Unwritten Desires-Chapter 41

Eleanor

The second I turned the corner and stepped through the narrow door tucked into the paneling of Simon’s office, a wave of cool air brushed past my face. I blinked into the dimly lit space, my eyes adjusting quickly.

The room was small—almost like a hidden cellar—with wine racks lining the walls from floor to ceiling, each slot filled with dusty, expensive-looking bottles. There was a faint scent of aged wood, metal, and something else—like citrus and spice—lingering in the air.

I raised my fingers to the side of my face and whispered, "Adrian. You can go in now."

No response.

I pulled back slightly, just to repeat myself, but then stopped when I heard Adrian and Liam murmuring something about distracting a woman. I wasn’t even sure they had heard me but it was probably fine. I’d done what they asked and now I just had to keep that psychopath busy long enough for Adrian to do what he had to do—that is if I could find him in this cramped space.

I let out a breath and leaned against the wall for a second, my mind drifting back to a few seconds ago.

The only reason Liam said please earlier was because he was desperate. Desperate for the file. Desperate for the truth. Nothing else. And that was totally fine, I told myself. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

It’s not like he suddenly started caring, this was all just part of the plan.

...even if my chest tightened at the memory of his voice.

I brushed the thought aside and took a step forward, only to crash right into something warm and solid.

"Jesus..." I stumbled back, heart lurching.

And the something I crashed into turned out to be someone. Him.

Simon Hart.

To be honest he didn’t look as old as I expected him to be, especially now he was up close. Though the peppering of white at his temples betrayed his age. His skin had the creased smugness of a man who thought far too highly of himself, and his sharp eyes took me in with a single sweep—calculating, quiet, dangerous. And worst of all, pleased—eerily similar to the look he wore earlier in his office when he had his disgusting hands on me just because he knew I couldn’t push him away.

What a creep.

"I don’t remember saying you could come in here, Maddie." he said slowly, his lips curling just slightly.

Crap.

I tilted my head with an apologetic smile, hoping my face wasn’t screaming pure disgust. "I just got...a little curious as to why you were taking so long...and um I got a little distracted at how big and fancy this place looked on the inside."

He arched a brow and looked past me at the wine cellar’s interior, then back again. "Curious girls can get into trouble, you know."

"Mmm." I hummed lightly, even though my heart was pounding.

Then I felt it—my earpiece, slipping. I reached up instinctively to fix it back, but it was too late. It fell to the stone-tiled floor with a soft clink, and as I took a step back in reflex, my heel crunched down on it.

I froze.

Double crap.

How was I supposed to communicate with those two now?

There was no more Liam. No more Adrian. I was on my own now.

Simon’s eyes flicked to the ground, but thankfully my leg was already on top of the broken piece so he didn’t see anything and I knew he definitely wasn’t going to leave it at that so I knew I had to distract him.

"You seem to have each and every type of wine in here, it must be hard choosing which one to drink." I tried not to sound suspicious.

"Not exactly." He replied with his creepy smile. "It’s actually easy when you have the exact one in mind." He murmured, tilting the bottle in his hand with a sly glint in his eyes.

"Really." I forced a smile, pretending his gaze didn’t make my skin crawl. "That’s nice." I said before turning to leave, hoping that Adrian and Liam had gotten the file already but the firm hand on my shoulder told me I wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

"Since you’re already here," His unnerving tone pulled my attention back to him, and the slow smile on his lips made my stomach turn. "Why don’t we have that drink in here? We could just sit over there." He gestured lazily to his side.

"No need to rush out."

"Oh...sure. Why not?" I maintained my smile, letting my gaze drift towards the couch like I hadn’t just imagined stabbing him with the corkscrew on the counter which was just a few feet away from us. His hand stayed glued on my shoulder and with every passing second my patience thinned.

Ugh Liam and Adrian are going to pay for all of this.

I was still very aware of the crushed earpiece under my foot and I knew I definitely couldn’t leave it behind. Didn’t want to give him any ideas.

In a matter of seconds I slipped off my bracelet and let it fall to the ground and before he could realize what was happening, I crouched fast, scooping up both my bracelet and the broken ear piece, palming it before he could get a proper look.

"Sorry...I dropped my bracelet." I showed him the shiny piece of jewelry.

"That’s fine."

Fortunately for me his hand had slipped off when I crouched down so he didn’t have any reason to put them on me again.

We both made our way to the couches and I let myself fall into one with a casual ease I didn’t feel. My eyes stayed on him as he poured me a drink—no doubt a spiked one. Judging by his words earlier, he wasn’t supposed to spend that much time in here which only left me with that conclusion.

I shifted on the couch, feeling the tiny shards of the earpiece pricking against my skin. My sundress didn’t have a pocket so the only choice I had was to slip the shattered pieces into my bra. Even now I had no idea how I’d pulled that off without losing a tiny piece.

"Here." His eyes gleamed as he offered me a glass and I took a moment to steel myself before taking it from him.

This was what I had to do to help Adrian. To help Liam...even though he was nothing but a jerk to me.

I doubt he was ever going to return the favor someday.

I lifted the glass to my lips, watching the crimson liquid swirl as I tilted it slightly, it smelt expensive...rich and aged. Just like the old hag.

Who would’ve thought that I’d be drinking a spiked drink one day just to keep someone busy?

And not just someone....a smug, wrinkled excuse of a man with grabby hands and a smile that made my skin crawl.

Ugh.

The warm liquid met my lips and I could feel Simon’s gaze burning my skin as he watched me so intently.

Do I drink it? Do I pretend or give a random excuse?

The aim was to make him not suspect me right?

Even if I pretended to drink it, it would only be a matter of seconds before he realized it.

Countless thoughts ran through my head before I finally gave in and parted my lips.

Even though Theadora was still a teenager, a little drug wouldn’t hurt her right?

Wrong.

It’s not like I was going to stay here long enough for the drug to take effect.

You don’t know that.

Oh God. I’m in deep, deep trouble, aren’t I?

"Wow. It tastes great. I’ve never had anything like it."

Act the part. Act the part. Act the part.

Even if every part of me wanted to claw my way out of this fucked up wine cellar, I still had to act the part.

I just had to trust Adrian...and Liam I suppose. I just had to wait for them to get me out of here.

"So...um," I began after taking another sip. "Will you be able to find my brother?"

Oh crap. What the hell was wrong with me? I was supposed to be worried about my brother and yet here I was acting so calm.

"Don’t worry sweetheart." He settled a few inches beside me, and it took everything in me not to scoot away—or better yet, throw the entire drink in his smug face. "My assistant is working on it right now." He added and even though I knew he was lying I just smiled at him.

His cologne was sharp and suffocating, like expensive poison—too heavy, too deliberate, clinging to my nose like he wanted to be remembered. Underneath it, I caught the sour trace of sweat and old whiskey, and it made my stomach churn.

If he moved even a fraction closer, I swear I’d snap.

Oh God. What on earth is taking those guys so long?

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