Chapter 8 : A Dance with the Devil

It was almost evening.

I understood Carl was tired, but he had an entire day to rest. It was dinner time and I figured that he would need to eat something. Maybe we could catch up during dinner.

I raised my hand to knock on his door when I seemed to hear some strange sound from behind it. Somehow it sounded like a female moaning followed by some low voice.

What was going on with Carl? There couldn't be some other woman in his room, right? I must have misheard it. It must be just me imagining things....

However, what Jenny told me as well as Ellis' warning invaded my thoughts and took over. Their words danced in my head like a haunting macabre echo.

I knew I had to do something, or I'd be driven mad.

"Carl?" I knocked on the door.

The lock clicked and the door opened to reveal Carl's face. His hair was a little messy, but I figured that was just because he had laid down for a nap earlier.

"I was wondering whether you want to have dinner together?" He seemed normal. I blushed at the sight of him, feeling a little guilty that I suspected him.

I must have heard it wrong....

He quickly pointed to the cellphone against his ear and whispered, "Sorry, I'm just on a business call with my work right now. Can we talk later?"

"O-okay," I nodded, and Carl leaned forward to kiss my cheek before closing the door.

I sighed.

Was I being unreasonably suspicious? I didn't know but I'd noticed, Carl had been acting a little distant lately.

And then Ellis' warning came back to mind again. There must be a reason why he said those words about Carl.

At this point, I just needed to know. Whether I liked it or not... I had to ask Ellis for the information that he was privy to.

***

Standing in front of the library door, I took a deep breath and brushed down the skirt of my dress.

I stopped a maid that I found working diligently in the hallway and she led me to Ellis' office.

I was a bit nervous… The last few times, I ran into Ellis by accident. This would be the first time I proactively sought him out.

I knocked at the two massive double doors standing in front of me.

"Come in." Ellis' voice echoed from behind the door.

I took a deep breath, as I opened the door. "Here we go," I whispered.

A vast library stood before me. In the center of the floor was the same recurring emblem that I saw in their house back home.

I peered up to find Ellis sitting at a vintage oak desk looking at paperwork, a business proposal of some sort. He looked it over, fingering the top corner of it as he read.

A short cabinet featuring a standing globe sat beside him, and I watched him reach over to open it without even looking and he pulled out a crystal decanter.

Then he finally realized that it wasn't his maid who had just entered, and he looked up. I watched as a smile crept up his face.

"Um, good evening, Mr. Peterson." I greeted.

"Miss Richardson, did you get lost again?" He smirked as he grabbed a crystal glass, added a spherical ice cube, and opened the decanter to pour some of the amber liquid into his glass. "Or did you drop your ID again?"

He was teasing me…again! I couldn't understand why he seemed to have so much fun watching me get embarrassed.

However, I reminded myself that I was here seeking his help. I breathed to calm myself.

Since he brought up the ID, I could use this topic to start this conversation easier. "Um, thank you, Mr. Peterson, for returning my ID."

"You're welcome," he said, and then he looked back down at his paper.

"And…and for saving me earlier. At the pool." I added, trying to move the conversation forward.

He continued reading and stated, "Not a problem. Gratitude accepted."

My eyes were widened. He paid no attention to me at all, and seemingly tried to dismiss me!

I stood there and for a moment was confused. His attitude towards me was a little different. However, honestly, he didn't do anything wrong.

The few times we ran into each other, we ended on bad terms. I couldn't blame him for not being enthusiastic to see me right now. However, I came here for a purpose.

"Excuse me, Mr. Peterson," I gathered my courage and walked closer to his desk, "May I ask you a question?"

He finally placed his stack of papers down. "So you're not just here to thank me after all," he realized with a crooked smile.

Thank goodness that his usual smile was back. Hopefully that meant he wasn't too upset about me bothering him during his work.

I decided to be honest and ask my questions directly. "Could you please tell me why you asked me to watch out for Carl?"

