~Chapter 21~
Joey, my dad's friend and also a client now, was a short, stout man with a permanent beaming face. From seeing him firsthand, I could tell that his jolly personality was somehow linked to the little kids and so maybe he built a planet toy store for them. They were all just my assumptions but it was pretty much showing on his face.
My dad was inside Joey's office at the back of his planet store, discussing and going over the last minute details while I cruised from aisles to aisles. If it were in my hands, I'd have bought the whole shop by now. The miniature version of the planets amazed me while the books on the same were pulling me to them like a magnet.
Once I was tired from all the trudging around, I finally sat down on a small, white couch in a corner, facing the window to rest my not so tired feet.
I placed my chin on my hand as I absent-mindedly watched the cars passing by through the window. Just as I was sweeping my eyes everywhere, they fell on a hunched over figure behind the camera held by a tripod. He lifted his head to look around him quickly and my eyes widened when they landed on Rick hyena.
Scrambling to my feet hurriedly, I bolted outside the store and onto the street. My feet thumped against the ground angrily like they had a mind of their own.
The cacophony of angry honks screeched around me but I just had one mission on my mind. It was to choke off his circulation and ask him about Ms. Maxwell's corrupted plans. The sudden noise alerted Rick and he gulped audibly.
Everything went back to normal the moment I was done crossing the street. Hyena's huge eyes widened even more when I approached him but he knew he couldn't run, not without his camera equipment.
I clapped my hand on his shoulder with more than an intended force and he almost fell over. "Well, hello… hyena," I greeted him with a sickly, sweet smile. "You must feel so good to be America's household name, huh?"
The pervert looked ready to combust with the way he was trying to take a step back.
"What are you doing here? Are you following me?" I was really trying to keep my anger down but I guess it wasn't working.
"Look, man… I-I mean, woman, I am just following the orders," he stammered, fear stricken.
I retreated my arm back, shooting daggers at his DSLR. "Orders from whom?" I crossed my arms across my chest, giving him my best 'spill now' look.
"I don't know, I swear!" He showed me his arms, getting all fidgety. I tilted my head to the side with pursed lips. "Don't give me that look, man! I mean, wo-woman!"
"Don't play games with me, hyena-"
"First of all, my name is Ri-"
"I don't care! So." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "So, who set you up with this? Tell me. It is Katherine Maxwell, isn't it?" I smirked like I had won a lottery.
He scrunched his nose and stared at me as if I'd lost my mind. "What? How'd you know the name? I didn't know she's a woman."
"What do you mean?" I rolled my eyes, clearly annoyed by his snake and ladder game.
"What I mean is that the person who's tipping me off is anonymous to me. They've been using this androgynous device to conceal their voice when talking to me on the phone. And I'm also asked to send my emails via American Remailers Anonymous (ARA) to keep their identity secret. So, basically this person prefers to stay incognito. I have no idea who I am talking to," he answered with a grave frown.
As soon as those words left his lips, I reeled back in shock. "Wait, so all this time you've been clicking these pictures because some boogey ordered you to?" I was shocked beyond belief.
"Yeah, I mean he's been filling up my bank account with some eye boggling numbers." He shrugged and bit by bit his expression lit up like that of the fourth of July. "But you can't do nothing. Your threats about suing me will be futile 'cause the upper man's taking care of me."
I've never felt such a strong urge to slap off that grin from his complacent face. He licked his upper teeth and wiggled his brows. "I know that it's Ms. Maxwell," I said, this time with more determination.
"Who's she now?"
"The one you were talking to, a few days ago across from a coffee shop in New York. A tall woman in a pencil skirt. You're lying to me. You've met the person who's asking you to do this," I snapped, my patience wearing thin.
A look of recognition crossed his face and he started shaking his head. "I-"
Before he could say anything further, someone grabbed his collar from behind and turned him around. Looking over Rick's shoulder, I saw Skye scaring the dude with a dark scowl.
However, when his eyes fell on me, his grip on Rick's collar loosened completely, making him take one too many steps away from Skye. I could tell that he hadn't noticed me before. "Valerie," he breathed, his features softening.
I didn't even acknowledge him and put all my attention back to Rick, who was quickly panning his camera at us. "Ooh, I likey likey." He wriggled his crooked fingers. "There's so much hot and sexy tension going on between you two that I cann-"
Skye grabbed his collar again, making the poor guy shake tremendously. "Click a picture and you won't be able to cuddle with your damn camera from this moment on. I won't have any regrets about breaking it off." His voice was low and I couldn't resist looking at him.
He was in his casuals, a rare sight but he looked more than handsome in his olive green, long sleeved t-shirt rolled up to his elbows and dark jeans. My heart went into an overdrive but I managed to pull off my poker face. No matter what I thought, he looked really hot with his jaw clenched and angry expression.
"What's up with you guys manhandling a powerless guy like me?" Rick squeaked.
"Why are you here in D.C.? And who are you working with?" Skye asked, gritting his teeth.
Rick groaned, sporting a feverish look. "I am not working "with" anybody. I'm working for somebody," he corrected. "And for who? I swear to God, I haven't a clue, man… and woman," he quickly added and I had to bite my lip from laughing on his face. "It's someone anonymous."
