Artemis took a nap. She didn't have anything to do. And she didn't want to see Markus' figure on her peripheral vision. It annoyed her.
She woke up from a deep nap because someone was blowing the horn.
"Sorry," he murmured.
She was about to get irritated but he apologized right away. Her eyes narrowed.
There was a heavy traffic when she looked outside. An eight-wheeler truck was the cause.
'Psh. He apologized right away for that but what he did to me, he didn't. Unbelievable...' she thought.
He sure how to anmoy her to the core.
They reached the city after two hours. It was faster going home than bounding to your destination. She checked her time. It was nearly lunch. A message popped up on her phone's screen. It was a message coming from her manager when she was still a celebrity. It was Luke, a bisexual person and her manager for over a decade. He became her manager the time she became an adult. The one who loved her through good times and bad times, and always saved her face all the times. He was the person she could never forget on her celebrity years.
'My dearest baby Diana, are you free for a lunch today? I really want to see you ever since I saw the news about you...' his message content.
She looked out the street to know where they were currently at. Good timing, it was near his café.
'I can go to your café. I'm also craving for your creamy pasta...' she replied.
When she saw that the traffic light turned red, she immediately went out of the car and crossed the pedestrian. Luke's café was just across the street they're in so might as well walk.
She didn't care about her secretary. He could just go home or time in at the company.
She entered the Sweet Aroma café and walked straight to a private room. A waitress followed her.
"Ma'am, how may I help you?"
"I'm here for Luke Sebastian. Please tell your boss that Artemis is here already," she instructed the waitress and sat down.
The waitress was perplexed about her and felt intimidated. But she followed her somehow.
She turned her eyes around the room. The design of it changed a bit. There used to be her portraits hanging around the room. And perfectly matched with the wall design. That was how devoted her manager was before on her. The room became her usual hangout place to unwind or study some scripts.
"Diana!!!" Luke squealed as she entered the room and saw her.
He hugged her tightly. That was how he missed her.
"I don't know if I should be glad to see you or what," she joked. She almost coughed on how tight Luke hugged her.
"I just missed you so bad," He hugged her once more then. "By the way..."
Luke swayed her left then, swayed her to the right. He was checking up on her.
"You are alright, right? I almost had a heart attack upon hearing the news. Who is the kidnapper? Have you caught him?"
She sat down. "You are worst than the reporters,"
"I am just worried about you. You are my dearest baby Diana," he pouted.
"Yeah, yeah, sure I am. But I'm not here because of that---"
"And where have you been yesterday? I can't reach you whenever I call,"
She rolled her eyes. He wasn't listening to her at all.
"Luke, I am fine. And since I am fine, I want to eat your creamy pasta. I still haven't eaten lunch,"
Luke's face calmed. "Yeah, of course. I'll just cook your creamy pasta. Stay right here, okay? Don't go,"
She nodded and assured him that she won't go anywhere.
After she and her manager had a talk and done eating lunch. She went out already. Luke offered a ride but she declined. A taxi would be fine.
As she tried to hail a cab, a familiar car stopped in front of her then the car window slide down.
"I will take you to the office, Ms Artemis," Markus said in a formal tone.
If his voice was that formal, he should open the door also for her. Rather than just talking formally, he should also act one.
She got no choice so she entered the car. A bouquet of tulips with a hint of red rose wrapped in pink Kraft paper was resting on the back seat.
She got the bouquet then to Markus and back to the bouquet.
'When did he?'... she asked in her mind.
She found, then, a piece of card inside. She took it out and an italicized word sorry was written.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, but enough for her to hear. Then, he turned around. Their eyes met.
She could not breathe. His light brown eyes were making all the air there was in the car, gone. In short, his look was making her weak on the inside. And her heart was skipping rapidly.
"I'm sorry," he repeated. "But I'm telling you Ms. Artemis, I did not regret doing it. I mean it."