Treating Mr. Billionaire

~ 37 ~

The elevator doors shut smoothly with a faint hum before silence reigned in their shared space. Maria's mind drifted to the mystery that had been bugging her ever since she had laid her eyes on the strange portrait in Jayden's office. What was worse than fainting at the sight of it was the fact that the man in the picture seemed awfully familiar in a way that brought her both fear and sadness.

Her fingers traced over her eyebrows in deep thought, but she soon became aware of the man staring at her with a look she wouldn't call pleasant. "What...?" She asked slowly, with her brows squeezing slightly.

He folded his arms as he rolled his face away to gaze straight ahead. "You have been sighing loudly for thirty seconds. It's bothersome." He stated matter-of-factly, and her lips tightened into a thin line.

'Jerk', she sneered in her mind. Most people would have asked if something worrisome was causing her to sound so. But not him. He was always ready to prove he was different from others. She took back what she said earlier about his cold exterior warming up.

"I was thinking..." She knew he didn't ask but she would tell him anyway. After all, if there was anyone who might have answers concerning the strange portrait, it was him. "About the large portrait in your office..." She started, only to trail off when his face darkened in response.

"What about it?" His voice came low, almost weakly. 

Maria paused at his words. "Um..." She lost her voice once more. Where was her tongue when she needed it?

She observed his profile, and her eyes slipped down to take note of the tense way he was balling his fists. It made her wonder if he had a bad relationship with the man in the picture. Was that his father?

That thought made her realize how stupid she was. She could have just gone to the internet to search for images of the great Helbert Stanley to know what he looked like. However, in any case, could the internet also hold answers to why in the world someone like Helbert felt familiar?

"Is that your--?" Her next attempt to proceed with her questions was interrupted by the sudden blackout followed by the sudden silence between them as they both pondered on the change. "What-what is happening?" Maria breathed out uneasily, glancing up and down in the darkness that was now prevailing between them.

Jayden squinted his eyes, completely surprised by the sudden blackout. "I don't know," he muttered under his breath and cautiously traced his steps toward the elevator doors. Frowning deeply, he raised his arm and slowly guided to the panel he could remember being right beside the door.

His fingers brushed against the metal surface, mentally calculating where the command for opening the doors should be located, and pushing it when he found it. Nothing happened at his command, only the thick silence filling the air around them. He repeated the acts severally but to no avail.

"What is happening?" Maria's faint voice repeated from behind him, getting alerted by the punching sounds, before moving closer to the area she was sure he was standing in.

He breathed heavily and she gulped fearfully at his sound. "I think we are stuck." He whispered finally, the words sounding more like a curse than an observation.

Her eyes instantly enlarged at his words, with her lips parting to repeat his word breathlessly, "Stuck...??" She exclaimed, unwilling to digest that reality.

"Yes." He answered with a nod even though why he was yet to understand why that was happening. As someone who was surrounded by a lot of enemies, his mind began to think of the possibility of being set up in his own company right on the first day of his appearance.

The heavy sound of his doctor gasping brought him out of his thoughts, and he immediately snapped his head in the direction of her voice. "Miss. Patterson?" Jayden called, brows furrowing slightly.