"Today is the day!" Abby proclaimed the minute she got into the office.
Noelle and Lexi looked at her curiously. Noah didn't bother to raise his eyes.
"What's up?" Lexi asked.
"Today Noelle is coming with us for drinks after work!" Abby replied.
"I'm coming? When? Where?" Noelle tried to make sense out of it.
"Honey, I've told you so many times. You have to go out with us! You keep slipping with vAnnaous excuses, but today I booked a table for three!"
It was true. She had used all reasonable excuses she could muster. She had to give in.
"Abby, that's right! We have to kidnap her! But please, not today!" It seemed she was just saved by Lexi.
"You got plans already?" Abby asked.
"Yeah… Jeff will take me out for dinner."
"Love comes first. Ok then. What about Wednesday next week?" Abby asked.
"I'm free!" Lexi confirmed.
"Great, I'll reschedule for then!" Abby said.
"Shouldn't I check too?" Noelle dared to ask.
"You're being kidnapped, you have no choice!" Lexi informed her.
"And Noah here will act as a witness. You're going out with us!" Abby said, looking at the Ice King.
"Leave me out of it," Noah said.
"Or you can come with us…" Abby suggested.
Noah smiled for Abby with an innocent smile that didn't fit his character. He put on his earbuds and continued his work.
"These two boys were peculiar from the very start. Exceptional both, but peculiar. I'll tell you more next week!" Abby said and walked out of the room, leaving them with a bizarre, uneasy feeling.
Next week she would finally have her first after-work drinks. And there was no way she could avoid it!
______________________________
"Noelle! I need some help. Can you get these files to Luca? They are some updated parts of the script. He has to study them," Lexi told her after lunch.
Noelle raised her eyebrows.
"Take them? Where?" Noelle asked, surprised.
"Downstairs. He is practicing in studio two."
Is he here?
"Can't he just come here and pick them up?" Noelle felt that that was the easy and sane thing to do.
"He is not coming up. Asked him already," Lexi informed her.
Scared to face Chloe? Afraid to face me?
She flirted with the idea of him being intimidated by her.
Neither had truly won their last battle. He was definitely cooking something up, but she was prepared. She had her weapon now. And she was anticipating their next clash.
"Fine, I'll take them," Noelle stated, got up and walked out of the office with the files in her hands.
A floor below, she found herself in front of the heavy door, with the huge number two on its right.
Noelle hesitated for a moment. The last time she felt she was being too harsh. No, she wasn't going to use her arrows unless absolutely necessary.
She opened the door. The monitor was projecting Luca singing, his instructor watching him closely. The yellow sofa was there and the headphones were just lying on the table next to it. It felt like a message from the universe.
She couldn't ignore such a message. She sat on the sofa and let her ears indulge a private live performance. What a voice… No matter who he was, what he had done, his singing was captivating.
"Well done Luca. Keep practicing, and you make a strong comeback whenever you feel like it," Mr. Elliot praised him.
Comeback? Is this what he is working on?
It was only natural for such a talented singer to focus on music. He was making a lot of money though from acting. If he was to drop films and series at that point his revenues would drop considerably.
"Thank you, Paul. It is not time for that now. But I will keep working hard," Luca said.
He was all in for the money, apparently. He was neglecting his natural talent for earning money.
It sounded weird though. Noelle had noticed that he always wore simple, understated clothes, never designer labels, except those for public appearances. His car, as Lexi had told her, was a simple mid-sized sedan, one that her grandfather could have driven. The only thing that made it somewhat distinctive was the tinted glass.
High income, low spending. Yet he seems obsessed with money. Is he investing? Or had he been investing at high risk?
She suddenly remembered the photos. Could it be? Blackmail? Before her brain could make a link, a voice interrupted her thoughts.
"I'll be leaving you. Good afternoon," Mr. Elliot said, and in a second got out of the booth.
Noelle didn't have a chance to move. Stunned, she watched Mr. Elliot walking in front of her. Although, he just nodded like it was the most natural thing in the world, seeing a girl eavesdropping on a rehearsal. She nodded back, trying to play cool.
She was now supposed to knock on the door and give him the papers, right? But she couldn't find the strength to get up. The thought of him walking out and seeing her there would unleash his paranoia on her again.
The headphones still on her head, she could hear what was going on inside the booth. She looked at the monitor. Was he getting up? No. He was rubbing his eyes, looking thoughtful.
He then cleared his throat and started singing again. Acapella. A song she had heard before. A song she was told was the only one he had ever written. A song he was no longer performing. A song he was supposed to have written for the one he loved when he was young.
She knew she should have, but she couldn't take off the headset. His voice was so powerful it rooted her to the spot. His singing was so heart-wrenching it made her feel his sorrow. Goosebumps rose on her arms. And at the end, she gasped. His voice cracked, a sob replacing his song.
Noelle was shocked - not by Luca's vulnerability, but by the first thing that came to mind. Yeah… She thought she should comfort him.
Damn you and your singing…
Fear brought her back to her senses. She had to get out of there. If she was to be discovered at that moment, she was dead meat.
As she touched the headset she saw in the booths' window an eye fixed on her. It was that slight possibility Noah had said weeks ago: 'Unless someone presses his face on the window.'
She checked the monitor. Luca was leaning on the window as he had stopped singing. He had noticed her, and he shot up.
In a second he was out of the booth, his eyes red but his eyebrows ominous. Noelle sprang to her feet, finally removing the headset from her ears.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded.
Her first reaction was to freeze. She was caught red-handed. Not that she was doing something wrong, but she'd seen something that she wasn't supposed to see. She had successfully - thought unintentionally - invaded a very private moment.
"I... I was ... asked to bring... these," she muttered, showing the files.
He frowned and looked at her for a very long, uncomfortable moment.
Then he snatched the papers.
"Get lost!"
He was crumbling the papers in his hands. She was afraid that the next thing he would crumble would be her.
"I'm terribly sorry," she said quietly, looking at the floor. She turned around and ran out of the studio.
She was so excited she had her ammunition minutes ago. Nothing could harm her, that was what she thought. As she crossed the company hallways she found out she was severely wounded, without even realising it.
Why was she sorry? For being busted? Or for being moved by the monster's pain?