93. Mae

As I strode my way down the hallway, Leo's eyes glued at me and though I wanted to feel pretty, I couldn't push away the thoughts that he was looking at the dress and not me.

I stopped when I got to him. He looked at me from head to toe and just when I thought he would compliment me, he said nothing like last time. He just started down the stairs and I followed behind. Was Anita sure this was the dress he said he liked?

"Where are we going?" I asked when a man held the door to one of the cars waiting for him.

"Get in the car," was his response.

I did like what he just ordered. I got into the car through the other side. Another man there was kind enough to hold the car for me.

"Can I ask where we're going now?" I asked in a lower voice when the car started on the road outside the mansion. Leo sighed before turning his neck to me.

"We're going to meet Lade at a bar, we'll fix a price for you and speed up the plan." He sounded angry but somehow his voice was still calm.

"Will I be sold off to him today?" I opened my mouth with another question despite the heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"No. We'll just be fixing a price for you today. Don't do anything stupid." He warned with his eyes showing how serious he was."You'll be nice to him, no matter what..."

"You should have let me know earlier, I don't know if I'm prepared to meet him."

"This is me letting you know earlier, Miss Yrote. We won't be going there directly. I have a few things to take care of at the office, it's after I'm done we'll meet him so you have all the time to prepare yourself." He turned his eyes away from me and looked back in front of him.

I guess I'm ready to face Lade now... or am I? I don't know... if Leo thinks I'm good enough to want to sell me to Lade already then I'm probably good.

The car reeled into the front of a very tall building and I thought it would halt there at the entrance but it didn't. The car slowly drove into what seemed like a parking lot. Leo's office I guess. The car was opened for us and we got down.

It wasn't hard to know that this was a private parking spot when I followed Leo to an elevator waiting there. The moment the elevator opened, we met a woman whose face I was sure I had seen before.

"Sir, the meeting will begin in the next twenty minutes, and Pete has been waiting for you in your office." It was his assistant, I fucking knew I had seen her before. She was in Leo's study the other day.

Leo just nodded to all she said while the elevator took us to the very top of the building.

I was left sitting in what seemed to be a waiting room while Leo did what he came to his office for. I caught his assistant staring at me every time I looked up from what I was reading. She must have thought I was one of Leo's whore. Now that I think of it, I wonder if he takes them with him to places.

"Miss Yrote," Someone came into the waiting room, it wasn't Leo."Let's go," Pete told me and left before I could even get on my feet and soon we were back in the car.

Pete had me get into the car with him and I didn't see Leo but I just assumed he was in another of the cars. I only discovered that I had driven to the bar alone with Pete when we got there.

"Put this on," Pete handed me a half-mask, leaving me wondering if they were required before I could get into the club.

I arranged it to rest over my eyes, concealing the upper half of my face, only then did Pete get out of the car to come get my door for me.

"You're my girlfriend for tonight and you just recently flew into the city. You can drink but don't get drunk, and don't utter a word unless you're asked to."

Pete's words had me confused but I just nodded. We walked into the bar but not towards where we could take a seat. Pete led me to a room and took out a gun from his suit jacket, startling me.

"Sir Vance wants you to have a weapon, just in case..." He trailed after ending his three last words through gritted teeth to show me that he didn't trust me with the gun but had no choice but to follow his boss's orders.

I nodded and was about to take the gun from him when he drew his hand back, withholding the gun from me. "Don't fucking use it unless you have to." He fixed a warning glare on me. I sigh inaudibly. If I did plan to shoot him with the gun the moment he gave it to me, I would and wouldn't mind dying for it but I've given up on trying to kill him or Leo, at least not while I'm still trapped under their control. And I think Leo already knew that.

"Understood," I said and took the gun from him, putting it in the purse that came with my outfit.

"Good for you," he huffed before opening the door and stepping out. I followed. We went and took a seat in one of the spaced-out corners.

Soon, some men walked in and started to approach our table." He is not here," one of the men with a scrunched face noticed and I couldn't help but assume he was speaking of Leo.

"He's a busy man, couldn't make it." " Ete answered, sitting relaxed while the men stood and watched us.

"If he's too busy, we can reschedule..." Another man behind the man with a scrunched face hissed and turned around to leave, making the others turn around and willing to go with him but he was held back by the first man to speak to Pete.

They talked in whispered chats before looking back at us, at me actually. Each of their eyes scanned me before they took a seat too, the others still standing behind them.

"Who is she?" One of them asked but I was too distracted by the suitcase that was being placed on the table to know who.

"Well, Jerry, she is my girlfriend, just picked her up from the airport, t," Pete told them and had me restrained from denying the lie.

Jerry's eyes lingered on me, probably trying to see through my mask. "We have a message from our boss, intended to be given to Mr Vance himself," Jerry narrowed his eyes at Pete who still kept a stern but collected look.

"It'll be passed to Mr Vance successfully." Pete wanted to take the suitcase to the table but Jerry, the one with the twisted face stopped him.

"Is there really no way to have Mr Vance be present here to receive this himself?"

"You should know that Mr Vance wouldn't task me with receiving this if he didn't trust that it would get to him..." Pete trailed and tilted his head a little while keeping his eyes on Jerry holding his wrist to stop him from picking the suitcase up.

Jerry turned his neck and looked at his friend sitting next to him. After what seemed like a silent conversation, he let go, leaving Pete to draw the suitcase closer to him.

And there I was, seated without knowing what was happening or why I was seated next to Pete and pretending to be his girlfriend.

"Send our good words to Mr Vance," Jerry stood from where he was sitting and everyone else followed him as he left.

"Yes sir," I heard Pete talking to himself once the men left. "I just received it."

"No, the box is not heavy, it's not light either..." He said again after a while, confusing me a bit more before it dawned on me that he had earbuds in his ears. He was speaking with Leo, I think.

Pete didn't say anything for a while, he just stared at the suitcase as he listened on and then he clicked on the automatic lock holding the lips of the case together, opening but not to my view.

Pete closed the suitcase as quickly as he opened it, I didn't even get to see what was inside but I could tell that it irritated him much to lock the suitcase again.