After classes, I met up with Ruby.
"He is on his way," she smiled, holding her phone close to her chest. She must really like him. I can't remember exactly when they started dating, but they've been together for a few months now. She appears eager to see him, and to be honest, I also want to meet him.
I want to know why she is so into him. Ruby has had a couple of boyfriends in the past, but she was never this excited when talking about them. Or is it because this one is wealthy? Her previous boyfriends were either average or poor. This is her first wealthy boyfriend.
"Will he meet us here?" I asked.
"Yes, he wants to meet us inside the school," she answered, taking a seat beside me.
"We were supposed to meet yesterday but had to cancel because of you. He also got me a gift; I can't wait to see what he got me," she squealed.
"Maybe flowers. It shouldn't be more than that," I said, pursing my lips.
"You're such a joykiller," she rolled her eyes. "Can't you pretend to be happy?"
"I am happy for you."
"So boring," she rolled her eyes again, and I laughed. After about ten minutes of waiting, Ruby received a message from her boyfriend.
"He is running late; he wants to send us a car. We'll meet at a restaurant." She looked at me. "Can you make it?"
"I'm not sure, I don't know... My driver won't allow..." I began, but I stopped when I noticed the sad expression on her face.
"Okay, I'll try to convince my driver; I'll convince him," I assured her, and she agreed.
"Let's go." We walked out of the class and headed to the school's private parking lot, where my driver was waiting.
"Ms." Once he saw me, he opened the back door, but I instantly closed it.
"I'm going somewhere with Ruby; we're taking a cab," I told him. He frowned, showing his dissatisfaction.
"I will take you there, Ms.," Jack, my driver, insisted.
"I won't stay long; I'll meet you here in about an hour. I just want to be alone with Ruby. Is it such a difficult request?"
"It is. I'll be fired if the brothers learn of this. I get paid to do this. I don't want to lose my job," he responded.
"What if I pay you? I'll pay you for your troubles, and don't worry, you won't lose your job." I immediately pulled out my phone and opened my bank app.
"Your account?" I asked, but he hesitated.
"I'll pay you a lot, and the brothers won't know about this." After convincing him, he sent me his account details, and I transferred about ten thousand dollars.
"Thank you, Ms., I'll be waiting right here."
"Thank you, Jack." I flashed him a smile as I walked out of the parking lot with Ruby.
We found the car Ruby's boyfriend sent, waiting at an open spot, and got in.
"Where are we going?" Ruby asked the driver.
"We're going to a popular French restaurant; Mr. Dominic is waiting there," the driver responded.
"Alright, take us there." The drive was about twenty minutes long. We arrived at the restaurant and got out of the car.
"Please go in," the driver urged us, and we entered the restaurant.
"Welcome," a slim, tall lady in corporate clothes walked up to us. "Are you Ms. Ruby and..." She began, but Ruby didn't let her finish.
"Yes, I am. This is Amera; we're here to meet Paul," Ruby explained.
Paul? That's the name of her boyfriend? She never told me.
"His name is Paul?" I turned to her and whispered.
"Yes," she nodded.
"Please come in; he reserved the entire restaurant." The lady led us to the only table in the restaurant, and we took our seats.
"Your boyfriend must be loaded," I leaned closer to her and whispered.
"I'm also surprised; I didn't know he'd be this rich," she smiled, looking around.
"Would you like to order now, or would you prefer to w—?" the lady started to ask, but Ruby interrupted her before she could finish.
"No. We'll wait for Paul," she said.
"Alright, but if you need anything, you can ring for me," she gestured to the bell.
"No problem." The lady walked away.
"So his name is Paul?" I leaned close and asked.
"Yes, any problem?" She looked at me.
Suddenly, I don't feel good about this. After that incident, I've come to hate the name Paul. Ruby knows about it, but I never mentioned the name of the culprit to her, so she might not understand my fear right now.
"Are you okay, Amera?" she asked again.
"I am fine. Where is he? Why isn't he here yet? I feel thirsty; can you order some drinks?"
"Of course," she quickly rang the bell before turning to me. "You don't look okay; you're sweating."
"No, I'll be fine after wetting my throat; I'm just thirsty," I lied. I don't want to spoil her fun; I don't want to tell her about this.
The slim lady appeared at our table and took our orders.
Red wine.
She left and returned seconds later with our order.
"Enjoy," she smiled after serving the drinks.
"Thank you," I muttered, lifted the glass, and took a sip.
"Are you sure you're okay? Should we cancel the meeting? I can cancel if you want. This is also my first time meeting him, and I feel nervous, but I can cancel if you—"
"First time?" I spat out my drink and fixed my gaze on her upon hearing her. "Did you say this is your first time?" My eyes widened as I looked at her.
"Yes, it's... it's... my first time..." she stuttered, looking worried.
Okay, it's time to get out of here.
"Ruby, I can't do this." I grabbed my bag and stood up. "I need to go. I don't... I don't feel good about this," I confessed.
She stood with me. "Really?"
"Yes, I can't..." I was about to explain my concerns, but the vibration from my phone distracted me.
I opened my phone to see tons of text messages coming in from different numbers.
Bryce.
Parker.
Gavin.
Cooper.
The messages all looked the same. They were all warning me about the same thing.
"Get out of there!!!"
My grip tightened around my bag, and I started rushing to the entrance, but a certain person suddenly appeared in front of me, blocking my path.
"Not so fast, luv, not so fast." The face looked familiar, and the voice sounded familiar too, but as I tried to take a closer look at this person, my vision darkened, and before I knew it, I began to lose consciousness.