Chapter 4: The call
981 Words
Lor’s phone kept ringing in her hand, vibrating as if it carried the weight of Dan’s fury. Her fingers hovered over the screen, torn between answering and letting it ring until he gave up.
"Are you going to pick it up or let it explode in your hand?" I asked, my own heart racing.
She hesitated, then with a deep breath, swiped to answer.
“Hello?” Her voice was cautious, controlled.
“Enjoying the view, Lor?” Dan’s voice came through, smooth but edged with something dangerous.
I watched her face closely. She tensed. He knew. But how? Could he actually see us, or was this just a lucky guess?
“I—what are you talking about?” she shot back, trying to sound unaffected.
Dan chuckled. “Don’t play dumb. I know you're watching. You always were a little too curious for your own good.”
Lor clenched her jaw. I could tell she was trying to come up with something clever, but she was still processing the fact that he had caught us.
"Why would I be watching you, Dan? You're not that interesting."
“Oh? So you weren’t spying on me from Benny’s place?”
My stomach dropped.
Lor turned to me, her eyes wide with panic. How the hell did he know we were here?
She covered the phone’s speaker. “Benny, is there a way he can see us?”
I scanned the rooftop. No cameras, no drones. My place wasn’t exactly a high-tech surveillance zone. But then, I looked back toward Dan’s office and noticed something I hadn’t before—a faint reflection in the glass of his window.
The bastard had been watching us through the glass the whole time.
I smirked, impressed despite myself. “He’s using his window’s reflection,” I whispered. “He must’ve caught the movement.”
Lor groaned and pressed the phone back to her ear. “Okay, fine. Maybe I was watching. And maybe I saw something I shouldn’t have.”
Silence. Then, Dan sighed.
“You don’t understand, Lor.”
“Don’t understand what?” she snapped. “That my fiancé is fooling around with my sister?”
“It’s not what it looks like,” he said, but his voice lacked conviction.
I rolled my eyes. They always say that.
“Then what is it, Dan?” Lor demanded. “Give me one good reason why you and Uma were all over each other in your office this morning.”
I leaned in, waiting for his excuse.
Dan hesitated. Then, in a voice softer than before, he said:
“Lor, it’s business.”
Business? That’s the excuse he was going with?
Lor scoffed. “Oh, you expect me to believe that? You and my sister—business?”
“Yes.”
“For what? A damn scandal?”
Dan sighed again. “I can’t talk about this over the phone. Meet me. Alone.”
That set off alarms in my head. I didn’t like the sound of that.
Lor glanced at me, reading my expression. “Why alone?” she asked cautiously.
“Because this isn’t just about you and me,” Dan said. “It’s bigger than that. And Benny—"
I stiffened as he said my name.
"Benny’s involvement only makes things messier.”
Oh, this was getting interesting.
Lor frowned. “What do you mean?”
Dan hesitated again, as if considering how much to say. “Just meet me tonight. The old pier, eight o’clock.”
Before Lor could respond, the line went dead.
She pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it, then at me. “What the hell was that?”
I exhaled sharply. “That, my dear Lor, was the sound of something bigger than just an affair.”
She crossed her arms. “Do I go?”
I thought for a moment.
“If you don’t, we won’t get any answers.”
“And if I do?”
I smirked. “Then we make damn sure we don’t go unprepared.”
Lor nodded, understanding what I meant.
We weren’t just walking into a conversation. We were walking into something dangerous.
And I had a feeling Dan wasn’t the only one keeping secrets.
By the time the clock neared eight, Lor and I had a plan.
She would meet Dan, as instructed. But I wouldn’t be far.
We took separate cars to avoid suspicion. I parked a few blocks away, keeping my eyes on the pier from a distance. The wind was sharp tonight, the water dark and restless. It was the perfect setting for a confrontation.
Lor walked toward the designated spot, her pace steady, her shoulders squared. She was good at pretending she wasn’t afraid.
I, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure.
Dan was already there, leaning against a wooden post, hands in his pockets. The glow of a nearby streetlamp cast a shadow over his face.
Lor approached, stopping a few feet away.
“You came,” Dan said, his voice unreadable.
She crossed her arms. “You said it was business. Start talking.”
Dan took a deep breath. “Lor… it’s not just about Uma. It’s about the company.”
She frowned. “The company?”
Dan nodded. “There’s something happening—something bigger than us. Bigger than our relationship. And Uma… she’s part of it.”
Lor’s eyes narrowed. “Part of what?”
Dan looked around, as if making sure no one else was listening.
Then he leaned in and whispered something to her.
Even from my spot in the shadows, I could see her reaction. Her body stiffened. Her face paled.
Whatever he had just told her—it changed everything.
I gripped the edge of the car door. What the hell was going on?
And more importantly…
What had we just walked into?
- Writer
