Chapter 20: Stalker
Monday morning…
After dropping Skyler to school, Ririna sat on the back seat of her car while Erica drove towards the Pavilion Hotel where Ririna would meet up with Madam Lin. Since she failed to get the shares that Eli had, her only resort was to try bargaining with Madam Lin for the ten percent shares she needed.
Aside from having worked for Ririna for more than a month now and being her friend for more than ten years, Erica could easily judge Ririna's mood based on her expressions and actions. Whenever her brows furrowed and jaws hardened, she was most likely in a bad mood.
Ririna remained quiet at the back while Erica kept her eyes on the road. Silence filled the car, and the only sound that could be heard was the shuffling of the papers in Ririna's hand. These were the documents she needed to deal with Madam Lin later. She couldn't afford to lose this chance, too.
"Are you still mad at me?" Erica asked as she broke the silence between them. The car stopped at the red traffic light. She had a pretty good idea why Ririna was in a sour mood. What happened between her and Eli last Saturday night when the devil abducted her?
"No," Ririna replied, her eyes still fixed on the documents and pictures in her hands and lap.
"But I didn't expect you to betray me and hand me over to the devil."
Erica groaned and hit the steering wheel with her right hand before peeking out to check on her boss.
"Look, I was also drunk, you know. I couldn't possibly beat him when I was drunk," Erica said. She really didn't want her friend to be taken by the devil, but hey, she was really drunk. If it wasn't for her perverted husband, she doubted if she could drive home.
"Hmm?" Her tone was laced with accusation.
"Oh, darling, you know you can't decide who's going to be your father, but you can always choose who's gonna be your daddy." Erica teased.
At that statement, Ririna quickly lifted up her head and shot a deathly glare to her assistant.
Traitors! They knew she's been trying for years to move on from the devil, but they kept on setting them up together.
"If you weren't my friend, Erica, I probably would have killed you right now," she retorted.
When the stoplight turned green, their car moved again in the second lane. Erica stopped speaking to her friend to focus on the road and continued to drive forward. Her anxiety was starting to kill her. Suddenly, she noticed something strange on their right side. She noticed someone following them from behind, but her suspicion wasn't clear.
"I think we are being followed." She warned Ririna. Ririna instantly stopped working and slightly turned her head to Erica. Her face lifted to look straight forward, her eyes gleaming with some strange emotion Erica couldn't figure out.
"Position?" she asked.
'Four o'clock. Around fifty to seventy meters." Erica replied. No one said another word as they waited for what would happen next. Erica continued to drive towards the Pavilion Hotel; they only had about thirty minutes before the meeting starts.
Suddenly Ririna's phone rang. An unknown number was calling her. Giving Erica a warning look, she accepted the call and placed the phone against her ear.
"Hello," she said nonchalantly. She wasn't sure if it was the same person who was following them.
When no one replied to her, her brown eyes scanned the area around the car, checking for any suspicious person in the crowd.
"Who is this?" she asked.
She heard a chuckle on the other end.
"Ririna." When she heard the voice on the other end, she released her breath that she herself didn't know she was holding.
"Eli! You stalker! Where did you get my private number?!" Ririna gritted her teeth, clearly annoyed at the man on the other end.
"Ask your assistant instead," he replied. Her brows twitched.
Ririna narrowed her eyes to the woman in front of her. 'You are so dead to me later, Erica!' She thought.
"Are you the one who sent a spy who is following our trail today?" she asked. With Eli's possessiveness, she wouldn't be surprised if he sent spies or agents to follow her around while he was gone.
"No."
When Ririna and Erica heard his reply, they heightened up their alertness. If Eli didn't send someone to tail them, then who was it?
Silence engulfed the three of them.
"Ririna, where are you?" Eli finally asked. He realized what Ririna meant when she asked him if he has sent someone to follow her. Someone was trailing his wifey while he was away!
"We're on our way to Pavilion Hotel right now," she said.
"I'll send backup right away. Keep yourselves calm, and don't make any suspicious move." His voice calmed down her nerves. She really didn't know what to do if there was more than one person trailing behind them.
"You don't have to. We're so near to the hotel. I doubt if they'll make a move in public."
"No." Eli's voice was firm and dangerously cold, "We have talked about this already. I'll protect you. As soon as we have cleared the area, go take Erica with you and take your custom gun at Darwin's place." He commanded.
Ririna didn't really have a choice right now. While Erica was armed, she wasn't. She hadn't taken extra staff to escort her today. After this, for sure she would have to double check every security detail at her workplace and home to ensure no one could take advantage of it.
She was somewhat touched at Eli's resolve to protect her even if he's in a different place right now. Maybe she should give him some credit for trying to prove himself to her. Maybe he's starting to change for good.
"Alright. Do as you wish," she complied.
"Backup will arrive within ten minutes. Call me if something happens." Eli said before cutting the line.
Ririna couldn't help but think that the death game had finally started. It was almost six weeks after she arrived. At that thought, her head slightly ached. She never realized that she had loosened up her guard this time. If they made it back alive, she knew she would owe it to Eli's protection. She never thought she would seek his help.
After a long while, she put the documents, receipts, and pictures that she needed for her meeting back in the folder. They only had twenty minutes to arrive at their destination. After seven minutes, Eli's men arrived using two cars, trailing right behind them. She sighed in relief when Erica said it seemed the spy stopped on his tracks.
Erica drove in front of Pavilion Hotel while Ririna stared up at the tall hotel building with curiosity. Her assistant drove the car into the underground parking space followed by two cars. Ririna quickly took her handbag and the folder from the seat and got out of the car. Erica and the four agents of Eli's team followed her as she took the elevator up to the top floor.
She would need to thank Eli later for his assistance today.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone