"She seems... determined," the butler added.
Shawn finally couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore as he blurted, "And who is this woman?" His eyes flashed with an eagerness for gossip.
Andrew, on the other hand, sat up fully, the tiredness in his eyes remained, but they had now turned sharp.
"Why is she so eager to fulfill the contract?" Andrew ignored his friend's question with one of his own, which he muttered thoughtfully to himself.
"It appears Miss Thompson has great need for the monetary benefits promised in the contract, master." Butler Jones said these words with the purest intentions possible; however, he didn't expect his words to cause a darkness to shroud his boss's face.
"For the money..." Andrew muttered with a low sneer, his face rigid. The air around him chilled, making Shawn aware that this wasn't a topic he could ask about.
"If she wants to fulfill the contract so badly, so be it."
With that, he rose to his feet, causing the butler to shrink lower, wondering if the sudden coldness his master exuded was because of something he'd said.
She felt a chill run down her spine and quickly whirled around, facing the door of the master bedroom at the exact same moment it was pushed open, and a long shadow of darkness stood at its entrance.
"What are you doing here?" The dark voice, muffled behind a full face mask, spoke, and she swallowed nervously.
"I don't want to delay the contract any longer."
"You're defying the contract. You should be here on Fridays, not any other day."
"It'll be Friday in a few hours," Anne said, looking towards the wall clock, which the masked man followed her gaze. It would indeed be midnight in a few hours.
The man's gaze moved away from the clock, and he began to move towards her. His height was imposing and his aura too powerful for one to resist. She thought she'd killed any fear or wariness when she came here decisively, but as this man approached her with slow steps, she found herself shifting backwards.
He stopped, looking at her feet, which had shuffled two steps backwards.
"Are you afraid of me?"
Funny! She had signed herself over to him, yet she had fear in her eyes. Was she only thinking about money when she decided to sell her body to a devil?
Anne swung her gaze up to meet the dark pair of eyes behind the mask.
Why would he ask her that?
"I... am not."
He took more steps forward, and she moved back again. Realizing what she'd done, she bit her lips, silently chastising herself.
Stop it, Anne! Focus!
She took a deep breath and stilled her heart. This time, it was her who moved forward. Step by slower step, she met him halfway in the middle of the vast room.
"Can... can I make a request, please?" Anne fiddled with her fingers nervously as she asked this.
Her blood was pounding in her ears. No amount of forced bravery could change the absurdity of what she was about to do.
"What gave you the idea that you could make requests? You only have one job here. I believe I don't need to tell you what that is."
"This is in order for me to... to perform my job effectively." Anne was never one to stutter or mince words, but in front of this person, she would have to think every word twice before saying them, causing her to pause several times, appearing to be nervous... but she was indeed nervous.
"What is this request?" The man took the final step she had been unable to, closing the small distance between them.
With him being this close to her, the pace of her beating heart increased. But there was no turning back from this, so she shut her eyes for a single second and opened them instantly, emboldening herself.
"Please take off your mask."
A cold silence reigned in the room for a while, the kind of silence that caused her entire body to run cold.
"What did you say?" The low question that emerged from the man made her feel the urge to run. His voice was frightening, and the dark pools of his eyes seemed to have gotten darker—a telltale sign that her request had perhaps gone too far.
"Can you please take off your mask?" His eyes seemed to narrow, and she quickly added, "I won't see your face. You can turn off the lights. I just don't want to feel like... don't want to feel like..."
The words couldn't come out. She feared she would push this person's anger to the final edge, but she honestly didn't want to feel like she was having sex with a demon, and the mask didn't make him look anything less than that.
"I don't like people who speak vaguely. Say what you want to."
He'd seen her just a few hours prior, and her eyes had looked lost and hopeless. The light had gone from her eyes, and he remembered that light very much. It had been present at the start of their meeting, when she'd talked back to him fearlessly. Precisely that very moment he'd cornered her along the halls of the chairman's office.
"I don't want to feel like I'm sleeping with a demon," she said softly.
There was silence. She thought he was angry, but there was no way of her seeing the tilt to his lips beneath the mask.
Was it a smile, or an evil smirk? There was no way of telling, but he suddenly replied.
"All right."
Anne's lowered eyes snapped up once more.
"Re... really?"
"This is not a favor, Miss Thompson. I don't do favors... what I do is called debts."
Anne's delicate brows drew together.
This person sure was petty. For something so small as taking off his mask, he was actually calling it a debt? What kind of repayment would he ask of her?
"Then, how should I repay?"
"I'll let you know when the time comes for it. Lights off."
The brightness in the room switched to complete darkness upon his command.
Anne couldn't even see her own skin clearly; all she could see were shadows.
The person in front of her moved, raising his hand up to remove the full face mask concealing his features.
For a second, she wished to be able to make out his countenance.
What did he look like? She wondered, but quickly pushed back the curiosity.
The man's face was merely a shadow in front of her, and that reduced the level of intimidation she felt.
When Anne decided to come here, she'd made it the ultimate mission to only leave once she'd fulfilled the contract. Kristen's life was at stake.
That thought whisked away whatever hesitation left in her. The next second, she made a very bold move that she never thought she would be able to make.
She tipped herself up on her toes and pressed her lips against the man's cold, hard lips, shrouded in darkness.