TWO

     Was it a mere coincidence? Or did fate just really enjoy messing with her? Adelynn couldn't tell. She stood amongst her colleague watching Ric Jefferson, Jensen's dad as he introduced his son to them.

How could she not have noticed the resemblance between Ric and her exboyfriend? Maybe it was because all through the period she'd dated Jensen, she'd only seen one member of his family and that was his mother.

"Just like I told you few days ago, I will be resigning and my capable son, Jensen, will become your new CEO. You all should cooperate with him to help everyone of us make progress" Ric said and Adelynn's colleagues gave him a round of applause.

   Most of the female employees could hardly be discreet about the fact that they were checking out the new CEO. Of course, this was not new to Jensen because he was quite used to getting attention from women.

    Adelynn on the other hand, realized that she was getting annoyed with the way her colleagues were checking him out and she felt embarrassed when she realized it. She wasn't supposed to be annoyed, especially because she was married now. Jensen was more or less, no longer her business. She watched him as he gave a little speech, his eyes on her, the whole time.

Adelynn hoped that he was just doing all that to tease her. Four years is enough to move on, right? She thought, feeling terribly disturbed.

After the brief meeting, she went back to her office and fortunately for her, Jensen neither called for her nor made his way into her office.

When it was time to go home, she grabbed her things and began to rush out of the office in order to avoid the new CEO. But as soon as she stepped into the elevator and let out a breathy sigh, someone cleared his throat behind her. She flinched and turned around with a start. Leaning in the far corner of the elevator with his arms folded across his chest, stood Jensen Jefferson, looking as formidable as ever.

"Did I scare you, Mrs Suarez?" Jensen asked with a teasing smile on his face.

"What are you doing in here with me?!" She whisper-yelled and he clutching his chest, feigning a pained expression.

"You wound me, Addie. Just because you're married, it doesn't mean I'm toxic to you"

    She gritted her teeth and turned away from him, her back to him.

"Why are you so desperate to avoid me?" He asked and she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Why are you here? Why did you suddenly move to Detroit?" she asked and he sighed, unfolding his arms.

"Duty calls, remember?"

"Jensen, you need to understand-"

"That you're married. Of course, I get the message. I am not asking you out on a date, Addie. I am just asking..."

   The elevator slid open with a ping and they both stepped out of the elevator, Adelynn walking as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Come on, Addie. Stop it" Jensen said, finding the fact that she was trying to move as fast as she could go, amusing. Obviously, he was much taller and could easily catch up with her if he wanted to. When they both stepped out of the premises of the company, Jensen stopped and watched her fumble with her car keys as she tried to open the door to her car in a hurry. She finally succeeded and hopped in. Without paying attention to Jensen, she slammed the door shut and turned on the ignition.

"You can't keep running forever!" Jensen yelled as soon as she hit the gas, the wind carrying his message along with it. Addie was restless even as his words replayed themselves over and over again in her mind.

All of a sudden, her car skid to a stop and her eyes went wide. "No, no! Not now!" She cried and tried to restart the car but the engine only let out a weird sound that sounded like a mixture of loud groans and sputtering. She tried again and again but the car wouldn't start.

Letting out a cry of frustration, she slammed her hands against the steering wheel and rested her head against it. It was at this point that the sound of heavy rain reached her ears. She sat up with a gasp, her eyes widening with horror at the sight of the rain that was pouring heavily. With shaky fingers, she took out her phone and dialled her husband's phone number, hoping and praying that he would do something right for once. She let out the breath she didn't know she was holding when she finally heard her husband's husky voice. "Adelynn?"

   "My car broke down. Can you please send someone to pick me up?" She said and he let out a sigh.

"This is one of the reasons I told you to ask one of my driver's to take you wherever you want to go. But, no, you just won't listen. I'll send someone to you. Where are you?"

"A little distance from my working place"

In the background, Adelynn could hear a woman's voice but she could barely make out what was being said.

"Fine" Dominic said with a gruff voice. Just before the line went dead, she heard the woman's voice clearly.

"Come on, Dom! Don't keep me waiting!"

