The master bedroom of the apartment over a thousand feet above ground was calm like an undisturbed lake. Only two breaths remained, producing the ripples that disturbed the silence draping over it, two breaths that could have been taken for parts of the breeze drifting in through the balcony door if not for the nervousness one carried in its chaotic rhythm, and the silent laughter projected by the other one.
The woman clad from head to toe in black remained frozen before the bed, her bag still open, unable to make a decision as she looked at the small wooden box that seemed as heavy as her life at that moment, worse yet, maybe a bit too literally.
Alex's smirk grew, and he finally spoke to shatter the stagnant silence:
"You know, I can tell a few things about you. You are not here because you want to. Let me guess, you have been threatened? And you even don't know by whom? But they got something in you, and you are forced to do something for them."
The woman was jolted out of her hesitation. She didn't even manage to calm her heart down from the fear Alex's previous words had induced in her. It only skipped a beat with a tremor, like a car only slowing down during a race to make a turn, only to scramble forward again and push even further for a higher speed.
Even through her mask, Alex seemed to read her reaction, as she snapped her head toward him, and he continued:
"Unfortunately for you, if you fail the task you have been entrusted with, there will be consequences. So, the question is, do you dare leave here with that small box without making sure that it is or has what you are after?"
The woman looked at him pointedly as if to look through his smiling façade, to peek at his heart deep in his mind, before she took a breath, and asked in a tight voice:
"How do you know?"
The infuriating smile only grew on the handsome face, giving it a devilish charm, at the same time as it called more strongly for a violent remodeling:
"I told you. You are just too unprofessional."
The woman in black took another breath, and exhaled the irritation that rose up again, though not totally, because she snappily retorted:
"And inexperienced, I know."
"Yeah. And you have tried, but you seem more like an actress than a true criminal."
Alex's smile, as he leaned back relaxedly, didn't infuriate like before. It made the woman freeze imperceptibly for a moment, before she changed the subject:
"Why do you seem so eager to make me open the box?"
Alex raised his eyebrows in surprise:
"I didn't tell you? My bad. I'm curious, that's all. I have never seen the content of that box either."
He spoke casually, uncaring of his situation, and with a sincere look in his eyes, but his smile, and the words he said before made everything seem like a trap. Everything became tangled, with truth and falsehood impossible to discern.
But if there was one truth, it was that she was supposed to bring something back, and if she failed, or got it wrong, she would be in trouble, just as Alex said. She took a deep breath to push her messy thoughts away, and she caught on a thread:
"You said you tried but failed to open the box, so why do you think it will be different for me? And more than that, since you failed to open it, why then should I be afraid that you have emptied it of its content or swapped it for something else? It is like you are setting a trap just waiting for me to jump into."
Alex shook his head, a deep smile in his brown eyes as he looked at the woman:
"You are wrong. It is not a trap, it is an overt scheme. You will have to open that box because you can't trust my words, and because I have already planted a big enough seed in your heart to doubt, and to fear. The only unknown now is whether my scheme is truly to satisfy my curiosity, or something else. But doesn't that make things more exciting? You have broken into my apartment, disturbed my rest, and…humm… let's say humiliated me? Anyway, let's suppose this is my revenge. That brings back the question, will you open the box, or will you not? Or better yet, do you dare leave here without trying to open it?"
By the end of his words, Alex finally showed a different look from his earlier smiles and smirks. It was a devious mixture that felt as infuriating with the confidence it carried as it looked attractive with the teasing edge within, all of that draped by the shadow projected down by his darkened damp hair. Even a devil might not be any more beguiling, or darkly charming.
The woman in black was left dazed for a second before violently snapping out of the vortex trying to pull her in. She immediately averted her gaze and worked to forcefully calm her heart down. Cursing at how much of a playboy Alex Lenner was, she shook her head and focused on the small box.
She really didn't seem to have a choice. As Alex Lenner said, she had to try and see the content of the box to ensure that she was not making a mistake, or she had to at least fail to open it to have an explanation to give.
Breathing in and out, she looked at the quiet but hot problem in her hand, glanced at Alex Lenner, then let go of her backpack to cover the top of the wooden container with her palm. Slowly, she pushed it up, seeking to get a feel of how it was locked before looking for a solution. Only, the cover of the box moved without any of the expected reluctance, soft like a well-oiled door in a ghost story.