ALEXATrue to her words, Gina arrived at my doorstep in ten minutes.“That was fast,” I said when I opened the door and saw her standing there.“What you mentioned didn’t seem like a big problem, so I figured that I would come over and get it done immediately,” Gina responded.She sounded too professional for my liking.“Come in, please,” I said.I stepped aside for Gina to walk in and she did.Then I began to feel guilty for dragging her all the way to my apartment because I was craving companionship and she was the only one I wanted.The truth was that, being that I had always been around people all my life, I was still finding it slightly difficult to adjust to this new lifestyle. I liked it, actually, but then again, getting out of the habit of always having company and enjoying solitude was something that would take time adjusting to.“Where is what you talked about?” Gina asked.“Gina, is there a problem?” I blurted, because I didn’t like the way she was acting around me.She wa
ALEXAAfter leaving my dad’s company, I called Noelle.“Hi, Alexa, I have been waiting for your call,” Noelle said worriedly the moment the call connected.“Well, the meeting is over now,” I said tightly.I didn’t want her to catch the deep pain and anger in my voice, because that would make her more worried, so I tried to sound blank instead.“How did it go?” Noelle asked.“It went well,” I answered directly.There was no point in mentioning to Noelle that I would be working side by side with Mark Ronaldo. First of all, she didn’t like him, and secondly, I wasn’t in the mood for that. Talking about it might make me break down in tears, and I didn’t want to scare the cab driver.“Just well?” Noelle asked.Even though I wanted to prevent her from worrying, I still didn’t succeed.“Yes, Noelle, it went just well,” I told her.“Okay, but when you get here you will get me all the details, right?” Noelle asked me and I swallowed.That was exactly why I decided to call her right after getti
ALEXA As much as I hated this, I had no other choice, but even walking into the boardroom again with my dad and seeing Mark Ronaldo’s face ignited the anger in me.Especially as seeing him brought the words back to my head.However, I had to keep my anger and bitterness aside just as I promised my dad that I would.We spent quite a while talking in that empty office, and he did have a hard time trying to convince me, but what broke my defense was when he broke down in tears.“This company is far gone, Alexa,” he had said, deeply sad and dejected. “It is worse than what you are even seeing, and I assure you that you cannot do it on your own, especially with your brand that you also have to run. You need someone, Alexa, and the only person I can trust that will not steal from us is Mark Ronaldo. I mean, if you don’t believe me, isn’t this empty office space enough reason for you?” He had asked me deeply.That was when I had realized that truly, this was an office that was supposed to b
MARK“I don’t think this is going to work,” I said to Mr. Silver’s lawyer.First of all, Alexa’s explosion had taken me by utter surprise. Granted, we weren’t particularly a fan of each other, and I knew that.Heck, I didn’t even plan to ever set eyes on her again, and I was only seated here because of Mr. Silver and what he claimed I owed him, otherwise, I would have absolutely nothing to do with Alexa Silver.But that hostility and venom in her eyes were something I had never seen in her before.I had seen all shades of annoyance and reactions based off of anger, especially since after our divorce, but never this, and I wondered what I could have done that made her to react that way. If I could act cordial and composed in a formal gathering such as this, why couldn’t she?“Why would you think so?” He asked me.I was surprised that he would be asking me that kind of question.“Did you not see her reaction or are you just pretending to ignore it?” I asked the lawyer.The man was exces
ALEXA“What is he doing here?” I asked hotly again when I didn’t get the response I was looking for.“Alexa, please, can you sit down for a bit?” My dad asked me politely, but I exploded hotly.“I am not sitting down until he leaves!” I bellowed.The hatred I felt deep inside of my reverberated in my eyes, so much so that it made my dad and his lawyer worried. As for Mark, I didn’t even bother to look at him, because I didn’t want to see what his reaction to my outburst was, and more than that, I didn’t even want to set eyes on him.The words he said to Donald came into my head again, infuriating me even more.“Alexa,” my dad called gently.“No, dad!” I yelled, not bothering with the fact that I was sounding disrespectful to my dad in the presence of two other men. “Tell him to leave right now!” I barked louder.I couldn’t even bring myself to mention Mark’s name; that was how bitter and infuriated I was.They were all quiet, watching me with worry in my eyes, as though I was crazy or
ALEXAI could barely stop thinking about those words long after Donald left.How could Mark say something like that about me? Like I was a cheap whore he could pass around easily. I had always known that Mark never loved me, but did he have to be so condescending and humiliating. Even if I was in doubt before, that statement was all I needed to know that not only did Mark not love me, he didn’t even want me.“Alexa?” Noelle called worriedly.“Yes,” I responded, snapping out of my thought.“Are you okay?” Noelle asked.“Yes, I am,” I answered.“Are you sure?” She questioned deeply.“Yes, why do you ask?” I asked Noelle.“You have tears in your eyes, Alexa, and since Donald left, you have been lost in thought,” Noelle observed.“I am fine,” I lied, blinking back tears that I didn’t even notice were there to begin with.Gosh, why was I even feeling horrible over this?I already knew this from the very beginning. All Mark’s actions had done nothing but told me just how much he didn’t giv