Chapter 3 Layers of Deception

AT NIGHT 6:45 pm

Alex stood outside the Café. He was waiting in earnest with his hands stylishly dipped into his pockets. His eyes darted around the bubbling environment in fascination and lit up in observation of a discovery.

Alex was born with a silver spoon and he knew not what life was at the grassroots so this is an adventure for him. For some reason, he found himself wanting to know more about Sophia, and to do that, he needed to be in his modest form.

"Hey" Sophia waved at him.

"Hi" He responded with a charming smile.

"Shall we?" He quizzed like a gentleman.

Sophia nodded and led the way. For some minutes, no one said anything. The silence stretches out and thickens with each walking minute. They both pretended to be listening to the music being played out on the streets.

They watched some ladies sway their bodies to the rhythm of the music in an unfettered symphony. The ladies shook their head vigorously and Alex feared it might fall off their neck.

"What are they doing?" Alex was amused.

"That's the latest street dance according to them. It's crazy" Sophia chuckled.

"Wow"

"So, your name is Sophia and you're a barista? Nothing else I need to know right?" He asked smartly.

"What do you want to know?" Sophia looked at him.

"Everything" He whispered but Sophia heard anyway.

Her heart skipped again when she heard him.

"My name is Sophia Park" She said abruptly.

"Nice name. You live with your parents?" He questioned.

"I lost my parents some years back" Sophia told him.

"I'm sorry about that" He sympathized genuinely.

"It's fine. What about you?" Sophia inquired.

"What about me?" He teased knowingly.

"Stop it" Sophia turned to look at him.

"Okay fine. My name is Alexander Reith, I'm currently seeking a job and I have no parents too" He lied.

"I'm sorry about that" It was Sophia's turn to be sympathetic.

"It's fine" Alex muttered.

Deep down, he was worried about the wall of deception he was building. He felt bad for lying but this was the simplest he had ever been with anyone and he didn't want to jeopardize that chance. He felt an attraction with Sophia that he couldn't fathom and unveiling his identity would only drift them apart because they are obviously of different class.

"Down to earth, Mr. Alex" Sophia snapped her fingers to his face.

Alex jerked out of his thoughts and flashed a flirty smile.

"Sorry, I spaced out for a second"

"We are here" Sophia said vaguely.

Alex was confused.

"We are where?"

"My house" She pointed at her apartment.

Alex felt the urge to ask her how she lived in such a tiny house but resisted the urge.

"You have a nice place" He said instead.

"You don't have to be so nice" She rolled her eyes and they laughed together.

"So?" Alex drawled.

"So" Sophia intoned almost immediately.

"The same time tomorrow?" He asked waiting for a positive response.

Sophia looked at him but said nothing. She knew that something was going to happen with the pace they were going and it was either she's in or she's out, her present decision will determine the outcome.

Sophia wanted to explore her feelings.

"Having a friend won't be that bad right?" She reasoned.

"Sure" She finally made up her mind.

Alex's mouth burst into an appreciative smile. No doubt, he was excited.

"Bye" Sophia waved and entered the house.

Alex watched her slip into the house and turned back to start his walk home. He was ecstatic at his feat.

His phone rang suddenly and he picked it up with a smiley face.

"Marcus" He called to the guy on the phone.

"Boss, where are you?" The guy asked at the other end.

"Paradise" He replied senselessly.

...............................

"Boss" Marcus called for the umpteenth time while looking into the rearview mirror.

They are both in the car. Marcus is the one driving while Alex is in the back seat reminiscing on the event of this evening. He was barely listening to Marcus.

"Someone hacked into the app" Marcus dropped the news.

Alex faced him abruptly and his eyes shone in rage but he quickly relaxed.

"Drive to the house" He muttered.

"Okay boss" Marcus nodded and stepped on the pedal.

Marcus horned in front of a sleek gigantic gate and it opened immediately. The gatekeeper saluted Alex as the car drove into the spacious compound. This is one of Alex's several penthouses and the one he called home.

It's a spacious house that has six bedrooms with personal restrooms and bathrooms and closets, a gym, three sitting rooms, a bar filled with exotic drinks, a spacious kitchen, a Laundry room, a study room, and a library, and his Tech room where he performed wonders in the aspect of tech.

Due to his apathy for publicity, he rarely shows himself at work and works from the comfort of his tech room. He has few maids and he doesn't allow them to live with him. They just come and go after work.

Alex got down from the car gently and strolled into the house. Marcus followed suit after parking the car appropriately.

"Marcus" Alex called.

He was on the fifth step of the stairs. Marcus who was at the foot of the staircase looked up to him.

"Get me unbranded and simple shirts and Pants" He ordered.

Marcus was confused but he muttered an okay and proceeded to leave.

"And I also need you to rent a one-bedroom apartment in a neighborhood," Alex said and proceeded to go move.

"For whom boss?" Marcus asked.

"For me" Alex scoffed and continued his journey.

Marcus was dumbstruck. His boss has been acting strange these past few days and requesting weird things he won't ordinarily request for.

"Get me the project file in my room, I will be in the tech room" Alex's order invaded his thoughts.

"Okay boss" Marcus responded and proceeded to Alex's room.

Alex entered his tech room. It was spacious and well-equipped with the latest models of various computers and expensive gadgets arranged carefully. The room was painted white thereby giving it an alluring look.

"Now, let's see who dares infiltrate my project" He flexed his fingers.

He pulled out a chair and sat in front of a computer. The computer was blinking red intermittently and it wrote infiltrated on it.

Marcus rushed in with a file in hand and handed it over to Alex.

"Turn on the anonymous location" Alex ordered.

Marcus immediately obeyed.

Alex's eyes were fixated on the computer as he typed furiously on the keyboard. His fingers moved swiftly through the keyboard and his eyes darted through every corner of the computer, carefully observing any slight changes.

"The location is moving boss. It's not stable" Marcus relayed as he kept his eyes on the location projector.

"Just keep your eyes on it" Alex said between gritted teeth and continued his work.

"Boss, you pressed delete" Marcus panicked.

"I know" Alex muttered calmly and watched the app delete slowly on his computer.

After five minutes, he retrieved the app again.

"OMG" Marcus exclaimed.

"I fed the hacker's system a destructible virus and he had to send my app to avoid a system lockdown" Alex explained and smirked cockily.

"You're a genius boss" Marcus praised him.

Alex picked up the phone and went to his call log.

"Oh shit" He cursed when realization dawned on him.

"I didn't collect her number" He banged his fist on the table and the computers shook vigorously.