Chapter 5 I listened to their whispers

"Mr. Riccardo, so glad you made it!" As we walked inside Leonardo's office, he let out an ecstatic cry.

Much more composed than Leonardo appeared, Sebastian nodded his head at him.

Additionally, I'm pleasantly surprised that you selected Selina for this. She was just listed for sale once more today. Leonardo remarked, reaching out to shake Sebastian's hand as he sat down across from his desk.

"Yes well, I decided she seemed like a good option." Sebastian shook Leonardo's hand firmly and spoke in a monotone.

"Excellent, let's begin the contract, shall we? You can go, Toby. Leonardo's voice was calm.

"Um, actually sir I need to tell you something..." With trepidation, Toby spoke.

"Very well, what is it?" When Toby motioned for Leonardo to move farther away from the desk where Sebastian and I were seated, Leonardo questioned, appearing uninterested in getting up.

I listened to their whispers as the two men moved to the left, nearer to me.

"Selina was originally going to be bought by Mr Daniels..." Toby muttered.

"And?" Leonardo rolled his eyes in boredom and murmured.

"Well, Mr Riccardo was the second offer - isn't that against the rules?" Toby asked.

"Not in this instance. We will do all in our power to keep Mr. Riccardo happy because he is a very important customer. Go now, charm Mr. Daniels, and give him a discount or something, okay? Leonardo shouted in a furious whisper.

I turned to Sebastian to check whether he had heard, but he was absorbed in his thoughts and had a stony expression on his face. His one glance terrified the very daylights out of me.

Leonardo started to head back towards Sebastian and me as Toby started to leave the office. I was relieved when the awkward quiet started to become uncomfortable and I could feel Sebastian's eyes on me.

I turned to look at Leonardo as he cleared his throat. Before settling into his big leather spinning chair, he smoothed down his suit and slightly rolled up his sleeves.

"Sorry about that, now where were we?" Leonardo gave a phony smile.

"The contract." Sebastian's expression remained icy as he spoke, as though he was already bored.

I was nervously fiddling with the hem of my skirt while seated on the chair next to him, unsure of what to do.

"Ah yes, of course." As he spoke, Leonardo awkwardly took out pieces of paper and set them on the desk. Then he picked up a black pen and set it beside the paper.

He pretended to whisper to Sebastian, "All this contract does is confirm that Miss Jafarova here is giving her consent for us to sell her - not that she has a choice anyway -" but I could hear him. He laughed, then went on as I tried not to roll my eyes in frustration. "and that you are sure you'd like to buy her, it also states a few other things that you can read on your own." Leonardo handed him the pen and passed the paper forward.

For a minute, Leonardo and I watched Sebastian scan the sheet of paper in front of him. As usual, I tried to catch a glance of what it stated, but I never saw it.

Sebastian had already signed it and given it back to Leonardo before I could read the wording. He then took a check out of the inside pocket of his blazer and placed it in front of Leonardo.

Leonardo took both pieces of paper, first examining the check and then the contract. His eyes seemed to be on the verge of popping out of his head with delight as soon as he did this; it must have been a big check.

"Great! Absolutely, very good. "Now that is sorted out, Selina, your bags are already taken care of and will be given to you at the door, so you both may leave now," Leonardo said, clapping his hands together.

I gave Leonardo a polite nod before getting out of the chair I was sitting in. My legs felt like jelly from my extreme anxiety, which was primarily caused by my nervousness but also likely by how long I had been sitting in the chair.

Sebastian quickly followed my lead and got to his feet, though he was noticeably taller than me. I was so amazed by his height that I nearly had to look twice every time he stood up.

"Pleasure doing business with you Mr Riccardo, I hope our company ways were to your satisfaction." Leonardo's voice was so kiss-áss-y that it was unbelievable.

"Mhm." With a nasty and uninterested tone, Sebastian spoke incoherently. Sebastian could at least admit that Leonardo was being courteous, even if I knew he was a áss.

I had never seen Leonardo this anxious before, and he stopped as he walked around the desk.

He hurried ahead of us to the door and opened it, saying, "Uh, let me escort you out."

Except for a quick head nod of mild thanks, Sebastian passed by Leonardo without truly noticing him again.

Leonardo appeared upset.

Hehe.

Shortly after I shut the office door, he came up behind him, and then me.

I observed Sebastian taking long, rapid strides with his shoulders back and head held high, just as he had done before.

However, in an attempt to keep up with Sebastian's rapid pace, Leonardo walked somewhat awkwardly and hurriedly, which surprised me because he was usually a calm guy who didn't seem to become very anxious around customers. In reality, he occasionally pretended to be superior to them.

Even Leonardo found Sebastian's presence terrifying, which was another factor contributing to my anxiety about working for him.

***

"Your bags are here." Selina, I have something to tell you before you leave. While Sebastian stepped outside to call his car, or whatever vehicle we were returning to, Leonardo handed me my stuff.

