"Why the hell would I need something from that man?" She snapped. She wasn't really angry at him but just the thought of Yanovich made her blood boil.
"There are too many eyes and ears in this place." Gael closed the box and stood up from his seat. Extending his hand to help her up, he had a smile on his face when he said, "You must be tired and missing your son, let's call it a night."
Samantha was glad to hear that she was going to see Ash again but before going out of the hall, she scanned the room once again but could no longer see Daniel anywhere. She felt frustrated with what she just saw but she knew that Daniel was not an unfaithful man. However, it still did not wash away the slight prick that she felt in her heart when she saw him with that woman.
The two of them took the elevator up to Samantha's floor and when they arrived in front of Samantha's room, she faced him. "Mr. De Luca-"
"Please, call me Gael." He insisted. "I always remember my father whenever I hear you call me that, so just drop the formalities and call me by my first name."
"Gael… I... tonight… that necklace, tell me about it." She asked, her hand rubbing the other when she felt cold.
Raising the corners of his mouth, Gael took off his coat and placed it around her. He closed the button in the front while he spoke, "You are clearly tired and cold to talk about this matter. We have all the time that we need to discuss it tomorrow. For tonight, go inside and rest."
Samantha wanted to get out of his reach but for some reason, Gael's presence made her freeze on the spot; he was too gentlemanly to be pushed away. Thinking that she needed his help, she sucked it up and allowed him to put the coat on her.
She nodded before she turned around to open the door and while her hand had just touched the door handle, she suddenly felt his hands on either side of her arms. Her eyes went wide and her heart raced, confused why he was suddenly holding her.
His hold was actually gentle but he did not know why he held her in the first place as his hand just abruptly acted on its own. When she turned her back to him, he wanted to embrace her out of the blue but he woke up from his trance and realized what he was about to do. Awkwardly, he just held both of her upper arms and stepped closer.
Samantha could feel him getting close and she could not help but panic a little, "What are you doing?" She muttered.
"Just… stay still. Don't move." Gael's heart pounded in his chest, unsure what he really wanted to do at that moment. "I won't hurt you… just… just don't move."
He could not understand himself and he wondered why he was attracted to her. Closing his eyes, he could feel the heat that was radiating from her; he could feel it beneath his hands and it was a feeling that was so comforting for him.
The hallway was so silent, even his men who were a couple of meters away from him ignored what their master was doing. Gael chuckled when an image of a man flashed in his mind — it was the face of Daniel looking at Samantha with very loving eyes.
Gael swallowed and sucked in air before he whispered above her, "Too bad someone already has your heart." His breathing brushed on the back of her head, making her heart ache with what she heard from him. Was Gael already falling for her?
Wanting to clear the air, she started, "Gael, you-"
"Goodnight, Sam." He spoke before he let go of her and walked away.
Samantha turned her head slightly to the side and saw his back until he went inside the elevator. She felt bad for the man when she recalled how he looked like the first time that she met him a couple of years ago when he was still hung up on her friend Becca.
Although he told her one time that he had already moved on, she still felt sad when she started to get to know him because she realized that he actually seemed like a nice man despite the kind of work and family background he had.
And for him to be alone with no one beside him, she felt sorry.
The door to her suite opened and she saw her best friend Hannah. "I thought I heard some noise by the door and thought that you arrived. How was the party? Where's Gael?"
..
Meanwhile, Daniel was standing in front of a lot of monitors in the security room. He left the hall right after the auction to handle some matters and a few minutes later, he and Assistant Ahn looked for Samantha through the CCTV. They searched for a couple of minutes until they found her stepping out of the elevator with Gael De Luca and two of his bodyguards who stayed a few meters behind them in the hallway.
"Stop. What floor is that?" Daniel questioned and one of the security men answered him right away.
He watched the monitor with his brows furrowed, seeing how Gael acted around her. He had never seen him since that incident when Gael kidnapped Samantha and Becca back then — and seeing how Gael's attention was somehow now on his woman, it made him feel bitter inside.
He clenched his jaw and was just about to walk away but stopped when he saw Gael held Samantha and stood close behind her. He formed his hand into a fist as he bolted out of the room and headed towards the elevator.
"Boss!" Assistant Ahn chased after Daniel right away but was not able to catch up to him since the elevator had already closed. Ahn felt sorry for his boss knowing that Daniel had worked too hard and had already even neglected his health just so he could find Yanovich. His reunion with Samantha was sweet but it was at the same time such a pain for Daniel when he saw the two of them together during the charity gala.
Reaching the floor, Daniel dashed until he reached the door to Samantha's suite. He raised his hand and was about to knock but the voice from inside the room stopped his hand from doing so.
"Are you serious? You've really met Daniel tonight? Holy Crap!" Hannah gushed, holding Ash's empty milk bottle in her hand.
Daniel's hand curled away from the door. Placing his hand in his pocket, he listened in to the conversation even when he wasn't supposed to because he wanted to hear Samantha's response but he did not hear anything from her.
"What happened? What about Gael? What did he say? What else happened tonight?" Hannah asked a lot of questions except Samantha still remained quiet.
She replayed what happened in the dark hallway earlier tonight in her head and a blush crept on her cheeks. She did not even hear her best friend's questions but her train of thoughts was interrupted when a knock on their door sounded.
Turning her head, she was about to go to the door but Philip stopped her and instead, he went over and peered through the peephole.
Philip knitted his brows when he saw a familiar-looking man on the other side of the door. He was sure he saw the man but could not remember where.. Slowly, he turned the knob and at the same time, he placed his hand on the handle of the gun on his holster, ready to draw it out if he needed to.