Billie Bossa Nova

10.

For two weeks, she got no reply from Kai regarding Tyla. Furthermore, nothing to report back to Finneas regarding Adan. In those torturous days of stagnancy, she was awfully distracted with being Kai's PA rather than on her own mission. Adan was barely ever home, locking his room, office and library when he left. When he was, she wouldn't notice he was back until she saw him at the breakfast table in the morning on her way to work. Upon coming home, he would be gone again. Billie's curiosity was killing her to know where the hell the man went and why on Earth his visits to this place were so frequent.

Kai was strictly professional at work. Barely looked at her, even when addressing her and only ever made eye contact when his declaration or delegation was dire. Mostly, he was on his phone, or on his laptop or at the flat screen television in the boardroom while he addressed the board. She was seeing more of him in those glasses that gave him an edge that tempted her mischievous side to break through. He was always busy with meetings or contracts or speaking with investors and sponsors or such.

That quick flash that she had noticed during their argument about Tyla appeared more often at home. Where he would return late and she would be getting a glass of water. His eyes would sweep over her, meet her gaze. He was shameless in his staring, that much was evident. Perhaps because she reacted nervously when he did and he enjoyed that reaction. After all, he wouldn't spare her more than a glance throughout the day, but when they were home and nobody was in the room, he appeared to be fighting with himself to leave the room.

On this particular night, Haille, a friend of hers from CRO, had told her that she had just gotten back from a four-year long mission and would like to catch up. Billie was happy to, seeing as she and the girl were great friends from when they were ten years old to the age of fourteen when she was assigned to a field mission in Japan as the adoptive daughter of rogue scientists running an underground human testing lab. CRO was serious about the long game, and Haille had persisted to the very end.

But she and Billie no longer related the way that they used to. The girl dressed different, acted different and was shaped into Japanese lifestyle. Not that that was bad, Billie appreciated diversity more than anything, having been sent to many missions abroad. But they now prioritized different things and the conversation was so forced that Billie was incredibly relieved when it ended.

On the night that she was coming back to the Rivera mansion from that very situation, she had found the door unlocked. It was none of her concern if someone broke into the house. She didn't care about the Riveras. In fact, it might have just been one of Adan's enemies. Someone who had a much deeper resentment than Tyla Gibson did. But what she did care of were the servants. Yes. That was why she was concerned about it.

She removed her heels and started to pad her feet gently onto the polished ceramic floor. Even a mouse moved louder than her.

She swept passed the hallway without a sound and towards the kitchen. After examining it and finding it emtpy, she carried on down to the dining room and servant's common room. Upon walking out, the feint sound of a grunt hit her ears, so small that she nearly would not have heard it. She followed where she assumed it came from, her steps far more calculated now that she knew that there really was someone there.

She searched around for a good tool to use as a weapon, finding none. Fine. She'd have to use nature's weapons, then. Her fists clenched at her side in anticipation as she came close. Another sound materialized into her senses. A hard cling, perhaps of metal. And then the grunt again. Looking ahead, she found the lights of an unfamiliar room on. She followed them, still cautious of every step and keeping her eyes everywhere and anywhere she thought that a person would be able to pop out and ambush her.

Just as she got closer and set her eyes on the room, her nerves calmed, but not completely. It was when she walked in that she was fully relaxed. The room was a large home gym, rich with all the equipment required for a good and full-scale workout. She couldn't believe she hadn't seen it there before. Juanita had never given her the full tour of the entire house, maybe because of the lack of time and the huge expanse of the house.