Chapter 3 : All About Ava

*Ava's POV*

I can’t help but sigh a breath of relief as Seymore Lewis walks out of the building. The man’s ego sucked all the air out of the room. I can’t stand people who name-drop expecting some kind of award. Yes, I had asked him his name. No, I wasn’t asking for a personal reason. I offered to help at the office after Dr. Desmond Davies fired Matthew, but now I’m regretting it.

I glance up as the doctor’s patient rushes down the steps and out the front door.

Dr. Davies’ voice comes over the intercom from his office. “Ava, reschedule Denis White for two weeks out, will you?”

It’s the way the man asks and demands at the same time that really gets under my skin.

“No problem. Seymore Lewis came in while you were in with Denis. I set him up with an appointment for tomorrow morning at eight. He said it was urgent,” I reply, trying not to sound too sarcastic.

“I imagine it is. He missed our appointment last month, and you know how important it is for people like him to adhere to our consultations,” he replies calmly, with a hint of arrogance.

The front door dings.

“Your next appointment is here,” I report, trying to cut him off before he says anything more about Seymore.

“Send him up and take your lunch. You have an hour, so don’t go too far,” he says before clicking off the intercom.

The new arrival must have heard him because the man heads up the staircase without so much as acknowledging my existence. I’ll be happy when the new secretary is found because this job is awful. I get up and walk through a door that leads into the kitchen. This building used to be a home that Dr. Davies turned into his office. He hadn’t gutted the structure because he felt that it would resell better as a home in the future.

I dig out a brown bag from the refrigerator. I haven’t gone out to eat in over a year, at least not by myself. My ex-husband keeps popping up around the city and I don’t like running into him. We divorced for a reason, and the fact I can’t go more than a week without seeing him is frustrating. London is a large city, with a huge population, so seeing him on the regular is weird and unsettling.

Ellie, my best friend, says she thinks he’s stalking me, but I disagree. He lives and works in the city, so it makes sense I would happen across him once in a while.

I throw the bowl I brought in the microwave and get out the rest of my meal. I made a wonderful pot of chili the other day and I’ve been looking forward to lunch all morning. Chili and cornbread are amazing in the cold weather. The microwave dings and I set up my meal on the kitchen island.

I pull out my cell phone and begin scrolling through videos while I eat. I love the do-it-yourself projects the most. The majority of my feed is filled with them. So many of the projects have been saved to a DIY file, but I never have the time to do anything with them. The thought of moving out of the city and starting my life over has been very appealing lately. The divorce had hit me hard, but it’s been a little over a year since it was finalized.

The only thing keeping me from moving is the thought of leaving Ellie and my family behind. Sure, I can still call and talk with them, but I wouldn’t be able to see them as often as I do now. I suppose I should start focusing on my wants again, now that I don’t have to worry about upsetting my ex-husband, Conner.

As the video plays on my phone, I hardly notice what the girl is making out of the wooden sign she bought. Instead, I’m stuck thinking about my ex. Conner hated it when I would binge-watch DIY projects.

“There’s no way you will ever be able to make something as nice as that,” he would scold, and he was probably right.

I would turn off the video and find something to clean. That’s what I’m good at, after all. According to my ex, cooking and cleaning are the only two things I can do well.

As the warning signs of depression start bubbling up in my head, I hear Dr. Davies chime in.

“Ava, stop dwelling on what happened to you in the past. Deal with it and move on,” he would advise.

My text message sounds off, interrupting both my intrusive thoughts as well as my video.

“Hey, girl! I got out of work early. Do you want to get dinner when you get off?” Ellie’s message reads.

Honestly, no. I would rather sit on the couch in my warm pajamas binging murder mystery shows and stuffing myself with leftovers. I know Ellie isn’t going to accept that answer, so I type out a sure and hit send.

“Sweet! I’ll be waiting for you at your place when you get home,” she replies.

Maybe we can make dinner quick and I can call it an early night. Odds are, that isn’t going to happen, but a girl can dream. Ellie doesn’t know how to make any hangout quick. I love her, but I know my entire night is now going to be spent hanging out.

After washing my bowl, I clean up after myself and head back to the desk. I heard the front door ding a few minutes ago, and odds are the last appointment left without noticing my absence.

The rest of the day drags as I wait for the clock to hit five. As I finally punch out, Dr. Davies intercoms down to remind me to be in early for Seymore’s appointment tomorrow. I set an early alarm on my phone before I walk out into the crisp evening air. I can’t wait to get home and change out of these work clothes.

