Chapter 2- What do you mean she's in California?

Sandra sat in her modern office, her gaze fixed on the document she was working on. Her father, the chairman of the company, had handed the project to her to work on without his involvement since she wanted to bid on a project with other top businessmen.

Sandra believed this was the chance she had been waiting for—an opportunity to prove herself worthy once more—and she hoped her father would grant her the one wish she had for the company: to be the CEO of Warren's Inc.

She was so focused on the document she was working on that she didn't notice her phone was ringing the whole time.

She heard a tap on her office door and knew it had to be her secretary, so she ushered her in without looking away from the project she was working on.

"Ma'am, Miss Bridget said she had been calling your personal line for a while now," the secretary replied with a smile, and Sandra's eyes searched her enormous table full of documents for her phone.

"Thank you; I will return her call," Sandra said calmly when she noticed her phone under the mound of documents, and the secretary bowed and excused herself.

She frowned when she called Bridget's number, wondering what was so important that she gave her given her thirty missed calls.

"Sandra, why aren't you picking up the phone?" Sandra sighed and put the phone down by her ears as Bridget shouted.

"You should know I was busy; I have an important task ahead, so I didn't have time for gist and party right now, Bridget, Try to unders_"

Bridget interrupted Sandra hastily. "Oh, you think I am calling you just to get the gist or invite you to a party? The news I have is more important than all that."

"What is so important that you sound so agitated?" Sandra asked calmly, her brows arched, attempting to figure out what Bridget was up to, but her thoughts were interrupted by her next statement.

"Anita has returned to California; she arrived a few hours ago." Bridget's voice responded angrily. Sandra's heart sank as she heard that.

"What do you mean she's in California?" Anita asked, her head inclined and her eyes narrowed, various thoughts racing through her mind, but swiftly comforted herself that California is large enough as if she were back in Los Angeles.

"Yes, she was recently seen at Los Angeles International Airport with the Blue Ray production's top manager. Do you understand what that means? She's not going anywhere. Do you even check your phone, She's trending first in the entire United States; she was_ " Bridget raged, but she couldn't finish her outburst because Sandra cut her off from the phone to confirm what she had just heard.

"Bridget was right," Sandra whispered to herself as she browsed through her phone with a shaking hand.

Within an hour, she had risen to the top of the celebrity rankings.

Sandra took a big breath and set her phone down on her table. Her brow furrowed, and she tightened her fist.

Damn it!

The only competitor she had was back in Los Angeles. She had thought back then that she had gotten rid of her completely. She picked up her phone again and began reading the captions on the pictures of Anita. She zoomed the picture to have a clearer look at her and then let out a sigh as she placed her phone back on the table again.

Sandra couldn't help but look at her again; even though she knew she shouldn't be admiring Anita's beauty, she couldn't stop herself.

She let out a loud hiss as she reminisced. She had always been jealous of the fact that Anita was prettier than she was—not only prettier but also more intelligent than her in everything.

"I don't have to be number one or even top the celebrity trend before I can beat her again." I mean, she's nothing in comparison to me. "I don't have to be insecure about her," Sandra reminded herself.

So many things had changed about Anita over the years. She looked more beautiful and even more sexy; that was not how Sandra had thought things would turn out for Anita after being sent out of the mansion with nothing. Anita had changed dramatically over the years. Sandra had not expected Anita to look more gorgeous and sexier after being thrown out of the mansion with nothing.

Sandra attempted to convince herself that Anita wasn't a competitor, but she knew she was and had accomplished so much more in the previous years than she, who only had her father's name and company to herself. She gave out another loud hiss as she took up her phone, but promptly dropped it on the table.

Sandra was well aware that her relationship with Leo was in jeopardy. Despite the fact that she and Leo had been engaged for five years and she now held an important position in the company, they hadn't married yet, and she wasn't ready to lose him to Anita.

"What if Leo still has feelings for her?" What if he admires her beauty? "What if..."

All of these thoughts raced through Sandra's mind, but after a while, she attempted to convince herself that it was unreasonable for her to believe Anita would steal Leo from her and that they were done.

