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I walked out into the muggy evening air, biting my lip as I scanned the parking lot for Lincoln. He’d picked me up every day this week and had told me he’d be here when I left this morning.
Instead, there was a black town car with a man dressed in a sharp, nicely tailored black suit, a stern expression…and a sign with my name on it.
Confused, I tentatively walked over.
“Good evening, Ms. Bardot. My name is Nathaniel. Mr. Daniels sent me to pick you up. He’s indisposed at the moment.” The man, Nathaniel, opened the back passenger door and stared at me expectantly.
I hesitated, shooting a text to Lincoln asking what was going on.
But after an awkward moment, where it never showed he’d even read the text, I got in the car.
Hoping the guy wasn’t a serial killer or something.
The interior of the town car was plush and luxurious, with black leather seats and polished wood accents. I sank into the seat, nerves building in my gut, unsure of everything.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.My thoughts bounced around, one second telling me to stop being so crazy, and the next, cursing myself that I’d depended on Lincoln to begin with.
"Where exactly is Lincoln?" I asked Nathaniel as we set off. He gave me a small, tight-lipped smile in the rear view mirror.
“I’m not sure, ma’am.”
"So, uh, how long have you been driving for Lincoln?" My voice was awkward, but silence felt like it would be too loud…give my thoughts too much room to roam.
"A while," Nathaniel responded curtly, eyes fixed on the road ahead.
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "Um, where are we going?"
"Mr. Daniels’ penthouse."
"Oh, right. Of course," I stammered, feeling like an idiot for even asking.
Nathaniel remained silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Is there anything else you need, ma'am?"
"No, no. I'm good," I whispered, realizing I wouldn’t get anything useful out of him.
I stared out the window, watching the city rush by in a blur of lights and colors. My mind raced with questions and worries about Lincoln.
What was going on?
We drove into Lincoln’s underground garage, a good sign that I hadn’t made a mistake by getting in the car in the first place, and it stopped in front of the elevator entrance. A moment later, Nathaniel opened the door for me.
“Thank you,” I murmured, clutching my bag to my chest.
He nodded at me and drove off before I’d even gotten in the elevator.
As I ascended to the penthouse, my unease bubbled inside me like boiling water in a kettle, threatening to spill over at any moment. It was as if I were suspended in mid-air, waiting for a cruel gust of wind to knock me off balance. The ride felt never-ending, each passing second causing my heart to race faster and faster, like a train barreling towards an inevitable collision.
This shouldn’t have been a big deal. Things came up in life.
I would feel like a complete idiot when I walked in and he was there…
But everything felt wrong.
The doors slid open and I walked into the silent foyer. A few steps in and I heard the faint din of a vacuum cleaner coming from one of the rooms.
“Lincoln?” I called out as I walked into the next room, hoping with everything in me that he’d appear, that beautiful grin on his face that I was obsessed with.
But there was no sign of him.
