“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
‘That’s Ivor’s voice. What’s he doing here at this time of night?’
“Give me a minute.” Bonnie straightened herself up and put on her mask and cap before opening the door.
Ivor looked at her with humor in his eyes. “Must you hide your looks at night, Ms. Bonita? No one else is around, so you can take those off. Don’t worry about me. I won’t tell anyone what you look like.” Bonnie thought, ‘I can’t explain it, but I feel naked when he smiles and stares at me.’
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just a force of habit.” Then, she changed the topic. “Can I help you with anything?”
Ivor glanced inside and said, “Yeah, can we talk inside?”
After some hesitation, Bonnie nodded. “Sure, come in.”
“I appreciate it, Ms. Bonita.” Once inside, Ivor opened his bag and set up a chessboard.
“What are you doing?”
He sat down and looked at her, saying, “I heard you like playing chess. So, how about we have some fun?”
Bonnie’s eyes widened in surprise, and she knew he was trying to suss her out. She asked, “Who told you I like playing chess?”
“I can get such information if I set my mind to it. However, you must forgive me for not telling you who informed me. After all, I must protect my informant’s privacy,” Ivor replied calmly. “Don’t just stand there. Come and have a match with me.”
Bonnie did not respond or approach him. She thought, ‘Everyone has a unique play style in chess. I’m confident he’ll see through me after playing.’
“I’m sorry, but I’m exhausted. I’d rather rest.” She yawned to sell her act better.
“That’s too bad. I’ll get out of your hair, then. After all, we have the conference tomorrow.” Ivor lowered his gaze. The ceiling light shined on him, masking his emotions and accentuating his sense of mysteriousness.
Suddenly, he gasped and grunted.
“What’s wrong?” Bonnie looked at him and noticed that he had nicked his finger on the corner of the chessboard. It was a pretty deep cut, and blood oozed from the wound. “Hold on while I get my medkit.” Soon after, she sanitized his wound and bandaged it. “Try not to get it wet, or it might get inflamed.”
Ivor withdrew his hand and absentmindedly looked at his bandaged finger before gazing at her with mesmerizing eyes.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” Bonnie felt goosebumps all over, uncomfortable because of his gaze.
Ivor showed her his finger and said, “I didn’t think you’d have any medical knowledge, Ms. Bonita.”
At that moment, she realized Ivor had purposefully nicked himself. However, she was too late.
‘I knew it! Ivor would’ve never carried a broken chessboard with him. He must’ve intentionally broken it to test his theory about my identity. Argh! What’s wrong with him?! I can’t believe he did that for something like this. He should’ve broken his arm instead, that fool!’
The more Bonnie thought about it, the more exasperated she became. She used all her willpower to stop herself from rolling her eyes at Ivor.
