You Must Wait

"Can't you wait for James? He is in charge of the entire house. You can't work in his absence."

"Dear, I know the exact things he wants to repair," Loveth said at once.

"No. That's James work. Let's wait for James to come back. Why are you in such a hurry? Moreover," he checked his wristwatch and changed the conversation.

"Elisa is taking a long time to come back from the Mall." Alex added as he shrugged.

"Who knows if she had used that opportunity to go and see her boyfriend. He always leaves home at noon when you are not around." Loveth hissed.

"Give him another glass of wine." Alex stretched his right hand towards Loveth.

Hmm… thank you Sir, I'm okay," Henry replied.

"No, I want you to have another glass of wine. You can sit and watch me drinking alone."

Loveth sighed and got up and gave him another glass of wine. After Henry had taken a sip from his wine, Alex asked.

"How long have you been in this field?"

"Hmm.. about four years ago."

"Have you worked in this house before?"

"No Sir," he shook his head.

"When and how did you know James?"

"At high school Sir. We have been best friends."

"But you have not come here to pay him a visit."

"He always comes here, and most of the time, you are not around." Loveth jumped into the conversation and continued,

"Darling, please, can you allow him to go and do his work? I want to discuss something with you."

"I want James to come first."

"Why?" She stood up and took a step towards him and continued,

"This young man might have other houses to visit. You are wasting his time." She spoke in a suppressed frustration.

"I will pay him. What's your business in all of this? He is James' friend. That's the main reason I am having this conversation with him. If you are not comfortable with him, you can go to your room." Alex took his phone and called James.

"James, where are you?"

"Sir, I just collected the parcel. I'm coming back now."

"Okay, hurry up, you have a visitor." Alex hung up.

Loveth angrily went away. First, she checked James' room if Elisa had woken up before going to her room. After closing her door, she took her phone and called James.

"My fiance didn't allow your friend to go into your room. What a bad day? Elisa is still sleeping."

"Did my boss ask after Elisa?"

"Yes, I told him I sent her on an errand, I mean to the Mall. I'm feeling something bad is about to happen. I'm restless. We need to postpone our plan. I don't want anything to come between Alex and I. He has been so unloving for some time. I want him back."

"What should we do?" James asked.

"Call your friend to go back," she said.

"What about Elisa? What are you going to do?"

"I don't know, but let's solve this puzzle one after the other."

"Okay, let me call Henry."

"No, text him, I don't want Alex to know about it." she raised her voice.

"Okay ma, I will do it now," he ended the call. James was about thirty minutes close to the house. He stopped the car and quickly texted Henry.

"Please Henry, you need to go back. The arrangement is not going as planned."

A few seconds later, Henry received the message and he checked his phone. Alex saw when he brought out his phone and at the same time, Loveth walked in. She walked straight to the bar and took a glass of wine. She looked at Henry to see his reaction and as expected, Henry stood up and said,

"Sir, I want to go. I have other places to visit."

"Why? Your friend is very close. Just wait. Once he comes, you can go. If you don't mind, I will pay you for your time."

"No…Sir, there is no need for that."

"Henry, I love your company. Please sit down. I'm considering employing you. Please, wait for your friend. He needs to be here before I make any offer." Alex pointed at the chair.

Reluctantly, Henry sat down and Loveth was looking at his face, trying to give him a signal that he should go.

After Henry had sat down, Loveth left the sitting room again with her glass of wine. When she got to her room, she called James.

"James, what's wrong with your friend? He is so fickle. Alex asked him to wait for you, and he agreed…"

"There is no issue with that, I'm very close."

"Fine," she grudgingly agreed. "But what about Elisa? How are we going to do that? She is still sleeping and every minute, Alex is asking about her."

"Wait a minute, let me think," James said and the call was on. "Have you tried to wake her?" James asked.

"No."

"Try and wake her up."

"Okay, let me go to your room now." Loveth held the phone and went to James' room. She placed the phone on the table and continuously tapped Elisa to wake up. She tried and tried, but Elisa did not wake up. She only made some responding sound and slept back.

"She is still sleeping. Should I pour her cold water?" She asked James on the phone.

"Okay. Try that, probably, she might wake up."

Loveth angrily left the room and went to the deep freezer and took a bowl of cold water and came back to the room. From Elisa's face to her knees, she poured her cold water slowly. The water was so cold that Elisa reacted by opening her eyes and sat on the bed.

"Get up, what are you doing in James' bed?" Loveth said at once. She thought that Elisa would regain herself, but she was so weak and she couldn't process her words. She looked at Loveth and fell back to the bed and slept off again.

Then Loveth's phone started ringing. Loveth picked up the call when she saw James' name on the screen of the phone.

"She didn't wake up. See what your mistake has caused. How are we going to do this? What would I say if Alex discovered she is sleeping in your room?"

"I have a plan. What if…"

Loveth quickly ended the call and the phone fell from her hand. She thought she heard a knock on James' door. Her heart went up in fear as she quickly used the blanket to cover Elisa and quickly went to the door before the person knocked again and tried to come inside.