Chapter4-Shadows in the hallway
781 Words
The elevator ride up to her hotel room was quiet, the only sound being the occasional sound as it passed floors. Julia’s mind was still going round while holding her purse tightly as she tried to shake off the conversation.
Loyd was toying with her. That’s all this was.
Just as she reached her floor and stepped into the dimly lit hallway, a weird sensation came over her.
She felt a presence. The kind that made the hairs on the back of her neck to rise.She turned her head slowly, looking up and down the hallway but it seemed empty.
She ignored the feeling, reached for her door, slid her key card in, and entered her room.
As soon as she entered her room, she froze. Something felt off.
A palpable sense of unease hung in the air.
She then looked across the room, only for her to notice her suitcase lying on the floor, open and searched through.
Julia’s heart racing, she stepped back and grabbed her phone.
Before she could dial anything, the door behind her clicked shut. She turned around, and her breath caught in her throat.
Loyd Kingston stood there, calm as ever, looking as if he had not just locked himself inside her hotel room.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded with her pulse pounding.
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he picked up a document from the mess on the floor. It was one of her business plans. One she had spent years perfecting.
He then held it between his fingers, perusing through it with speed.
“This is impressive,” he murmured, turning a page.
“No wonder you don’t want to sell. You’ve been playing the long game.”
Julia snatched the document from his hands, rage boiling in her chest. “You broke into my room?”
Loyd’s lips wiggled.
“Relax. I didn’t break in. Your door was unlocked.”
She knew very well she had locked it.
“Get out.”
Loyd took a step closer. “I’m not your enemy, Julia.”
“No? Because from where I am standing, you look exactly like the problem.”
She laughed mockingly.
”He breathed so hard, running a hand through his hair as if lost in thoughts. And then, he said something that made Julia’s blood turn ice-cold.
“You need to leave this deal alone.”
”What?” her heart skipped a beat.
Loyd’s expression darkened.
“You think this is just about business. It’s not.”
Julia stared at him, in confusion and shaking with fear.“What the are you talking about, Kingston?”
He paused.
And for the first time since meeting him, she saw something different in his face, not arrogance nor amusement but a warning.
“I looked into the investors you have been dealing with, and Julia, you are playing with fire,” he said with a low voice.
A chill ran down her spine.She had been so careful, so calculative in building her company. But she had also made deals, shaken hands with people she didn’t fully know.
“What? And you expect me to believe you? After you spent the whole dinner trying to buy me out? ” she shot back at him.
Loyd exhaled, shaking his head.
“I was giving you an easy out. One that keeps you safe.”
Julia’s stomach twisted.
There was something in the way he said it. Something creepy.She took a step back, her hand gripping her phone.
“Is this some kind of scare tactic…”
“It’s not,” he interrupted. “I wouldn’t be here if it was.”
The weight of his words settled, but Julia refused to let fear take control.She straightened up.
“Then tell me who they are.”
Loyd’s facial expression changed.And that’s when she knew.He knew exactly who they were and he was afraid.A moment of silence stretched between them, heavy with something unspoken.
Then Loyd turned, walked toward the door, and he placed his hand on the handle but right before stepping out, he glanced back and said,”You’re smart, Julia. Be smart about this.”And then, he was gone.
Julia stood frozen, her pulse pounding in her ears.Something was wrong, very, very wrong and for the first time in her life,she had no idea if she was about to win this game.
As soon as she turned back to her suitcase, her phone buzzed in her hand.
Another unknown number.
Julia swallowed hard before answering, and then an altered accent came through the line.
“You should have taken Kingston’s deal.”The call ended.
Julia gasped silently.
- Writer
