-ANSEL-
Right after his meeting, Ansel immediately went to the floor where the procurement department is located. Scheduled for today is the meeting concerning the contract with a supplier company, and although his presence is not required to the meeting and the department is unaware of his intention to join, Ansel believes that he has to be there to oversee the meeting as the CEO of the company and as a project leader.
But regardless, he knew that that is not the real reason.
One of the owners of the said company is Alina, and despite the excuses he has been telling himself, he knew deep down that she was one of the reasons why he wanted to attend.
He thought that the confusion in his head was something he could solve, just like any problem in his company that he could troubleshoot with expertise. But after what happened the last time they met, when Alina told him that she will leave once again and never to return, the said confusion merely exacerbated, and Ansel thought that he could not let her leave unless he's finally able to sort out the chaos that she brought.
And he has the perfect excuse to make her stay.
Once he arrived on the floor where the meeting is being held, he was met by an empty conference room. His meeting earlier took too long to finish, and he was merely a few seconds late when the meeting with the procurement department ended.
With his body moving on its own, he found himself going straight to the elevators and pushing the button for the ground floor.
He was hoping that he might not be too late to see her, yet these kinds of thoughts barraging his head only deepen the confusion that he already feels. Any feelings that he has towards her, except for resentment, was supposed to be already non-existent, yet here he is, unable to stop himself from searching for her.
The moment he stepped foot outside of the elevator, he began searching for her in the lobby. As he scanned the area, he was not able to spot the familiar brown-haired woman within the vicinity. Although there is a high probability that he might have been too late and that she already left, he also considered that there is a probability that she used one of the elevators from the other side of the building, hence, a few moments later, when he was not able to find her, he decided to go to the other side of the building.
But as he took one step forward, his plan was immediately thwarted when an auburn-haired woman stood in front of him, stopping him from taking another step.
"Caesar!" Christina greeted elatedly.
Ansel thought that her piercing voice is not something he needed right now, and almost ignoring the woman in front of him, he began scanning the area from the other side of the building and as well the exit, trying to take a sight of a certain brown-haired woman.
"Caesar," Christina called out. She brought her hand up and touched his arm, making Ansel turn his gaze back to the woman in front of him. He wanted to push her hand away from him, but when he realized who the woman was, he suddenly thought that searching for Alina right now, with Christina present, might not be a good idea.
"Christina," Ansel spoke curtly, finally acknowledging her presence.
"Why are you down here?" Christina pursed her red lips and looked up at him from under her lashes. "Your assistant said that you just finished your meeting, and I wanted to surprise you in your office."
Unfazed by her actions, Ansel replied, "I have another meeting in a few minutes."
It was a lie. The next meeting he has is scheduled later in the afternoon, but he has no energy to deal with Christina right now. Even though he might have known her for so long and is a close friend of his family, he cannot match nor tolerate Christina's pace and attitude.
"But I came all the way here to invite you for a meal," Christina complained and wrapped her arms around Ansel's.
Ansel was not entirely paying attention to Christina, and he continued scanning the lobby. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a brown-haired woman walking towards the exit, and without much assurance as to who that was, Ansel decided to follow the said woman.
"I'm sorry, Christina," Ansel started, gently removing Christina's claws around him. As he thinks that having Christina and Alina meet right now may not be a good idea, he tried to make up an excuse to leave. "I have to go straight to the meeting right now. You should contact my secretary about my schedule before coming here in order not to waste your precious time."
Before Christina could say anything further, Ansel began treading towards the exit of the building, leaving Christina rooted to the ground. Alina had already left the building, and Ansel could only hope that she has not gone too far yet. He called for someone to get his car for him from the parking, and once outside the building, he finally saw her walking towards the side of the road.
Ansel halted. The moment he realized that it was indeed her, he suddenly came to his senses. He is not entirely aware of why he wanted to see her right now.
Does he need to talk to her about the contract? Does he want to clarify what she said the other day about leaving?
He went straight out of a meeting to search for her, yet he does not know why he wanted to see her.
Ansel sighed. He is clearly out of his mind, and he knew that the woman he is currently staring at is the main reason why.
He began walking towards her with his mind currently in chaos. He does not know what to tell her, yet he felt like he had to approach her. Once he was directly behind her, he began rummaging his head for something to say, and he ended up saying, "It's dangerous to use your phone while standing along the sidewalk."
Alina immediately turned to face him, and he caught a waft of her enticing scent. He suddenly remembered how he used to love to bury his nose on the crook of her neck just to take in her wonderful scent, and just like that, he was caught by the dangerous claws of nostalgia.
