As Xander replies Ava's question, curious to know what the problem is with Susan, Aunt Tina can't help but pause as she steps out of the office. Surprised and confused, thinking of what could be the reason a staff will burst into Xander's office in that manner. She presses her ear against the door, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. She can't help but feed her curiosity as she is interested in what could be happening behind the closed doors and she can't resist the urge to listen in."She has no experience, no track record, and no qualifications. And yet, she's the one you turn to for advice on important company matters? That's not fair to the rest of us who have been working here for years!" Ava mutters bitterly.Xander leans back in his chair and steepling his fingers. "Ava, I understand your frustration. But I have my reasons for choosing Susan as my personal adviser.""And what reasons might those be?" Ava asks, crossing her arms over her chest abruptly with a stern look.
Ava's eyes widen in surprise, and she quickly stands up from her chair, nearly knocking over her cocktail. She stammers "I'm... I am so so sorry ma'am, I had no idea. It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am.""Naaa... It's okay." She waves off Ava's apologies. "No need for the apologies. I mean, I would still act just the same way if I were you. Atleast now I know I can have a seat, right?""Sure ma'am." Ava stands up, stretching her hands towards the closest seat to Aunt Tina.Ava quickly tries to compose herself, straightening her posture and adjusting her clothing. She takes a deep breath and tries to maintain a calm and collected demeanor."Let me have what the young lady is having." Aunt Tina calls out to the server as she sits down. Setting up her bag, she cuts in. "I was hoping to catch you alone so we could talk. I've been away for a while, and I haven't had a chance to catch up with Xander. How has he been doing?""He's doing well, ma'am"–Ava relaxes slightly, realizing that Aunt
The door opens even before Ava ends her statement. Susan walks in, her face frowning as she raises a chin higher than the other. Noticing the worried expression on her face, Ava asks "Hey Susan, is everything okay?" her voice laced with concern. "I think the question should be, where have you been? Boss lady." Susan smiles as she grabs a chair and takes a seat. "Because I stopped by earlier to check on you, but you weren't around. A bit worried though, but went back to my office to check back later on you."Ava takes a deep breath and tries to stay calm. "I'm sorry dear. I had to step out for a bit. I had an emergency to take care of.""Emergency?!" Susan repeats, sounding anxious."Yeah, yeah. Emergency." She smiles. " I was pressed and feeling unease so I went to make use of the restroom. Is that not enough emergency?" She replies as they both laugh out loud.While lost in amusement, as they continued laughing, Susan cuts in. "That reminds me. Did you see or meet the lady that barg
Ava walks through the door of her apartment building, feeling utterly drained as she had a long day and it's wearing on her.. She trudges up the stairs to her apartment, fumbling with her keys until she finally unlocks her door."Finally!" she mutters exhaustingly as she steps inside. The familiar warmth of her living room greets her. She kicks off her shoes and flopped onto the couch, staring blankly at the TV. The noise of the news report, just background noise to her.Ava's mind still reeling from the events of the day. The endless stream of emails. It had all been too much. She rubs her temples, trying to massage the tension out of them.After a few minutes of sitting there in silence, she forces herself to get up and do something useful. She knows that if she stays still for too long, she will definitely feel even more overwhelmed.She wanders into the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards. She finds a half-empty bag of chips and grabs it, snacking absentmindedly as she paces
Answering Ava's call while stretching, his voice groggy and irritated. "Why this early, Ava? Do you know what the time is?"Ignoring his tone, Ava launches into her monologue, "Remember that night, Xander? The night we spent together? It was amazing. I thought we had something special. I know we never gave it a name, but we were an item, right?""Hey, young lady, that was just a onetime fling and nothing more," Xander snarls, his voice firm. "I'm now your boss at the office, don't forget that. You need to understand that and move on."Ava feels her heart sink at his words, but she refuses to give up. "But Xander, that night was beautiful, and we both enjoyed it. Why are you acting like it meant nothing to you?""Okay, that's enough for this morning already." Xander cuts in. "We are not having this conversation."Ava feels a lump form in her throat. "But I love you, Xander. I can't just forget about you like that."He hangs up before she could say another word, leaving her alone in her
Present dayStill lost in thoughts, subbing in thoughts of how she had met Xander, years back who is now her boss at the office. To her, it was a beautiful one night together but not for Xander, just then, the blaring sound of her alarm clock brings her back to reality. "Ugh!... What an alarm!" She snarls, disturbed. Ava slowly gets out of bed and walks towards her bathroom to freshen up. As she looks at herself in the mirror, she notices the redness in her eyes and the tear stains on her face. She takes a deep breath and wipes away her tears, reminding herself that she cannot let her personal life affect her work.Ava quickly heads to the bathroom to freshen up and get ready for work. She takes a quick shower, puts on her makeup and dresses up. She quickly grabs her bag, her phone and rushes out of the house. Immediately, she books a cab straight to work.---"Good morning ma'am! Good morning ma'am!" Staffs greet Ava at the reception. "Good morning all! " She responds, pacing to her
"But I knew him first before her." She withdraws back to her keyboard. Her eyes fixed on the computer screen as her fingers moves from key to key, her mind can't help but dwell on the stunt at the café. Lost in her thoughts, Ava barely registered the sound of her office door opening. She looks up to see Susan, standing in the doorway with a look of concern etched on her face. "Hey, Ava, is everything okay?" Susan asks, her voice laced with genuine concern.Ava quickly composes herself and put on a fake smile. "Oh, everything is fine, Susan. Just had a bit of a rough day, that's all.""A rough day?" Susan says, adding some steps further to pay attention to Ava. "It's nothing to worry about. I'm doing just fine now." Ava insists, sipping her coffee."Okay, if you say so. Because I'm sure I heard clearly, a slammed door." She responds as she retraces her footsteps back to the door and shots the door behind her on her way out."Huh... Damit... Why is she so intruding? Why can't she just
As Mr. Dum drives Xander home from work as usual, the sky suddenly turns gray, and a few drops of rain fell. Mr. Dum clicks his tongue in annoyance. "Looks like we're in for a bit of weather," he says, peering up at the sky.The rain falls relentlessly, pelting down in sheets that blurred the streets beyond the windshield. Xander leans forward in the back seat, squinting to see through the downpour. The same route he took every day from his office to his apartment, but the rain made it feel like a different world entirely.The windshield wipers beat back and forth in a steady rhythm, but it seemed like they could barely keep up with the deluge. The street outside was a blur of gray, and the rain seemed to have erased all sound except for the drumming on the roof of the car.He yawns and rubs his eyes, wishing he could just close them for a minute as he was tired after a long day at work, but he knows he has to stay alert. The roads were slick with rain, and other drivers were moving c