Skye pushed him gently, taking his hands off of Rick's collar before looking at me with confusion lacing his gorgeous features. "What are you doing here?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you the same question?" I gave him a flippant reply and he frowned as if hurt by my attitude.
He was about to say something when his head sharply turned toward Rick. "I am warning you for the last time, if you record then…" Skye snatched the camera from Rick's hands which was already detached from its tripod. "Then I'll smash it off."
"Give me my camera back, kind sir!" Rick started hopping on his legs and held out his arms. He seemed uneasy with the way sweat was rolling down the side of his forehead. "Please," he whimpered. His eyes were darting around anxiously.
I expected Skye to relent but he just raised a brow at him nonchalantly. He didn't ease off his tense stance nor did Rick, who seemed ready to cry buckets.
"I'll tell you something! I can tell that it'll help you but just not… my baby! Not my camera!"
"What is it? What are you going to tell?" I butted in, an eager expression on my face.
"First my camera." He looked really desperate this time.
"No. First you're gonna have to spill the information." Skye smirked darkly and I've never seen him so much into the character. He looked intimidating and I had to blink my eyes to see that this hard guy in front of me was actually the Skye I'd come to know. "Or you wouldn't want me to drop this… accidentally, would you?" He sure knew how to threaten.
Rick's eyes bulged out of their sockets and he fisted his hands, shaking them furiously beside his face. I made a mental note that photographers love their cameras more than breathing. "Fine. Fine!"
"Good." Skye finally relaxed and came closer to stand beside me. I completely ignored his actions and looked at Rick expectantly. However my body didn't miss it one bit and was itching to close the distance between us but I maintained my posture.
"This same anonymous person asked me to meet him in one of these gala events that he's hosting this weekend on Sunday. We will be discussing something that I don't know yet but you can see him or her or whoever they are, when they'll give the acknowledgement speech at the end," he revealed in a hushed tone.
My eyebrows scrunched together hearing his words but Skye looked unaffected. "Where's this event again?"
"In New York itself. They booked the venue at Marriott Marquis Times Square," he said, his eyes wildly darting toward his camera and Skye with urgency. "But you need to have an invite."
I scoffed in disappointment and my shoulders hunched forward angrily.
"Well." Skye smirked, this time more light-heartedly. "I might have gotten one as well. They might or might not have also said in the invite to bring a plus one, meaning a date." This time he turned to me, his eyes sparkling with mirth.
I rolled my eyes at that. "So didn't the invite say who's hosting the event?" I asked him, keeping my voice void of any emotions.
Skye sighed, looking almost sad but I couldn't tell what for exactly. "It did but it seemed like a pseudonym… I guess? Because I've never heard the name "Kyle M." before."
At that, my brain started churning a mile per second. An androgynous device to conceal the voice. Emailing through ARA. A pseudonym - Kyle M. Katherine Maxwell was the first name that popped into my head. Both these people's initials were K.M. "Ms. Maxwell," I whispered to myself.
"Huh?" Skye asked, leaning a bit closer to me and I could feel my face getting hot due to the proximity.
"Nothing," I replied curtly and shifted away from him nervously.
"My camera, man! Give me my camera back now!" Rick exclaimed, pulling at his hair in agitation.
"Of course. A deal's a deal." Skye grinned. I looked at him and I knew immediately that he was working something out because of his expression. Handing over the camera back to Rick, Skye and I watched him scurrying away from us in a haste.
It just left the both of us alone as we stood there awkwardly, none of us knowing what to say. I was oozing a suppressed anger while he stuffed his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet.
"So…" he began, giving me a sidelong glance. "Didn't expect to see you in the capital."
"My dad lives here." Was my short reply. I didn't elaborate because I expected him to join the dots about meeting my dad today for Thanksgiving. I still didn't look at him and continued gazing ahead on the road. A part of me wanted to ask him as well but I could be stubborn as heck when angry at someone.
"Oh." I could have left him standing there but I was curious to know more about this huge gala event held in just three days. Who am I kidding? I just wanna keep talking to him. "Well… my grandparents also live here because they love politics and what better place than here." He chuckled.
Hearing his soft laughter made my heart flutter in happiness. I hummed in response but didn't say anything. It was so weird - in a good way - to see the transition in his personality. He went from the dangerous billionaire to a soft guy within seconds.
"So about that gala event… do you wanna tag along?" I looked at him this time and he seemed both scared and hopeful. "I mean, not as a date or something. More like a, you know… like you also wanna know who's behind all of this, right?" He explained quickly, scratching the back of his head.
It took everything in me to not let my lips twitch upwards. "Thanks. I am coming whether you like it or not," I said, nodding.
Hearing those words, a dazzling smile took over his lips. It took me back to our kiss in my apartment, making my heart stutter and thump quickly. "I like it," he said it like he was in a trance but then his neck started reddening as realization hit him.
"It's okay," I told him softly, shrugging. Although my insides were waltzing around happily.
"Valerie-"
"I need to go." With that said, I walked away from him. This time, I didn't stop nor did I look over my shoulder.
I knew that it was rude but he couldn't just do things and make decisions without giving me any explanations. He wouldn't tell me the reason for insulting me and had also left abruptly after that kiss we had shared. I couldn't help but think that he regretted it, no matter how much ever sweet he's at heart.
I swiped a finger under my eye to wipe a tear before it could roll down my cheek. I wish things were better in our world.