"Thank you. "What is it?" Taking them off him, I questioned.

Do you understand that Mr. Riccardo is a very special customer and that you must not do anything to alienate him? There will be repercussions if you do, Selina," he said.

"Consequences?" I made an effort not to chuckle. "By you?"

"No." He scowled angrily. "By him. Just a heads up, Selina. Be careful. Mr. Riccardo is not your typical client; as I mentioned, he is very important to the business, but how can I put it? He is extremely concerned.

"Alarming, what do you mean alar-" I started, my eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment, but as soon as I spotted Sebastian, the doors abruptly opened and closed.

"We have our automobile ready. Let's leave." Sebastian looked directly at me as he talked in a low voice, utterly ignoring Leonardo.

I swallowed and gave him a head nod before turning back to Leonardo.

Leonardo flashed me a warning glance at this moment, then waved his hand at me to bid me farewell without even attempting to capture his attention.

I smiled tightly at him and moved to face Sebastian, who was still staring at me. I attempted to remain composed as my face flushed, but I nearly fell while stumbling in my heels.

Sebastian tried to hide a tiny smirk that was starting to show on his face, and my face instantly became even hotter.

I thought, God, that was embarrassing.

I ignored my little stumble and walked over to him, looking up at him as he held the door wide for me to exit.

As soon as I got my suitcase and left the house, I started to feel cold, which made my arms start to get goosebumps.

Distracted by my surroundings, I glanced up at the night sky and shivered. Men were laughing and talking about things I didn't quite understand, and others were being dragged into automobiles.

"Over there." I jumped as Sebastian spoke abruptly as he approached me.

When I looked up at him again, I noticed that a long, black limousine was in his line of sight. My eyes went wide with surprise-what the devil? That's what we were supposed to ride back in? This man must have had a lot of money back then.

Then, what are you waiting for? Continue. I was frightened by Sebastian's direct and irritated speech, which prompted me to quickly move to the black car, Sebastian following me.

A quiet elderly man in a black suit was waiting by the limousine's boot and extended his hand to me as though he wanted to take my bag.

As I gave it to him and expressed my gratitude, I watched intently as he put it in the back of the limousine.

The man almost instantly turned back to me and opened the door for me. I thanked him once again and ducked inside.

It wasn't until I noticed Sebastian sitting in the matte black corner seat with his legs spread wide apart that I realized he was already inside the limousine.

The limo's interior was nearly all black, except the white outline of the matte-black seats. This shocked me because most limos in movies had minibars in every corner and multicolored lights that flashed.

Sebastian didn't seem to enjoy fun or multicolored things, which made sense.

"Sit here." I was frightened when Sebastian put his hand on the seat next to me and spoke authoritatively as soon as I sat down on the seat closest to the entrance.

After glancing at him and blinking a few times, I crossed the limo and sat down exactly where he had instructed.

He smelled great, clearly expensive cologne, and there was a faint whiff of musky shampoo, which combined to give him an aroma I would assume a god would have.

Whoa, I was spooky.

After I sat down and hastily fastened my seatbelt, I avoided looking at him and instead stared off into space, attempting to block out the reality that I was being bought by a psychopath.

I felt the limousine start-up and we started to drive away, but I couldn't see much through the blacked-out windows because it was night, and I wouldn't have been able to see inside the car if there hadn't been little lights strewn about the floor.

I was grateful that we had been in complete silence for at least five minutes in the limo, but my pulse rate increased as Sebastian's head turned to face me and our distance from one another became closer.

"You don't talk much do you, Miss Jafarova?" Sebastian asked.

No, I didn't respond.

Laughing, he said, "Or would you prefer I call you Selina?"

Silence once more.

For almost 10 seconds, it remained that way, until Sebastian tilted my head in his direction and I felt his thumb and index finger grab my chin.

"Yes, let's get things straight. You give me a respectful response and look at me when I speak to you. He glared menacingly while looking directly into my eyes. "I don't beg, especially people like you, so you better learn to behave or else."

This time, I trembled because I was so afraid, not because it was cold.

I stammered, "Y-yes Sebastian." He flashed me a warning look as I pronounced his name, and I instantly wanted to shoot myself.

He hesitated, opening and closing his mouth as though he wasn't sure whether or not to reprimand me for this mistake, but he did so in the end.

"Don't refer to me like that. I'm not on par with you. Do you understand, Gattina, that it is Sir or Master to you? He spoke menacingly once more, but there was a tiny smirk on his face as though he relished the terror he was instilling in me.

"Yes Sir," I responded a little louder, anxiously chewing my lower lip as I stared into his icy eyes.

"Well done, girl. Let's review some regulations now, shall we? With a little sly expression on his lips, he released my face and returned his hand to his thigh, saying, "We have a while, ragazza timida."

Too afraid to make another mistake, I nodded my head and looked directly into his eyes.

I thought nervously, This is going to be a long ride.