'Where am I sneaking off to?' Avery repeated Ethan's question in her head. That was not what she was expecting at all. She had expected something like, 'What the hell are you doing here?' Or 'Who the hell gave you permission to come into my room?'
"Didn't Mr. Stephen give you my coffee?" He asked.
Avery who was still facing the door, nodded. "He did. I placed it on your bed side." She said, as she pointed to where she placed it.
There was a brief silence after she spoke, and she was starting to feel nervous. 'He must be wondering why I'm not looking at him. He would think I'm weird. What do I do?'
She heard him sigh, before he then said, "My coffee is getting cold." Annoyance was clear in his voice.
Avery bit her lips. She was closer to where the coffee was, so it was clear that he wanted her to bring the coffee to him. Avery took a deep breath, preparing herself for whatever her eyes might see. 'He definitely can't be so shameless to be standing stark naked all these while, right?' Avery thought to herself, before moving sideways to pick up the tray, then she finally turned around to face him.
Relief washed over her as she saw that Ethan was actually cladded in a black bathrobe which covered most of his body. He was frowning, obviously displeased by the way she was acting, but he still looked as tempting and ravishing as ever, but at least it was better than him being half naked, or worse, fully unclad.
She ran to him with the tray in her hands, smiling apologetically at him. "Pardon me please. I thought you would be mad at me for not following the warning sign on the door." She quickly explained.
The frown on his face visibly relaxed, as he accepted the cup of coffee from her. "You are an exception." He said, before downing the coffee in one go. "Ah…" he sighed as a smile graced his face, "that's the stuff."
Avery grimaced as she watched him drink the coffee like it was the best thing in the world. She never liked coffee, even when she used to work as a barista.
As she remembered the time she spent working at Cupa joy café, she couldn't help but look at Ethan with barely suppressed disdain. 'He might be hot, but I will never forget his arrogant and nasty attitude towards me that day. Maybe I should get my revenge during my time working as his personal assistant.'
Avery was thankful that she remembered what he had done to her as it was able to clear her mind of any lingering attraction towards him. Then she internally decided at that moment that whenever she found herself under his spell, she would replay their encounter at the cafe in her head, until the only thing she could feel towards him would be resentment. He was supposed to be her enemy.
"What's my schedule today?" Ethan asked.
"Huh?" Avery said, looking confused for a moment. He was already dressed in one of his fashionable business suits. 'Just how long was I lost in thoughts?'
Remembering what Christian had told her on the phone, she cleared her throat, and said, "You have a meeting with Vanguard studio for the finalization of the contract."
"Time, and venue?"
That was exactly what she had asked Christian, but he decided to be so petty about it, telling her to figure it out herself. Avery scratched the back of her neck, and said, "I wanted you to be the one to choose the time, and venue."
"Why are you my personal assistant if you can't handle such simple tasks?" Ethan imposingly asked.
'I didn't want to be your personal assist in the first place. I'm just doing it for the money' Avery badly wanted to say this this out loud, but instead of that, she said, "I've no experience with stuff like this, so please bear with me." Then she hesitated before asking, "Could you please tell me how to go about it?"
Ethan looked at her like she had just said the biggest joke of the century. "I do not plan on paying you thirty-thousand dollars monthly, and still have to teach you how to do your job. Figure it out." He said before sitting comfortably on his bed with crossed legs, and even switched on the tv in his room, not bothering to look at Avery who suddenly looked like she wanted to use the restroom.
"You can leave my room now. Only come back when you have agreed with Vanguard studios on the time and place for the meeting." He then gestured with his hand for her to leave his room.
'Yes, just keep making me hate you. You would be surprised at what hits you, when I finally come up with a revenge plan.' Avery angrily rambled on in her head, then she silently left his room, banging the door a little.
"He is such an asshole." She cussed him out under her breath, before begrudgingly making her way down the stairs.
Meanwhile, back in the room, almost immediately Avery left the room, Ethan's lips curved up to the side, forming an amused smirk. "Thirty-thousand dollars, huh? I'm going to make you work hard for it."
'He saved your life though.' A voice whispered in his head, but he shook the thought away.
'Yeah, I know, and I repaid his kindness by giving him a job.' He replied the voice in his head, and then chuckled. "There is something about him that just makes me want to tease and annoy him. Maybe because he acts weird?" He said out loud, not even sure if that was the reason.
….
"Please eat some more, darling. I can't let you starve yourself in this state. Just one more spoon, and I'll let you be, okay?" Grandma Pamela said, urging Owen to eat, as she stretched a spoon of vegetable soup towards him, but Owen refused to eat.
"I'm not hungry." Owen stubbornly said with a pout. His amber eyes looked dull, and his eyes were red and puffy like he had just cried. "How can I eat when… when I just missed… missed a very big opportunity." He said amidst his choking sobs.
"Oh my baby." Grandma Pamela said, as she dropped the plate of soup by the side, and hugged him, putting his big head on her bosom. "Bigger opportunities will surely come in the future. Just focus on getting better for now, okay. This is not the end of the world."
"Do you know how long I applied over and over again until they finally gave me a chance? And now I didn't show up because this stupid Leukemia." He continued bawling his eyes out as he hugged her tightly.
"Owie, you are going to make me cry." Grandma Pamela said. His cries were tugging at her poor granny heart, making her eyes sting with unshed tears.
Just then, the door of the ward opened, and Owen immediately let go of his grandma. The quick way he had done it, made him move further backwards on the bed, causing him to end up on the floor.
Grandma Pamela was surprised by his sudden reaction, and then she turned to look at who had just entered the room. It was her daughter.
"Oh, goodness gracious!" Mrs Campbell exclaimed as she rushed to the side of the bed where Owen had fallen. "How did this happen?" She asked as she helped him get back on his bed. Her eyes were fixed on her mother, silently telling her that it was her fault for not watching him properly.
"It's nothing." Owen quickly replied, as he wiped his face. His eyes were on the door, as if expecting someone to come in at any moment.
The truth was when he heard the sound of the door, he actually thought his mom and Avery were the ones who had entered the room. He didn't want Avery to see him crying like a toddler in the bosom of his grandma.
"Were you crying just now?" His mother asked, looking at his red and puffy eyes.
"No." Owen denied.
Mrs. Campbell clearly didn't believe him, and faced her mother instead, "Why is he.." but she paused when she saw that the bowl of soup was barely touched. "Why hasn't he eaten yet? I told you to do something as simple as feeding him and you.."
"Watch that tone, young woman!" Grandma Pamela scolded as she hit her daughter upside the head. "You might be a grown ass woman, and a mother of two kids, but I still remain your mother, and I can still discipline you."
"Mom!" Mrs. Campbell said, pouting.
That made a total of two people that were pouting in the room at the same time, but for different reasons. The reason why Owen was pouting was because…
'Why is Avery still not here to see me?'