Cryptic Passions

3- Christian

Ruth was asking me out and was looking beautifully flustered while doing so. From the moment she'd set foot into the room, she had radiated confidence and power until she was standing in front of me asking me to have dinner with her.

Ruth was downright gorgeous, and even though she came off as somewhat of a bitch, her attitude was kind of attractive.

Her age was the only problem.

I was aware that she and Dante had something. It was evident from the way they shared the looks with each other, but even if he had done some illegal, I couldn't do it, and I was a year older than him.

I paused for a moment, looking at her just to confirm if she looked old enough, and then waited another for her to answer Dante. He didn't look angry about the fact that she had asked me out, which was a relief since I didn't want to fight with someone that I would have to work with for the rest of my life.

I accepted only when I was certain Dante wouldn't kill me and that it was indeed a date.

"You had to make it weird, didn't you?" I asked Dante as he drowned another glass of vodka. His earlier light mood had disappeared and his face looked tense. "What happened?"

He shrugged before pouring himself another glass and rising from his chair. Workers had started to clean the table and the lights had become normal back again.

"You aren't opposed to this dinner, are you?" When he didn't answer, I added, "It's just a dinner, nothing much..."

His eyes snapped to mine and he spoke in a low controlled voice, "I'll see you back at the office. I have some work to finish in the building."

I exhaled tightly as he left me alone in the room with the staff and Drake.

The next afternoon, I and Dante were the ones who were late. We had all gathered at an E. Y.E. facility that was hidden in plain sight in the middle of the crowded streets.

We swiped our IDs and at the front desk, we were handed new temporary ones with access to a particular room. The man asked us to go to room number nine.

When we entered, Ruth was laughing with Caeser about something. He had a hand on her shoulder and she had her bangs pinned to the side and was looking up at Caeser.

There was a twinkle in her eyes that wasn't there the day before and her cold exterior and stiff composer were replaced by warmth and relaxation.

If I had thought Ruth was stunning with her attitude, she was utterly beautiful with a smile on her face.

Of course, it melted away the second she noticed our presence in the room.

Caeser took his hand off her shoulder and cleared his throat while Ruth's hands went behind her back and she took an aggressive stance. But her face said nothing, it had no recognition as if she hadn't seen us the day before, or ever in her life.

Dante whispered something to Ruth, to which she only nodded in response while Caeser dragged me to the other side of the room.

"Richard has a strong security system so hacking into his devices has been impossible even using our best resources. Can you hack into his security cameras?"

"I can. But if your system has failed, it must mean that his security is pretty strong. I need to get closer, but I am not sure. And if your plan really is to get information from him about his weaponry, then I don't think hacking into security cameras will be of any use,"

"We need it for the ball he has hosted. We need access to the cameras inside the venue as well to make sure nothing happens to Ruth. Don't tell her about this though, please, she does like me doing this. She thinks I treat her like a child,"