Dangerous Numbers

Chapter 10

I come back inside and close the window. With slow steps, I head near the door. I stand still when I hear his footsteps on the corridor outside walking determined, like a hunter ready to attack its prey. My heartbeat is racing fast. The knock on the door makes me jump on my feet placing a hand in front of my mouth so I won't scream from the shock.

For a second, I was feeling stressed and nervous about what he was planning to do, is he capable of terrible things? I had no idea who he was anymore! But so far, he was nice to me, and I want to believe that the incident yesterday was not his intention, but I was feeling sad and angry about it, he owes me an apology, nevertheless.

"Miss Ravenwood, I know you're here." I hear his deep voice from the other side of the door, making the hair at the back of my neck stand straight.

I close the distance and open the door to watch his tall figure with that chiselled face without expression and a pair of grey eyes that are speaking volumes, just looking at me. I motion him to enter. I close the door making sure no one gets out of their apartments to watch the show. I turn back to him and I find him waiting – most probably for me to sit down first.

I expect him to say something, but we just stand, looking at each other. I feel I cannot hide my nervousness and I'm sure he noticed. I try to find anything to break the silence between us that now is unbearable. I didn't expect him to come here when I told Gianluca about it. Yet, here he is.

"Excuse me, I forgot my manners." I try to break the tension so he can start speaking. "Do you want something to drink? I'm making some filter coffee if you like."

"Yes please, thank you." He responds gently.

I stand up and walk to the back of the room where the kitchen is. A large bench separates the two rooms and I see him from the corner of my eye as he turns to look at me while I put the coffee into the cups. I don't dare look back, his eyes on me cause my hands to shake and my face to turn red and at times like this, I curse the fact that I'm so shy and is so obvious. I put some cookies on a plate and gather everything on a tray. As I walk back to the living room, I try to avoid his look otherwise I would have dropped the tray, and everything on it, on the floor. I serve the coffee and sit back on my armchair, trying to imitate his absence of expression.

"So?" I ask hesitantly. "In what do I own the honour of your presence?" Really? Irony? Not a good time.

"I came to apologise for what happened last night and to check how you are." He answers still looking at me intently, not even blinking once.

"Nothing serious, tomorrow I was going to return to work. You could have waited until then." I don't know why but I felt a trace of bitterness at that moment, and irony filled my tone.

"No. I couldn't. Truth is that I regret treating you with such an attitude and I wanted to apologise immediately but I was still upset with all this, and I didn't want to say something that will make things worse, so I was waiting to tell you face to face when you were coming to work this morning. Then I heard from Daniel that you felt sick and-"

"And you send your men to babysit me?" I cut him off clearly annoyed. "Really?"

"It was a mistake during my haste I know, but I was zoned out and I didn't think of it carefully. I should have come by myself in the first place." His face is like a statue, absent of any expression that infuriates me more as he asks me to forgive him. But one look at his eyes that were filled with regret and I felt a tug in my heart. He means it.

Suddenly, my phone screen turns on, and a message appears on the screen. "Excuse me," I say, picking up the phone. It was from Dante.

Things were not going well, and mum had to be transferred to a clinic in Athens where there is a specialist for her condition.