity “Oh so now I'm something people pray against. I'll show him evil” I muttered.
“Do not touch Enrico. He's valuable” Jordan said, a hint of amusement still in his voice. Whatever. I let go of the button and grabbed my new phone as I waited for his arrival.
The elevator pinged and he stepped out clutching a briefcase like it would protect him from evil.
He certainly looked better than the last time I'd seen him, with his polished leather shoes and a black vest over a long-sleeved shirt. He approached me slowly and I flashed him a polite smile.
“Good morning. Please have a seat while I inform him that you're here” I said, then went back to watching cat videos on my phone.
After a few minutes he tentatively cleared his throat “Miss? Have you notified him?” he asked “I will in a minute” I said absently. When I was certain 15 minutes had passed I looked up at him and smiled again “Jordan will see you now.”
He managed to glare at me as he walked quickly past me, knowing like I did how Jordan prized punctuality and would give him an audience for precisely the five minutes which remained from his twenty. Smiling in satisfaction I relaxed back in my seat.
When in five minutes he hadn't come out I cocked a brow. Perhaps Jordan had decided to listen after all. I shrugged it off and went to work organizing the piles of mail into different categories. I'd just finished the Never To Be Answered category– I loved to read them, they contained the craziest things– when Jordan summoned me into his office.
Walking in, I found he and Enrico bent over documents covering half of his desk space. Without looking up, Jordan handed me a credit card “Our hands are full at this moment. Would you get us lunch? And get something for yourself too, we'll need you in here in a while” he said.
I took the card and went out; it's not like I had urgent work to do anyway. Besides, it gave me an excuse to drive my car. Not that I needed one, it was mine!
My happy smile back on my face, I stepped out of the elevator and almost sashayed through the glass front doors. The warm weather of July hit me as I stepped out of the air conditioned building and walked towards my car.
I'd parked at the farthest end of the parking lot shaded by some trees because I couldn't find a closer space. As I walked I rummaged in my bag for my keys and found them. When I looked up again, the blood drained from my face and my knees weakened.
My car, my beautiful, precious car was almost unrecognizable. A window was cracked, the pain was scratched in multiple places and the hood was slightly dented like someone had jumped on it. As I was trying to comprehend the sight in front of me I felt a presence at my back. I made to turn around but froze when something poked me in the back.
I noticed the person was wearing a hood and face mask as he brought his head closer to my ear “A message from Cadell. So you managed to steal the jewels. I gave you a second chance to join my men and leave with them but instead you murdered them. I'll be adding the price of their lives to your bill. Don't get too comfortable being the office whore and forget you still owe me and one day I'll come to collect. Remember there's nowhere in the world you could go that I wouldn't find you” and then he was gone.