I live a few blocks away, so driving into the office is pointless. The streets are busy with people hurrying home from work. After throwing my purse strap over my head, I hang my bag crossbody style to keep it from getting stolen as I head out. The area the office is in isn’t unsafe, I just worry about someone grabbing my bag.

As I dip and dodge through the evening rush of people, I’m not paying attention to where I'm going. As I crash into someone at the crosswalk just outside my building I stagger back and grab the light post to keep from falling.

“Why don’t you...” I start before stopping mid-sentence.

The man in an oversized trench coat turns around, causing me to gasp instead of finishing my thought. Conner glares at me as people hurry past without paying us any mind. What the hell? My brain goes into panic mode as I try to recover from this unexpected shock.

“You were saying?” he asks, lifting the corner of his mouth into a smug grin.

“I didn’t see you there,” I stutter.

Wow, what a great recovery.

Conner runs his fingers through his brown hair and chuckles. “That doesn’t surprise me, Ava. You never really pay attention to anything, do you?” he scoffs.

I want to ask him what he’s doing here, but I don’t dare. I just need to get into my condo and slam the door on this day. Conner steps off to the side of the walkway so I can hurry past. I half expect him to stretch out one of his long legs and trip me, but he doesn’t. The man always found humor in my clumsy behavior, but maybe he didn’t dare with so many witnesses.

As the main door latches behind me, I rush up the steps to the third floor. I would normally take the elevator, but knowing Conner is outside the building puts me in a state of flight. I dig through my purse frantically while practically running down the hallway to my door. The keys crash down to the red carpet running down the stark white corridor.

“Is everything okay, Ava?” a soft voice calls, almost sending me into cardiac arrest.

I look up to see Anne, my elderly neighbor, stepping out of her door. She looks so frail and startled by my appearance, so I try my best to calm myself.

“Yes, everything’s fine, I just really need to use the restroom,” I reply, hurrying up to my door with keys in hand.

“Well, before you go in, I made some banana bread today and thought you may enjoy a fresh loaf,” she replies, handing me a warm loaf of delicious-smelling bread.

I thanked her kindly before rushing into my condo and quickly closing the door. I made sure to slide the metal chain into place before turning around.

“Jesus, Ava, what’s wrong?” Ellie asks before jumping up from the couch.

“Conner. I just ran into Conner,” I huff, trying to catch my breath.

Ellie runs over to the window that looks out over the street and aggressively pulls back the curtains. She scans the sidewalk below before closing them again.

“Well, he’s gone now. What the hell was he doing here?” she asks.

All I can do is shake my head in reply. This is not how I planned on ending my day.

“I swear, Ava, you really need to do something about him,” she mutters.

My bedroom is in the back of the condo, and I steady my breathing as I walk back to get changed. Maybe dinner is a good idea. It will get me out of this house and away from the memories of Conner. He’s the one who moved out after the divorce. I decided to stay in the condo and finish making payments. I figured it was a good plan, but it’s been nothing but trouble since he left.

“Are you ready?” Ellie asks as I walk back into the living room.

Something in the way she asks makes me feel like she expects me to back out. I’ve done it in the past, but I’m trying to do better.

“Yup, let's get out of here,” I reply, grabbing my purse off the table.

We take the elevator down and step out of the building. Once on the street, Ellie starts asking about my day.

“I ran into a Lewis today,” I reply, knowing she will appreciate the encounter more than I did.

“No, shit! That’s awesome. Did he ask you to be his wife and help spend his immense fortune?” she asks sarcastically, with a laugh.

I can’t help but laugh. “No, he was very arrogant while dropping his name though.”

“Was he hot?” she replies as we come to a stop at the crosswalk.

Now that I think about it, he was. I had mentally told myself not to glance down at the bulge in his grey sweatpants as he stood on the other side of my desk. His T-shirt had been tight enough to tease a firm set of muscles running from his chest to his abs. The cardigan had been a nice touch, turning the outfit into something more than just loungewear. I don’t get a chance to answer Ellie as the restaurant comes into view just ahead.

After walking inside, we scanned the crowded space in search of a table. Marco’s is a local favorite, and it’s a seat-yourself kind of business. I snap my neck at Ellie and jump as she yells from beside me.

“You have got to be kidding me!” she shouts while looking toward the back of the room.

I follow her glare only to find Conner sitting at a table looking over at us. He waves and gestures toward the two empty seats beside him.

“Come on, let’s get out of here before I spend the night in lockup,” she says, pushing me back toward the door while flipping Conner off.