Alex sat in his office that afternoon, working on his laptop, but his mind was occupied by Emma's thoughts.
Who was the girl she had exchanged contacts with? He mused, thinking about what the guard he had hired to always keep an eye on Emma had said.
Should she call her and ask? Wouldn't she feel uncomfortable? Or maybe he could just pretend he wanted to check on her and then ask about it?
He shook his head. She had just gotten out of a controlling relationship, and doing any of what he thought might just trigger her.
But he wanted to hear from her. What excuse could he use? He mused, and just then, another thought crossed his mind.
He smiled, deciding that was the perfect excuse to hear from her and know how she was doing.
With that in mind, he dialed her line. "Hey you, how are you doing?" Alex asked as soon as she answered the call.
"I'm fine. How is work going?" she asked in a soft tone as she gazed at the design she was trying to create.
"Work has been stressful. I hope you've had something to eat, " Alex asked as he waited for an answer.
"Yes, I have," Emma said, smiling.
"How was grocery shopping? I hope it wasn't stressful?" Alex asked, and Emma cleared her throat.
"It was fine I guess," Emma said, hoping he doesn't ask any further questions about her day at the grocery store.
Alex was happy to observe that her countenance was better through her voice, and he hoped she would continue to improve this way.
His thoughts were cut short when Emma's voice sounded through the phone.
"Is everything okay? I hope you didn't just call to ask if I've eaten or not," Emma asked with a curious frown, and Alex heaved a relieved sigh, glad that he had come up with a perfect excuse.
"Actually, I called because I wanted to know if you'd like to go out for dinner this evening," he said, hopefully.
Hearing that, Emma frowned. Why was he suddenly talking about dinner? She mused and then took a deep breath.
"Dinner? I don't think we should. It's a bad idea," Emma said, her face giving a displeasing look even though Alex wasn't there to see it.
"Why?" Alex asked, and Emma sighed.
"All this is just a ruse. There's no need for dinner dates and all...."
"I just want us to eat out tonight. That's all, Emma. I never said it was a dinner date," he cut in, a smile tugging his lips as he pictured her face and the worry lines he knew would be there now.
"I don't know, Alex. I really don't think it's right," she said, and Alex smiled.
"Well, I insist, Emma. Get ready, okay? It's just dinner, except you want to tell me you're scared," Alex said in a challenging tone.
"Scared? Of what?" She asked, and Alex shrugged.
"I don't know. You tell me," he said, and after a few moments of thought, Emma gave a resigned sigh.
"Alright, fine. Not a date kind of dinner it is then," she said and Alex raised an amused brow.
"Not a date kind of dinner?" He asked, and she shrugged.
"You just said it wasn't a date and that we were just eating dinner outside," she said, and Alex chuckled.
"Fine, call it whatever you want," he said before ending the call, a smile playing on his lips.
She was a lively girl, even though it seemed otherwise. He couldn't wait to see her come out fully from this ordeal with Jake. He hoped she would be lively doing their time out tonight.
Thinking about their dinner, Alex wondered if she would need a new outfit since she had yet to go shopping.
He needed her to be as comfortable as possible. Deciding to help her have other clothes options, he called the dress shop that delivered clothes to Emma for their court wedding to deliver some sets of clothes to her again, instructing them to add casual wear, too, since she looked really beautiful that morning in her casual dress.
"I'm going to make sure that Emma gets her happy and comfortable life back," Alex said out loud before returning to his work, his mind thinking about his evening with Emma.