008: The First Encounter (I)

Claude not only wanted to have a proper chat with her, but also wanted to meet her in person. He was hoping that it would give him some sort of insight. He wanted to see for himself the kind of person Ayla was before coming to a decision. Not that it would matter, but he still wanted to do it for both of their sakes. 

He made Ethan find out her routine before making him drive all the way to her college. 

"Are you sure, Boss?" Ethan pulled the car over before the main entrance. He looked over his shoulder to make sure that his boss was not doing things in a rush. 

"Don't make me change my mind now, Ethan." Claude threw a glare in his direction. "There's no harm in meeting her in person."

"You do realize that you can ask your grandfather to set up a meeting." Ethan still wanted him to give it another thought. He couldn't help but wonder how the meeting would be going down. 

"I didn't hire you for not using your brain." Claude scoffed. "Nobody behaves badly when they are supposed to be meeting someone important. And the chances of them acting as their true selves are very low." He shared his reasons with Ethan. 

But his words only left Ethan at a loss. "Are you saying that you are not going to introduce yourself to her? As yourself?" 

"That would beat the whole point of meeting her, no?" Claude was starting to wonder why he hired Ethan in the first place. If it wasn't for the fact that Claude knew him too well, he would have fired him already. 

"So you'll be meeting her as a stranger then?" Ethan threw him a puzzled look from the driver's seat of the car.

"Yes, Einstein!" Claude shook his head before getting out. 

"How are you going to talk to her then?" He questioned Claude once again only to earn a shrug.

"You wait in the car, and leave that to me to figure out." There was no way that Claude was giving up after coming all the way to her campus. He had to figure out a way to not only see her, but also talk to her. 

"Sure." Given no other choice, Ethan could only agree with the man. He watched Claude making his way in through the entrance and could only pray to the heavens up above for him. Things would be nothing but a mess if this meeting ended up making things bad in between the two. Especially, if Claude's grandfather was to find out.

Claude made his way into the campus with his hands tucked inside the pockets. His eyes were roaming around in search of her. 

"Now, where can I find you Ayla?" He mumbled to himself as he made his way to the infirmary section of the building. It was the place where he was hoping to find her based on the schedule which Ethan had managed to acquire for him.

As he made his way through the wide corridors, he was nothing but the center of everyone's attention. It wasn't that he was oblivious to the heads turning around, he couldn't just care any less about them. It wouldn't be wrong to say that he was used to it. He would rather focus on his goal for the day: meeting Ayla Lawrence.

"Excuse me?" 

He was brought back to the present as someone reached out to tap him on his shoulder.

"Yes?" He didn't bother to look at the person, but slowed his steps down a little. 

"I don't remember seeing you here before." A meek voice entered his ears as a frail figure made its way into his line of vision. 

The young lady was dressed in pink from top to bottom, her blonde hair set into curls to frame her heart shaped face. 

"I don't know." Claude shrugged her off, not wanting to spare her the smallest fraction of his attention. He knew the likes of her all too well. It would be nothing but a waste of his precious time if he was to even slow down to listen to her flattering words. 

Though his crudeness didn't seem to have any effect on the lady. She continued to pester him while trying to keep up with his steps. 

"You look like you are in a rush, darlin'. Looking to go somewhere? I can help you with the directions."  

"No, thanks. I can find my way around." He tried his best to keep his temper in check. The stink of her sharp fragrant perfume alone was making him want to puke. "And I am not your darling for the record." Claude corrected her before increasing his pace. He rushed around the end of the corridor into the other so that he could get her off of his tail. 

These girls, I swear….

He could only sigh to himself after escaping from his impending doom. He shrugged off his crude thoughts for the time being and brought his mind to focus on the matter at hand: finding the infirmary.

It was only a matter of time before he was able to locate it. His eyes jumped around in search of something which could serve as a potential excuse. Before he could think of something, a voice caught his attention. It was coming from the other direction.

"Ayla? Professor Jacob was looking for you." 

Claude stared at the owner of the voice before following their line of vision. His eyes ended up on a not-so-unfamiliar face. Though the photo was etched into his mind, it was still weird for him how sure he was. A single glance was all it took him to confirm that it was her—in flesh. 

He wanted to say something, but words failed him. His feet were glued to the floor as he watched her coming closer to him with every ticking second. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, but her parched throat failed to make any sound. He saw her disappearing to the other side of the infirmary entrance with a girl in tow.