Chapter 12

Layla stood up in a haste as she turned to face Nolan.

"S..ir.." she stammered in surprise. When did he get to where she was?

"Who were you speaking to?" He asked as she stumbled backward, facing the ground.

"No one," she replied shakily. Up till now, this man still scares the living hell out of her.

"Where are the files I told you to work on?" He requested as she quickly walked to the table.

"They're here, sir, but I've not finished working on them," she replied.

"Take this," he handed a key to her as she looked at it curiously.

"Si..r," she stuttered, collecting the keys from him as she looked at it curiously.

"Do you have a car?" He asked as she shook her head, indicating a no.

"That's the key to my penthouse," he began as Layla squinted her eyes. Why was he giving her his house key?

"Have this also," he gave her another card which contained an address.

"That's the address to my penthouse. After closing from work today, take the files you worked on there," he instructed, and Layla noted everything down.

"I have somewhere to be immediately after work, so there'll be no time to take it home. Drop the files when you get there; there's no one at home," he informed.

"Okay, sir," Layla responded like an obedient puppy as she tossed what he gave her aside.

"Can you drive a car?" He questioned.

"No, sir," she replied, and she heard him mumble some words to himself.

"Who in the world doesn't know how to drive a car in this century?" He asked no one in particular, annoyance written all over his face.

"I'm sorry, sir. I never had the chance to learn," Layla apologized, sneering at him inwardly. Was he trying to insult her? She never knew that it was a crime not to know how to drive.

"What an insolent man," she scoffed, mumbling the words to herself, her head still facing the ground, so she didn't take notice of when Nolan snapped his gaze at her before looking away quickly. He heard her.

"You should be ashamed of yourself; you're a lady, a grown-up one," he spat, deadpanning the word "lady."

Layla balled her fist as she fumed in anger. The fact that she works under him does not mean he can just throw insults at her. She can't drive, all thanks to Rosalie.

"The last time I checked, sir, it's not a crime not to know how to drive, and you can teach me if you really feel I need to learn," she voiced out in her most polite tone, not wanting to sound rude. The day she resigns, she would make sure to do something to him. Layla swore to herself.

"Take a taxi there, meet Xander during the break time, he will give you some cash," Nolan said before going straight into his office. He didn't want to spend another moment with her.

"Seriously!" Layla exclaimed loudly. She had been standing for close to an hour now, waiting for a taxi, but none had passed by. She had gotten lots of missed calls from Aurora asking about her whereabouts; her battery died a few minutes ago because she would have ordered an Uber. It was getting dark already, and the time had already passed eight. If she didn't deliver these files to Nolan's apartment, he would fire her because whatever he was up to, it sounded urgent.

"Come on," she groaned in frustration, praying endlessly for a taxi to pass by. This was not the kind of life she signed up for when she was coming to New York. She wanted to work, yes, but this job was more than hectic for her. It's been a week, but yet she hasn't spent some quality time for herself; she leaves in the morning and works her ass off until the evening.

"Oh, thank God," she gasped in relief as the flashlight of a car dawned on her. She waved her hands in the air, indicating for the taxi driver to stop.

She quickly got into the car after showing the man her address. Layla sat thinking during the whole quiet ride. Her life has been having different twists and turns lately; it never turned out the way she wanted. She had always wanted to be an author, a best-selling author, but now it has turned out to be a mere dream since she had another human to cater for. Her unborn baby.

Now she's working her ass off, trying to save up until her pregnancy becomes due. After that, she would leave New York for a very faraway place. A place where she would be sure that her and Nolan would never cross paths.

She was scared that her child would live the kind of life she lived, the things she passed through. If Nolan comes to know about it one day, he might as well accept the pregnancy and, in due time, take the baby away from her-something she would make sure to avoid. Another woman raising her child.

"Madam, madam.." she heard echoes in her thoughts as she snapped out of her trance.

"Huh?" she mumbled; the driver had been calling out for her.

"We're here; we've arrived at the address," he informed.

Layla stepped out of the car and paid for her transport fare.

"Thanks," she mumbled, and the taxi drove away. She walked a little further to see a building in front of her. She quickly went towards the penthouse to get things done with; it was almost nighttime. She opened the door and stepped into the house. The moment she stepped in, all the lights came on, and all Layla could do was wow. The place was neat, well arranged, and, lastly, beautiful.

"I think he's the neat one," Layla reasoned out, going over to drop the files on the table so she could leave immediately.

She quickly was about to leave when she heard a low growl behind her. Layla froze as she tried registering what she heard. It was a growl.

She slowly turned to see what it was, and lo and behold, it was a hairy doglike wolf. Layla yelled in fright the moment their eyes met. The dog glared menacingly at her, baring its teeth.

"Please don't come close," Layla whimpered as she was really scared of dogs.

"Woof," the dog barked at her, and soon after, Layla began to scream at the top of her voice, the dog barking loudly, both of them simultaneously.

"Haaa," she yelled, about to take to her heels when the dog charged at her. The dog was so huge that if it caught up with her, it would eat her alive.

Soon after, Layla and the dog began to run around the house as the dog chased her, barking at her.

"Please stop," Layla begged almost in tears as she ran. But the dog was faster than her and caught up with her. Layla fell on the floor with a thud, the dog standing on top of her body barking.

It raised its paws at her, and Layla yelped in fright.

"Damn you, Nolan," she cursed whimpering in fear. He told her no one was home. He never mentioned a dog.

"Woof," the dog bared its teeth at her, and Layla yelled in fear as she was scared beyond measure, then suddenly she lost consciousness. The last thing she saw was the dog placing its paw on her face.