Chapter 4 - Andy

“I can hardly believe it!” Andy growled angrily, practically hurling her tablet against her office room table the moment she and Harriet were finally alone, after hours of listening to Conrad talk about how the contract with Ferrars was the firm's golden opportunity "What is this idiot thinking? Wasn't it enough that I agreed to this crazy idea of ​​meeting up to spend time with him, that is, whatever the fuck that means, in exchange for the evidence he has about my mother's extramarital affair! And that scoundrel even dared to tell me that he wanted to prove to me that he had changed, when he met me yesterday...!”

“I don't know if I've been reading too many romance novels lately, but…” Harriet commented, not only thoughtfully, but also slightly concerned “Spending 10 years sending you gifts, blackmailing you into meeting him, and now becoming his client for can I be close to you? I think this man is slightly obsessed with you, Andy…”

“Obsessed with making me hate him, you mean.” Andy grunted, running her fingers through her hair furiously “What the hell... I have no doubt he would have known the position he would put me in at work if I decided to refuse those demands he made of Conrad! I can hardly believe his audacity!”

“You can still go back...” Harriet approached her, this time clearly concerned about Andy's condition, although it was also noticeable in her expression that she knew very well that there was no possibility of Andy doing this “I know that the Mr. Whitlock is very excited about the possibility of us representing a billionaire like Mr. Ferrars in court, but that doesn't change the fact that you are the best lawyer we have at this firm. He knows that firing you would be shooting himself in the foot, even if he was angry that you refused to be this guy's personal lawyer..."

“After how much Walter insisted on this happening during the meeting, I think Conrad is ready to fire even himself, so angry as he are.” Andy sighed, frustrated "Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to escape this, just as I couldn't escape the trap that Ferrars set for me... If only I were sure what his intention is with all of this..."

“I thought you were sure he was doing all this to torment you, just like he did when you two were kids...” Harriet commented, distressed “That's why, really, maybe you should ask for help to your brother. If this man is really willing to do all this just to hurt you…”

"That is the problem." Andy exhaled, looking at her best friend hesitantly “The moment I made the decision to go to her office to look for him, I expected to find the same cruel and rude boy I knew at school, but... He seemed different. And that's what bothers me most. Before, I knew very well what to expect from him, but now, if he's willing to play nice just to make me trust him and then try to stab me in the back...” she growled, balling her hands into fists, as Harriet walked over to place her hands on her shoulders, wanting to comfort her “No, forget I said that. I won't let that happen again, no matter what his intentions are. I'm no longer the scared, defenseless girl he used to torment... And I'm going to prove it to him!”

“I just don’t want you to end up hurting yourself while you try to do this.” Harriet sighed, anguished “I still remember how you were when we met, as soon as you changed schools in high school… I know this is a great opportunity and that you need that proof to defeat your father in court, but… Do you really think that’s worth putting yourself in the hands of a bully again?” her friend bit her lip, as if worried that she would misunderstand her “It’s not that I don’t trust you to take care of yourself, but… I would hate to see this man hurt you again.”

“How much did my brother pay you to give me this advice?” Andy joked, before sighing “Don’t worry, Harriet. I understand what you mean and, believe me, I thought about it a lot last night, after I couldn't sleep for a single minute, thinking about everything that man said to me... And, believe me, the only conclusion I could come to is that, if I could, I would send him to hell. But, I don’t have that option.” she smiled sadly at her friend, who still looked distressed as if Andy was about to go to the gallows “So if I'm really going to be forced to get back together with Gabriel Ferrars... Then I'm going to prove to him that he's no longer coping. with Andrea Vamcap that he once knew.” Andy promised, coldly.

“Just be careful, okay?” Harriet smiled, still worried, but clearly trying to show that she trusted her friend “And good luck with that idiot! Although I'm sure you'll finish him off! This guy Ferrars can't wait to meet the best lawyer in this city, muay thai's champion and future most sought-after woman on all dating apps…”

“What?” Andy stopped, confused.

“Have you already forgotten?” Harriet laughed, although she wasn't surprised “We downloaded that dating app on your phone during lunch break last week, remember? You promised me that you would give this a chance and at least look at the profiles of the men here in the city, to see if any of them interested you. Your own therapist said it would be good to try dating someone, don't you remember? And he said this more than once…”

“No need to rub it in my face.” Andy sighed deeply, stretching out in the chair almost to the point of lying down "Luther, as a friend and a therapist, and you may think the time has come, but..." she bit her lip, dissatisfied with how certain memories from the past insisted on returning to her mind, although she had long ago learned to deal with them “There are already too many things going on in my life. I don't need a man to make everything even more dramatic. Plus, the kind of guys who use these apps only want one thing. And honestly, I think I'm going to need a good amount of time just getting to know this person, to feel comfortable before I take that step. Do you really think a guy would be willing to wait that long?”

