Love's burning desire

CHAPTER 2- A PAWN ON THE CHESSBOARD

SAPPHIRE

  "What do you mean by that? How could you have lost sight of a man right in front of you?"

  I flinch as Ruby yells through the phone, my head suddenly pounding from the shrill sound.

  "I wouldn't have lost him if I knew exactly what happened, Ruby." I roll my eyes, suddenly frustrated. My sister can be so extra sometimes.

  You would think she's the one who is caught in the middle of all these and not me.

  I pull out my clothes from the small wardrobe and dump them on the bed. I'm just grateful I won't be spending more than a few days in this small hotel room.

  "Look, don't you think it's time you bail and return to Daygo?" My sister implores.

  Daygo is our slang for San Diego. About a year ago, I moved from New York to California and decided to start a life in my childhood city, San Diego.

  My sister was the happiest of us when she first saw me because we'd been apart for years before then.

  "I'm going to come back home. But first, I need to do what Stone asks." I say it with a sigh. This isn't up to me.

  A short pause on the line makes me think Ruby must have gone off the call, but then she speaks.

  "Do you want me to speak to Stone for you?" Her voice comes out softly.

  "No." I say it instantly. "You know he hates it when you get into his business."

  Ruby grunts in response. "True, but don't you think he should have sent someone else to take his stuff for him? Why you?"

  It's been the same question on my mind: why me?

  I have no idea why Stones put me on a first-class ticket to Colorado to get him a briefcase. I mean, why can't Lemoore bring it on his own?

  And to think I lost sight of him in the club.

  I sigh, thinking back to the man who's the cause of my current predicament. I could have sworn Grant was the one I bumped into last night.

  But then it's not possible; how can Grant possibly turn up at a club in Colorado when he lives in New York?

  I sigh.

  If it weren't for that small accident, I would have been able to catch up with Lemoore, who had given me specific instructions to follow him.

  "I think Stone really trust me. The bag must contain something important for him to send me to get it for him. And you know, I can never say no to him." I answer

  That's true. In more ways than one, Stones is my savior.

  "So, where do you think Lemoore will be?"

  "I don't know Ruby. This place is really starting to get to me, you know. The space is so small—God! I miss home." I groaned and threw myself on the bed.

  "Focus Saph," my sister snaps. "You can only leave there when you see Lemoore. The faster you find him, the better."

  "Don't remind me." I groan again.

  Ruby chuckles. "When was the last time you saw him?"

  I go back to last night at the club and replay what happened in my head again.

  "While I was looking for Lemoore, I bumped into someone, and before I was able to make it into his office, Lemoore was gone." I say.

  I had taken a dark passageway that leads to a small, secluded room, Lemoore's office, which is connected to the back door of the club. When I didn't find Lemoore in there, I left through the door, already tired after my run-in with a very rude man.

  "Did you try to wait for him?" Ruby asks again.

  "I couldn't. I was tired, and my dress was torn." I run a hand down my face. "I had a small fall earlier before I went looking for Lemoore."

  "A fall?"

  "Yes, with the guy I bumped into. And it gets crazier. He didn't even apologize to me. He just stood up and left me on the floor." I frown, suddenly feeling my blood boil.

  Ruby bursts into a loud laugh at my expense.

  I roll my eyes. "What's funny?"

  "Well, I don't get to hear that every day." Ruby chuckles

  "Well, I didn't find it funny when it happened." Something suddenly struck me. "I know it's not possible, but for a moment, when we fell, the guy reminded me of someone." I say this absentmindedly, as I recall the musk scent that engulfed me when we fell and the way he looks from behind.

  "Who?" Ruby's curiosity is thick in her voice.

  "Never mind. It's not possible." I shake the insane thoughts out of my head.

  I didn't see his face. When I fell, I was too roped into my own predicament to check his identity. By the time I stood up, the man was already halfway across the room.

  He's a jerk through and through, just like the man he reminds me of.

  My mind immediately goes to Grant, the cafe shop owner I once fell in love with in New York.

  The ingrate.

  A soft knock on the door distracts me. I glanced at it curiously.

  No one knows me in Colorado. Is it room service?

  "I need to go; I will call you back." I tell my sister as I cut the call.

  I stand up and walk to the door. The knock comes again, more urgent this time.

  I pull the door open, revealing Lemoore, who looks stressed with sweat trickling down his forehead, his chest rising and falling as he tries to steady his breath.

  Did he run or something?

  "Here!" Lemoore shoves a brown briefcase into my hands. I catch it quickly, watching in surprise as he hurries away without waiting for me to say a word.

  I watch him go curiously until he disappears from sight, then I close the door and take the brown briefcase to my bed.

  I check to see that the briefcase has a lock combination as Stone's words resound in my head.

  Don't try to open it; take the box and return to San Diego immediately.

  And that was exactly what I did next.