It was beautiful. The ambience, the vibe—everything screamed luxury, not the kind that would make you cringe, but the type that would make you appreciate the taste and style of the person.
Elara briefly looked around as she walked further into the club, which was private to the very hotel she was walking into, where Mr. Macros's assistant took her.
It was strange.
They were in the horse riding arena just fine. If Mr. Macros wanted to talk to her about something, they could've done that there, too.
Then again, was there anyone who could understand a psychopath's mind and heart?
"The room is here," The assistant bowed before Elara, and she furrowed her brows.
She looked at the gate of the private room, eyeing it suspiciously.
"If your boss is planning to murder me here, just so you know, my brother will not hold back," Elara said when the door opened and she saw pitch-black darkness.
Alen's smile stiffened before he stretched his lips even wider forcefully.
"I assure you, Miss. Our boss has no intention of killing you…" yet.
Alen coughed at the last word that came into his head before nodding at himself when he saw Elara entering the room. He did a good job hiding his boss's weird intentions, right?
Curious to know why his boss would ask him to bring a woman, especially the one he met only today, into the private place that he forbade everyone to enter whenever he was in town, Alen walked inside the room himself.
Elara braced herself for all kinds of sights and words from Daniel Macros. After all, she was the one who left that girlish horse for him without knowing his identity.
What if, rather than killing her, he was planning to dismember her limbs or something?
Suspiciousasooo… Elara nodded to herself, one hand reaching for her phone, where her brother's number was already on speed dial.
However, as soon as the lights were turned on, to say she was surprised would be an understatement at the scene.
Before her on the table were a few things she didn't understand, making her knit her brows before her gaze traveled to the brooding, cold, and arrogant man sitting on the black leather couch, his right leg crossed over his left, leaning back in a relaxed position.
His lazy, casual gaze made her heart flutter, and not in a good way. Her survival instincts told her to keep her distance from this particular man, whatever the reason was.
But what irked her more was the various items placed here and there throughout the room. The room was clean, but the random things definitely didn't add up to the man's presence. Then again, it wasn't her business.
She shrugged and sat.
"You were good." The man leaned forward slightly, the two undone buttons of his shirt giving her a perfect view of the milky wheatish skin, and Elara quickly averted her gaze, her pupils dilating when she saw the man's eyes squinting into a slit.
Did he catch her looking? She wondered.
"Didn't you hear?" He asked, looking annoyed, and Elara snapped out of her thoughts before clearing her throat.
"I don't understand what exactly you mean," she said and took a sip of water from the glass placed before her.
The man pressed his lips into a thin line before looking at his assistant.
Alen quickly stepped forward.
"Miss, our boss is appraising your riding skills," Alen explained.
Elara made an 'o' with her lips before she nodded in understanding.
"Thanks," She said casually before sitting straight when she realized how casual she was being.
"I mean, thank you for the compliment, Mr. Macros," she blinked her eyes.
"I lost the bet, not something that usually happens. It makes me furious," he said.
Elara widened her eyes before she quickly shook her hands.
"Oh no, that's not your fault. You didn't know that was my baby, Orion. That's why you made that bet," She quickly explained.
Mr. Macros nodded.
"That's true. You tricked everyone into believing you were a rookie at it, wanting to ride an untamed horse. Anyway, I lost the bet, and I shall fulfill my part," the man said before he looked at the things placed on the table.
Elara looked at the various things placed before her; finally, her gaze fell on the small candy.
"Right. She had asked for a candy if she won." She was about to stand and grab the candy so she could leave as soon as possible and get out of the sight of this brooding man that she didn't intend to ever meet.
However, before she could make a move, the man opened his mouth to speak.
"Your wish was quite ambiguous. That's why I asked my men to prepare anything and everything available that is candy. There are a few more things, but they are being brought here by our helicopter and arranged. What was that you wanted?" The man asked.
Elara furrowed her brows before finally realizing what he meant.
She looked across the room more observantly.
"That's the dress from the famous designer's Candy collection. The antique purse with the name is being brought here. This building in the centre of the city was named Candy by her owner, and this—" The assistant started explaining, and the more Elara heard, the more she felt a headache approaching.
She smiled bitterly before standing, grabbing the small candy from the jar, unwrapping it, and popping it into her mouth, her actions catching the assistant off guard, who was still explaining all the items in the room.
"There. Your part of the deal is done. I have a meeting scheduled later. Can I leave?" Elara asked.
The man, who had been observing her since earlier, squinted his eyes into slits once again.
"You meant this candy?" He asked to confirm.
Elara nodded.
"I didn't know you were that kind of big shot when I made the bet with you, or I wouldn't have made this bet," she said.
Daniel's brows raised.
"Are you regretting? If you had known about me, you would've made another bet. One with a bigger price or deal, right?" Daniel asked with a smirk that reeked of malice.
Elara stretched her lips into a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"No. I wouldn't have bothered with you at all," she said before she nodded at him and left.
Daniel Macros sat there, struck for a few seconds. This was the second time someone was walking out on him in his entire life. The first time was…
He looked up at the place where Elara was sitting earlier before taking a deep breath, and a smile appeared on his face.
Alen Desmond, who found the smile a bit peculiar, cleared his throat.
"What's the reason behind your smile, sir?" He couldn't help but ask.
Daniel chuckled darkly before massaging the place between his brows.
"Didn't you see what just happened?" Daniel asked.
Miss Elara walked out on you. What else? Alen wondered but didn't voice it out loud.
"This assistant doesn't have the capacity to interpret such things so easily, sir. Please enlighten me," Alen said.
Daniel shook his head and stood.
"That girl has fallen for my charm. This was her way of making me notice her. How naive that girls still go out after that," Daniel scoffed.
Alen—"..." Sir, I might not be an expert at this, but I assure you that was definitely not what it looked like. That woman made it crystal clear with her eyes, her words, and even her actions that she didn't want anything to have to do with you.
Alen wanted to say all this, but at the end of the day, the man before him was his employer, and more importantly, someone who could kill him with a flick of his finger, and he cherished his life too much to die over making a statement.
Thus, in the end, all he could do was smile.
"In that case, what are you going to do, sir?" Alen asked, maintaining his smile.
"Let's see," Daniel smirked coldly.