With Ace's maniac driving we reached HQ quickly. It wasn't what I imagined it to be. It was a large house, not quite a mansion but close to it.
I couldn't stop myself from gaping as we drove through security and the gates.
I heard Ace chuckle. "Close your mouth kiska."
We got out of the car almost immediately when he parked the car. And he walked in with his hand on the small of my back. I was too busy studying the house to pay attention to his actions, or to push him away.
He stopped us in the living room- at least it seemed like one.
"Ok kiska, I have to go to my office now, you stay here or the kitchen. But please keep off of the third floor, ok? Promise you'll listen to me this time?"
I nodded, a little scared for what I'd find there. He knows I've done some really bad stuff in my life and I have gotten into trouble, so whatever is on the third floor must be bad. Or he is worried it might trip me up and make me backslide.
He kissed my forehead and walked away. I wandered the first floor just trying to get a better grasp of the place.
"Hey!" I heard someone shout. I jumped a little and turned around.
There was a guy there, probably in his mid-twenties. He had short brown hair- not buzz cut length but a little longer- and brown eyes.
"Aren't you supposed to be dancing?"
I scrunched my face in confusion. "No? I was told to stay on this floor while Ace finishes some stuff."
"You're with the boss?" He asked in disbelief.
"Well, he brought me here, yes."
He eyed me. "He's never brought a girl before that wasn't supposed to dance." He walked closer to me, stalking me as a predator would.
I refused to back down and lose eye contact with him.
He walked until he was close enough to be considered a little intimate.
"Ask him. He'll tell you."
He rose an eyebrow. "What's your name love?"
"I'm not your love."
He chuckled a little. "Name?"
I decided to test him a little. "Brook."
It was a version of my last name, but I wanted to know if he was good enough to see it.
He studied my face for a while.
"Mines Marchiani."
It was my turn for my eyebrow to raise.
"You gave your last name, so I'll give mine."
"What gave me away?"
He stepped away.
"Your eyes held truth but you were fighting the urge to smirk, meaning you were hiding something and trying to get away with it."
I stuck my hand out. "I'm Elizabeth Brooks."
He nodded and shook my hand. "Lucien Marichiani."
"Are you the Elizabeth?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Ace is obsessed with a girl named Elizabeth. Says she left him or something."
"Does he ever say why?"
YOU ARE READING
The Mechanics of Love
General Fiction"Hey babe, I brought you-" I gasped at the sight. He was naked with this girl bent over his desk. I dropped the groceries and heard some break, but I didn't care. I also knew I was crying. "You bastard!" I yelled and chucked his drink at his head...
