It was a pretty long night. Ava was still doing her job cheerfully; her mood was no longer sour. After the small talk with Lorenzo, she felt much better. She knew that she couldn't trust a stranger; she didn't even know his name. She was once again summoned to Lorenzo's office. The office door was open, so she went directly inside and sat on the same chair as earlier.
Lorenzo was busy with his paper work. When she entered his office, he looked up and cleared his throat before speaking.
"So, Ava, how much do you want to get paid?" Lorenzo asked, which caught Ava off guard. He was not the same person to whom she spoke a few hours ago; he returned to his cold self.
"I-I don't really know. I mean-"
"Does that mean you'll work for free?" Lorenzo cut her off, to which Ava rolled her eyes.
"What I mean to say is, I don't have an idea of how much this job would pay." Ava spoke sharply.
"You literally joined here without knowing the complete information? Are you a kid?" Lorenzo asked. Ava, who was avoiding eye contact the whole time, looked at him with her doe eyes at the last question. Lorenzo sighed and rubbed the tip of his nose, knowing that he needed to have patience to deal with her.
She was indeed a kid.
Looking back into her doe eyes, he asked, "How much did the last job offer you?"
"5 dollars per hour," Ava said.
"And how many hours did you work?" Lorenzo asked, raising his eyebrows.
"2 hours. I didn't have much time." Ava stated.
"Was that enough?" Lorenzo asked softly.
"I was able to manage," Ava murmured.
"Did you work on weekends also?" Lorenzo asked, to which Ava nodded.
Lorenzo sighed once again. The more he gets to know Ava, the more he can see her struggles. No 16-year-old deserved to work all the days of the week and also manage to go to college.
"You'll be getting 10 dollars per hour here, plus paid holidays on weekends." Lorenzo said, "As you are a part-timer, you'll be working for not more than 2 hours."
"Thank You." Ava said, feeling overwhelmed. She never had anyone show concern for her in the past few years. The look in Lorenzo's eyes scared Ava. She didn't want anyone to pity her or even care of her. She had to maintain a professional relationship with this man so she could put her now-arisen feelings aside.
Before Lorenzo could reply, there was a knock at the door. "Come in," Lorenzo said in his cold voice.
"Lorenzo, Mr. Romano wants to meet you." Alex came and informed him as he eyed Ava. She felt Lorenzo tensing up at the statement.
"Tell him I'm busy, and I'll meet him some other day." Lorenzo said.
"Okay," Alex said, and he went out. Lorenzo looked at Ava and saw her smiling sheepishly.
"What was so funny?" Lorenzo asked Ava.
"So your name is Lorenzo." Ava said as Lorenzo glared at her. He wanted her to ask him his name. But she found out before that could happen.
"Surname?"
"Know that on your own," Lorenzo said, and Ava folded her hands.
"Did anyone ever tell you that you have an ego that can touch the sky?" Ava asked, pretending to be amused.
"Don't worry. You're not the first one." Lorenzo stated, as Ava looked at him unbelievably.
"Whatever Let's go. I'm dropping you off." Lorenzo said, and this time, Ava didn't reject the offer. In fact, she couldn't be more happy. She took her bag and followed Lorenzo.
There was a lot of traffic on the busy street. An awkward silence pervaded the car. Ava was not at all bothered by it. Like she was used to it. Lorenzo decided to break the silence.
"Let's play a game," Lorenzo suggested.
"What?" Ava asked to confirm if she heard correctly. He wanted to play a game with her? Was he a child?
"Let's play 10 questions," Lorenzo said.
"What's that?"
"We will ask 10 questions to each other, one by one." Lorenzo explained.
"But, why?" Ava asked.
"To get to know each other," Lorenzo replied.
"Why do we need to get to know each other?" Ava asked.
Lorenzo clenched his teeth, his jaw ticking. Even though her questions were reasonable, they started to annoy him. She was far too mature and wise for her age. And her personality bothers him.
"Can't you just agree with me without asking any questions?" Lorenzo inquired.
"Okay," Ava said, slightly nervous about facing the questions which are very private to her.
"First, my turn. What is your favourite color?"
"Black," Ava said, feeling happy that the questions were easy.
"Your turn," Lorenzo reminded her.
"What's your surname?" Ava asked with a mischievous smirk on her face.
"Vincent. Lorenzo Vincent." Lorenzo confirmed.
"Why do you live alone?" Lorenzo asked, and Ava gulped.
"Umm, I don't have anyone to live with." Ava lied, hoping that she wouldn't get caught.
Technically, she was alone. She won't consider Joe Adonis her 'father' after he killed her mother. She had an older brother who was sent away to learn about the mafia and stuff when he was just 10.
Lorenzo felt guilty for asking her this question. She was just sixteen years old, and living alone might be a big deal for her. Even Lorenzo has been left alone since he was young. He was surprised that she could handle everything herself.