"When you truly care for someone, their mistakes never change your feelings because it's the mind that gets angry but the heart still cares."
"Did I tell you to go?" Lorenzo asked. Ava's back was facing him. Ava just rolled her eyes in annoyance and turned around, giving him the fakest smile ever, and he knew that it was a fake one.
"What may I help you with, sir?"
"What's your name again? Hmm, yeah! Ava." Lorenzo said, making sure to remind her of their first meet.
"You didn't answer my question, sir." Ava asked, as anger was taking over her. She really had some anger issues.
"Is there a need for me to answer your questions?" Lorenzo said.
Ava just wished to wipe that dirty smirk off his face.
"Do you want something?" Ava asked roughly, ignoring his question.
"Hmm. Bring me some refreshments." Lorenzo asked.
"Yes sir." Ava spoke in a bored tone, which Lorenzo decided to ignore for once.
She walked out and asked Emma for refreshments. Emma handed her a plate of refreshments that had been specifically kept aside. She mentally rolled her eyes at the tantrums of her so-called "boss." She brought the refreshments to the office and kept them on Lorenzo's desk.
"The coffee is too sweet. Bring me another one." Lorenzo said as she was about to leave.
Ava glared at him, silently cursing him in her mind. Nevertheless, she took the coffee cup that was on his desk and went to bring a new one.
After running another errand for her arrogant boss, she brought another coffee and gave it to him. Lorenzo took a sip and made a disappointing noise.
"Too bitter; give me another one," Lorenzo demanded. He wanted to irritate her as much as her presence irritated him. Ava rolled her eyes, which didn't go unnoticed by him. He hated when people rolled their eyes at him.
"I suppose you are not allowed to roll your eyes at your boss, Ava. Is that the way you behaved with Jaxon?" He inquired in a dead serious tone.
Ava realized that he was right. She couldn't deny the fact that this asshole was her boss. No matter how much she hated him, she shouldn't disrespect him. She worked for him, and he paid her for it. She was very passionate about her work and felt shameful about her behaviour.
"I apologize, sir. This won't happen ever again." Ava spoke truthfully.
Lorenzo didn't expect such an answer from her. He was just playing around and didn't expect Ava to take his words seriously. Lorenzo looked at her for a few seconds to note the sarcasm, but didn't find any. He cleared his throat and immediately put on a cold expression.
"I'll bring your coffee right away, sir." Ava said, and she immediately went to bring another one.
After a few minutes, she came back and placed the coffee on his desk.
"Sir, do you need anything else?" Ava asked professionally, refusing to meet his eyes.
"You can go now." Lorenzo said, not liking the way she just spoke to him. Why does he object to it when he was the one who asked her to do so?
"Thank you, sir." Ava spoke and went out of his office.
"I guess that didn't go well," Lorenzo thought while sipping his coffee. He felt guilty for saying harsh words to her. But no one could blame him. He was that type of person who wanted everything in order, without any mistakes. That's the reason he appointed a lot of staff.
****
Ava was still in the restaurant. She needed to cover for the other waitress who couldn't come today. She wondered if her boss knew that she was just a part-timer. She was scared to tell him about that, thinking he might remove her from work.
It was midnight, and she was still working. There were a lot more customers now. She was perplexed as to why people would come at this time. Shouldn't they be sleeping?
She was cleaning the table and was tired as hell. For a sixteen-year-old college girl, it would definitely be straining to work for 3 hours straight. Due to her good stamina, she was able to work well even without eating her lunch and dinner. Her stomach was growling, but she decided to ignore it.
After about half an hour, Emma came and informed Ava that she could leave now. She took her bag and went out, feeling nervous as hell as she had never been out this late. The thought of walking through the creepy street again made her mind freeze.
She is currently standing in the parking lot of the restaurant, preparing herself for the long walk.
"Where are you going?" Lorenzo asked from behind after walking out of the elevator.
Ava bit her tongue, trying her best not to be sarcastic.
"I'm going home, sir." She returned her gaze to him. She didn't have enough energy to lift her head and meet his eyes.
"By walk?" Lorenzo asked, uncertainly.
"Yes sir." With a tired expression, she said.
Lorenzo noticed how soft and low her voice had become. Looking at her pale lips, he concluded that something was seriously wrong with her. He assumed that it was because of the earlier incident. The fierce girl, who always had mischievousness in her eyes, was no longer the same. She rather looked exhausted and had goosebumps all over her hands due to the cold weather.
"Just take a cab." Lorenzo suggested looking at her condition.
"I don't trust cab drivers." Ava stated.
"I can give you a ride." Lorenzo offered politely.
'As if I trust you.' Ava wanted to speak out but kept quiet, not having enough energy to start any arguments.
"No Sir. Thank you for your concern." Ava rejected him professionally.
His jaw ticked after experiencing rejection for the second time, from the same person. He thought he probably shouldn't care about her when she was rude as hell.
"I'll take my leave." Ava bowed to him as a polite gesture and turned around to walk away.
As Ava took a few steps, her head started spinning and she was feeling dizzy. Everything around her was rotating. She looked at her surroundings but found everything blurry. She took the support of a nearby pillar in an attempt to stabilize herself, hoping not to fall down.
As Lorenzo was still in his own thoughts, he heard something fall with a thud. He turned around to look at it but discovered that it was Ava's bag. He looked at Ava, who was standing with her head down and strands of her hair falling on her face. She gripped the pillar so tight that her knuckles started to turn white.
"Ava!" Lorenzo ran towards her and stood in front of her. Noticing her eyes shut tightly, he started to panic but decided to act calm.