Watching Us
1421 Words
Lucas’s POV
No one said anything.
If a pin had dropped, it would have been heard.
Adrian leaned against the door frame, amusement all over his face.
His eyes moved from Emily… and then to me.
“Now,” he said casually, pushing himself off the door. “What show are we having here?”
No one answered.
“Won’t you invite me in?” he asked, looking at me.
“No.” I said coldly.
“Brother, you’re definitely still the same.” Adrian’s lip curved slightly.
He stepped forward but I blocked him instantly.
“What are you doing here?”
“I should be asking you the same too…what are you doing in your junior staff’s hotel room?” Adrian asked, one of his brows raised.
“None of your business.”
“Relax, I’m not here to interrupt…whatever is going on here.” He looked at Emily and then back to me, letting out a short laugh.
“…but it seems I have interrupted though.” Adrian chuckled softly.
“Adrian—” My voice came out low and firm.
“Chill…I came to see you.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Adrian stepped back.
“Come out.”
I shifted my gaze to Emily briefly, my eyes telling her to stay put.
Then I walked past him and stepped out of the room.
Adrian followed.
The door shut behind us.
I heard movement behind the door.
Of course she would try to listen.
I ignored it.
“You’ve been getting careless.”
Adrian’s voice was calm now. Too calm.
I didn’t respond immediately.
“What did you come here to say?” I asked finally.
Straight to the point.
Adrian chuckled. “Straight to business yeah?”
“I’ve been observing you.”
I let out a small scoff. “I can see you are jobless and have nothing else to do with your time.”
“Jobless?” Adrian said softly. “Because from what I just saw… you’re doing exactly what I expected.”
My jaw tightened slightly.
“What exactly do you want?” I asked, my tone sharper now.
“Father sent me.”
That made me pause.
But only for a second.
“So?”
“You’re failing big time.”
I chuckled.
“So you came all the way to say this… Daddy definitely knows the type of errand to send his jobless son.”
“No,” Adrian replied. “I came to remind you what happens when you forget why you’re here.”
There was silence.
Heavy.
“You’re getting distracted,” he continued.
I didn’t respond.
Didn’t deny it either.
“You think this is just about fixing a branch?” he said. “You really think Father sent you here for that?”
My shoulders stiffened slightly.
Of course, I knew it wasn’t that simple.
But hearing it from him?
It definitely has to do with the test his mother told me about then.
“What is it that you’re trying to get at?” I asked, trying to control my voice.
“You’ve always been this slow… never seeing what’s in front of you,” he said smugly.
“And you’ve always talked too much,” I cut in sharply.
A small smile formed on his face.
“Trust me, you’re in a deeper s**t than you think.” he continued. “And to think you are busy playing house in a hotel room instead of focusing.”
My jaw tightened. “Mind your damn business!”
“And that’s what I am doing…if you mess this all up, it affects us all!”
I let out a deep sigh.
“Just say it will affect your chances.”
He didn’t say anything; instead, he stepped closer.
“You’re too gullible,” he said.“Give you a woman and suddenly everything else becomes secondary.”
My fist clenched slightly.
“You don’t know anything about me.”
One of his brows raised slightly. “You think?”
“Seems you must be forgetting that…she’s married.” He said lowering his voice as he leaned into my ear.
That struck me hard.
“I know.” My tone is sharp.
“And still yet…you’re crossing lines you shouldn’t.”
My shoulders were tense.
I didn’t respond.
Because there was nothing to deny.
Adrian noticed and let out a soft laugh. “You really never learn.”
I stepped closer this time.
Matching his energy.
“You didn’t come here to lecture me,” I said. “So say what you came to say and leave.”
He watched me for a second.
Then nodded slowly.
“Fine.”
A pause.
Then—
“The branch you’re trying to fix?” he said. “It wasn’t broken.”
My brows pulled together slightly.
“What?”
“It was created,” he continued.
My heartbeat slowed.
“Created by who?” I asked.
He held my gaze.
Then smiled.
“That’s the interesting part.”
I was already running out of patience.
“Adrian.”
“It is all a test…not to see how good you are at fixing things… but your ability to control yourself.”
My jaw tightened again.
This has to be nonsense.
He wasn’t making any sense.
“And right now?” he added. “You’re failing at them.”
I took in a deep breath, trying to be calm.
“Now, what you want me to believe is that Father staged all this?” I asked in disbelief.
“You can choose not to believe,” he replied.
“But you’re a joke getting distracted by…”
His eyes flickered towards the door and behind me.
Emily.
“…while someone is already making moves.” He continued.
“And I don’t just mean in business,” he said in a low
voice.
What he just said didn’t sit well with me.
“What do you mean by that?” I asked, my voice lower now.
He straightened slightly.
“You’ll find out later,” he said.
I grabbed his arm before he could walk away.
He looked at my hand and then back at my face.
“Relax,” he said softly. “You’re starting to look desperate.”
I released him immediately.
My shoulders are now stiff.
He adjusted his coat, which was already slightly rumpled.
“One last thing,” he said.
I didn’t respond.
“I wouldn’t leave her alone if I were you.”
That was it.
My heart sank.
What was he getting at?
“What are you talking about?” I asked sharply.
But he had already stepped back.
“That’s for you to find out,” he said.
Then he turned.
And walked away.
Just like that.
Like he hadn’t just dropped a bomb.
My jaw tightened.
My mind ran through everything he said.
Created problems.
A test.
Distraction.
Her.
I turned immediately.
And opened the door.
***
I opened the door.
Emily was standing right there.
She must have been eavesdropping.
Her eyes looked like there was fear in them.
Something’s off.
I felt it instantly.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as I stepped into the room.
She didn’t say anything.
Her fingers tightened around her phone.
“Someone sent a message.” She finally spoke.
My brows pulled together.
“From who?”
“I don’t know.”
I took the phone from her.
I looked at the phone screen.
Unknown number.
A message has already opened.
It was a picture.
My grip tightened.
This room was in the picture.
Emily is standing in it…unaware.
My jaw locked instantly.
“When did you get this?”
“Just a few minutes ago.”
I scrolled.
Another message.
“Don’t trust him.”
My chest tightened.
Then another.
“You look good when you’re nervous.”
I looked up slowly.
Scanning the room.
Every corner.
Something wasn’t right.
“What’s this?” Emily pointed at a lamp.
Near the lamp, there was an almost invisible tiny red blink.
My face hardened.
I stepped forward.
Reached up.
And pulled it out.
A camera.
My fingers closed tightly around it.
“Someone’s been watching us,” Emily said as her breath hitched.
I turned slightly.
My shoulders tense.
“No.”
“They’ve been recording us.”
Emily sighed deeply. “Recording us?”
I spoke in a low voice. “They aren’t just watching us…”
“…it was a warning.”
- Writer
