Chapter 36: Meeting at Hollow House.
The message was sent to her old phone, and she couldn’t help but wonder how he got her number.
This man who seemed to know everything she believed she kept tightly under wraps, and her system couldn’t work on him. He was a dozen steps ahead of her and could either be a dangerous enemy or a powerful ally.
The car crawled forward, caught in traffic, brake lights blinking red as far as she could see.
’It would be better to check with the system to know if something is wrong. I certainly can’t wait till we get to the hotel.’ Violet thought to herself, and quickly threw a glance at Jen, who had her eyes and attention fixed on the road ahead.
She leaned into the car headrest, and her eyes slowly fluttered closed as she entered her spatial inventory.
In the peace and quiet, away from the busy world, she could use her system without arousing any suspicion from Jen.
The clock ticked loudly by the side, indicating that the time she had in here was limited.
She blinked, and a translucent screen appeared in front of her. Seeing that the system was not damaged after the earlier ruckus it caused before disappearing, she was a bit relieved.
She went straight to the matter at hand and asked, "What did you mean earlier? Why am I unable to deploy System functions against Vincent?"
Sorry! I can’t provide an answer to that question.
Violet squinted at the system’s words. Was it even allowed to do this?
"But I thought I could use it on everyone. I mean, at this stage there’s still the exception of those with high resistance, but I couldn’t even view his insight." She was getting frustrated.
The system’s reply did nothing to help with her confusion.
"Is he invincible or something? Isn’t he human like the rest of us?" Was the system truly having a malfunction?
Host may use System functions on all targets, with one exception. Reason: Unknown.
Even the system seemed to be confused about Vincent. What if one exception turned to two or more?
When Violet got to her suite, she had already been mentally exhausted. She was about to step into her room when Jen stopped her.
"Ma’am, can I please take the rest of the day off?" she inquired.
Violet noticed the worry line on her forehead. Jen had a lot going on that she wasn’t aware of. Earlier in the day, Jen had spent over fifteen minutes on the phone and also left in the afternoon. She wanted to ask what was wrong, but decided against it.
Jen would tell her whenever she wanted to, that’s if she needed to know. Besides, she already had a lot on her own plate.
"Alright."
"Thank you. I’ll come back tomorrow morning." she said, and looked around. Since she wouldn’t be sleeping in the hotel, she took her purse, phone, and a few of her clothes.
Violet stepped into her room and shut the door behind her. She didn’t move, instead she pressed her back against the mahogany door and slowly slipped to the ground.
She was yet to decide if she would go see Vincent or not. She stayed there for a long time thinking, and only stood up once she had arrived at a decision.
***
Hollow House. 9:50 pm.
The place had a dim, intimate atmosphere, low amber lighting spilling across dark wood tables. The faint murmur of conversation by the customers blended perfectly with the soft clink of glasses.
The quiet air of exclusivity that suggested that this wasn’t the kind of place just anyone could walk into.
At the far end, a man was seated in front of a table. The first two buttons of his shirt were left undone. He leaned casually into his chair as he lifted the glass on the table toward his lips.
He cast a glance at his wristwatch before looking over to the entrance.
She wasn’t here yet.
He noted silently to himself. He’d been waiting for over thirty minutes, but he wouldn’t hold that against her, after all, he had never once been punctual himself.
It wasn’t until 10:18 pm that she walked in through the entrance, taking slow and graceful steps. He’d been worried she wouldn’t come, but she was here.
The moment his eyes landed on her, he sat up straight, the side of his lips curling upward.
Violet was directed to his table by a waiter. The closer she got, the more knitted her brow became.
It was him.
Vincent.
His face was the same, yet there was something different about him.
She took the free seat in front of him and gently placed her purse on the table.
"You came." was the first thing he said to her.
’You invited me and also made sure I wouldn’t forget about it.’ Violet wanted to say, but didn’t. Her expression stayed blank.
"You look different."
"And so do you." She let her gaze move over him, his hair combed neatly back with a few strands falling forward. Gone were those glasses, and in front of her sat a man who looked steady enough to control whatever room he stepped into. And it wouldn’t be a lie to say he was far hotter and more handsome than his boss.
Before they could continue their conversation, a waiter arrived and asked them to place their order.
He handed the menu to Vincent, who flipped it open and scanned the contents. "We’ll have—"
"Nothing." Violet interrupted. She turned to the waiter and flashed him a small smile. "For now, nothing. Can you come back in, say, ten minutes?"
The waiter, who’d been ready to take down their order, paused and nodded. He looked between the couple before taking his leave, wondering what Vincent must have done wrong to make his beautiful girlfriend angry.
Violet clasped her hands together and shifted in her chair. "We aren’t here to eat. I suggest we don’t waste each other’s time." she said.
There was no use wasting time. They were here for serious business, and she would only eat with him if he turned out to be a friend, not a foe.
Vincent, still holding the menu, snapped it shut and set it on the table.
"Fine, let’s have it your way." he paused then continued. "We can start by introducing ourselves."
"You already know who I am, but I can’t say the same about you." she said, eyeing him suspiciously. She was the one who didn’t know him, and if she guessed correctly, Vincent was not truly who he made everyone believe he was.
There was more to him than he let on.
"Smart." He muttered more to himself, his gave held some sort of recognition as he stretched his hand across the table. "I’m Kai. Kai Hawthorne."