Leah's POV
"Well, everything went well at first. I managed to ask her out for a cup of coffee. I took her for a ride and got to this really high-end coffee shop in town. I parked the Ferrari on the meters and took her to the coffee shop. We were chatting and halfway into our conversation, she got a call and she told me that she had to go. I offered to give her a ride, but she refused. Then, I saw some missed calls from Jalin on my mobile and I knew I might have got some work to do tonight. So I got out of the shop, got into the car, and started to drive back. I started the car and everything was normal. As I was trying to stop at a traffic light, I found out that the brake didn't work. I was terrified and tried hitting the brake over and over again, it just didn't work. I tried the hand brake. It didn't work, either. Eventually, I managed to maneuver the car into a wooded area in Lamington Park and crashed it into a tree to stop it."
Lucian heard Troy's speech carefully and asked, "Where's the car now?"
"It's still in the park. I took a taxi and came back as soon as possible," Troy said apologetically. "My phone broke in the crash. So I couldn't call you back. I'm sorry, Jalin."
Jalin sighed, took out his mobile, and said, "I'm asking Dr. Monk to check on you."
Troy waved his hands and said, "I'm fine. It won't be necessary. The airbag hit me hard in my face and my head might have got a bit concussion. It really doesn't look as bad as it looks."
Jalin ignored him and sent a message on his phone.
"Dr. Monk will be here with you in 20 minutes. Now you can go lie down on my bed and wait for him. Mr. Carson will bring you some bandages. You might want to go and change it before bits of your brain matter drop on the good carpet." Jalin pointed at the turban on Troy's head.
Troy looked annoyed but still complied. But when he turned back and walked away, he couldn't even walk straight.
Jalin sighed and held his arm to support him, asking, "So, is that girl hot?"
"She's so hot. Her boobs were like this..." Troy gestured with a smirk.
I don't get guys. I thought to myself. They are losing 50% of their blood, yet they still manage to have that shit-eating smirk on their faces when they talk about women's boobs.
"I don't know you're a boob guy," Jalin said.
"You don't know shit about me," Troy mumbled.
"But I know you own Alpha 60 million dollars," Jalin said. "Your salary is 6,000 dollars a month, which means that you have to work for him for at least 833 years."
"Bite me," Troy shrugged.
As soon as Troy was sent away, Jalin came back and asked Lucian, "Do you want me to go to the park and take a look at the car?"
Lucian shook his head, "The car must have already been torched."
"Are you thinking what I am thinking?" Jalin asked.
"What are you thinking?" I frowned and asked.
"Nothing. Finn, why don't you come and hold Leah's hand? Take her to the living room. Make her some chamomile tea before heading for the show, will you?" Jalin looked bluntly into Finn's eyes and said.
"Yes, Mr. Cleary." Finn quickly approached me and held my hands, walking me out of the room.
"What's going on?" I mumbled to myself as I looked back at Lucian and Jalin, who was talking with serious looks on their faces.
"I don't know," Finn answered as if he didn't know I was talking to myself. His voice was calm and reserved. "Do you like chamomile tea, Leah?"
Just as we were walking downstairs, I saw a group of soldiers waiting for us at the end of the staircase.
Finn immediately flinched as he saw the soldiers.
I held his arm tightly to support him and said, "Don't worry, Finn. They're just my Father's Royal Guards. They're not supposed to be here unless they're invited."
"Attention!" A head soldier gave the order.
All the soldiers in sleek uniforms straightened up, clicking their boots together and saluting to me.
This common way of greeting made Finn terrified. He simply refused to move forward.
"As you were," I said to the soldiers in a hurry, trying to minimize the impact of their uniforms on Finn.
"Miss Lewyn, we're assigned to be in charge of your safety tonight," the head soldier said.
"Great. But could you please get changed before we go?" I asked.
"Excuse me, Miss Lewyn?" the head soldier frowned.
"Take off your uniforms and dress up in black suits," I said.
"Yes, Miss Lewyn. Right away, Miss Lewyn!" Those soldiers replied in one voice.
Finn looked at me with surprise and confusion. I soothed him by squeezing his hand in secret.
As the soldiers were gone, Finn walked into the open kitchen, trying to make me a cup of chamomile tea.
But I noticed that his hands were too trembling to hold the tea cup steadily.
I walked behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my chest and face against his back.
I wished I could calm him down with the warmth of my body and the sound of my heartbeat.
"I'm sorry, Leah. I'm such an embarrassment. I can't even make you a cup of tea right," Finn said in a low voice, placing his hands around mine.
"No, Finn. Don't say things like that." I stroked my head against his body. "You're everything that I have ever wanted."
As soon as I said those words, my face turned crimson. I have never said something like that to anyone before.
I had never had a chance to express my feelings for Lucas in the past. Partly because he wasn't available. Partly because I was too shy to openly speak of my affection for anyone. But when I spoke these words to Finn, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
Finn turned back toward me and wrapped his arms around me. Then, he leaned forward. I thought he was about to kiss me, so I lifted up my chin with my eyes closed, waiting to be kissed.
But he didn't kiss me. Instead, he stretched out his arm, trying to fetch the teacup on the table behind me.
I opened my eyes and saw what he was trying to do. I sighed and put his arm back on my waist.
"Finn, you don't have to make me a cup of tea," I said.
"But Mr. Cleary said..."
"You don't have to do whatever Jalin tells you to do," I looked up into his eyes and said.
Finn looked a bit confused and stressed. He stared down into my eyes with the infliction of pain in his eyes, as if he was going through some sort of torture.
I looked patiently at him and said, "Finn, sometimes Jalin can be very intimidating, but he's just doing it to protect me. He is a very nice guy when you know him, and he works for me. So you have absolutely no need to be afraid of him."
"Those soldiers... Do they work for you as well?" he asked.
"Yeah, in a way." I nodded. "They work for my Father, so they sort of have to take care of me."
"Who's your father, Leah?" Finn asked with an odd look on his face.