Chapter 21

Jack rolled his eyes " She did and you were at fault man, you were so rude to her! " He shouted, almost irritated.

Alex's jaw dropped and his eyes widened as he stared at Ava " Just... Just what story did you feed him, you little... " He held his tongue in check before he swore.

" What's wrong with telling him the truth?? "

She fired back, her hands were placed on her hips now.

Alex glared at her " And what truth did you conjure up? " He spatted out. She ignored him totally and looked away.

" See? She has fed you lies, Jack! " He exclaimed, trying to make his brother see reason with him but Jack only rolled his eyes at him.

" You better apologize to her because she took care of your sorry ass while you were bedridden and she's going nowhere, Alex. Get used to seeing her around " Jack said with a tone of finality.

" What?! " Alex asked incredulously and continued to stare at Jack, trying to see if he really meant it.

Jack threw him a sideway glance " I believe you heard me just fine, brother "

Alex saw that he was dead serious and took up his brother's challenge " The hell I'll let her stay Jack, I'm going to fire her! " He shouted and in long strides, he was at the door.

Ava quickly moved away from the door to avoid being run into. Alex didn't hesitate to throw her a glare in which Ava just returned with a roll of her eyes, not caring one bit that he could throw her out that instant. Well, she would appreciate it only if she had a place to go. But here she was, no money and home to return to.

She was yet to receive her first pay so what on earth was she thinking to talk back at Alex? She had no idea. She was furious beyond reason when he blatantly told her he didn't need her help. Alex walked out, but not without slamming the door.

Jack sighed wearily " I'm sorry on his behalf Ava, he is back to his usual self I guess "

Ava's eyes widened in disbelief " You mean, this... this is his usual self?? "

Jack simply nodded " After the death of our parents, yeah " Ava saw a look of pain flashed through his eyes before it disappeared.

" I'm sorry about your parents " She said quietly and placed a hand on his shoulder in a comforting way.

" It's okay " He replied quietly too and mustered up a small smile " It's been long anyway " He added.

They stood in comfortable silence for a while until Jack excused himself upon receiving a call from a business associate. While he was gone, Ava busied herself with some other things. She unpacked the clean clothes she had brought for Alex to change into before he caused a scene. She was in the process of unpacking the food she brought him when the door opened. She naturally thought it was Jack because she wasn't expecting Alex to be back so soon after he left angrily. Thinking it was Jack, she started talking without turning to confirm who it really was.

" Oh Jack, do you think Alex will... " Her words trailed off as she felt a warm presence behind her. The person stood dangerously close behind her and Ava knew Jack would do no such thing which left Ava to only one answer, Alex himself.

She turned slowly and came face to face with Alex who made no move to give her any breathing space as he inched even closer. Ava had to place her palms on his wide chest to stop him from swallowing her completely, if there was even any word like that.

" What.... What are you doing?! "She whispered shakily and her voice trembled as she gazed up at him, her eyes wide. She saw a look of pure lust crossed over his features but it was gone as quickly as it came that Ava began to doubt if she had really imagined that particular look he gave her.

His expression took on a harsh one " What are you still doing here?? " He asked and inched his face closer to hers.

" I... I... " She tried to talk but the words were clung to her throat and she couldn't voice out anything. Say something! The voice in her head snapped at her but Ava scofed at the voice ' I may need your help with that, young lady ' and pushed the voice out of her head completely.

" Lost your voice, huh? " He mocked and brought up his thumb to trace the shape of her lips. Ava shuddered at the feeling and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his thumb tracing the line of her lips.

Her lips felt too soft to be real, Alex thought blankly as he slowly leaned towards her, wanting to know if her lips tasted as soft and supple as it looked. But before he could place his lips on hers, the door bursted open and Jack walked in.

They both jumped apart as though they were children who had been caught in the act. Of course, it was obvious to Jack as to what they had been up to or what they were in the process of doing when he walked in on them.

He flashed them a knowing smile of apology " Uh... I'll just go wait outside while you... uh... continue what you were doing " With that said, he quickly ushered himself out of the door.

He knew Alex was attracted to the beautiful babysitter but he was just too stubborn to admit it. Or... he was just annoyed that the lady he was physically attracted to was the same lady who was not afraid to put him in his place despite his status. He really hoped Alex wouldn't let go of this particular woman.