FROM THE ALARM clock to the cars on the road, the snow and even the ground, everything was coming together to ruin Ophelia's day.

Despite her bad luck that day, she did not expect to be assaulted by a guest and later be rescued by the same person she rejected.

Already, she had envisioned herself getting fired and had been trying to recall how many copies of her resume she had left.

Ophelia had never been one to speak out, especially under pressure so she wasn't able to fully explain exactly what happened.

Even while she told Monica everything that happened, she still couldn't fully comprehend exactly how she knew to trust Darius and say nothing.

But somehow, she knew that Darius showing up gave her a sense of security. At first, she didn't know what to expect when he walked into the argument.

When he almost crushed Mr Stunner's wrist, Ophelia thought that the both of them were done for, until he called the Governor in front of them.

As most of her evenings were spent following the news, she recognised the voice of Governor Efrain from his campaign videos.

After everything, the only thing on her mind was finding out who Darius was and how he held so much power that he was able to get even the Governor to do his bidding.

"What if he's in the Mafia?" Monica guessed again.

Ophelia hummed before responding, "That makes a lot of sense cos he always has people following him around.

"He also has this air of authority around him so it won't be surprising if he is a Mafia Don or even the leader of a gang."

"If that's indeed the case, I advise you to stay away from him, the farther the better. You do not want to be caught up in a gang war," Monica said with concern shining in her brown eyes.

Ophelia shook her head. "I can't do that anymore, Nik. Besides, I haven't even thanked Darius yet, after he saved me just now."

Monica rolled her eyes. "Then thank him and ask him to stay away from you, duh."

"That's just rude!" Ophelia exclaimed. "Also, we haven't confirmed his involvement in the mafia yet, all we have are speculations."

"Speculations that are enough to make you run away without looking back. You'll be the only one crazy enough to still go near him even after all you have seen and heard."

"Then perhaps I am not as sane as you thought I was," Ophelia joked while nudging Monica with her shoulder.

Monica scoffed in response. "Crazy doesn't even come close. Insane is more like it."

Ophelia chuckled at her words but paused in between as the telephone on Monica's side rang. Monica sighed and went to take the call.

Just then, Ophelia heard footsteps approaching and looked up to find Darius coming with the same man who was always seen with him.

"Can we talk?" Darius asked once he reached the receptionist's desk.

"Of course."

Ophelia frowned at the sound of Monica clearing her throat.

"I'm sorry, Mr Lucian but my colleague is still on duty so she can't leave her workstation," Monica sternly said, giving Darius a sharp look.

The man beside Darius stepped forward with a glare on his face directed at Monica who reciprocated his glare with one of her own.

"You should know when you are being spoken to and when not, to avoid embarrassing yourself, Mimi," the man said.

"The name's Monica, Johnny. And your words should be directed back at you, because I know I wasn't speaking to you," Monica retorted, leaning forward so she was directly in his face.

Ophelia watched the scene with interest as both of them began exchanging direct and indirect words of ridicule. It was obvious they didn't like each other and the dislike showed with every word thrown at the other person.

"Do you want to continue watching the banter or will you walk away with me?" Darius asked, drawing her attention from the rivals.

"But I can't just leave work," she told him.

"I have told Mr. Robert that I will be taking you away for some time and he agreed," Darius said.

"Alright."

She came out from behind the desk and walked away with him, leaving the disputants to themselves.

"Will Monica be okay with your friend?" Ophelia asked, recalling their current speculation about the Mafia. She wondered if she made the right decision in leaving her friend with him.

"Samuel might look dangerous but he would never lay his hands on a female. He's just acting as a diversion to take your friend's attention away from us," Darius reassured her.

"Okay... So, what about Mr Stunner, what did you do with him?"

"Don't worry about that, all has been taken care of."

"Did you send him to the police?" She asked curiously.

"The only thing you should know is that justice has been served. As for how, you do not need to know," That was his vague response.

"Alright then, I won't ask anymore but first, but can you assure me that he is still alive?" Ophelia asked, turning to face Darius.

Something told Ophelia that it was wise for her to stop probing and she did as her brain told her.

The sides of Darius' lips lifted in amusement. "Did you think I wanted to have him killed? What gave it away?"

Her eyes widened in shock. "You killed him?"

"Did I?" He asked, obviously pretending to be confused.

"You did, didn't you?" Ophelia asked, with raised eyebrows.

"What I'm curious to know is the reason why you would think I would even kill that man in the first place?" Darius asked, smiling, evading her question with his one.

Her voice came out low this time. "Aren't you in the Mafia?"

At her question, Darius' facial expressions changed from thoughtful to amazed and finally amused. His amused face made her feel stupid for even asking.

"The Mafia? Of all things, you concluded that I am in the Mafia. What gives?" He asked with a small chuckle.

"Well, you are always being followed by tall and built men and the man you called Samuel seems to be your second in command.

"Also, you seem to be influential and have this air of power and authority around you. If I was not certain you would not harm me, I would surely stay away from you," Ophelia explained.

Darius broke into a wide smile that stunned her. She used to think that a man couldn't be beautiful and manly at the same time but Darius proved her wrong.

Seeing him smile like that while looking at her, made her feel strange. Weirdly, she liked being the only one in front of his eyes.

{•}

Thank you for reading.