Rina stared at the burly guy in confusion and shock. She took one step back, putting as much distance as she could between herself and the Lamborghini. Joel stepped protectively in front of her while whispering, “Do you know him, or the person who sent him?”
“No,” Rina whispered in response. It was her first time seeing him.
“Hey, man!” Joel didn’t move one bit closer to the burly man. “I don’t know who sent you, or why the person did, but I think you’ve got the wrong house. She’s with me.”
“She’s not,” the man sneered as if repulsed by that idea, his voice identical to his stature. “And I don’t have the wrong house. She’s Rina Powers.”
“Who sent you?” Rina asked from behind Joel. She didn’t have any plans on stepping one foot into the car.
“As much as I would love to tell you that right now, I can’t. Not while you’re out here. But the minute I ensure you’re safe inside the car, and on your way home, I would be more than happy to divulge that information.”
Joel shook his head. “That doesn’t prove anything. Every person in the country knows who Rina Powers is. You could be one of those Anti-fans out there for Christ’s sake. There’s no way I’m letting her leave with you.”
“That’s not up to you,” he mouthed but turned around anyway and headed back into the car. Rina released the breath she had no clue she’d been holding, and Joel put a hand around her shoulders for protection. But strangely, Rina wasn’t scared.
The intensity of the moment had gotten her all worked up.
She tried to think about who it could possibly be, certain that this wasn’t some crazy anti-fan. The first person that crossed her mind was Kayla. She certainly had the power and the tricks underneath her sleeve to act this out.
“Why isn’t he leaving?” Joel whispered as if the burly man could hear them from inside the car. The blinding lights were on again, but the car remained stationary. After a few seconds of Rina and Joel watching the car closely, the man alighted a second time, covering the distance quickly.
He stretched out a hand that got Joel thinking he held a weapon. But as he tried to swat his hands away, Joel stopped when he received a disdainful look from the burly guy. He waved the mobile phone in Joel’s face before handing it over to Rina.
“Who is this?” her tiny voice asked. The whole place became silent, with everyone’s eyes on Rina. Her lips didn’t move as she paid rapt attention to whoever was on the line. She handed over the phone to the guy after a moment and turned to Joel.
“It’s important I leave with him,” she murmured. “But you don’t have to worry about my safety. He can’t hurt me.”
“I can’t just let you go like that, Rina.” Joel watched her in exasperation. “You said you didn’t know him yourself. How are you all of a sudden certain that he’s not one of the bad people out for you?”
“Because he isn’t,” Rina whispered. She wished Joel wouldn’t push it.
“Who did you speak to on the phone then?” He questioned. “Can you at least tell me that?”
Rina had formed the perfect lie on her tongue. She was going to tell Joel that the call had come from her parents who were at her home and needed her to come see them as soon as possible. That would have left a lot of loopholes, but before Joel would have been able to figure them out, Rina would already be long gone.
But deciding not to lie to him, remembering that he’d been nothing but nice to her, she just stared at him in silence, willing him to just let it go. The hurt in Joel’s eyes was visible when he realized she wasn’t going to tell him anything else. He’d thought they were heading somewhere with the time they’d just spent together.
Or had he misunderstood all the emotions that were in the room?
“Okay,” Joel breathed. He didn’t like losing, but there was nothing he could do about it tonight. “Call me when you get home. Don’t forget, Rina,”
She nodded and walked behind the burly man. He opened the door to the passenger’s seat at the back, stepping aside for her to get in. Rina didn’t say anything until the car pulled out of Joel’s compound and headed into the night.
“Do you have a name?” She asked, putting her purse on the space beside her.
“Williams.”
“So, Williams, how did you know where to find me?”
She saw him shrug.
“Is he back in the country?”
“No ma’am.”
“Am I going to get anything from you other than curt responses?”
Williams looked at her through the rearview mirror. “I can give you more details if you ask me questions that I have the answers to.”
“Of course,” Rina murmured, leaning into the leather seat. “Highly discreet. How could I have forgotten that.”
William didn’t say anything else, but the silence in the car was becoming too loud and uncomfortable. “Can you turn on the radio, please?” she asked, needing the noise to distract the fury building in her.
“Yes, ma’am.”
William’s hands darted to the dashboard quickly, before returning to the steering. A reporter’s voice came on, announcing a new merger the Graham conglomerate was embarking upon. Rina sighed in exasperation. Was he doing this on purpose?
“I changed my mind. Turn it off.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And don’t call me ma’am. I’m Ri… You know my name.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“This conversation is heading nowhere,” Rina muttered to herself. “And that’s if it can be even termed a conversation.”
She closed her eyes for a minute to drown out everything, but in the next minute, she heard someone calling her name, the thick voice jerking her awake.
“I’m sorry I had to wake you like this, but Mr. Graham mentioned it’s important I wait until you lock the doors behind you.”
Rina got out of the car and headed to the entrance. “Goodnight, William.”
She didn’t mean it.