Devotion

Chapter 8

ARES

Leomi has already pressed the emergency button, and I called building management to let them know. They quickly apologized and said they were on it.

I'm pissed off because I'm a busy man with things to do. Leomi has been quiet ever since. It's already been five minutes, and she still hasn't said anything.

I assumed it's because she's angry too, but when I turn to look at her, I notice the nervous expression on her face.

"Are you okay?" I ask, watching her closely. She nods but then starts pacing in front of me as I lean against the elevator wall.

"You're not okay," I observe, realizing she's stuck in her head, likely anxious about being trapped. She unzips her hoodie and starts fanning herself.

Leomi turns to look at me for a moment before hesitantly admitting, "I'm claustrophobic," as if it's something to be ashamed of.

I walk up to her as she closes her eyes, trying to calm herself down, but I can see it's not working. Gently, I grab her by the shoulders and say, "Look at me."

She keeps her eyes closed and starts shaking her head. "Please, Bella," I whisper softly, and her eyes flutter open.

"You're going to be okay."

"It feels like I'm running out of air," she says, her voice strained. I nod in understanding, but the next words that come out of her mouth send me into panic mode. "I think I'm going to faint."

"No, you're not," I assure her firmly. "Listen to my voice and try to focus only on that. Nothing else but me." She nods, and I continue, "Now, do what I'm doing." I demonstrate slow, deep breaths. "You're going to be fine," I reassure her, my voice gentle. As she follows my lead, I see the panic slowly fading from her face, and I smile at her reassuringly.

"What do you have planned later?" I ask randomly, trying to steer her mind away from our current situation.

"Not much. I was just going to cook for my friend who's coming into town to visit me," she replies, her voice steadier now.

"What kind of friend?" I ask, raising a brow, which makes her giggle. However, when she realizes I'm not laughing along, she stops.

"What other kind of friends are there? Anyway, I haven't seen her since I moved here. She actually helped me get the role for the movie. I wouldn't have been able to audition in time if not for her," she explains warmly.

"She sounds like a good friend," I comment.

"She is," Leomi agrees with a smile.

Eventually, we both end up sitting down facing each other, playing "would you rather."

"If you had to choose, would you rather lose access to search engines or social media?" I ask curiously.

"Social media for sure," she answers decisively, and I nod in agreement.

"I agree. I mean, I don't even use social media," I admit.

"What about your accounts?" she asks, curious.

"My manager runs them," I explain.

"That makes sense, I guess," she replies thoughtfully.

"Would you rather spend a year entirely alone or a year without a home?" she asks, posing a thought-provoking question.

"I'd rather spend a year alone," I answer.

"I would go crazy if I had to spend a year alone. I would definitely rather be without a home," Leomi responds, considering the challenges of homelessness versus isolation.

"I can barely go anywhere without a bodyguard, so it would feel like a blessing," I explain.

"Would you rather nobody showed up to your wedding or nobody showed up to your funeral?" I ask, and she raises her brow at the question.

"That's a very complicated question, so I'll give it a complicated answer. I've always heard that it's bad to only want to celebrate someone or be there for them after they've died. It's like never visiting them for their birthdays or other major accomplishments while they're alive, but then crying and saying you wish you had been there for them when they're gone. While I completely understand that concept, if you're only there during the good times, isn't that also bad? Like, because I'm getting married and things are good, you're there, but when they're not, you aren't?" She lets out an exasperated sound and then finally decides, "I'll go with wedding because I'll be dead, so it's not like I'll know."

"What about you?" she asks, and I smile as I consider my answer.

"I agree with everything you said, but I also don't care about people showing up at my wedding because I'm not getting married for them or to them, so fuck it if they're not there. I'm going with funeral."

"Mhmm, you make an interesting point, Mr. Archer," she laughs.

The door opens, and I stand up, extending my hand to help her up. The elevator mechanic apologizes for the inconvenience, and I nod, feeling my anger rising again. Walking out with Leomi to the front desk office, I calmly approach the first person I see and ask about what happened.

The guy stammers as he answers my question, explaining that the monthly maintenance check was put on hold because the manager went on vacation and forgot.

"Where's the manager?" I ask, and a woman of average height with a bob approaches me with an awkward smile.

"I'm the manager, sir," she answers before starting to explain what happened. "I'm so sorry. It'll never happen again. I-" But I cut her off.

"You're fired," I say firmly before grabbing Leomi's hand to leave. I ignore the shocked expressions on everyone's faces, including the woman I just fired.

"What was that?" Leomi asks, confused, as my driver and bodyguards appear from where I left them.

"I have no tolerance for people who make that kind of mistake at my gym. It put you and me in danger," I explain firmly.

"Your gym?" Leomi asks, as I open the car door for her to get in.

"Yes, I own this gym," I confirm as I close the door and walk around to my side of the car.