OLIVIA
“Excuse me, Adrian. Do you two know each other before?” I asked Adrian out of curiosity.
Their sudden bonding was getting to bore me. I couldn’t help but ask. It wasn’t too long before Adrian walked inside the station, and he was already exchanging pleasantries with one of the cops as though they’d known each other for a thousand years.
“Oh, yes, we do know each other. Too bad I didn’t introduce him to you when I should have,” Adrian confirmed in a rush. He didn’t even wait for me to finish asking before responding. It was as though he knew I was going to ask the question.
“Matthew and I used to be best friends way back in high school. Too bad he relocated to Germany with his parents,” Adrian further explained as his smiles widened to his ears.
It was strange to see smiles on Adrian’s face after the shit I made him go through in recent times.
It was the first time I’d met someone posing as Adrian’s friend. I used to believe that he was an introvert until that moment.
“I see,” I said calmly. I stretched my hands forward to initiate a handshake. I also introduced myself to him in grand style.
He looked quite attractive and neat. If I hadn’t met him at the station, I would have mistaken him for a runway model.
“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Matthew winked at me.
“Adrian, you never told me you were married. Why didn’t you introduce her to me as your wife?” Matthew teased Adrian.
It was a joke I frowned at. I didn’t know what gave Matthew the slightest idea that we were married.
Adrian channeled his gaze at me as we both shared a telling look before he told Matthew that we weren’t married.
I forced a smile and buttressed. “That’s true. We aren’t married. Adrian and I are business partners.”
I saw the restlessness hovering around Adrian. I could imagine the stress it took him to make such a brave affirmation.
“Can we proceed to the business of the day, please?” Matthew tasked us after a silence broke in the midst.
“Sure!” I muttered.
“Adrian here will explain better. Can we please go talk about this in your office?” I requested.
I didn’t trust the other cops enough to handle what I was about to discuss with Officer Matthew.
I figured that whoever that was after our lives might have the cops on their payroll.
“This way, please,” Officer Matthew urged us as he led the way to his office.
As we walked to his office, I noticed the way he was staring at Kate awkwardly.
I wasn’t comfortable with the look, even though Kate had refused to speak up for herself.
“Officer Matthew, is anything the matter? Do you have a problem with my assistant? Because I saw the way you were staring at her,” I raised the question immediately after we arrived at his office.
I might be a jerk sometimes, but what I don’t tolerate is someone looking down on Kate or treating her like a piece of trash, most especially in front of me.
“Oh, she’s your assistant? My apology. I thought she was some random person. I nearly kicked her out of office,” Officer Matthew explained and justified his reason for acting the way he did.
I felt insulted on Kate’s behalf. At the same time, I blamed myself for not introducing Kate earlier. Perhaps if I had done that, Officer Matthew wouldn’t have disrespected her that way.
I looked at Kate and noticed how excited she was. She didn’t imagine that I would defend her the way I did.
“It’s fine. Let’s proceed,” I swallowed my anger and tapped Adrian to get the ground running.
“What is the matter?” Adrian was confused. The way he spoke proved that he wasn’t even paying attention to what happened. I even doubted if he was still aware of the reason we visited the station.
Quietly, I whispered in his ears without making it obvious that we were having issues. The whisper in Adrian’s ears played a massive role in rejuvenating his lost soul.
“Someone is after our lives. Barely an hour ago, we were attacked by some suspected hired assassins. We were lucky to have escaped being shot dead,” Adrian explained, without leaving any stone unturned.
“Now I see why you requested to have this conversation in my office,” Matthew sighed. He was starting to understand everything perfectly.
He brought out a tape recorder from his drawer and placed it on the desk. Thereafter, he asked Adrian to repeat our idea with the suspected hired assassins.
“Do you suspect anyone? I mean, Is there anyone on your mind that you feel might want to get you killed?” he asked Adrian.
Adrian didn’t respond immediately. He signaled me to speak because he knew that I was the prime suspect and not him. He was just unlucky to find himself in such a pathetic situation.
“Yes, I do know someone,” I answered. The only person who crossed my mind was Rene.
I was scared to submit her name to the cop without any valid proof whatsoever.
“Do you know someone? That’s great! Who’s that? Male or female?” Officer Matthew asked me in anticipation that I was going to speak immediately.
My guts failed me. I didn’t want to make some shocking decision that I would regret in the future.
In the process of trying to figure out what to say, my phone rang. I was elated that the call came at the right time just when I needed a distraction.
After bringing out my phone to see the caller, my mood changed.
“Speak of the devil,” I hissed immediately and wished I never checked my phone.
It wasn’t the call I was expecting. The caller was the same reason I almost got killed.
What I didn’t understand was why the person had to call just when I was trying to unravel the enemy. I suspected foul play immediately. I didn’t think it was a coincidence.