When They have Heart and Money

Restrictions

"Take a seat," the man ordered.

We three took a seat as his eyes calculated our every single action. He was dressed in formals. Everything was plain black except his shirt which was white. He seemed to be in his mid thirties. His face was well shaped with a sleek jaw. Fine lines of wrinkles had started to appear on his forehead. His eyes were dark and his body was really well built.

Not better than Alex.

"Do you know that the coffee you drank was for the important meeting which was to be held yesterday?" he asked.

We didn't know it was the same. The grinded beans which were kept were the regular ones which were found in the pantry. I told so to him as Ethan and Myra listened attentively.

"So.. Mr. Ethan, I would like to ask you first. What were you doing before you drank coffee?" he asked sharply. One could tell he was a professional at interrogating people.

Our heads turned to Ethan who was rubbing the light stubble on his face with his thumb. He seemed calmer than both of us.

"I was.. Cooking as usual."

"And Miss, you?" he turned to look at me. My breath was caught in my throat.

Relax Asteria. You didn't do anything.

"I was working. After completing all the orders, I delivered a few of them myself and came back to the kitchen."

"Aren't you the one who prepared those?"

"Y-yes. After coming back, I was a little tired so I decided to make a cup for myself.. and everyone else."

"I see," he stated.

"Miss Miller, the CCTV footage showed that Miss Grace called someone after delivering her order and some time later, you appeared. I'm assuming she called you," he paused for a while.

"What did she tell you over the phone?"

"Um.. She just asked to come over since she was a little scared to get in the lift all by herself. You can even hear that recording since I have a call recorder installed on my phone." she said. There was a frown on the man's face.

Myra's words somewhat cheered me since the recording could lead them to believe I was innocent. But the fact she had a recorder on her phone amazed me a little. I could tell Ethan was amazed too since his eyes grew a little larger as he heard that.

"Alright. I want you to submit that."

"Sure," she answered back.

"Okay. Mr. Wood and Miss Miller, that's it for you. You can leave."

What about me?

Ethan and Myra looked at me.

"Miss Grace, we have a few more questions for you."

Sweet Jesus help me.

I saw Ethan who was probably wondering about something. They were hesitant to leave but they had to. The man waited until they left. My anxiety rose when I heard the door close.

"Coming back to you, Miss Asteria. You were the one who made coffee. Right?"

"Yes," I responded. I began to monitor every single move he was making. I was scared now that we were the only people in the room. The closed room began to remind me of the incident.

"Did you know the coffee was specially imported last night?"

I nodded a no. "They looked like the usual coffee beans I can tell."

"Umm.. Okay." he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, making my legs shake in nervousness. My legs were trembling uncontrollably.

"Aren't you supposed to only make coffee? Why did you go to deliver it on your own?"

"I w-work as room service s-staff when I don't have a l-lot of coffee brewing.. So-"

He cut me in the middle and said while looking at a piece of paper, "-But the list of orders you recieved that day tell a different story." he was frowning.

Save me Lord.

"Also, there was already someone assigned to deliver that particular order. Why did you choose to go instead?"

"Because I had left some belonging there. The last time.." I couldn't drop this lie. I couldn't let anyone know that my stupid heart was messing up with me and I had gone to check and see if the person I had been missing was there or not. He was what I had missed. And he was what I was trying to find again. How could I let anyone know about it when my own heart was confused why I was getting so interested in him.

"Shouldn't you have gone to the cleaning staff instead?" he smirked. I anxiously bit on my lip. My heartbeat was rising. I was sweating already.

"I didn't find it with them." I tried to defend myself.

"Alright we'll get back to that."

I was making the situation worse while trying to defend myself and my anxiety was rising continuously.

He heaved a sigh as he continued," So, what was it you were looking for?"

"I.."

The man I slept with.

"Miss?" he questioned.

I couldn't form any more excuses. There was a limit to which I could form up excuses and that was it.

"It was.. A memory." my head had started to spin.

"What memory?" he raised his eyebrows, making a face which showed that he was bored of hearing my stories.

"A picture with a friend I had lost," he pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded in agreement.

"Alright. I'll be true Miss Grace," he looked me right in the eye, causing my full attention towards him.

"You don't seem like you played a part in this, but the evidences indicate otherwise."

"But sir-" he put his index finger infront, immediately indicating me to quiet down.

"-We'll investigate until we find a legit proof, but until then, you are debarred from entering into the pantry," my mouth fell agape.

"I'm transferring you to the cleaning committee temporarily until we find any notable leads in the case. You are refrained from doing any work in the kitchen."

"That's it. You can leave now."

I sighed in disappointment but was relieved to be able to walk out of the confined room. The result ultimately saddened me.