4: She left

Hayden Clark.

“Sir, they refused to reschedule the meeting.” My assistant Jonathan said on the phone, I fixed the cuffing on my black sleeve and sat on the bed to wear my socks.

“We lost the deal with Franco Company.” He sighed.

The business deal with the Franco Company was worth millions of dollars, I was aware of what I had lost.

“Sir, the lady is awake!” I heard the voice from the other side of the door.

She was awake.

“Clear my schedule at work.” I ordered, and ended the call though he was about to speak.

“Should I call the guards to take her out?” She asked.

That was what I planned, I wanted her out of my house but why do I want to see her again?

“Sir? Should I get the guard?”

“No! I will go see her.” I answered and threw my suit jacket on, and my phone into my pocket.

I came out of my bedroom and walked down the hallway to the guest room. I stood there for a while, and couldn’t understand why I was feeling nervous over a fucking stranger.

I got into her room, and the first thing she did was attack me, she was fierce, and it amused me.

I didn’t want to leave her alone, I didn’t know if it was because she might try to hurt herself or something else that wanted to make me stay with her.

But I had to go downstairs to meet the guest who was waiting for me.

“Keep an eye on the lady, and make sure she doesn’t do anything to hurt herself,” I instructed the maid.

“Yes, Sir.” She nodded curtly.

I got downstairs, and there was someone seated on the couch in the living room. He stood up when he saw me coming.

“Clark.” He muttered and stretched out his hand towards me.

I stared at his men and him. “I am the owner of the casino, I think I saw you last night, but it was for a brief moment because I had something to do at the bar across the street.”

There were two men in black standing beside him.

I exhaled and took his hand with a tight squeeze, his face twitched but he said nothing.

“Davis Brooks.” He introduced himself.

I nodded, taking note of the tattoos on his chest.

“What do you want?” I asked monotonously.

He tried to smile and brought out a cigarette from his pocket, and placed them on his lips.

“You can’t smoke in here, put that away.”

He chuckled and put them back into his pants.

“Well...” He cleared his throat. “Do you have any woman here with you?”

“It’s just me and my servants.” I snarled.

He huffed and scanned the living room. “That wasn’t what I found out.” He smacked his lips.

“Did you see any strange lady last night?”

Strange lady?

Was it the lady in the guest room he was looking for?

What business does she have with them? Is she his mistress as he said?

Why are they looking for her? Did she do something terrible, I couldn’t help but be curious.

I maintained my demeanor. “I did.”

“She’s my woman, if she’s with you, you should bring her to me, or let my men get her. We had a little misunderstanding last night, and she fled.”

“She isn’t here.” I insisted.

“You said you saw her.”

“Yes, she was in my car, but I dropped her off somewhere, she was bleeding and she had almost ruined my car. I’m a businessman, and won’t make any silly mistake to take her home with me.” I lied fluently without blinking an eye.

They had a misunderstanding and he shot her. It didn’t make any sense.

“Are you sure?“ He raised a questioning brow. “Where did you drop her off?”

“Along the road, somewhere a truck won’t hit her.” I feigned ignorance.

The look he was giving me was doubtful, I don’t think he believed what I was saying to him.

“Is there something wrong?” I asked.

“Should we call the cops or something?” I took out my phone from my pocket. I wanted to change the subject. “Or is it a fishy business?” I quirked my brow.

Davis cleared his throat, took my phone from my hand and dropped it on the couch.

“It’s nothing, I just came to ask.” He responded quickly. He beckoned on his men to step out. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Clark.” They turned to leave.

“I thought you were looking for the lady.”

He stared at me over his shoulders.

“I will find her, don’t worry, she can run but she can’t hide.”

He didn’t say anything else as he found his way out of the house. He must’ve seen her when she got into my car, or through CCTV and he was able to trace her down here.

He didn’t want to explain himself, he wouldn’t come looking for her if she did nothing to him.

I glanced at my wristwatch, I have a meeting at the company in a few minutes, and I need to leave the house.

“Sir, the car is ready.” My driver informed me.

I nodded and stepped out of the house, I got to the car, and we drove out using the Lamborghini.

“Good morning, Sir.”

I ignored the greetings of the office workers, I wanted to get over with the meeting and signed the necessary documents before I could leave the company.

“I will have a meeting with the board of directors, clear the rest of my schedule,” I instructed Jonathan who was standing by the glass door of my office.

“And I want you to do something for me.” I halted in front of him.

“Give me more information about Davis Brook, find out everything about him, including his weakness.”

I pushed the doors and sauntered into the office. “Yes, Sir.”

I came back to the mansion late in the evening, and all I could think of all day was the lady in the guest room.

”Welcome back, Sir.” The butler took my briefcase from my hand and my suit jacket.

“Tell the maid to bring her downstairs for dinner.”

I went to my bedroom, got changed, and came back to the dining area. She wasn’t there when I got there, so I sat down and waited for a few minutes.

Then, I saw her reluctantly coming towards me with a frown on her face.

“Let’s eat.” I picked up my fork.

She mumbled. “I don’t want to. I’m not hungry...”

Her stomach grumbled noisily betraying her, she clasped a hand around it and pouted.

“Have a seat.”

She sniffed the food trying to decipher if it had poisoned. I took a bite from it and ate, she watched me and proceeded to taste it, and when she found out it was really tasty, she craved more.

“I want to leave, keeping me here would only bring nothing but misfortune. I need to go back to where I would be safe. To New York.”

I dropped my fork. “Does that mean I can’t keep you safe?”

“Thank you for saving me, and I’m sorry that I attacked you, though you were some...” She pursed her lips and continued. “...but I can’t stay here.”

I nodded and took my gaze back to my meal.

“Then allow me to take you back to the airport.”

I took the juice and poured it into her glass, her blue eyes glinted at me.

Those seductive eyes.

“Will you tell me your name then?” I kept the juice and leaned closer with my elbow on the table. “I’m Hayden Clark” I wanted her to feel comfortable with me, I didn’t want her to think I was gonna hurt her.

“Ren.” She answered, and sipped from her juice, she stared at me through her lashes.

“You've got a pretty name. Ren.”

She swallowed loudly and averted her gaze from my face. I drew nearer, and wiped the sauce from the side of her mouth, my thumb touching her lower lip.

I withdrew my hand quickly, and picked up my fork.

“Do you need more food?”

“I’m full.” She stammered, and pushed the chair backward and stood up.

“If you want to stay with me, I can protect you.”

She shook her head, and her lips curved into a slow sensual smile. She placed her hand on the table in front of me. “I’m quite handy.” She mouthed.

I chuckled amusingly.

“I’m leaving, first flight tomorrow morning.” She ambled away from the dining area, I stared at her until she was gone.

The next morning, I ordered new clothes for her, and I drove her to the airport.

I didn’t say anything to her throughout the drive, I kept a stoic face. I couldn’t comprehend why I was pissed that she was leaving.

“Wait here. I will get the ticket.”

I came out of the car, and we went to the lounge. I headed out to buy a plane ticket, I came back to where I left her at the lounge but she wasn’t there.

She left without a word.