Chapter Two

"Armani?" Gwen knocked softly on Armani's office door, waiting patiently for a response. "Armani?"

Gwen waited, biting her bottom lip in anticipation. She glanced down at her yellow shirt and tried to rub off the stain of maple syrup she had gotten from eating pancakes made by Armani this morning. She licked her lips at the memory.

"Come in," Armani said from behind the door.

"What took you so long?" Gwen pushed the door, the clicking of her heels announcing her arrival. "What's the name of the—"

Gwen halted in her tracks when she saw her friend attending to a client. His head was bent as if he was going through a document. Armani thumbed a few, and Gwen adjusted her glasses before closing the door.

"Give it a thought. You wouldn't regret it." The client got to his feet and towered over the both of them in a perfectly tailored suit.

He turned to face Gwen, while placing a black hat over his head then striding out of the office.

"Armani, are you okay?" Gwen asked, and Mani nodded, squeezing the document with a ticked jaw.

"It's that stupid bastard," Armani growled, tossing the rumpled-up document into the waste bin. "He-"

Armani took a long pause then held her head in her hands, a little frustrated before saying, "I have this terrible migraine."

Gwen sat on the chair opposite her friend and chewed the insides of her cheeks.

"You should go home," Gwen chipped in, elbows resting on the handles of the chair.

"Yeah." Armani stood up, squinting her eyes at Gwen. "Did you stain my shirt?"

"Oh," Gwen said nervously, trying to scrub off the stain from her shirt. "I'm sorry. It was just too good. By the way, who was that guy?"

"What guy?" Armani raised her head from her phone, coating Gwen's frame with a look of suspicion.

"The guy from the shadows...the one that joined the singing last," Gwen explained, finding it hard to contain her smile. "I didn't even get to see his face properly, but his smile lit up the dark corners of my heart."

"Wait, are you talking about Paris?"

"Aw, his name is Paris?" Gwen asked, batting her lashes with twinkles in her eyes. "Wait, isn't that a girl's name?"

"I don't know. Maybe that's why he's so handsome." Armani slung her handbag on her shoulder. "Go home early today, please. Don't wanna buy black roses."

Gwen rolled her eyes and accompanied Armani out of the office.

"So what do you know about Paris?" Gwen asked, leaning on Armani's Mercedes.

"He's from Greece, and he owns a water factory." Armani hopped into her car and adjusted her rearview mirror before focusing on Gwen, babbling about her newfound crush.

"Does he have a girlfriend?"

"I doubt it. Never seen him with a girl before. I'm not sure," Armani replied, turning her ignition.

**********

Gwen typed the last word on the page and turned off the computer with her lips turning upwards. She couldn't help but think about Paris all day.

"Gwendolyn Paris," she said, staring at her ring finger with a grin. "Mrs. Paris," she said then adjusted her glasses. "Yes, how may I help you?"

She replied to herself, acting like a client and her at the same time. She interlocked her fingers and plastered her jaw on her knuckles, staring straight into nothingness.

"So how did you meet your husband?" she asked in a deeper voice then cleared her throat. "A particular night at Armani's, we were—"

The beeping of her phone interrupted her mini drama and daydreaming, causing a scowl to crawl up her face. She picked up her Samsung and saw it was a message from Armani asking if she was home. She glanced at the upper right-hand side of her phone and winced at the time.

She picked up her stuff and rushed out. She groaned. Why did cabs refuse to go to the place closest to her house?

She pulled off her heels, slipped on her flip flops, and wriggled her toes. Freedom at last.

Half way in, the bush behind her rustled, and Gwen spun quickly, searching the area for any human shape. The rustling continued, and she staggered backwards, heart beginning to pick up its pace.

"Hello?" She shivered, searching her bag for a weapon. "Who's there?"

No response.

Gwen turned and hastened her steps. An involuntary turn of her head to glance over her shoulder almost cost her her breath. A male in a hood with both his hands shoved into the pocket of his hoodie trailed behind her, stretching his long legs.

"Oh, no." Gwen gulped, heart skipping a beat with every step she took.

She lifted her feet and began to run and so did he. She gasped for breath.

She glanced over her shoulder and cold water ran down her spine the moment she saw he was catching up to her.

Suddenly, she bumped into something hard and fell on her butt. Pains spider-webbed her entire coccyx, and she let out a shout of agony.

Gwen's eyes snapped open immediately to take in what knocked her down and saw a hand being extended to her.

"Who are you?" Her lips shook, and she crawled away from the strange person in a black villain’s coat.

"Come," he whispered, but she shook her head in dismay, crawling backwards as fast as she could.

Abruptly, she bumped her back on two firm pillars that stopped her movement, and she froze, blood rising to her chest. She raised her hands to feel the pillars with her palms and found they were not pillars, but legs.

"Dã-i drumul." The guy who had sent her falling to the ground ordered in the sternest tone she had ever heard.

"Nu!" The hood guy sank his fingers into her hair and pulled her up, earning a deafening scream from her.

"Te comand!" he yelled. "Dã-i drumul!"

"Te dracu," he yelled then dropped Gwen on the floor before jumping back into the bush.

Glossary:

Dã-i drumul: Let her go

Nu: No

Te comand: I command you

Te Dracul: Go to hell