Chapter 24

Ava laughed and decided to make a joke in a bid to lighten up the solemn atmosphere " Hey come on, you look ugly with the awful smile you've got on. Now give me that radiant smile that will nearly make me go blind "

" Come here " Maggie whispered and drew Ava into a warm hug.

" Now ladies, we really have to get going now or Alex will have my head " Jack said from behind them and looked at his wrist watch.

Ava slowly disengaged herself from the hug " I'll see you later Maggie, hopefully "

Maggie frowned slightly " Why? "

Ava faked a laugh " Well, if he doesn't fire me on the way back, I'll surely help you with dinner tonight "

Maggie rolled her eyes " Oh come on, he would do no such thing. Sure, he might threaten you all he wants but fire you? No way "

" You're the only person who's not scared to put him in his place " She added with a confident smile.

Jack gave Ava an " I told you so " look.

" Now hush and get going, you don't want to be late, do you now? " Maggie asked and didn't wait for an answer before she sent them on their way.

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" About damn time " Alex muttered under his breath as Jack came in, with Ava trailing behind. A look from Alex made her weak to her bones and she felt warm.

Jack rolled his eyes " Miss home that much, huh? " He teased.

Alex snorted " As if. Now get me outta this hellhole " His eyes strayed over to where Ava stood tensely.

With a start, she realized she was the object of his attention and stood upright " Uh... I forgot my manners for a second, pardon me sir "

She smiled tightly and added " A good evening to you sir "

" Well, it seems to me that you forget your manners every damn time and what the hell is good about the evening? " He spatted out, ignoring her apology altogether.

" Language Alex " Jack warned and Ava replied at the same time.

" Sorry? " She asked in shock. Of course she clearly heard him but just couldn't believe he was that rude. But why did he lash out at her? She questioned herself.

He raised his eyebrows in question " I'm sure you heard me the first time "

" Yeah I did. I didn't know those words were intended for me though " She fired back in anger and Alex looked stunned.

Jack applauded her silently for always finding the best comebacks for the insults Alex hauled at her. And little did he and Alex knew she was not done with the latter yet. Handing her bag to Jack with a tight lipped smile, she marched over to where Alex stood and he found himself backing off as she continued to approach him until she was right in his face. Suddenly, the fire in her eyes cleared and her expression took the form of a smiling one.

" Mr King, I believe the only time I forgot my manners was a few minutes ago, right? " Alex was too stunned to speak he continued to stare at her warily.

And of course, Ava didn't want an answer because she continued " And the good thing about the evening is that you are finally going home after God knows how many days you've spent in this hellhole, those were your words, right? "

Alex opened his mouth to answer but no words came out. Not that Alex would have listened anyway because she turned immediately and Jack automatically handed her handbag back to her.

Ava smiled at him sweetly " Thanks Jack. I'll give you guys some privacy because I'm sure you have some things to discuss before we take our leave, right? "

Jack nodded absentmindedly and Ava walked past him " I'll wait outside " She called over her shoulder and went out.

Jack's eyes widened the moment the brothers heard the door closed " Dude, that's one hell of a crazy woman, isn't she? " His eyes glittered in obvious joy as though he enjoyed every minute of his brother's shock as Ava dealt with him.

" Where... Where on earth did you bring her from? " Alex asked when he finally found his voice.

Jack bursted into an uncontrollable laughter while Alex continued to stare at his dumbass of a brother. The sound of Jack's laughter resounded and it finally died down after some minutes.

" Done? " Alex asked with a deadly glare.

" No no, not quite " Jack replied and bursted into another round of laughter.

" Damn, the stunned look on your face was priceless. Fuck me, I should have taken a picture " Jack said between laughter.

Alex shook his head " I always knew you were senseless but this is just the height of it " He helped himself to the bed and sat down.

" Well, you've got to admit that she got you " Jack smirked and rolled his eyes.

Alex hissed " Cut out the nonsense and let's go "

But Jack was not done teasing him, at least not yet, he thought to himself " This is the type of woman every man needs in his life " With that said, he gave a satisfied smile and extended a hand for Alex to take but Alex of course, slapped his hand away.

" A crazy one? " Alex spitted out.

" And please get your hand outta my face " He added.

Jack placed the rejected palm over his heart and feigned a sad face " Ow come on, you're overreacting "

Alex glared up at him " I am?! Did you not say it yourself that she's a crazy woman? "

Jack rolled his eyes " Come on, I was just kidding and said so because she completely took me by surprise "

" I am going to fire her! " Alex bellowed.