“Oh, come on. We did your personal description together and made your perspective on a relationship very clear. I'm sure all the guys who are interested in you will know what to expect.” Harriet smiled, though even she seemed to know it was a little too hopeful to expect that kind of maturity from a man.

“You talk like you know what it’s like.” Andy raised an eyebrow, amused “Did you create a profile like that to insult your parents and finally show them that they can't choose who you marry?”

“That would even be a good idea, if I didn’t know that they would make a point of breaking up any date I had the moment I set it up.” Harriet lamented, going to sit in the chair opposite Andy “But at least I have hope that this will end soon. The man who is their favorite suitor to be my husband is coming back from Europe soon and everyone knows he has a mistress, as I told them once… Hey, there's no point in trying to distract me! You promised me that you would at least give some likes and talk to some guys, just to see if any of them pique your interest or not.”

“I don’t know, Harriet… Maybe this isn’t the right time yet…”

“Remember the question you told me Luther asked you in your last therapy session? Do you think that because you really think that or because you are afraid of what might happen if you take a risk?” she asked, making Andy sit up straighter immediately “Come on, Andy… I see how your eyes light up when you talk about your grandmother's relationship and now your brother's… Can you honestly say that you don't want the same for yourself?”

“Aaron and my grandmother were incredibly lucky, finding people as good as Rose and Jullian to spend the rest of their lives with… But, I don't know if I'll be able to do the same.” she shrugged, head down “In case you haven’t noticed, luck hasn’t been smiling on me much lately. I can barely imagine what could happen if I dared to take my bad luck into the dating field, too…”

“But you’ll never know if you don’t try, don’t you think?” Harriet smiled and raised her fingers in her direction, like a motivation coach, making Andy laugh.

"All good. I'm going to get my cell phone right now and we can look for my future prince charming together. What do you think…?" Andy joked, but her good mood only lasted until the moment she managed to reach her cell phone nearby on the table and tap the screen, revealing a notification that immediately made her smile disappear.

"What it was?" her best friend asked, worried again.

“Ferrars…” Andy growled, barely able to contain her anger, as she read the message he had just sent her “He just set the date for the first date the two of us will have, in exchange for him giving me the proof I necessary."

"So fast?" Harriet gasped “Please tell me at least it’s not at his house or something…”

“No, it’s in a restaurant.” Andy grunted, putting her cell phone away again, determined to confirm this only through his secretary “It wouldn't surprise me, even, if his mind is still stuck ten years in the past and he wants to take me to a place like that just to have the pleasure of throw food at me like they used to or something. Well, at least I'll finally have the pleasure of making him lose a tooth, if he only tries…”

"MS. Vamcap…” the knock on the door was as loud as the female voice that was calling her, almost as if it wasn't clear enough that whoever was there wasn't very pleased “You have a delivery.”

“What?” Confused, Andy stood up, opening the door to find Nora Driscoll, the office receptionist and Walter's personal secretary, standing there with a bouquet of flowers in her hands and a disdainful expression on her face.

"This is for you." Nora snorted, practically throwing the huge bouquet of flowers in Andrea's direction, before looking her up and down for a moment “It's really big, uh? I think it's so cute when big girls like you are confident enough to buy things for themselves like that…” she smiled mischievously, with exactly the same expression Walter had looked at Andy with earlier, which made her roll her eyes.

“I also have a great appreciation for self-confidence, Ms. Driscoll, but apparently I don't need to wait for myself to receive that kind of thing..." Andy replied, although secretly she was waiting for the moment when the card hanging from the bouquet would reveal that Nora had been mistaken and that the gift was for someone else… “What the…!” she hissed, furious “Ferrars?!”

"What?" Harriet and Nora gasped in unison, but Andy had already pushed the door on instinct, causing it to slam shut in front of the secretary's face “He sent you flowers? I mean… Again?” her friend asked, not seeming to have forgotten that Andy had told her about the flowers that Ferrars had managed to sneak into her house last Christmas “Hey, aren't those magnolias? These are your…”

"My favorites." Andy growled, clutching the flowers in her hands, wishing she could step on them as much as she wished she could step on Gabriel Ferrars' face at that very moment “That idiot. What does he think he’s doing, bothering me like this…?”

“What did he write in the message?” Harriet asked, only then making Andy realize that she had come closer and was now leaning toward the bouquet, holding the small piece of paper that was almost hidden among the magnolia petals “I know the way I'm acting doesn't prove it, but the last thing I want is to hurt you again. I'll be waiting tomorrow. Gabriel." she repeated the message, straightening up to look at Andy with a surprised expression on her face “Oh, my… That seemed… Oddly thoughtful for a bully.”

“Someone probably wrote it for him.” Andy rolled her eyes in disgust “But if he thinks just a few flowers can convince me that he's doing all this because he's sorry or something, then I'm going to prove him wrong.” she growled, opening the trash can nearby to throw the bouquet in, even though it was too big “I'm going to give him a taste of his own medicine, in case he really thinks he can keep tormenting my life like that.”