63. Upper room

I fidgeted restlessly in the plush leather chair, my eyes continuously darting towards the gleaming brass clock adorning Giovanni's desk. Two agonizing hours had gone by in this suffocating silence, the padding of opulent carpets and thick oak paneling seeming to muffle all sound to a deafening hush.

Where was he? A series of increasingly unsettling scenarios began to take shape in my mind and the longer I sat alone, the longer the anxiety grew in me.

I admonished myself for such ridiculous thoughts and tried to dismiss the insidious tendril of doubt and trepidation working its way deeper into my consciousness. Giovanni had assured me he wouldn't be long, that I would be undisturbed here in his office suite. He wouldn't just leave me stranded like this indefinitely...would he?

The soft growling in the pit of my stomach served as an unwelcome reminder that midday had come and gone, I realized that I hadn't had anything to eat, eyed the polished oak sideboard across the room, weighing t