He felt like the words were stuck in his throat as he stared at her captivating brown eyes. After what felt like an eternity, he finally opened his mouth and said, "Finished with the meeting?"
Ansel knew that his question was rather unwise, but in his defense, the woman in front of him has the ability to turn his head into chaos with just her presence.
'Just like before,' Ansel thought.
After exchanging a few words regarding the meeting, Ansel was not ready to let her leave yet and found himself offering to give her a ride. He knew himself that he was being quite insistent, but before he could stop himself, he was already entangled with the lies he came up with on the spot, unable to retrieve his words.
***
Once the two were settled in on their seats inside the car, Ansel started driving silently. The talk about the contract was long forgotten, and presently, all Ansel wanted to do is to maintain the silence inside the car.
Ansel kept thinking about what impelled him to offer Alina a ride, and he even brought a string of lies just to make her agree. It was unlike him, and he could not understand why he acted that way.
Ansel is the type of person who is not well acquainted with different kinds of emotions. As he was brought up with the intention that he was going to be the heir of the Chadwick Group, his childhood was focused on strict education, and he was taught that unnecessary feelings would only hinder him in accomplishing his goals. Furthermore, the detached appearance of their family added to the reason why he grew up with such limited emotions.
But when Alina entered his life, she taught him the beauty of experiencing various emotions, and at one point even discarded his predetermined path because of her.
But it was also because of Alina that Ansel realized that his family's teachings about unnecessary feelings might have been true.
Ansel was unaware that he has been staring at Alina's side profile. They stopped under the traffic light, and Ansel noticed that her gaze was transfixed somewhere outside of the car. He saw that she was staring earlier at the subway station that he believed she used when she was still working around the area. Perhaps, when she started scanning the area from inside the car, she was searching for the building she previously worked in.
When the traffic light turned to green, Ansel shifted the gear and pressed the gas pedal.
"That company filed for bankruptcy almost three years ago," Ansel spoke a few moments later. He assumed that Alina would be curious about her previous employer, and not because it was the first company she worked for, but because he knew that she held resentment towards the company, or rather, her colleagues.
When Alina asked what happened for the company to become bankrupt, Ansel explained what he had read. While he was explaining, he remembered how Alina would go home very late at night when she was working for them. Even though she would always complain to him about her superiors, she would still finish everything diligently as her responsible self could not give her a slack.
"I guess that was not surprising. I never saw a good work ethic among those sleazebags," Alina commented after Ansel's explanation. Hearing Alina say those words, Ansel could not help but smile a little as he remembered how she used to curse at her superiors.
It was not surprising that she still feels resentful at the said company. As he recalled, she was fired for a mistake made to one of the clients. At that time, although he surely was biased towards her, he thought that a meticulous person like Alina could not make such an obvious mistake, yet knowing that the corporate world is truly harsh, she could only accept the decision made for her.
The two continued talking until they neared Elena's restaurant. "Where should I drop you off?" Ansel asked.
"Can you drop me off at my house?" Alina replied hesitantly, and to which Ansel replied right away, "Sure."
The drive continued with a comfortable silence inside the car until the two reached Alina's house. Ansel's reason for sending Alina off, the talk about the contract, was never brought up during the ride, and Ansel thought that fortunately, Alina did not bring the said topic up as well.
Ansel opened Alina's door for her, and after she stepped out of the car, she spoke, "Thank you so much for sending me off."
He opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by someone shouting, "Alina!"
The two turned to look for the owner of the voice and they saw Elena leaving the house and striding towards them.
"Ansel!" Elena greeted cheerfully once she reached the two, a wide smile plastered on her face. "Why are you here?"
"How are you, Elena?" Ansel greeted back. "I was just sending Alina off."
Elena's eyes sparkled at Ansel's reply. "How kind of you," she said while pulling Alina towards her. She then linked her arm around Alina's.
"We owe you so much now," Elena said with a frown on her face.
"I was on my way to a meeting around the area, hence I offered Alina a ride," Ansel reassured, although a certain fact about the meeting was a lie. There are still a few more hours before the meeting, and even he, himself, does not understand why he had to lie about it.
"We still owe you for sending me home when I got discharged from the hospital. When can we repay you with a simple dinner?"
Ansel rejected her offer before because honestly, he does not want to see Alina again. He thought that not seeing Alina might help him sort out the confusion in his head, but doing so did nothing. Right now, he thought that maybe, being with her can help him understand and solve the chaos that she brought, although it might be a gamble for him.
But still, taking risks is one of the reasons why he became successful.
And even though Ansel thinks that he is averse to the idea of being with Alina, he supposed that if that is what it takes to finally gain peace of mind, he will do it.
"I think I am free this weekend."