A Trade Of Hearts |✔

CHAPTER 5: The Price To Pay

VANESSA

The moment Adrian told Paula that he'd be in a sauna, a mischievous idea popped into my head.

I discreetly followed him to the sauna and waited for a good five minutes for him to settle in before putting my plans into action.

This was my chance to settle scores.

I increased the temperature by five degrees twice, trying to draw his attention and put a wiper between the door handles jamming it shut.

Within a minute, I heard a tug at the door handle, followed by another.

"Hello, Is anyone there?" He yelled.

"Casey is that you?"

"I don't have time for your pranks."

My heart was thudding, anticipating what he would do if he found out this prank was my doing.

"Open the door."

"Someone?"

"I said open the bloody door!" He said with a hard push against the door.

By now I was running on pure adrenaline. I switched off the sauna, switched on the air ventilation system and sneaked out.

No, I didn't open the door. I thought it would be fun to make him suffer a wee while longer.

An hour later, I went back and started up the sauna again, slipped out the wiper and placed it near the sink. I knocked on his door and then dashed out of there, running for my life.

I went up to my room, opened my laptop, pretending to work like it was just another day but it wasn't.

My freezing hands were still shaking, my heart felt like it would escape out of my chest and my face was hot.

Once I had calmed down I tip-toed downstairs to check on the subject of my prank, pretending to speak to a client.

The guy was a mess. Adrian's coat was hanging over his unevenly buttoned up shirt with a tie draped around his neck like a scarf. He was bent over, picking up some paper on the floor that I bet he must have dropped in a hurry.

Adrian stood up, putting the fallen papers in a file and then turned to face me. His nose and cheeks were red from the heat and I would have laughed had he not given me a bone-chilling glare, saying,"I'll see you later."

He knew.

2nd December

An unsettling feeling made it's home in my stomach, determined to not go away before I met the consequences of my ill-conceived prank.

I tried working but my nerves got the better of me.

Who knew pulling off a prank could be this stressful?

I decided to go to bed early that night, hoping sleep would help me escape my inner turmoil but after a futile round of tossing and turning, I went down to the study to work on my laptop.

I had just replied to two mails when the door creaked open and Adrian entered.

I kept my eyes glued to my screen as I heard him walk in. From the corner of my eye, I saw him take off his coat and hang it over a chair at the other side of the room.

"Vanessa, right?" he asked, nearly making me jump.

"Yes," I replied, glancing over the mail I had sent, for the third time, my eyes glued to my screen.

"It is pretty late. Something keeping you up?"

"Only the thirty five unread emails in my inbox," I said as calmly as I could, looking up at the clock striking two, conveniently avoiding his stormy blue gaze.

I had this inner urge to get up and ask if he had fun in the sauna today but I was sure the consequences for that would not be fun for me so I kept my lips sealed.

He slowly walked up to where I was and leaned against the edge of the desk, making me feel uneasy.

"Something really interesting happened today. My mother was with this girl when I told her I'd be in the sauna and the next thing I know, I am locked in there for over an hour. Any wild guesses as to who might have locked me in?" he forced a smile but his clenched jaw gave away his real feelings.

I am an idiot!

Except his mom, I was the only other person who knew he was in the sauna. Of course he found out.

I got up from my seat, trying to create some distance between us and then with a deep breath I feigned concern,"You were locked? Oh no! What about that important meeting of yours? Were you late? I was late to a meeting once, by fifteen minutes and the client I was meeting bailed on me after humiliating me in front of his co-workers. I hope the guy you were meeting wasn't such an asswipe."

Adrian drew in a raged breath, "Apologise."

"For what? Calling you an asswipe?" I furrowed my brows, "Oh right! Poor toilet paper must be offended on being compared with you."

"You don't want to get on my bad side Vanessa," he said, inching closer to me.

"That is assuming you have a good side, right?" I moved two steps back.

His face was flushed with anger as he moved closer to me, trying hard not to yell,"You want to play this game, right? Fine. Let's play."

I backed away again, trying to come up with a snarky reply but my back hit the wall and a gasp left me.

I was sure that I had seen Adrian's lips twitch into a small smile as he placed his hands on the wall beside me, caging me in.

So this is what he meant by playing the game.

A/N: Guys, I am posting this early 'cause I won't be posting for an entire week now as I have a test. Hope you liked this one.
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