“Great. I usually struggle to sleep more than a few hours at night, but I slept like a baby.”
She eyed me warily. “Yeah, well, you did have an eventful night. No wonder you were exhausted.”
I nodded, forcing my eyes to look away from her own suspicious ones…
In the light of day, Quinn was a sight to behold. The deep brown of her skin seemed to reflect the soft morning light creeping around the curtains, and her beautiful eyes sparkled in the sunlight just as well.
She flicked her thick plaits over her shoulders. “Are you hungry? The restaurant’s up and running. Want some breakfast?”
It took me a few seconds to register what she had said, as I was too preoccupied with staring at her to be concerned with anything else, but when she cleared her throat and raised a brow, I was finally jolted out of my thoughts. I shook my head, spitting out the words through clenched teeth. “I don’t have much of an appetite—” but it was just then that I noticed the plate she’d been holding in her left hand all this time, and the mouth-watering smell that was wafting through the air. Not wanting to be rude, I began nodding instead. “But thank you for offering! I’ll eat what I can!”
She smiled as she placed the plate of food down on the bed next to me. I eyed it, sighing as I realized how badly I had to pee.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“No, I… It’s just that I need to, ugh…” I sighed again, squeezing my eyes shut. I could feel my cheeks burning as I swallowed thickly and murmured, “I need to use the bathroom.”
“Oh.” When I opened my eyes, I noticed that her face had softened, and I felt the telltale tick begin in my jaw as my body tensed and my face heated up even more. She was already coming closer, not looking particularly bothered, but I could tell that she felt a little awkward. “No problem. One summer, I volunteered at the senior center. I can help you.”
The oh-so familiar feeling of humiliation was just as strong and as present as always as I moved to the end of the bed, and she bent down to slide her arms around my torso. She struggled to help me to my feet, and I felt awful for not being able to carry my own weight.
Putting one foot in front of the other and taking the few steps to get to the bathroom was even harder than it usually would be because I couldn’t concentrate fully on the task at hand. Instead, I was distracted by the scent of vanilla that only grew stronger the closer I leaned into her, and the occasional words of encouragement she would murmur in my ear as I paused, too tired to continue walking for a few moments. And the way she looked at me… Unlike most people in my everyday life, there was no pity or discomfort in her eyes.
Even while she helped me take a seat on the toilet. Although I couldn’t look at her while she did, my skin burning almost painfully. I couldn’t lift my head up until after she’d left the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
I heard her yelling about needing to take care of something back up at the restaurant, but by the time I’d finished in the bathroom, she had returned. She helped me back to the bed, and I smiled, settling onto the mattress again.
“Enjoy,” she said after handing me the plate.
“Thanks,” I smiled.
I don’t know what I was expecting when I took the first bite, but whatever it was, it wasn’t anything nearly as good as this! A deep groan rumbled out of me before I could stop it after taking a bite of the chicken. Bold flavors saturated my tongue, spices merging perfectly, my mouth watering as I hurriedly dug in for more.
“Wow, this is delicious!” I told her, watching as a pleased smile grew on her face. A very pretty smile at that. “You owning a restaurant makes total sense!”
“Thanks.” She waved me off with a quiet giggle.
“Mm.” I pounced on the opening. “Your niece and nephew are pretty cute. How old are they?”
Her eyes dimmed slightly as she sighed almost inaudibly. “Janiyah is four and Jamal is six… They live here with my grandmother and me. My brother and sister-in-law passed away a year ago, and since then, I’ve been their guardian.”
“Oh.” I frowned. “I’m sorry to hear about your brother. That’s a lot of responsibility.”
“It is,” she murmured before clearing her throat. “But hey, we’re managing!” She seemed to think for a few moments as she rubbed her hands down her black slacks. “Um… Do you know how soon you’ll be leaving?”
“I’ll have to get into contact with Nigel.” I shook my head with a groan. “But his contact information is on a cellphone that I didn’t bring along with me. I’m sure if I think about it, I’ll be able to remember his number. I’ll give him a call and he’ll probably be here in no time!”
“Right.” She narrowed her eyes slightly as she picked up the remote and turned on the tv. “Well, you just eat and then…”
The moment she turned on the TV, the voice of a newscaster filled the room.
“This just in. The Reclusive Jasper King has been reported missing by family friend and lawyer Edward Jeffries.”
We both froze. The fork in my hand clattered onto the plate and Quinn stared at the screen, her eyes widening in horror as a picture of me appeared on it.
“The case is being treated as an abduction,” the report continued. “Mr. King was reportedly last seen in his bed last night, during the annual Kings Foundation gala which was held at the King mansion. This is believed to have made it easier for Mr. King to be secreted out of his home. This is an urgent situation, as Mr. King suffers from an unknown illness, and needs his medication, which was left in his bedroom, to regulate and provide relief to his symptoms. A relapse in this situation would be life-threatening to the reclusive billionaire. Edward Jeffries is offering a sum of five million dollars to whoever has any information leading to Mr. King’s whereabouts.”
Quinn
