20 Taking off his Hoodie

"Ella!" The waiter who had returned back from the kitchen shouted at the girl who was almost licking her phone.

Startled by the sudden noise Ella almost threw her phone. "W-What is it?" She stuttered through her words and while doing so the headphone came off.

A loud music resounded throughout the empty café.

'~~~Baby I love you~~~`Baby I am waiting for you~~~~'

With this song in background a male voice was speaking a heartfelt emotional line to the heroine of the movie.

'~P-please don't leave me…..I~I have loved you for so long..My heart…..It has only loved you and IT WILL ONLY LOVE YOU.'

The waiter who had just returned, "...…"

"So what is this? Hmmmm?" He looked at her with a smile which was not a smile but a devil's trap. One could see fire burning in those round black eyes.

Ella who was trying her best to decrease the volume looked at him apologetically and guiltily. "Boss~~umm….hehe.." Ella looked up at him as soon as she turned off the phone. In panic mode she hit the power off button instead of the volume one. Well it did not matter as long as the sound stopped.

He gave her a death glare pointing towards the corner of the café. "So what happened to the guest over there?? Where are they??"

"Ahh! Them!" Ella gave a wide grin. She was relieved. "They left a few minutes ago. They have left the money." She raised her hand in 'I swear pose.'

"Ohhh…Then show me the money." He was looking at her with those twinkly eyes and the same deathly smile.

"Wait….hmm it's somewhere here…" Ella looked frantically on the counter. Since they had just left she was waiting for that scene to finish and keep the money in locker. 'Ehhhh? Where did it go?' Ella checked the nook and hook, every corner of the counter, her heartbeat increasing with each passing moment.

"Are you searching for this?" He held a white tissue paper. "Ahhh yes.." Ella replied with a relief. "Huh! I mean no." She reliazed the thing he was holding was actually a tissue paper and not paper money.

"Wait, the money might be somewhere here, I will search for it." She once again dive down only to be stopped by him.

"Geeezz…..stop…Tch..You won't find the money that doesn't even exist." Ella did not know how and where thgings went wrong but she felt guilty somehow. Still, she had seen them keeping the money on the counter.

"Sorry boss." She was guilty about watching the drama so early in the morning. ' I want to watch after the confession though, I can't wait.' She looked even more pitiful glancing at her phone.

The waiter looked at the tissue paper that had few words written on it.

'I WILL REPAY YOU DOUBLE FOLD THE NEXT TIME I COME. FOR THIS TIME PLEASE ADD IT TO THE ACCOUNT.'

'~~YOURS SINCERELY'

"I knew those people were weird the moment they stepped in the café." He yelled clutching the tissue paper.

"What's done is done. Can't cry over spilled milk now. Can we?" He threw the paper inside the locker. "Just keep it." He was not the one to believe in these type of scams but felt there was no loss in believing them.

Either was it was his loss already.

"Boss!!" Ella gave him a pitiful look.

"Ohh, As for you. You won't be getting any salary this month." He gave her the coldest smile he had given anyone.

************

"Lucia~~" Liam called her from behind.

"SHhhhhh… Don't talk with me right now. I am drowning in my sea of sorrow and guilt." Lucia walked guiltlily drooping her head. She did not want to owe money to someone else. More than that she did not wish to owe anything to anyone in this life.

"It's fine. Plus you have given your guarantee to him." Liam was amused with the way she did things. He too did not have money but with one call he could have called his men and take care of things anyway but…

" I do not need any kind of help from you." This was the answer she gave to the him when he offered her a help with some conditions though. 'Tch..If only she had accepted my offer.' Although he did feel amused he still hoped she could get entangeled with him for a long time.

'This feeling, its weird.' Liam unaware of the future decided to wave away this unusual emotion welling up inside his stone heart.

'Might as well stick with her until I am bored.' Liam sighed finally feeling that unclear emotion clearing off.

"So I need to get ready for my campus..Are you gloing to follow me there as well?" Lucia frowned finding he was still on her tail. They were finally in front of their house.

"Let me drive you to your campus." Liam offered shamelessly.

"No thank you." Lucia rejected him before his offer even finished.

Feeling the vibration of the phone in his pocket Liam signaled her to wait for a bit. "What is it?" He answered in the phone, his voice and aura doing a turn of total 180 degree. His voice became cold, ruthless and devoid of any emotion as soon as he answered the phone.

Lucia felt chills coming from him. That was the same voice he had used the first time they had spoke on the phone.

"WHAT?" Liam growled on the phone. "Oh, ok…I will come soon. Don't try anything reckless." He cut off the call and looked at Lucia.

"Sorry, I won't be able to drive you to campus today." Liam put the phone inside his pocket.