She thought Anita was a tainted commodity who slept with a number of directors to get movie roles, and her reputation had deteriorated in the years since her debut, so why would Leo go back to such a whore?

"Definitely not," she assured herself.

She groaned as she examined the stack of documents on the table. She had intended to work on them earlier, but Bridget's call kept her from doing so.

"I hope that loser doesn't think that coming back will change anything about her current situation." Why had she come now? Why?”

She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration.

She furrowed her brow as she heard another faint knock on the door, believing it was her secretary.

"What do you want again, and can you stop_" Sandra was about to finish her sentence when she noticed Leo striding elegantly toward her.

A weak smile formed on her face immediately she saw Leo walk up to her and kiss her lips, then planted a wet kiss on her neck.

"Honey, how are you doing?" He inquired and hugged her.

"I'm alright, my love, how is your day treating you?" Sandra inquired, her unpleasant frown concealed.

"Hectic," he said. "Look, honey, I'm exhausted and hungry; let's go get something to eat," he added hurriedly.

Sandra paused for a moment. She'd lost her appetite and didn't believe she'd be able to eat, but what would be her reason? She had no reason to resist Leo's proposal, so she just picked up her bag and rose from her seat.

"Shall we?" He asked, stretching his hands towards her.

She nodded, feigning a grin, then grabbed his hand in hers, and the two of them walked out of her office holding hands. They proceeded to Leo's car and drove to their usual restaurant.

Sandra was abnormally frigid and silent throughout their journey. Her attention was riveted on her phone; she would look at the screen until it turned black, then touch it again. Leo looked at her in the front mirror with furrowed brows as she scrolled through her phone with a long face and clenched brows, trying to figure out why Anita was back in Los Angeles.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked Sandra with a worried voice, and Sandra responded with a smile, that disappear almost immediately.

He could see Sandra wasn't feeling well; she wasn't herself, and something seemed to be bothering her.

"I'm fine," she said nonchalantly, and Leo groaned, trying to concentrate on the road and Sandra at the same moment.

"You aren't always this quiet, Sandra, tell me about your day. I want to know every detail about your work, your friend, your clients, and everything you did at the office today," Leo asked, trying to persuade her to talk to him.

Sandra sighed and turned to face Leo.

"I am_ fine," she stutteringly responded.

She returned her attention to her phone and resumed scrolling.

"What is it that you are constantly checking on your phone?" Leo inquired, his brow furrowed.

Sandra dropped the phone and folded her arms around her body, staring blankly into space. All she wanted was to be alone with herself, pouting and plotting her next move. She didn't want Leo around, yet she couldn't ask him to leave her alone. She couldn't wait to leave the restaurant, so she'd go home and lock herself in her room, or maybe tell her mother that Anita was back in Los Angeles.

They arrived at the restaurant in no time, and Leo alighted. He walked across to the other side to open the door for Sandra, but she had already done so before he could.

"Let's go in," he whispered in her ear.

They entered the restaurant and sat on a vacant seat, making themselves comfortable. A waitress took their order. He tried to ignore Sandra's distant behavior as she focused on her phone again, looking for bad comments about Anita, at least that would give her some peace of mind but all she saw was her fans praising her.

He decided to pretend she wasn't there. He was already in a good mood before going to her office, and he wouldn't let her ruin it. The waiter finished serving them both and left.

Leo started eating right away because he was hungry and didn't want to waste any time. He was halfway through his meal when he discovered Sandra had scarcely touched her food.

She just kept playing with the food, swirling it around, and eating a spoon every sixty seconds.

"Sandra?" As he raised his head and placed his spoon on his plate, Leo called.

As soon as he raised his head, he saw a familiar figure come into the restaurant. He was going to say something else when his gaze was drawn to Anita's face. He wasn't sure whether it was genuinely Anita at first, but after a closer look, how could he not identify her ex-fiance despite how much had changed?

Sandra glanced around, curious as to what had captured Leo's attention and caused him to leave his mouth open, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Anita enter the restaurant.