" Did you sleep well? " Ava asked and he nodded once.
She smiled "Come on " and led him back to his room.
The room was dark so she left him standing and quickly went over to the window pane to draw back the curtains. Sunlight came in and the room was alive with brightness. She turned and met Alex right behind her again. He stood so close that his breath fanned the tendrils of her hair and she inhaled his breath unconsciously. Hmmm, he had a fresh mint breath. Well, why wouldn't he? She just fed him cake mixed with mint. She frowned, wondering why Jack had told her Alex didn't like close contact when obviously, he liked being close to her. Or maybe it's just her, she thought, smiling.
Oh don't be full of yourself, he's not in his right mind, you know. A voice in her head said and she pushed it away. She managed to smile as she strained her neck to look up at him. He towered far above her, the guy was huge, she thought. How many times will you say that? The same voice in her head scolded. She rolled her eyes inwardly and focused on Alex.
" Get dressed while I go downstairs to prepare you some food, okay? " She motioned for him to back off so she could go her way but he didn't. Instead, he moved closer, leaving her no breathing space at all. She sighed, even though the guy couldn't speak, he definitely heard her. There was no way she could get on with her work if he kept being so clingy.
She placed her hands on his shoulders " Alex, I'll leave you here so you can get dressed while I go downstairs to prepare you some food, will you do that? " She blinked her eyes twice, she had been told once that doing that made someone looked adorable and convincing so she hoped Alex would really oblige her. Her hopes crashed when he shook his head and she sighed, getting frustrated.
" You won't get dressed? " Again, he shook his head. She swept her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes briefly.
" Then should I wait for you to get dressed so we can go down together to prepare your food? " She asked, a pleading expression written all over her face.
She desperately wished he would say No because she knew the pace at which she would work wouldn't be swift. But to her utter dismay, he nodded in affirmation, there was even an hint of smile on his lips! She huffed and rolled her eyes inwardly.
Pasting a smile on her face, she said " Okay then, go on and have your bath while I wait here for you "
She sat and picked a random book on the table before her. Few seconds later from her peripheral vision, she noticed he was still standing and hadn't moved an inch so she looked up.
Frowning, she asked " Alex, why are you still here? I thought you said you wanted to go have your bath? "
He gave her a look that said " When did I tell you that? "
She almost laughed at the face he made but managed to maintain a straight face " Why that look? Alex, you told me you wanted to go have your bath so we can go get some food " He finally dropped the look and his face became expressionless.
Sighing and dropping the book, she asked tiredly " What's wrong, Alex? Should I give you some privacy and go out? " He shook his head.
" I'll wait here for you, I guess that's okay, right? " She asked with a tight smile. Again, he shook his head.
Ava sighed " What do you want then? "
He stared between her and the direction in which the bathroom was located. She squinted her eyes, trying to figure out what he meant until realization dawned on her and her eyes widened in horror of what his eyes suggested. Involuntarily, her arms flew to her chest and crossed them around her protectively.
" No way... Don't tell me what I'm thinking you meant by that look of yours is actually what your look is suggesting?! " She huffed, looking incredulous. He tilted his head over to a side and his eyebrows were raised, confirming her suspicion. He really wanted her to go into the bathroom with him?! Holy cow! No way that was going to happen, she thought but it came out of her mouth anyways.
" No way that's gonna happen, Alex. No way! " She said firmly and crossed her arms under her breasts, thus pushing them up so that they looked big. His gaze followed her action and his eyes darkened. He sure could feel even if he couldn't speak, she thought. Suddenly, the room felt hot and she unfolded her arms, feeling naked under his hot gaze. She coughed slightly, trying to douse the reaction which was starting to rise from within her.
Stomping her feet to show she was being serious, she looked away and avoided his gaze. She was being dramatic, she knew. A simple explanation would have done the trick, she thought. But knowing Alex for who he was, he would make sure his request was being attended to and who was she to refuse? He was practically the one who gave her job and ended her miserable life with her step father and stepbrother. Who are you kidding? Deep down in you, you wanna go into the bathroom with him, the voice in her head mocked. She rolled her eyes, pushing the voice away. Alex frowned as he saw her roll her eyes, he thought she rolled her eyes at him.
On noticing his frown, she quickly said "Oh no no! It's not you, Alex. I was thinking about something so I rolled my eyes unconsciously " He nodded and the look disappeared, replaced with a puppy dog eyes look.
She shook her head firmly " No Alex, you go on, I'll wait here " She said in a soft tone.
He threw her a look and grudgingly left for the bathroom. She heaved a sigh of relief and picked the book again. The bathroom door opened a few minutes later and Alex came out in a towel. Ava found herself drooling at the sight of him. The guy was drop dead gorgeous, she thought. She found herself wondering how many girls' heart he had broken before he went... She stopped herself just in time before she could think of the word 'dumb'. Alex wasn't dumb, she chided herself and shook her head to rid it of any dirty thought. He wrapped a towel around his waist and his upper body was bare. She gulped, not able to get words out for a minute. She snapped out of it when she saw him smirked. So he knew she was drooling over him, she mused. Well, why wouldn't he? He's in his right state of mind, here came the voice in her head. She huffed inwardly, you admitted it a while ago that he is not in his right state of mind, she threw back. Sighing, she thought it was stupid of her to talk to herself.
