(Finn’s POV)I leaned my head on the backrest of the passenger seat at the back of the car, closing my eyes and hoping to sleep more, but Lexi surprised me when she hit me on my arm. It was more like a light tap, yet for me, it was as if she hit me to wake me up.Elenita, our second mother already and the queen of our kitchen, did not stop her from nagging at me about waking up late and acting like an irresponsible adult. She never allowed me to go to work without eating breakfast, but today she only waved her hand at me, not minding me as she sat on the family room couch, planning the food she would prepare for tomorrow.“Give me peace of mind, Lexi,” I said, my hand groping my empty stomach.“Here,” Jimmy took the paper bag on the passenger seat, and with his eyes on the road, he handed it to Lexi.“Thank you, Jimmy,” she said pleasantly, causing me to open one eye to glance at her.“You’re only nice at other people.” I sat up straight and scowled at her.She rolled her eyes at me,
(Lexi’s POV)“A gift for Lexi.”Finn watched Romeo handing a gift bag to me, and he didn’t look thrilled as I was when I took the paper bag and peeked at what was inside. I gasped, releasing a low squeal of excitement and making him curious about the gift, but when he moved toward me to get the bag to peer at it, I imprisoned it in my arms, shaking my head.“So childish!” He sneered at me, but I only rolled my eyes at him, causing Romeo to suppress a smile.“Please, send my thanks,” I said, smiling sweetly at him as I put the gift bag under the table.“Sure! They’re excited to meet the woman behind the name Lexi,” Romeo said to Finn as he gave him the folder and an open laptop, ready for checking and browsing. “I have also emailed you the progress report.”Finn nodded, glancing at me again but not saying anything. I focused on the things before me; the laptop Romeo provided for me to see the program they were creating, my tablet, recorder, notebook, and pens.My eyes squinted on the c
(Lexi’s POV)“As Lexa. Not Lexi.”“What? No,” I shook my head vehemently as if she could see me. “Hear my plan,” I cut her when she was about to speak. “If you’re really worried about him not meeting anyone, then I will go there to your meeting place, bring his cell phone, and the two of you talk.”“Lexi, please hear me out,” her voice begged as she continued, “We already talked about this at lunch. I told him we couldn’t meet, but he said he had something very important to tell me in person, and it seemed urgent that he wanted to see me even for a few minutes.”“Lexa, Finn’s not going to die if you don’t show up tonight,” I said, hating myself that I continued to clear my table.“Please, Lexi,” she pleaded. “I can’t go back now. Tony picked me up earlier, and we’re here only stopping for gasoline refill.”I pressed my lips tighter, not answering her.“Finn’s not going to die, I get it, but I will die of thinking what it was because he doesn’t want to tell me on the phone, and now I c
(Lexi’s POV)“Hi! Sorry, I’m late,” I said anxiously, still trying to catch my breath as I walked closer to him.Finn smiled and breathed in relief.“Well… You’re made me worry, baby,” he said, standing up and pressing his lips on my cheek. He pulled the chair for me and kissed the top of my head when I sat down. “I hope you don’t mind, but I already ordered in advance.”“Good!” I nodded, glancing at the time on my wristwatch, and smiled at him. “Because I’m hungry,” I said, and that one wasn’t a lie. The whole transforming thing from Lexi to Lexa was exhausting.The server came with our food, and I swallowed hard, seeing the mouthwatering steak and salad, thanking Lexa for not coming because I could enjoy dinner tonight.“I’m sorry, baby,” I said, trying to make my voice extra sweet while cutting the steak. “Tony’s picking me up earlier tonight, but I went here because you said you have something to tell me.”He nodded, swallowing the food in his mouth, but instead of talking, he onl
(Lexi’s POV)I could not believe paying for the fare without getting the change, buying coffee, and giving a tip when every penny I had was budgeted. I hardly buy anything for myself to get through this week, or maybe until I receive my first pay. Although Angela promised me she would pay me cash after every lesson, I was unsure now because of what Lexa did to Finn, taking the money which Frank paid and Angela paying him back.With Finn standing before me and asking what happened, I could not think of anything trivial except related to all the money I spent today.“I lost my wallet,” I cried.“No, you don’t. You’re holding it.” He puckered his lips, pointing to the wallet in my hand and blinking his eyes at me as he waited for a more acceptable reason.Caught in a lie, I wailed like an animal being slaughtered. I wished the ground would just swallow me whole or the elevator would suck me back to the lobby. Yet here I was, finding Finn with his mouth open and staring at me stupidly. I
(Lexi’s POV)“Why are you going with us?”Frank was not smiling as he looked at Finn, and the chagrin on his face definitely showed he did not entertain him.Instead of answering him, Finn turned to me. “Should I answer his question?”I was glad my mouth was full and could only look sideways while thinking. Yet both men patiently waited for my answer, so I nodded at Finn because I was curious why he wanted to come with us.“I want to know where you live,” he answered, moving his eyebrows up and down and turning to Frank. “I want to know where my girlfriend lives. Does my answer satisfy you?”When Frank nodded, he smiled wryly, clapping his hands once and standing up, clearing his food container. “I’ll just get something from my office.”He turned his back on us, whistling as he walked to his office.Like me, Frank's head was still in the doorway, unconsciously following Finn when he went out of the pantry.“Why does he look happy?” He turned to me, looking suspicious of him.“He met L
(Finn’s POV)I didn’t want to be in Frank’s way, but I asked Lexa several times about wanting to take her home, and she always declined my offer. Although I hoped her plans to change her career would help us get into the next stage of our relationship, I had to be patient and wait. As Olivia said, ‘I was not the Finn he knew after meeting Lexa.’ Her working at nighttime was a bit challenging for me because even if I wanted to spend more time with her, she had to go to work, telling me it brought food to the table.Lexa was different from the women I had met, though sometimes I wished she would take advantage of my generosity in providing for her. Still, I was the one who always ended up frustrated because she wanted to step up in her career without my help and provide for her sisters without me giving her a dime.I let Frank woke Lexi up because I saw something more interesting, sitting regally on the porch, and I could not help smirking as I remembered Lexi in her. The sweet-looking
(Lexi’s POV)What could be worse than not having a wink after my conversation with Finn last night, forgetting to bring an umbrella, and now standing in the drizzle outside their home?The Mars lived in a private residential area, but before you could enter their main door, I had to go through another inspection-interview-like with the new security personnel at the gate. It was not as thorough as my first time going here because before I could log in my information, their head security, who just came, recognized me immediately and told them I was Finn’s secretary. When I stepped inside the gate, it was just about to rain, but I declined the offer to be driven near the main entrance. I sighed at the thought that wealthy people had more resources to waste when anyone could use their energy walking and enjoying the luxurious driveway. This was more like a walk in the park for me, but halfway through the driveway, the lonely sky poured a fine misty rain without warning.Or maybe I misse