After talking with her girlfriend, Zara went with her to talk with her girlfriend's boss in the car. And she came to me together with the red-haired girl, with teeth clenched, as if kind of afraid of my reaction. "Boss... this is my girlfriend, Ariana Kennedy."
"Hello, Ariana, I'm Aaron."
She looked shocked when she saw me. "The cafeteria guy." What? "I'm sorry, it's just that I saw you at Starbucks."
"Well, I saw you too. So, what did your boss say? Is she going to pay for the mess she made?" They shared a worried look that said it all. "What did she say exactly?" I asked seriously and Zara swallowed but I could clearly see her holding her smile.
"Can I use her exact words?"
"Say it already, Zara!" I yelled running out of patience.
"She said; Doesn't he know who I am? How dare this douchebag blame us? Is this son of a bitch searching for a fucking problem? We were clearly in the right here, then you guys came and did this shit. He's wrong and he'll pay for what he did to my car, so go there and tell this fucking asshole this, Ariana!"
I don't understand why the New Yorkers curse so much, like, why? "Well, she has a really dirty tongue. Is she really a renowned lead editor of a big company?"
After hearing that I saw the vein on Ariana's face almost popping in anger but she held it.
"And she has quite the audacity, hmm. Doesn't she know who I am? How dare she blame us for the mess she caused? Is she searching for a problem or something? We are clearly in the right here, then you guys stopped out of nowhere and create this situation. She's wrong and she'll pay for what she did to my car, so go there and tell her this!"
Ariana ran to her boss's car and told her what I asked, but I had already lost my temper. "What are you doing, boss?" Zara asked when I put on my sunglasses and opened the back door of my car.
"What do you think I'm doing? I'm going to talk with her boss already, I don't have the patience to keep using both you and your girlfriend as a homing pigeon."
And I could see that her boss thought the same as me when she got out of the car in all her light sunglasses and too beautiful for my sake. I felt a strange familiarity but couldn't tell why then she spoke first.
"Ariana? Is this the scumbag who crushed my car and is blaming me?" What a beautiful but sarcastic voice she has. She walked in my direction without hiding her anger at all "Hey, you jerk, what the fuck is your damn problem?"
Well, I see that she really is audacious. "What a dirty tongue for a lady." Okay, I confess that I'm trying to piss her off and don't even know why.
"Why don't you go fuck yourself? It's better you pay for the damage or you'll regret it." Damn, she's really angry, just like a chihuahua, short and angry.
I had to hold my laughter with all my will. "First, thank you, but no, I already have a lot of women who do this with me. Second, why would I pay for your mistake? You're the one who should pay for the damage in my car."
Well, I hope I'm convincing. I'm acting like a child, rationally I would've never said that, but I don't think that matters anymore. Besides, she has to pay for the damage she caused to my car.
"You, motherfucker..." She took a deep breath as if to try to calm down. "Stop it already, okay? We had stopped on the road because the signal was red, but then your car crashed into mine. That's what happened. I don't why are you making such a fuss, saying that it was my fault when it wasn't."
I have to say that she knows how to talk when she's calmer. "You stopped before the signal turned completely red, girl."
"Girl? I'm not a little girl anymore, okay? I'm 26. Don't talk like that with me. And no, we only stopped the car when the signal was red." She's twenty-six?
For real? She looks younger, but she's months younger than me. And she kinda makes me remember her. I can only imagine how she might look at twenty-six, even when I shouldn't.
"No, dear! You're mistaking the situation-"
"I'm not. You are."
She is stubborn, but so am I. "I'm not. YOU are!" I replied and she clenched her teeth.
"How old are you? Five?" I laughed seeing her lose her temper once again.
"Nope, I'm twenty-seven, darling." Darling?
Serious Aaron?
She looked deep lost in her thoughts for an instant, and for a second I saw Naomia on her, it must be a consequence of the dreams I'm constantly having. "What's your name?" I asked almost instantly, she only answered after some instants, when she stopped daydreaming.
"Mia."
It can only be a coincidence, right? An ironic joke of fate, right? It's not really her.
It can't be!
How likely is it that we would meet again in this way, living in the same city, occupying the same position in rival companies? I must be overthinking it too much, right? There are several women who have her name, a similar appearance, and personality, working on what she also dreamed of working on, right?
I'm not freaking out.
"What's your name? Mr. Walking Problem?" Walking Problem?
Well, I think that suits me. It's not her, it can't be. But... if it's her, she'll react differently when she hears my name, right?
"Aaron. My name's Aaron," she clenched her teeth and took two steps away from me, swallowing hard.
"Can you tell me your surname?" Oh, shit, it's her.
I took two steps away, on the defensive, "It's not you, right? It can't be."
"That's my fucking line, you son of bitch. Is it really you, Aaron?" She took her sunglasses off and I saw the beautiful ice-blue eyes I was so familiar with, then I took off my sunglasses and she bites her lip in frustration. "Why the hell are you New York? You should be in California."
Yeah, both of us should be there. "That's what I wanted to ask you. How can this be?"
"Get away from me, Aaron."
"Don't speak as if I was the only one at fault, Naomia," she clenched her teeth again and closed her fists, as did I.
"Do you two know each other?" Zara asked confused and closer. "Why the pain expressions? I know we aren't in or place to talk, but both of you are riches, and the accident was little, and only to your cars. It's not like one of you is hurt."
"I am hurt!" I said at the same time as her, we share an angered gaze.
"Do you perhaps know each other?" Ariana asked carefully and we directed our burning gaze at her, who got silent and flinched.