Page 20 of Scarred King
“What is?” I mark the page I'm in and put the book down on the counter.
“You look like….” He falls quiet and doesn’t complete the sentence. “And you’re reading a book on electromagnetic fields.” He glances at the book and then looks back at me, his eyes still glued to my breasts.
“Liam!” I raise my voice and he smiles and shakes his head.
“That’s the first time you’ve called me by my name,” he says happily. “If that’s what makes you change the strong opinions you have in your head and call me by my name, I’ll stare at your beautiful breasts for as long as you'd like.”
“I think that you’ve forgotten your manners as well,” I say angrily. “And if this is what the whole evening is going to be like, I’d better put an end to it right now.” I stand up and he quickly tucks his arm into mine.
“I’m just kidding with you. All of this electromagnetic stuff is frying your brain cells. I guess you’ve forgotten that it’s normal to kid around with friends.”
“You’re not my friend,” I respond, and try and move away from that body of his. Even the lightest touch from him sends sweet waves of pleasure through me. “You’re my boss. The same boss who just gave me an ultimatum before firing me.”
“I wouldn’t really fire you,” he smirks and opens the heavy entrance door. “But it’s nice to know that your job here is so important to you.”
“Yuck,” I say quietly as he hands me the helmet. “You have to be a real piece of scum to manage a place like this.” I pull the helmet over my head, and now that he can’t see me blushing, I inspect him. He’s wearing light denim jeans and a white polo shirt. He could be a member of one of the campus’s athletic teams. If those deep scars hadn’t wrecked his face, he would have looked totally normal. Maybe “normal” isn’t the right word, because the angelic side of his face is definitely one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. But still, he manages this horrible place, he’s my annoying boss and he’s definitely not someone I’d choose to spend time with.
“Are you through inspecting me?” he asks teasingly and once again I’m grateful for the helmet covering my face.
“The opinions are strongly back in my head now,” I say with venom, and he laughs and sits on the motorcycle. I sit behind him and hold on to his hips carefully.
Throughout the ride it feels as if he’s speeding up and slowing down randomly just so that I’ll bump into his back again. My body is on fire, despite the strong wind.
He stops at the entrance to an old industrial building, helps me get off the motorcycle and I try to get my balance on my high heels.
“Now listen carefully to my instructions and don’t make any mistakes.” Suddenly he seems nervous and edgy. “You concentrate only on playing with your cell-phone.” As I stare at him in confusion, he is more annoyed. “Elena, start playing the fucking game.”
I open up the app on the cellphone and press the silver ball with a trembling finger. “Good,” he strokes my shoulder. “Put this gum in your mouth.” He pulls a pack of gum out of his pocket and shoves a piece in my mouth. “Don’t say a word,” he says and starts walking towards two men in suits that are standing at the entrance. “Every time they start talking French, exit the game and message me a translation.” He pulls me close to him and puts his arm around my shoulder. “Elena,” he whispers in my ear, “Whatever happens tonight, you need to stay calm. And most importantly, don’t say a word.” We’re standing in front of the men by now and he whispers to me again, “And I apologize in advance for what’s about to happen.”
What’s about to happen? I wonder a little scared and he pushes me away, pats my ass and laughs.
“These hookers…” He turns to the bouncers and continues laughing, “Good thing smart-phones were invented to keep them busy because when they start talking….” He pats my ass again and the bouncers burst out laughing. I press the silver ball angrily and curse to myself.
“Tell Pierre that Liam’s here to see him.” He puts his arm around my shoulder again, and one of the bouncers goes inside. I keep looking at the screen, pressing the silver ball over and over again. Oh God, please let this evening be over quickly, I pray and chew the gum vigorously.
The door opens and Scarface pulls me inside with him. I’m so nervous that I can’t lift my eyes from the screen and I just glance up quickly to see where I am. I realize that the room is not so big, and it is full of packages that look like white bricks stacked. like small towers along three walls. In the middle of the room there’s a small table with several chairs around it. Three men in suits with long, tied-back hair are sitting at the table smoking and the bouncer who was at the entrance is now standing behind me and blocking the door.
“Liam,” One of the men gets up and approaches him with a big smile. “What a nice surprise. We weren't expecting you today.” Scarface shakes his hand and I continue tapping on the screen.
“I didn’t plan on coming either,” Scarface answers coldly, “But you left me no choice.” He takes his arm off my shoulder and I start swaying. “We received the delivery today and we noticed that you got confused and forgot to add two of the packages.” He starts walking towards the table, pulling me by the elbow.
“Wait.” The Frenchman takes hold of my other elbow and I freeze on the spot. “Did you bring us a gift?” His hand moves away from my elbow and his fingers trails down my arm.
“No.” Scarface pulls me again, sits down, and settles me on his lap. I am still pressing the silver ball and chewing the gum noisily. “This is Tommy’s new girl. He asked me to check her out.” Now his hand is trailing along my arm and I’m seeing stars. Not the kind I know and like.
“I'll be happy to check her out for you,” the Frenchman says, pulling some bills out of his pocket and throwing them on the table.
“Sorry,” says Scarface mildly. “I have dibs on her.”
I can feel the Frenchman looking at me again and I’m so nervous I can’t even blink. “And what the hell is this bitch doing with her phone?” he snaps, and suddenly stands behind me. I press down harder on the silver ball. “Ah, playing a game….” he mutters to himself and starts laughing. “Beautiful but stupid.” He sits down on the chair opposite us and I realize that the thing that shocks me the most in this horrible situation is that from the moment we walked in they discussed me as if I were an object and not a living and breathing human being. As if I could be sold without having any say in the matter.
Scarface lifts me up by the hips and puts me down on the chair next to him. He takes his own cellphone out of his pocket and places it on the table in front of him. “I apologize in advance, but I will have to answer messages. I was warned that there may be a raid tonight and I need to be available.”
“The fucking police.” Another Frenchman joins the conversation. “Instead of looking for thieves and rapists they are always looking for us.” And who are you exactly? I ask myself. Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize? Human rights activists?
“So I don’t have much time,” Scarface says coldly. “I just came by to pick up the two packages that you forgot to put in the delivery."
“Liam,” the first Frenchman says in a lighthearted tone. He pours four glasses of liquor for them and totally ignores my presence. Once again, I realize that I don’t actually exist in this room. “It's been a hard time. One of our deliveries was caught in Mexico, so we cut down on everyone’s supplies. You have to understand…”