She didn't look like she could kill someone.
Then again, she didn't look like she could kidnap someone either.
True to what ‘she’ had said earlier, the bodyguards did not leave him alone. Not even in the bathroom. One of them, if not two, always stood in the room. Not that they hovered right beside him or something. No. But they were always present.
After ‘she’ had graciously pointed it out that he had no other option but to be a part of the so-called party for her best friend and left him to decide what he wanted to do, he decided that he would rather have a proper bath, a proper meal, dress up properly and try to enjoy what could be his very last moments before he was possibly murdered in cold blood.
So here he was, showered, because he could not bring himself to soak in the bathtub with one huge buffed up piece of reminder of his current situation, standing guard near the bathroom door and so he opted to take refuge behind the shower curtain and had silently sent prayer to the millions of Gods and Goddesses when no one followed him there; had devoured another bowl of soup, because he was not sure he would be able to stomach anything else in his current situation; got dressed in what looked like a really expensive 3-piece suit in bright orange, and paired it with a pair of neon green sneakers, because ‘she’ did say he could pick anything he wanted; decided to have a very obnoxious dance number blast through the music system to dance to like a monkey, and eat as much unhealthy food he could get his hands on.
If he was going to die, he would rather die with a blast. How bad could getting molested by a bunch of ‘women’ be?
He felt a shiver run down his spine at that thought.
He sat on the edge of the bed, his hair dripping, his teeth gnawing at his lips, his legs bouncing up and down in anxiety. One look at the luxurious room, the way too comfortable bed, and the walk-in closet had made him feel like he was a goat who was being fed twice its weight before it was to be taken to the slaughter house.
Just a few minutes ago he was feeling hyperactive with anxiety and nerves and now he felt drained. Depressed even.
“Hey hands-” the door to the room opened and her voice was heard. But it seemed like she paused mid-sentence. He turned to her to see she had an amused look as she took in his appearance. “You that nervous, huh?” She chuckled and shook her head as she entered the room.
He watched her wordlessly as she made her way to the closet, followed by one of the buffed up guards. “I imagined your dressing sense to be a bit more, um, fashionable? Seeing that you are a model and all. Well, nothing to worry about. As long as I am here, I am not going to let you ruin your own image and my best friend’s bachelorette party like this, handsome.” He heard her say from inside the closet. A few seconds later, she walked out with the guard following behind her and carrying a pile of clothes, a smaller box which looked like a watch case with four watches visible from the upper transparent lid and a bigger box, which probably contained some fancy shoes.
She walked up to him and stood right in front of him. His eyes stayed fixed on her as he continued to watch her every move.
Taking a towel off the pile that the guard was carrying, she started drying his hair. He was quite taken aback by the action but stayed still.
“Have you decided what you want to do?” She asked. He remained quiet. “Aww! You look like a kicked puppy, handsome.” She smiled.
“I have a name, you know? You don’t have to keep calling me handsome.” He finally said.
“Yeah, I know. But where’s the fun in that?” She winked as she continued to dry his hair. She looked different from when she was in this room with him earlier. She was still in the same light green bathrobe but her hair was styled in some way and looked shinier and more wavy. Her face looked brighter and this time he was sure she had some light makeup on. Her eyes looked different too with the eye makeup done. They looked bigger but the spark stayed the same.
“At least you could tell me your name.” He heard himself saying.
“I could, yes. But again, where’s the fun in that?” She smirked. “Now let’s get serious because I gotta tell you something. The girls will probably, no scratch that, surely drag you with them to dance and drink. But you don’t have to worry. I will protect you from those hungry she-wolves.” She laughed at her own joke.
Giving a final rub, she backed away and dropped the towel on the floor. “You should get ready. You can choose whichever you like.” She said pointing towards the watch case. “The girls will start arriving any minute now. You can take your own sweet time, considering you are the surprise guest after all. But don’t surprise me by not coming downstairs at all, yeah? I would very much hate to let my boys manhandle you.” She winked before walking away and out the door.
Not long after that, he could hear the wild screams and shouts of what he guessed were the ‘girls’, from somewhere in the ‘bungalow’.
He looked at the clothes that were placed beside him on the bed and let out a sigh. He really didn't have any other choice now, did he?
Once dressed in the clothes that ‘she’ had chosen for him, he looked at himself in the full length mirror. Donning a V-neck white t-shirt, paired with dark denims and black informal blazer with a pair of white sneakers to complete the look, he looked like he was ready for a fashion shoot.
He fidgeted with the lapels of the blazer he was wearing. He looked at the watch he had donned and contemplated his next move. He had taken around half an hour to get ready. Usually he would have taken only 5-10 minutes. But today he was quite literally moving at a snail’s pace, only delaying the inevitable. As he looked up and at the mirror, he caught the eye of one of the guards. The latter's eye held zero emotions, which was equivalent to zero sympathies for him.
He had noticed how all the 'buffed up pieces of reminder' had not looked at him directly, always looking straight ahead, as if deliberately yet very subtly avoiding meeting his eyes. He hadn’t tried to speak to them too, except for when he had told one of them to bring him the second bowl of soup. He knew very well by now that their hands were tied as well. ‘She’ clearly said ‘she’ blackmailed her ‘boys’ to help her.
Though that particular piece of information had piqued his interest as well. Why would an employer need to blackmail her employees to do her bidding? Shouldn’t it be like ‘her wish is their command’ or something?
But he had soon lost that little spark of curiosity as well.
He looked at the watch once again. Another 5 minutes wasted. He contemplated delaying more. But the silent threat of being ‘manhandled’ by her buffed up ‘boys’ sneaked a peek into his mind and gave him that slight push he needed to head towards the door of the room.
The guard stationed near the door opened it for him and two of them followed him as he walked down the corridor and reached the stairs which he believed would lead him to the ‘hungry she-wolves’.
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