However, they were not in the private living room as the maid had said.
After ten minutes of unsuccessful search for her siblings, Avery was more than delighted to finally find them in the library.
"Here you are! Emma, tell me what kind of siblings leave their young sister to fend for herself on the first day of work?!" she yelled, oblivious to the presence of an additional person standing in between the shelves of books.
Expecting them to apologize instantly as they usually did when they offended her, she was surprised when she received glares from them both instead.
"Avery! You are back home already?" Emma asked, forcing a smile as she hurried over from where she had been sitting. "We had a visitor so we—"
"What visitor?" Avery interrupted, this time directing her question to her brother. She needed to know who this new friend of his who delighted in stealing the time she was supposed to spend with him, was.
The previous week, Arthur was to escort her to prom night as her companion, but he bailed out last minute by saying his new friend required his attention at some golf club. As she had earlier rejected the other boys that asked to escort her because Brian requested that, she could barely enjoy the night alone.
Three days later, a day which happened to be her birthday, she had barely recovered from the disappointment of prom night when Arthur again bailed out on her because of that same friend. It would have been bearable if Emma wasn't invited together with Arthur, but she was. Leaving Avery to spend all 24 hours of her birthday alone.
All because of that one friend!
"You two won't even give excuses this time around?" she questioned, folding her arms across her chest while ignoring the subtle eye message Emma was passing across. Not like she could interpret the meaning of the latter's eye wiggling.
"Can we apologize later, Avery? For now, compose yourself in the presence of a visitor," Arthur sighed.
"The visi—" Avery's breath caught in her throat, suddenly growing aware of the chilling, suffocating atmosphere in the room. She slowly turned her head to meet two strikingly blue eyes peering straight at her through the glasses that their owner wore.
And God! Could this beauty even be categorized under handsome, or appealing, or godly?! A book in hand, he was wearing the most casual t-shirt and corduroy pants, one of his hands tucked in his pocket, yet he still looked so ethereal!
"Arch, meet my little sister, Avery. And Avery, meet my friend, Archibald Donovan. You should know him…" Arthur's voice resounded at the back of her mind, yet it was still not enough to pull her out of whatever trance this visitor had thrown her in.
His voice came again, "Avery, are you alright?" Before he turned to the visitor, "I am so sorry, Arch but my sister's anger is not baseless. I have indeed disappointed her so many times these past few days."
Avery heard Archie reply with a chuckle, his eyes refusing to leave her face as he stepped out from the middle of the shelves into the light.
"I saw that," he said, his deep voice calling out to her.
'And what the hell are you thinking, Avery? He is a foe! Plus you have a boyfriend,' she chided herself inwardly, opening her mouth to apologize for breaking into the room when he beat her to it.
"Though I must say your angry face is so pretty. How about you let out more steam…Ava?" he asked.
Avery had no idea what annoyed her more. Was it the fact that he took the liberty to give her a nickname when they only just met? Or the fact that he was making fun of her anger? Or was it that look in his eyes, similar to that of a child who just found a new toy, that annoyed her most? She wasn't sure which it was but all she knew was that she did flare up.
"Uhm…Archie? I don't know what it is about my anger that amuses you so but what I do know is that you have no idea how it feels to go to prom night without a companion, or how it feels to celebrate your birthday alone. If you did, you wouldn't be laughing in the face of someone's annoyance."
The book he was holding fell from his hand, and Avery saw a a flurry of emotions pass through his eyes in one flitting second. It was gone the next moment, and his lips were pulling up into an evil smirk. Before she could say anything more to him, she felt her hand being yanked from behind. She was pulled out of the library by Emma.
"That was rude, Vee. I wouldn't lie to you."
"I know. And I am very sorry," she murmured, her latest words turning into a muffle as her sister pulled her into a hug.
"I am sorry too, Avery. I never wanted you to know how it feels to be all alone on your birthday. I am very sure Arthur is sorry too."
Rolling her eyes, Avery replied, "But not that man in there?"
"Shush, Vee," Emma scolded, pulling her sister further away from the door. "That is Archibald Donovan, the chairman of A Corp. You do not need me to tell you he's not one to be trifled with."
Eyes widening in shock, Avery had to let go of her fake indifference to ask, "What is a man of that status doing in our house? Did Arthur offend—"
"No, he is Arthur's friend, as you can see," Emma interrupted. "Grandpa doesn't want us to let go of the opportunity to connect with the number 1 family in the country so we have been going out of our ways to keep him pleased."
"You sure he's not a scammer? I can understand CEO but why will a young man like him be the Chairman of such a large corporation?"