Walking to the door, I wondered when he left. I hadn’t even heard him move. Sticking my head through the door, I expected to find him standing there. But he wasn’t. With him out of sight, I felt sure busy with work, so I continued my exploration.

The other two doors were locked so I went down another passage feeling each door. I found another very empty study. It only held a small table and nothing else. Two doors down, I found what appeared to be a guest room.

Moving to the next hallway, I found a locked door. The other one just ahead seemed open. I tried moving quietly; I didn’t want him to know I was snooping around. Peeking around the door, I saw it was a gym.

Once again, Abram almost gave me a heart attack as he suddenly, out of nowhere, spoke next to me. He had a habit of appearing out of thin air. “You still looking for something?”

“Uhm, yes, no,” I mumbled. “I was looking for you or one of your people. I was feeling hungry but wasn’t sure what I could eat,” I said, lowering my gaze so he couldn’t see the lie.

“Well, you could just have asked in the kitchen, but come let me help you,” he replied in a light tone.

I couldn’t understand how he was so calm, so, well, I didn’t even know how to categorize it; he was nothing like Vadik made him out to be. He appeared cool and collected. Not once did he even raise his voice at me.

Following him to the kitchen, I wondered how much it would take to upset him. After I ate something, I would try to find a way into those locked rooms. I felt sure the intel I needed was hidden in one of them.

Entering the kitchen, he introduced me to the two ladies working there. They prepared me a sandwich and offered me a glass of milk.

Abram sat with me in the kitchen while I ate. I was about done when one of the guards came in. “Boss,” he said, stopping at the door. “We have something happening in the garden,” he added before leaving.

“I’ll be right back,” Abram said, smiling at me.

Lifting the glass of milk, I nodded for him to leave. This could be the ideal time to explore some more, I thought as I rose. He was busy outside, so I strolled back to the many hallways. There was one passage, I noticed earlier, where all the doors were closed.

Walking back down the passage, I tried the doors again. Nope, still locked. I wondered what was in these three rooms that they were locked.

As I got to the next one, the last door in the passage, I leaned in closely. I was trying to see if there was a way to open them without a key. I noticed a shadow appearing next to me. But I was so focused on the door lock, I didn’t see the head appearing next to me.

“Are you okay?” A soft voice spoke next to me.

Jumping, I stepped back quickly before noticing Abram was standing there. He looked at me, turning his head sideways.

“I like this doorknob. It has an interesting design.” I said innocently.

“Interesting, I didn’t know you were into doorknobs. Is it a fetish or something?” Abram questioned, raising his brows.

“I’m not into doorknobs; how dare you say that,” I puffed at him.

“Well, you were basically licking this one,” he shot back, grinning.

“I wasn’t!” I spat at him, feeling my anger rising.

“Hey, where are you going now?” he asked as I stomped off.

“To my room, I need some time alone unless that is an issue?” I shot back at him in an angry tone.

“Well, please don’t lick all the doorknobs!” I heard him hollering after me. I stopped in my tracks. Glancing back at him for a second, I noticed I had already put quite a bit of distance between us. Stomping my foot, I stormed off again.

Sitting on the side of the bed, I looked at the birds in the tree outside. They were free to do whatever they desired. Hopefully, I will have some freedom once I complete this mission successfully.

All week I had tried to get access. There were quite a couple of locked rooms, and his bedroom was one. I needed to get in, but it would take time. I was determined to do whatever it took and stay as long as was needed. I will play along and put on the best show anyone has ever seen.

“Abram,” I said as he turned the last page of his newspaper. He glanced at me over the top. “I was wondering, would it be possible for you to show me where I could look at finding work?”

I watched his movements intently as he carefully folded the paper and placed it on the table next to his cup. Abram folded his fingers into each other, placing his hands on the table. He sat for a moment, staring at me without a word. I shifted uncomfortably as his stare felt like it was penetrating my mind.

“Is there something wrong?” I finally asked. I couldn’t take his stare any longer.

“No,” he replied softly as a smile formed on his perfectly shaped lips. “I think I can assist you with that. However, there is something we need to do first.”