Chapter 3

A way out of her dilemma has been provided to her. She didn't even pause for a second to consider the consequences of accepting such a tempting offer; she solely saw the bright side and nodded slowly.

As he rose to his feet, he extended his hands to her, and she hesitantly accepted his hand in her sweaty palms. He tugged her up onto her feet and drew her into his embrace.

"You're safe now," he said softly into her ears.

She felt safe and protected as she was enveloped in his warmth and rich cologne aroma. Her nerves were calm, and her pulse rate had finally returned to normal. The aura around him made her feel as if she had been transported to another universe, and as she sniffed in his cologne combined with his bossy aura, she couldn't help but want to learn more about his world and become a part of it.

"Clear up this mess," he muttered as he disengaged from the embrace and turned to face Ethan. "And no words about this should leave these walls," he said, his expression straight and stern. "Come with me," he urged as he walked away, his gaze returning to Everly.

The ground floor of the office building was boisterous as Leo walked in with Everly sluggishly behind her, with lots of people scattered around going about their tasks.

Some were clutching documents, huddled around photocopying machines, some were in groups of twos and threes, chatting in hushed tones, and still others sat silently behind their desks, their eyes glued to the screen of their computer.

When the CEO, Leo and Everly, walked in, a dense mist of silence descended on the workers. They all began to arrange their looks, those who were seated stood up, and they all bowed their heads slightly in greeting.

Leo walked by them without saying a word or bothering to look at them to his private elevator, because he knows they were trying to please him. he entered the elevator after inputting his destination, with Everly trailing behind him. When the staff noticed that Everly was still following the boss into his private elevator, they began to smirk and sneer among themselves, speaking in hushed tones. They were shocked to see a low-level employee following the CEO to his office; this was unusual.

When they arrived at their destination on the last floor of the building, the door dinged before opening, revealing a well-furnished and lavishly adorned space. As they stepped inside, Everly was in awe; it was like paradise. Everly looked about, taken in by the tranquillity and opulence of the setting.

Everly observed that the place was lavishly decorated with original artworks and paintings by artists from all over the world. Some of the artwork was vibrant, while others were simply neutral colors or black and white.

As they walked their way further down into the room,an artwork caught her eye; it was a painting of a bird, namely a peacock. Everly was attracted by how realistic the painting appeared, how the artist developed details of the bird using vivid colors, and how the artist played freely with colours generally on the piece. She appreciated the artist's creativity inwardly, smiling to herself.

"He must be an art lover," she muttered breathlessly to herself as she continued to see all the shades and styles of art on display in the room, making her feel as if she was exploring one of the world's finest art galleries.

When they reached the end of the space, there were two massive white doors that matched the aesthetic of the place facing each other. Leo took a card from his pocket and slid it into the card slot located beneath the door knob, and the door snapped open.

"You can go in there and freshen up, someone will be attending to you shortly," he said, pushing the door open for her to enter. If you need anything, I'll be in my office over there," he added, pointing to the door behind them.

Everly nodded as she walked into the room, closing the door behind her without saying anything.

The room was also designed in the same manner as the outside space. It was filled with artwork.While the outside space artworks captured nature, what was displayed here was women's portraiture, revealing different parts of their bodies, while some were stark naked in a sophisticated way.

Everly wandered about the room, running her fingertips across the paintings before returning to the comfortable spring bed, which was totally covered in a white bedsheet and a thick white duvet. The comfort of the bed was so relaxing to her sore joint that she soon drifted off to sleep.

A soft knock came on the door not too long after Everly fell asleep. Coming to wakefulness,"Who is there?" Everly inquired with a sleepy tone.

"Room service," said the voice behind the closed door.

Everly got out of bed sluggishly and went to open the door.

"Good day ma'am". A fair-skinned woman in her early twenties strolled into the room, pulling a trolley in front of her.

The first layer of the trolly was filled with various foods, fruits, juice, wine, and chocolate, while the second layer of the trolly was filled with a white towel and other toiletries. There was also a new dress placed in a garment bag by the side of the trolley.

"The boss asked me to bring this to you," the girl explained before leaving.

Everly grabbed a piece of chocolate from the trolley and placed it into her mouth when the girl left. "Rich!" She exclaimed as she savored the taste of the minty chocolate, before taking off her dress so she could freshen up.

She took the dress out of the garment bag after freshening up; it was a black suit gown. "Zara," she whispered to herself as she looked at the label on the outfit. Everly changed into her new garment and tossed the old one into a bin by the bed. She sat back down on the bed after dressing and dived right into her meal.

A gentle knock came on the door, and before Everly could ask who it was, the door was pushed open.