Obsidian's Reign ¹

∷ Chapter 4 ∷

JAMES DUIVEL STOOD in the reception hall staring at the lift landing with a blank expression on his face. Upon arriving earlier that evening unable to locate Clara anywhere within sight, he had decided to be uncharacteristically forgiving. Generally, he hated waiting—it didn't matter if he was early, he expected the other party to arrive before him; as selfish and improbable as that sounded.

It was Clara's first day at work and he decided to cut her some slack, arriving on the promised time instead of earlier as he usually was. And yet, she was late. As more and more of his employees exited the building with quiet murmurs of farewell, he grew increasingly agitated until, at long last, he was forced to accept the sudden realisation that he had been stood up.

He pressed his lips into a thin line, eyes closed as he tried his best to reign in his frustrations. He had to remind himself that he was very much in a public space and losing his cool in such a setting was not wise. He exhaled audibly and took a moment to ponder over the possible cause of Clara's delay.

He knew for a fact that the eighteenth floor was useless. None of his clients ever showed up at this time of the year which meant Clara had nothing to do. Still, a delay had arisen. One that clearly had no affiliations with Alphaplex and would require Clara to leave the building early.

James sighed. Why couldn't this be as easy as all the others?

He absolutely detested when things took unexpected turns, especially when he had planned everything down to the minute details. He exhaled in irritation as he retrieved his phone from his inner coat pocket. He pulled up the only contact stored on his phone and didn't have to wait long before his call was answered.

"It's me," he said by way of greeting.

He listened to what the other had to say before choosing his words carefully. He didn't want to risk the chance of being overheard.

"Listen—there's been a change of plans."

His voice trailed off as he finally left the building, heading straight to the multi-storey parking lot across the street. He had taken weeks to devise the perfect plan only to have Clara ruin it.

It was beyond frustrating but he'd wasted enough time dwelling on the fact. All he had to do now was to come up with a new plan in the time it'll take him to rendezvous with his associate.

He wasn't about to let Clara Avery get away so easily.

It was time to set things right.

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CLARA FOUNDERED INTO the foyer of the medical centre and earned herself a look of disapproval from the nurse behind the reception desk. The nurse in question had straight blonde hair pulled into a low ponytail at the base of her neck, giving her a somewhat strained look that didn't seem to sit well with the frown on her face.

Clara could not see Jade anywhere. She walked up to the desk feeling slightly embarrassed and consciously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Is Jade around? I spoke to her on the phone earlier," Clara said with a smile she hoped didn't seem too forced.

"I take it you're the granddaughter of the lady down in room 67? Jade told me you'd be coming, so go ahead. Here, take this," the nurse said, handing her a plastic visitor's pass.