He didn't answer immediately.

A smirk slowly fell onto his lips and he softly chuckled, setting his glass down with a gentle clack. I had to admit that he was one of the most graceful men I'd ever seen.

He leaned on his desk and intertwined his fingers, peering up at me over his glasses, "I'm a businessman as you know. And I'm sure you're familiar with how business works, is that correct, Miss Richardson?"

He gestured with his hands and leaned back, resting his elbows on the arms of his leather office chair. I started to question whether it was a good idea to come in here.

"I… I'm not sure what you meant." I decided to play dumb. Obviously, he had an answer in mind and he would tell me in time.

"Surely, you do. You're the heir to the Richardson Empire," he pressed, "Would you like me to enlighten you, Miss Richardson?"

I nodded slowly. There it was.

"In business, if you want to gain something, you need to pay a price," Ellis informed, touching his lips with his fingertips, waiting for me to respond to him.

I needed to think of something I could offer to a man who had everything he ever could have wanted.

I looked around the room anxiously and I saw a large grand piano across the room. "Umm, I can play piano for you."

He peered up at me with a dangerous expression, smoldering, and brooding, "No, the information is worth way more than a song, Miss Richardson. You're going to have to try harder than that."

Ellis stood from behind his desk and walked over to a record player that stretched along the side of the room. After examining one of the vinyl records, he made a 'hmm' noise, placed it on the turnstyle and dropped the needle.

His choice was a personal favorite of mine: Frederic Chopin's Waltz in B Minor. It was a song I had played on more than one occasion on my piano.

Seeing I was hesitant, he chuckled. "For example," he stopped swirling his wine, putting it down on his desk, and made eye contact with me. A slight smirk crept across his face. "Usually when women want something from me, we settle things in my dungeon."

Why did I even come here in the first place?! I should've known better!

I exclaimed, "Absolutely not!"

As I began to shift my heels to walk away, Ellis released a hearty laugh and raised his hands.

"Relax... It was just a joke. Easy, Miss Richardson." He was still smiling which only made me more upset.

I sighed and figured it wasn't worth the trouble begging him to tell me about Carl.

"I'll be leaving, Mr. Peterson. Thank you for your time," I huffed as I turned away. I heard the sound of his dress shoes tap across the floor as he caught up to me.

"One simple request," Ellis offered, as he touched my wrist to get my attention. A warm streak of blood rushed to the spot he brushed with his fingers.

"Nothing is simple with you," I whispered under my breath, and he heard it.

Ellis chuckled, "That is true, but in this case, I promise that it's simple."

"Alright, what is it?" I kept my eyes focused on my shoes.

"One dance," Ellis used his finger to raise my chin so my eyes would meet his dark ones, "One dance, and I'll tell you everything you want to know."

I looked up, and his smile seemed sincere this time.

He presented his hand to me, "Miss Richardson, may I?"

I stared at him, and my lips parted at how his dark eyes seemed to sparkle in the low light. I cleared my throat to break myself from the thought.

I placed my hand in his and whispered reticintly, "Yes, Mr. Peterson."

He smiled and walked me over to the center of his office, Chopin's music still playing on the record player. He placed one of my hands on his waist and held my other one before taking me about the library in a slow dance.

I got lost in the way he peered into my eyes, spinning us and taking us into a waltz. He led and I followed, letting him spin me until he pulled me back against him.

His citrus cologne surrounded me again, making my head spin. I got lost in him and in the way he danced with such precision, fluidity, and grace.

The air felt suffocating being so close to him.

I breathed him in, getting lost in how strong and powerful he appeared. Yet something about him felt safe for a moment, as we danced like no one was watching.

I slowly peered up at him with parted lips, gazing from his eyes to his lips and back again and watched him do the same.

He suddenly spun me around and with my back arched downward as I looked up at him, I realized what he was about to do.

Ellis Peterson was about to kiss me.