"Finally, I can take a break." Aria cheered. Ian had kept her on her toes by calling her every few hours and asking about Noah's health. Aria could only follow his orders, cursing silently, and stay by Noah's side. Now, she could relax a bit.
"Oh, I still have the conference. But there is nothing wrong with planning a vacation right?" She mumbled.
She walked towards her cabin, thinking about her vacation. She was so focused on her plans that she did not see who was in front of her and bumped into them.
"What a good way to greet, Aria."
"Dr. Smith." Aria snorted.
"Come on, sweetheart. We have known each other for almost a year now. Stop being formal and call me Mason."
"I'm fine with Dr. Smith. We are not that close anyway."
"Ouch. That hurts."
Mason and Aria had known each other for a while. Although they were of the same age, Aria was at a senior level at the hospital. She was already a surgeon, while he was still a final year resident. This constantly irked him. Yet he found her attractive. He made use of every opportunity to flirt with her, while Aria made sure to stay as far away as possible from him. She knew he was a swindler and was interested in her only for sex. She hated these kinds of people the most.
Mason looked at her earnestly, making Aria uncomfortable. Looking at him grin at her uneasiness, made Aria loathe him more. She wished to punch his face or smack his head to the wall. But soon gave up on the idea, when she realized she would have to dirty her hands by touching him.
"If you'll excuse me, Dr. Smith," Aria said, walking by him.
"Wait a minute. I was wondering if you would go on a date with me?"
"No." Aria rejected him at once and walked away without taking a look at him.
"How long are you going to run away from me, baby? I'll make sure you come to me on your own will." He smirked.
....
"What? You have got to be kidding me?" Joshua said, annoyed.
Ian had put the call on the speaker and the trio were having a conversation on the recent events.
"No, I am not. I got to know about Caroline's ploy long back. I only intended to play along to know her purpose. I never thought she would actually hire a sniper to get me killed.
"Hold on. So you are saying, you deliberately risked your life?" Ian asked, his voice deadly calm.
Noah immediately blamed his tongue for the slip. He knew he was doomed. He was the only one who knew the limits of Ian's anger. The usually calm man was a frightening beast when angered.
"Have you gone insane?" Ian roared on the phone.
Joshua stared at him shock. He had never seen Ian this angry and react this way. Among the three, he was the calmest. He was rarely in a bad mood.
"Ian, calm down," Noah said, trying to soothe him.
"I'll get back to you on this when we meet," Ian promised Noah.
"Joshua, I want you to check on Caroline."
"Come on guys. I am a video game designer, not a detective." Joshua joked, making his friends roll their eyes.
"Do you suspect something, Noah?" Ian questioned, staring at the phone.
"I don't know. I feel that there is something amiss. As much as I know Caroline, she did not have that much money to hire a sniper. I think she has a backer."
Ian and Joshua nodded listening to his words. Caroline's father had gone bankrupt recently. He was searching for investors to save his dying company and had been unsuccessful. All his properties and bank accounts had been seized and his family had moved to a one-bedroom house. Nobody knew it was Noah who had destroyed Caroline's family, not even his friends.
"Let me take a guess, are you the one responsible for their condition?" Ian asked with a doubt.
"That woman got what she deserved." Noah spat.
"OK. I got it. I'll look out for her." Joshua assured.
"Ian, how long have you known Dr. Aria West?" Noah deliberately changed the topic. Thinking about Caroline, made him fume. He needed a diversion.
"Who is Dr. Aria West?" Joshua asked in confusion.
"She is my colleague. I know her since school, she is my junior. Why do you ask?"
"It's nothing. Nothing at all." He cut the call immediately and his eyes drifted towards the messy room. It sure did look like a hurricane had occurred.
"My, my. Looks like Noah is smitten by someone. What is her name, again? Ah.. Dr. Aria West. Thinking about it, how is it like to date a doctor? Can you tell me more about it?" Joshua mused.
"Oh sorry. How would you know about it? You have never dated anyone. Maybe I need to give your hospital a visit, I might find someone I like. Are there any beautiful doctors at your hospital?" he muttered while Ian walked out of the room unable to listen to his nonsense.
Noah had been in deep thought since his talk with his friends. He found it strange that he was interested in knowing about Aria.
"Why am I acting this way?" he contemplated.
Aria's phone suddenly rang, disturbing him. The screen displayed the caller name as Danny.
'Who is Danny? Is he Aria's boyfriend?' He pondered.
He received the call and remained quiet.
"Hello, Ari. I have some great news for you. Let's have dinner together. I'll tell you everything when we meet. I'll pick you up at 7." Danny spoke.
"Ari? Ari? " He called out after babbling for some time, but didn't receive any response.
"Did the call connect by mistake? Aria, are you there?" Not getting an answer, he disconnected the call.
Noah glared at the phone and tossed it out of the window without any second thought. His face had become frosty as soon as he heard Aria's name being called in an intimate way. His eyes were blazing in anger and he was ready to kill anybody who approached him at that moment.
"Hey, I am back." Aria pushed the door open, carrying a tray of food with her.
"What's with your face? Who put you in a black mood?"
Noah immediately controlled his countenance and his face brightened up looking at her.
"By the way Mister, I need my phone back." Aria held out her hands. She looked so cute that he wanted to pat her head.
"I am sorry." He apologized although he had no regrets.
"Why are you sorry?"
"Because I cast your phone out of the window."