Shoving her thoughts away, she smiled up at him "Oh you're done bathing! Very good, now get dressed so we can go down and get some food " She said with enthusiasm and her stomach growled on cue. Alex raised up his eyebrows in a mocking kind of way, and shrugging, he went over to his wardrobe. He walked in a masculine gait that took her breath away. She averted her gaze quickly when he unwrapped his towel and started to get dressed. The guy really didn't give a damn of who was in presence, she chuckled to herself.
She flipped through the book mindlessly, her mind on the man getting dressed a few distance away from her. Soon enough, he finished dressing up and Ava finally looked up. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the breathtakingly, handsome guy before her. He looked every bit as powerful and handsome as the Alexander King she had heard of. She stared on dreamily, wondering what kind of guy he was before he got into the accident.
He smirked and tilted his head to one side, as if to say, ' Like what you see? Take a picture, would last longer '. Then he snapped his thumb and middle finger in front of her, snapping her out of her dazed look. She frowned, Alex behaved like a normal human being. So why had Jack told her about Alex throwing a tantrum and acting like a weirdo? She asked herself. It's normal for a human to throw a tantrum so he's normal, silly. The voice in her head snapped and Ava rolled her eyes, not physically of course.
Taking a deep breath, she gave him a bright smile " Come on, let's go destroy the kitchen! " She exclaimed and went over to him. She unhooked right arm in his and they went out. She talked all the way to the main living room while Alex just observed. She was a chatterbox and could be very dramatic at times, she didn't notice his penetrating gaze on her. Breakfast was already set on the dining table and she frowned slightly. The seat at the head of the table was Alex's, she was sure but she was surprised at the little food placed there. Even a kid couldn't eat such little food and be satisfied, but Alex? It was hilarious to give him such little food. Perfect timing, she thought as Margaret walked in then, with a tray of two bottles of water.
Smiling a little, she asked " Hey Maggy, is that Alex's food? "
Margaret looked a bit taken aback by her question " Yes, Is there something with the food? " She finally asked.
Ava shook her head " Not really, I was just a bit surprised when I saw his meal. Why is it so small? "
Margaret looked relieved and smiled " Oh, Mr King doesn't eat much, he threw a tantrum the day his brother complained and tried to make him eat more "
Ava's eyes widened a bit " Really? "
Margaret nodded " Yes really, we tried to pacify him but he didn't calm down until an hour later "
Ava turned to look at Alex who stared back at her with an expressionless gaze, it was like he hadn't heard a word they said. She frowned, of course he had, but why was his expression not giving anything away? She had no idea.
She looked back at Margaret apologetically " Please, will you put in more food? " She asked in a pleading tone.
Margaret looked bewildered and started to panic " But... Ava, he wouldn't eat it and worse, may throw a tantrum! No one here can withstand him being that way and you wanna give him more food?! "
Ava smiled confidently " Oh, he'll eat every bit of the food, just do me the favor of putting more. Here, " She said and reached over the table to hand her an unused bowl.
Margaret shook her head and laughed nervously " Are you sure about this? " She took a quick glance at Alex but his face remained expressionless " This could end up really bad, you know " She added nervously.
Ava smiled reassuringly " Everything will be fine, Maggy. I promise "
Maggy took one last look at Alex and sighed. Doom was about to befall them all but there was nothing she could do about it. Ava was too stubborn, foolishly brave if she may added.
Ava turned to Alex " Are you okay? "
He nodded and she smiled " Okay, come sit "
She led him over to his seat and he plopped down unto it. Margaret emerged from the kitchen shortly after, carrying a tray filled with food. Ava gave her a smile of gratitude as she laid it down before Ava. Ava chuckled to herself, knowing Margaret wanted to be on the safer side so she placed the food on her side of the table instead of Alex's. She gave her a smile and muttered a "Thanks "
Margaret looked uneasy but smiled back anyways. She hovered around a little, as if waiting for some sort of explanation from Alex. She darted a quick glance in his direction but his expression gave nothing away.
" It's fine Maggy, you can get back to work " Ava assured her again.
Margaret looked doubtful " What if... What if he... " She didn't get to finish her sentence as Alex threw her a look which made her shuddered visibly in fear. She exited the room immediately but not without throwing Ava a pitiful glance, thinking Ava would be alone to deal with her boss's tantrum.
Alex returned his gaze to Ava and there was a hint of curiosity in his eyes, as if he was waiting to see how she was going to make him eat that much food. Ava looked away, avoiding his probing stare. She had seen the curiosity in his eyes. He was probably curious to know the tactics she would use to make him eat. Heck, she didn't know too, all she knew was, she had to make him eat somehow. She remembered Margaret's words and sighed anxiously. What if he really threw a tantrum? How would she stop him? She had no idea. But either way, he had to eat and she was going to go through this and survive, that she knew if she didn't get kicked out first, of course.