46

Instantly, his demeanor changed and his hands shook in rage. He gritted his teeth. How dare she?! How dare she called him after what she did to him?! He thought in raw rage. He recognized the voice, it was Angel.

" I'm guessing you're too shocked to talk, huh? It's me darling " Angel laughed.

" How... How dare you?? " His whole body shook as he asked.

" Oh no, that's no way to greet an old friend, right? Your ex lover as a matter of fact. We can still get back together though " There was the fake laughter again.

Alex took a deep breath " How dare you call me after what you did?! "

" Calm down honey, you're all good, aren't you? Besides, there's no evidence that I made the accident happen, alright? " Alex could imagine her how happy she must be right now.

He shook his head " Are you crazy?! What did you just say? "

" Crazy only for you, darling " She said, trying to be seductive.

Yeah, it was the reason she made the accident happen in the first place. She was so crazy over him that she would rather see him die and killed herself than seeing him with another. Nahh, crazy wasn't the word, Alex thought as he racked his for a more suitable word. Yes, he finally arrived at one. She was obsessed with him

" If it's not me, then no one will have you " She added, having no regrets about what she did.

He closed his eyes briefly, trying to control the urge to kill her " Listen Angel, you'll... "

But he didn't get to finish his statement because she cut in " What do you say to talking over dinner tonight? " She asked seductively.

" I don't know what I'll do if I set my eyes on you, b*tch " He cursed out.

Angel laughed, not taking any offense in what he said " How about making love like we used to, darling? "

He ignored this and warned " You'll pay for what you did, Angel " He swore.

" We shall see about that, honey " Again, she laughed before hanging up.

Her fake, deadly laughter rang in his ears long after she hung up. Then he spoke to Emily over the intercom " Track Angel Lopez's records. I want a list of her assets, recent deals, contract, everything. Hack into their system if that's what will bring me what I want "

" Right away sir " Emily replied and the call ended. His phone rang and he looked at it warily for some seconds before picking up. Fuck, just when he thought the day couldn't get any worse. It was Lauren calling.

" Hello " He said grimly.

In contrast to Alex's unwelcoming tone, hers was quite cheerful " Hi Alex, how are you doing? "

Alex scoffed, thinking she didn't even bother with honorifics again " Hi Lauren, I'm good " He replied, deciding to do away with honorifics too.

" Something came up the other day so I had to cancel the dinner at the last minute " She said apologetically but the fact that she cancelled the business dinner only made Alex happy.

" It's fine, I was busy too " He replied politely.

Lauren laughed at that " Come on, do away with the polite thing please. Anyways, the dinner had been rescheduled and will happen tonight. I'll text you the address, see you there "

Alex shook his head " I'm afraid I have another appointment tonight "

" Which you can postpone, but I can't postpone this Business dinner. Not again " She stressed the word BUSINESS.

It was probably to put him at ease that she strictly meant business.

He sighed " Okay I'll be there, forward the time and venue to me "

" See you later " She said, chuckling and didn't wait for him to answer before hanging up.

Alex sighed helplessly. She was the last person he wanted to see but he knew he had no choice. He took his phone and left the office.

************

" Welcome! " Lauren said excitedly and made to hug Alex but he turned her down and took out his hand for a shake instead. Lauren saw what he did there but waved it off and gave him her brightest smile.

" You're most welcome " She repeated and took his outstretched hand.

The handshake lasted more than Alex was comfortable with but the more he tried to detach his hand from hers, the more she squeezed tightly as if she was trying to send a message to him.

Then they settled down comfortably and Lauren was about to order food when Alex stopped her.

" No, let's get down to business first " He said with a non smiling face and waited for her to approach the pressing matter. After one hour, Alex stood immediately they were done discussing business. He politely declined Lauren's offer to eat with her, claiming he had something else to do. She reluctantly agreed and he left.

On his way out of the restaurant, he saw someone who looked exactly like Ava and he sucked in a sharp breath. He widened his eyes in shock. The woman he saw walking out of the restaurant so he was only able to see he back view. He hastened up, wanted to see if she really was Ava. In his mind, he hoped she was the one. He clung to that hope and walked up to the woman.

Tapping her lightly on the shoulder, he called out desperately " Ava? "

The woman turned and his hope was dashed when he saw her face.

He apologized quickly " I'm sorry, I mistook you for someone else " He said disappointedly and with a nod, he walked out of the restaurant. Suddenly, his head was filled with thoughts of Ava and he sighed. He hadn't set his eyes on her since that night and he was hungry to see her again but it seemed they were deliberately trying to miss each other.