Chapter 6

Amy laid on the bed, pondering. It was all she seemed to do these days,thinking. After meeting with Reynolds, she had gone to her mother's mall, helping her with their new stock.

Her day had not been stressful, but she felt so tired. She considered pulling out of the deal with Reynolds. And then she would talk with her father? He could let her have at least this much, could he not? And if it did not turn out so well, then she would continue her plans with Reynolds. She sighed. Could she really do that?

Amy's phone rang then. It was David, one of her friends. Well truthfully, the only good one she thought she had.

"Hello" she answered.

"Hey" his voice came on the other end. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good. How about you? What's going on?"

"I returned today from my trip. I was wondering if we could meet up tomorrow and catch up"

"That would be nice."

There was a pause on his end before he said again, "Are you okay? You sound...down"

Should she just tell him? Of what use would it be waiting till tomorrow? The reaction and questions would probably be the same.

"I'm getting engaged", she informed him.

"What!" he responded, his voice considerably raised than before.

Amy wondered why he was so surprised. Last her family and his had shared a meal together, there had been talks of marriage for him. She had begun to suspect then that her father wanted the same for her.

"When?" he asked again.

"Well it hasn't really been decided or finalized yet, but no one needs to spell it out before I know its happening you know"

"Uh..yh. Um...Who is it?"

Who was it? Would he know Reynolds? Maybe Bennet but not Reynolds. She did not think so. "Reynolds", she responded quietly eitherways.

"What? Sorry I didn't get that". He said.

She knew there would be questions coming, but this was not a conversation she wanted to happen on the phone. And besides, she was feeling very sleepy.

"Why don't you just come over tomorrow and we can talk more. I'm tired from the day"

"Okay. I'll see you then. Goodnight"

"Goodnight".

The following day, Dave came to the house. Amy was just coming down the stairs when she saw him sitting in the living room. He stood up as soon as he noticed her entering the room and opened his arms for an embrace. She hugged him smiling. She really did miss David. And as he hugged her, she loved how he felt familiar. It made her feel somewhat safe. He had one or two inches on her. Maybe three. Taking after her mother, she was by no means a short person. But Reynolds had seemed to dwarf her the other day. She thought back to then.

After they had both left the coffeeshop, she had not noticed until she had reached that he had followed her to the car. She had turned to take one final glance at him wherever he was, but then had been surprised to see him behind her. He had not been so close to her, but he had been close enough for her to feel intimidated. She did not show it though, resisting the urge to lean against the car just to put more distance between them.

He had said his goodbye then waited till she had got in the car before leaving to go to his. Did he really have to be such a gentleman? She had thought. At least he had not opened the door for her.

"How was the trip?" she asked David as they both sat down. Amy sat on the couch adjacent to the one David was on. She sat sideways while leaning on the chair rest. "Did you achieve what you wanted?"

"It went well. Won some, lost some. Life goes on". He laughed it off while she smiled. She did not bother asking about the details afterall business was never the subject of their chats. It was a silly rule they had made when they were younger and he had just started getting into his family's business.

He looked at her for sometime before asking, "So how did it happen?"

She smiled mockingly, "The same way your parents talk about marriage at dinner

Amy knew what next he would come so she replied before he could ask. "He is filthy rich of course and.. surprisingly a gentleman". She added the last part quietly and mostly to herself.

David met her eyes, the corners of his lips stretching to an amused smile. "Surprisingly?"

She stood up, leading him to the kitchen where there was already an opened bottle of wine.

"Want some?"

He eyed her, "Isn't it too early for it? It's still morning"

"Is it?" she asked as she poured a glass for herself. She did not mind. No, not that she did not mind. She just did not seem to care lately.

"Relax. I'm not becoming a drunk anytime soon. Just a glass". She smiled and then took a gulp.

She sighed internally. Now she was ready for that talk.

She eyed David over her glass as she took another sip. She had doubted it before, but he was well involved in his family's work now. If anyone could possibly know more about Reynolds, it could be David.

"Do you perhaps know Reynolds Bennet?" she

asked setting her glass back down on the counter. "Have you met him before?"

He shifted uneasily at the question. "I think I have seen him once or twice outside business".

"Really?", she leaned forward, interested. "What for?"

He furrowed his brows. "I'm not sure. He owns a club, maybe it was there. And that was before I fully got into the business you know. So it's been a long time. Can't really remember "

"Why" he stared at her. "You sound very curious about him?".

"We just met so of course we know nothing about each other aside from the obvious". That was true on her part. She was not so sure about his.

She finished her glass and set it on the counter a bit too aggressively. David watched her cautiously, watching to see if she would have another glass while she smiled at him.

"See, one glass" she said rounding the counter to walk back to the living room.