Adelynn swallowed hard, angry tears filling her hazel eyes. This wasn't new to her but it still hurt her every time. She knew who her husband was and as far as

she could tell, he was a married Playboy.

   Dominic Suarez was the kind of man most ladies coveted for. He was gorgeous in every sense, he had quite the charisma and he was filthy rich. He could charm hearts and change the minds of many with his manipulative words but he was also very cynical.

    Moreso, even though he was married, his actions showed that he wanted no feelings attached. So according to rumours, he would give his wife and side chicks anything they wanted but he would never give them his heart. Adelynn had tried to warm up to him for the past six months of their marriage but nothing seemed to be going well.

     Sixty minutes soon bound by with no sign of the person Dominic was supposed to send. She dialled his number again but this time, it went straight to voicemail. She tried it for the second time and the same thing happened. She closed her eyes, feeling utterly miserable. The loud honking of a car caught her attention and her eyes snapped open. She looked out the window only to find Jensen grinning at her from the rolled down window of his car.

"Stranded?!" He yelled because of the noise caused by the pounding rain. Adelynn lowered her gaze, worried. What was she supposed to do now? Remain in her car and wait for the person who might never show up or accept Jensen's lift and risk opening old wounds? "Do I have to carry you out of your car?!" Jensen yelled and she let out a sigh.

She grabbed her coat and her handbag. Then, she got out of the car and locked the door. Ignoring the rain beating down on her, she straightened her shoulders and made her way towards Jensen's car. He opened the door like the gentleman he was and beamed at her as she settled down on the seat beside the driver's seat.

    "Don't worry, I won't make you more uncomfortable than I already have" he said to her as he hit the gas.

"Where are you headed?" He asked her, an unreasonable expression on his handsome face. "Home"

"Where exactly is it?" He asked and she gave him the directions.

They remained silent after a while until Jensen decided to break the heavy tension that hung over them.

"I'm sorry" he breathed and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Sorry for what?"

"I realized I came on too strong and for that, I'm sorry" he said and Adelynn stared at her wellmanicured fingers, guilt-ridden.

She realized that he hadn't changed at all. He was still a gentleman at heart, just like he'd always been. The truth was that, she didn't deserve an apology from him, especially not after everything she'd put him through. If anything, he was the one who deserved an apology from her.

She fisted her hands and exhaled slowly.

"You don't have to apologise, Jen. I'm the one-"

"Don't" he rasped and she frowned.

"You must've had a reason for turning down my proposal four years ago. Whatever it was, I don't want to hear it right now. We can talk about that some other time" he said and she stiffened.

"How about coffee on Saturday?" He asked and she forced out a smile.

"Sure"

"I'll text you"

Right, it seems you don't know about my new number, she thought. She caught a glimpse of the phone number she'd written on his palm and she mentally scolded herself.

'Good heavens, I'm so stupid' she thought with a sour look on her face.

"Are you alright?" Jensen asked her and she gave him a counterfeit smile.

"It's either you give me a real smile or you don't smile at all, Addie. Stop faking that smile" Jensen said, stunning her. She blinked, shocked by how well he'd managed to see right through her facade.

He let out a sigh, clutching the steering wheel a little harder. "You can't do that with me, remember? I know you. So, if there's one favor you should do for me, it's for you to just be yourself around me"

   She nodded stiffly and stared straight ahead, trying not to have a mental breakdown. She desperately wanted him to do something..... anything at all that would give her an excuse to despise him.

"We're here" he said, parking the car in front of the huge property that belonged to Adelynn's husband. He shrugged, not taking his eyes off the property.

"Not bad, I must say. But, he's got nothing on me" He commented and Adelynn couldn't help but smile. He was of course, still as confident as always.

"Does he treat you right?" He asked as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

She paused for a moment, her mind screaming the word 'No!'

"Yes, he treats me right" she said, a lump lodging itself in her throat.

He opened the door and watched her as she stepped out of his car. The longing in his eyes was hard to miss and Adelynn felt like she was really going to have a mental breakdown. Was he still in love with her? After four years? Especially after how she'd broken his heart?