Slave to Mafia's Desire || Vol. 1

35-At His Pace

I could hear loud cheers and laughter from the other end of the line before Raiden quickly hung up. I wondered what that was all about. However, as always, it had nothing to do with me. Now, I needed to come up with an idea of what to do for Raiden today so I could get it over with.

Easier said than done. Nothing was coming to mind. I'd just finished my first cup of tea, and no good ideas were popping up. I started furrowing my brows and looked around the room for some inspiration. Should I just ask Raiden directly what he wanted?

"Get dressed. You're coming with me," Raiden said in a commanding tone, finally looking at me for the first time since I entered the room.

"...Huh? Me?" I exclaimed, pointing at myself in shock.

"Who else is here?" he replied sarcastically.

Sure, we were the only two people in the room, but that wasn't what I meant. Did he seriously want me to go with him? Where? Why? I was so confused I didn't know what to say.

"Where are we going?" I asked, still baffled.

"I said...get dressed..." Raiden repeated, his patience wearing thin.

"Dressed...as in..." I trailed off, glancing down at my casual clothes. I thought I was dressed, but maybe he meant something more formal? It wasn't like I had many fancy options, but I did have a dress that was a bit more presentable than jeans and a shirt.

Still confused, but feeling pressured by Raiden's intense glare, I went back to my room to change. I chose a light pink, knee-length dress with a rose pattern, hoping it looked decent enough.

"Are you done?!"

Raiden's voice boomed as he banged on my bedroom door. How fast did he expect me to change clothes? Seriously!

"Almost!" I shouted back, ensuring he could hear me.

I quickly pulled on the dress and zipped it up as fast as I could. When I finally opened the door, Raiden was standing right there. His eyes widened in shock as he took in my appearance, stepping back slightly as his gaze scanned me from head to toe.

"Raiden?" I asked, puzzled by his reaction.

"...Shit," Raiden muttered, staring at me as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Um...what's wrong?" I asked, even more confused.

Raiden suddenly started making calls, his eyes still fixed on me as he assessed me from head to toe.

"Hey... I'm going to be late. Look, there's not much I can do. Just hang in there until I arrive, okay?" Raiden spoke into the phone, seemingly talking to the same person who had been pestering him earlier.

He ended the call quickly, but before I could ask what was going on, he was already dialing another number.

"It's me. I'll be there in 15 minutes, and I need the usual...actually, multiple times the usual..." Raiden said hurriedly.

I couldn't hear what the person on the other end of the line said, so I had no idea what Raiden was talking about. Was he going to pick something up?

"Um...what's going on?" I asked hesitantly, clearly showing my confusion.

"Follow me. We're leaving now," Raiden replied emotionlessly, heading for the penthouse exit.

"Where are we going?" I demanded, wanting answers.

He ignored me, walking briskly toward the door. I had to practically jog to keep up with him. Why wouldn't he tell me anything?

"Does this count as me doing something for you today?" I asked, trying to get some clarity.

"Yeah, it does. Now come along, quickly," Raiden said, not even glancing back.

It struck me that this was the first time we were leaving the penthouse together. Usually, we left separately and never crossed paths. I glanced at Raiden, who was standing close beside me in the elevator, and wondered what was going on behind that frown on his handsome face.

When we reached the ground floor, Raiden stepped out first. I followed him through the lobby and out to the front of the building. Wasn't he going to take the car? Why hadn't he led me to the parking lot?

Raiden clicked his tongue in frustration and ran his fingers through his light blond hair as we stood together outside. I was beginning to wonder what he was waiting for.

--To be continued...
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