What Nobody Knew

Part 31

Everything was going too smoothly. Something was going to go wrong at some point. There was no way that Mr Knight and I would be able to make it through an entire trip without any hiccups. Not while so many things were left unsaid. 

Mr Knight was busy attacking the guy at the hotel's reception. I have been on the other end of that withering stare and tongue lashing, and I don't wish it upon the worst of my enemies. He could make anyone shrink to at least half their normal size.

It wasn't like he was shouting, he didn't need to. All he needed was a look and a few chosen words to make someone's blood run cold. 

The guy had a twig-like figure and seemed to be 10 seconds away from peeing himself. 

I was standing off to the side, as far away from the line of fire as possible. 

After a few moments which in reality felt like an eternity, Mr Knight started walking off with determination. I reached Mr Knight just when he stepped into the elevator. 

He pressed a button immediately after I took my place next to him. 

I couldn't tell if he was upset or not. I've never really been able to tell. His normal demeanour was aloof, cold, uncommunicative. The present circumstances were no different. He was standing up straight, hands by his side, staring straight ahead and not saying a single word.

I hated being in small, confined spaces with him. This became especially true under the current circumstances. We were left alone with only the sound of each other's breathing to keep us company. No distractions, no other people to draw attention away from the fact that we were standing a foot away from each other. 

I hadn't forgotten about last night. I was able to push away all thoughts about our argument. All thoughts about us together in that hallway. Being completely alone with him now like we had been then, was triggering those thoughts.

I hadn't thought about how I would handle Mr Knight going forward if he didn't fire me, which evidently, he did not. The best course of action would probably be to act somewhere between civil and professional, otherwise known as Mr Knight's comfort zone.

He hadn't spoken to me since the airport and the first words that I heard him utter again were when he got in a one-sided verbal sparring match with the guy at reception. It was one-sided because the poor bloke couldn't get in another word after he delivered the initial "bad news".

I could only assume that there was some or other problem with the rooms but other than that I had no idea since their entire conversation was in German. Or at least I think it was German. Apart from "Guten tag," I knew absolutely nothing. 

I watched anxiously as the little numbers lit up going past each floor. And there were a lot of floors.

The elevator finally dinged on the last floor and Mr Knight stepped out into the hallway. He made his way to one of the doors and inserted a keycard, swinging the door open.

I followed him but stopped when I reached the doorway. 

What was the protocol here? 

I just wanted to get to my room and settle in, but I was still clueless as to the arrangements for this trip. I didn't know what to expect, what our itinerary was or even what room I was staying in. For all I knew I wasn't even staying in the same hotel as Mr Knight. This would not be all that shocking if you consider how anal he got about his private life.

"Uhm...Mr Knight?" I called into the room. 

He had gone in too deep and I was no longer able to see him. All that was in front of me was an empty seating room. I couldn't gauge more than that from the doorway.

"Come in Elizabeth." He called from inside.

I took a hesitant step into the room and I have to tell you, I have never been more aware of stepping over a boundary in my life.

Mr Knight was standing off to the side, pouring himself a glass of water.

"Sir, if you could just tell me what room I'll be staying in, I'd like to freshen up." 

I was sweaty, sticky and uncomfortable. All of these things added to the out-of-place feeling that I was experiencing standing in this expensive hotel suite. The suite was bigger than any apartment I would be able to afford on my salary.

He gulped down a mouthful of water before answering.

"You'll be staying in that room." He pointed to the door at the one end of the sitting room.

My eyes followed in the direction where he was pointing, before making their way back to his.

I looked back at him in confusion.

"In there? But where will you be staying?" 

Maybe I was being slow but in all honesty, who could blame me? I was just whisked off to another country without so much as a warning and stuffed onto a plane for 18 hours straight. So excuse me if my brain function was no longer up to scratch.

"There's more than one room in this suite Elizabeth." The crinkle that was normally reserved for between his eyebrows now moved to the sides of his eyes. 

He found my foggy brain amusing. Just great. 

I took a look around the room and realised that he was right, there was another door across from mine.

"Oh, well, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to unpack and freshen up then," I gave him a moment to object before turning around and heading into my room.

The room was beautiful as could be expected. There was a queen-sized bed in the middle of the room with white Egyptian cotton sheets and abstract paintings adorning the walls.

My bag was already in my room waiting for me.

Everything about this trip was weird.

Mr Knight picked me up in the middle of my day off without warning...

Weird.

Mr Knight buying me a book at the airport...

Weird.

Me staying in a room right across from Mr Knight?

Super weird.

Clearly, Mr Knight didn't find this whole situation quite as unsettling as I was finding it. 

Wait...

That's what the scene at reception was about. 

But what was with the amused expression earlier?

There's no way that Mr-Privacy-Is-Everything could be fine with this arrangement, right?

Here's the next chapter! Things have been all over the place on my side, sorry for the long wait on this one!