Leila could only nod in response
"And then, I took it upon myself to relay the message to you, we tried reaching out via email but there was no reply and you were off the grid on socials, Adele gave me your home address and i am sooo excited, what do you think Leila? Would you be taking the job?" Karen said excitedly.
Leila was scared at this point. She knew why Adele was doing this, she wanted her out of Gavin's life for good and she could tell that this was just the beginning.
She smiled and looked Karen in the eyes, "Tell her no, I have a well paying job already. Thanks for the offer though"
Karen looked sad and Leila felt bad all of a sudden but it all seemed too good to be true. If anybody asked her, she would say it felt like a trap. A very deadly trap.
Leila ushered Karen out of the apartment with a fake smile, she went back to the living room and sat down, for a minute she forgot that she was not alone. Gavin took long strides to where she was sitting, if she was correct, he looked angry.
"Has Adele come to see you?" He asked with gritted teeth. Her first instinct was to lie, to tell him no, Adele had made it clear she did not want Gavin to know. But Leila wasn't afraid of her. Not exactly. The woman was dangerous, yes—but in a sort of way that almost amused her.
"Yes, but she said not to tell"
Gavin eyes were bloodshot, "And you listened to her? Leila you are an adult for Christ's sake. Why did you not tell me?" When did she come to see you and was it a neutral location? Why did you even go? F*ck! I have so many questions"
Leila flinched, "She came to my house actually"
"F*ck*ng b*tch. I have to go". He rushed back inside to get his key and his coat. On his way out he called back to her without looking, "We need to talk about what happened last night and you can resume work tomorrow. See you later"
Leila thought it was cringe but she smiled, He really seemed like a good guy and from what she has seen, he liked her also. She was all alone in the apartment and she was bored, she was still off socials, she was walking on a thin line since she found out that Adele has a video footage of that night. But she knew Gavin would protect her, he had to.
She thought of calling Frank to come over after work, she trusted him to give him the full tea of everything she had missed at work recently. She settled on a text instead
Come over after work? Let's hang : )
A reply came in almost immediately. Typical Frank, the guy was always on his phone.
Okay darling, I'll be thereee. Did you really think I'll say no? : |
Leila chuckled. He was so dramatic, she only replied with a thumbs up. She had laundry to do and the house was still messy, but her energy level was too low and considering the kind of news she received from Karen? She did not have the drive to do anything.
She got up slowly and made herself a cup of tea. Chamomile. Her go-to for chaos. She sat down and slowly sipped the tea, her mind seemed to calm a little bit. Then her phone rang.
She frowned. It wasn't Frank. It wasn't Gavin either. Unknown number.
She hesitated before she picked it up.
"Hello?"
There was silence for a beat. Then, a voice. Soft. Familiar. "I warned you, did I not?"
It was definitely Adele.
Leila's hand started to shake, the cup of tea tumbled over with a splash. She was not scared before but if Adele was calling, maybe Gavin had gotten through to her and she was p*ss*d. "What do you want from me?! This game has got to stop Adele"
The reply was sharp, "Leave Gavin alone. You are wasting your time, he can not leave me. If you do not believe, then tell me why he is still engaged to me despite sleeping with you? I'm the keeper darling"
Leila rolled her eyes irritably, that b*tch was really getting on her nerves. She was probably in the wrong but she could not just leave Gavin. She really liked the guy.
"Are you sure you want to mess with me?Check your mailbox Leila" Adele said and she hung up.
Leila was skeptical about going to check but she slowly stood up and walked outside and opened the mailbox, There, sitting on top of a pile of regular mail, was a small, white envelope.
She opened it slowly. A picture fell off, she reached down to pick it and she gasped in shock.
It was a picture of her kissing Gavin. Taken last night.
But the angle was not from the front door or from outside the apartment. It was clear, it was obviously taken from inside.
With shaky hands, she dialed Gavin's number, he picked up immediately, "Gavin, we need to talk"