10 Creepy

Elma could not hold back from laughing now. So far, she'd been having a swell time in the giant walk-in closet. From trying on multiple pajamas to pulling off the classic girl look, she could not help giggling away her excitement over the many looks of herself she had captured on camera; her phone's selfie camera.

Currently, she'd reverted to 'regular demand' fit. The difference though was that the jeans she had on did not feel like any jeans she'd ever worn before. Also, the T-shirt; crispy white. All of which smelled like a million-fucking-dollars worth.

One-click.

Two clicks.

Three…

This was starting to feel so good, she thought.

"And Ted is so not going to believe where I've been and with who —" she giggled as she stepped off the closet— "Is it weird that I'm missing that one?" Elma said once she reached one of the lounges in the sitting area of the suite. The tug she'd felt a while to have her put a call to Ted and let him know her whereabouts — for safety reasons — had drastically reduced. Riccardo was all that was swimming in her head. Him and how she felt completely safe with him. Safe. That was a huge word considering what had happened to her not so long ago….

No. Elma shook her head. She wasn't going to do that to herself… thinking of that prick. Not today, she thought and sprang up to her feet. She was going to catch a sneak at the daylight when a huge knock planted on the front door.

"Who is it?" She'd already veered her feet in the way of the passage upfront when she asked.

The only answer she got was another such knock against the door's chest. Her heart needed a minute to thud for whatever reason, she let it but stayed on course.

"Mr. Di Mauro?" She had opened the door and now her eyes were locked in those charming black irises of his. Riccardo wasn't doing any more than standing there and looking at her. Okay, maybe he was doing so much more. His eyes were crawling up her legs until they landed strongly on her face. Elma almost fell from the intenseness of just his gaze. His tongue slipped out of his mouth. He smacked them against his lips, alternatively. She knew then that he wanted to say something, wished to say something. But he just sucked it up. Just like that. Without a blink.

"We need to leave." Riccardo dropped the bomb which wasn't something she was hoping he would say. Her eyes may have revealed her surprise. She just hoped it didn't read off as creepy.

"Why do we need to leave? And where are we going to?" The words just rolled out of her tongue before she realized how desperate not-to-leave it revealed of her situation.

Riccardo shot her a blank look. "When I say we need to leave, Ms. Gray? It means exactly that. Shut the door and walk with me."

How creepy was that? Elma thought.

"At least let me get my stuff; my phone and…"

"You can. But we leave in no less than thirty seconds. Something's happened. It is no longer safe for us to remain here, for you to be here. So be fast about what you want to go get."

Reading off his features; cold as ice, Elma didn't spare a minute for fear of getting him crossed or something. So she quickly dashed back into the suite—good thing she no longer had those stilettos from before. The sneakers bouncing off the glossy floors helped her into the closet where she'd dropped her bag a while. Yanking it off the sleek brown rectangular table, she made it out of there.

She could feel her heart hammering in her chest and usually shouldn't be that way but maybe something he had said about them being unsafe had triggered her flight and fight hormone.

Elma was back in the doorway now with her bag in hand. She was so sure she wasn't forgetting anything. Up the hall, she could see him reaching the elevators in a quick stride. But did he intend to leave her behind after what he'd said?

Crazy motherf###

Bag in hand, she carried on her sprint until she was standing next to him. Inhaling the delicious smell of his cologne. She could also breathe in the weight of whatever secret he was locking away in his heart.