"I am more than happy." Lucia answered with a grin reaching from one ear to the next. Although he heard her he did not have time to bicker with her even if he wanted. He had urgent matters to attend to.

"Uhhuh.. Get home safe." He patted her on her head before entering the car he had parked outside her home in the morning. There was no flirting, no mockery, no perverse in that pat. It only had a affection.

"W-What are you doing?" Lucia immediately covered her head. She felt a little hot where his hands just landed. That was the first time someone had ever given her that kind of pat excluding her mom. That pat was almost similar and it felt warm.

"Heh.." Liam smirked at her reaction which was for the first time neither cold nor angry. "See you later." Liam sat on the driver seat and drove the car into the empty morning street.

"I do not want to see you again, Idiot shark." Lucia shouted turning at the direction of the car even though it was out of her sight.

"Finally freedom." Lucia stretched her body before going into the house. She had a lot thinking to do before she head off for her campus. She looked at the card on her hand. "I need to think this through as well." Lucia took off her shoes entering the house with a hungry stomach.

"But before that I need food." She directly jumped inside the kitchen hugging her mom from her back.

***********

"Boss you are finally here??" A man draped in a thin cotton shirt came running out to meet him as soon as Liam dropped out of the car.

"Where is the man?" Liam frowned moving forward without even caring to hear the answer. He needed to see with his own eyes.

"Boss, we have asked him his identity but he did nit answer us. Currently he is inside but.." the one who had come to receive him stopped abruptly in between his talk. He kept fiddling with his fingers like some kind of high school girl trying to confess to her first love.

"What is it? Why did you stop?" Irritated Liam looked with a murderous glare at him. Just a moment ago he was having fun and amusement in his own world but the suddenly a call came and ruined all of that.

"B-boss, please don't be angry." The man stuttered. He was already sweating buckets.

"Hmm?" Liam looked at him without saying anything else. His eyes alone were enough to scare the shit out of the man.

"B-Boss although we have aksed the man to stay inside..We don't think he is the one you are looking for." He wished for the ground to open up and engulf him whole as soon as he finished whatever he wanted to say. That was easier than being given the death glare.

"I will see it for myself." Liam turned around and walked straight into the warehouse. He stood in front of the old rusty door of the warehouse, his hands clenched in a tight fist. With a slight push he threw open the door to the inside of the ware house.

Seeing their boss entering the ware house all of his mean stood upright and uptight in an attention position, their breathe halted. No one dared to even speak a word at the moment.

"No one shall dare to come in." Liam commanded in his cold voice. Everyone replied simultaneously.

"YES SIR."

Liam entered the warehouse slamming the door with just one push, the rusty and creaky sound of the gate echoing throughout the empty house.

He stood before a man clad in well dressed and tailored expensive suit. He was crossing his legs, one on top of the other as he sat on the old chair elegantly.

"So you are here finally??" The man raised his eyebrow in an arc. "I thought you were going to run away with tail between their tails." With a dangerous glint in his eyes he added. "Again."

"Oh, long time no see. I see you have become quite a man." Liam hissed through his gritted teeth. Taking off his hood which revealed a toned body of six pack abs and firm biceps Liam smirked at the man. Cracking his neck he looked him loftily.

"I have been seeing that pretty face of yours all over. You know it had been frustrating to just see you in screen." Liam stood strong and tall looking down on the man sitting before him.

"Oh ho, is that so. Guess I am really famous if you can see me anywhere." The man stood up from his seat taking off the coat he was wearing revealing a well maintained body as good as his face. Unbuttoning the buttons on his sleeves, he looked at Liam as if he was some kind of prey.

"Heh, I hate that look on your face. I always did." Liam was not wasting any of his effort to curse at him.

"It's been too long since we did this." Liam took off his silver locket around his neck and threw it on top of his hood. "Come Ryan." Taking a fighting stance he looked at him. "Or should I call you Ryan Nicholas; the heart throb movie emperor."

"I hope your skills have not rusted." Liam added in the end.

Being called like that Ryan glared at Liam with a smug look. " Why not see for yourself. Let our fist do the talking, shall we?"

Without speaking anything further both of them lunged at each other, their muscle tensing as their fists closed in a punch, closing the distance. Balancing his weight on his left foot, Liam threw out a curved punch aiming right at Ryan's gut but Ryan easily countered him by blocking it with his forearm.

"Your habit is still the same Liam. Your moves are easily predictable." Ryan smugly looked at Liam.

"Tsk..you damn pretty boy." Liam retreated a few steps back but due to misstep he lost the control of his footing.

"Not so fast…Now its my turn." Ryan picked up his hands in a tight punch throwing it right at his face. Unable to react in time Liam looked at the punch that was about to slam right into his face.

"GOT YOU."