Chapter 53: Chapter 53

Chapter Fifty - Three

Ava's POV

My conversation with Lillith had left me with so much to think about. And at the same time nothing to think about.

Now I knew who Daniel was and how he came here. I knew the reason behind him being here and randomly meeting him in this office.

What I did not understand was why was this all happening now of all the time? Why would he have to show up at this moment?

Lillith and my conversation had lasted almost fifteen to twenty minutes. Until, one of our seniors interrupted us with a frowning face. Not having Charlotte to manage us employees, had given him a sense that he needed to work in her stead.

"Go back to your work, you two. And if you don't have any work left to do then go outside of this office to gossip about ... whatever you were gossiping about." He had said, scolding us, leaving us alone but not before scowling at both of us.

Lillith had left, telling me that she needed to get some work done and that she did not want to get notice by our senior otherwise she would be working extra under the supervision of Charlotte ma'am. Which she hates dealing with because her demeanor scared her. And with those words she had left.

She had left to do her work and I should go back to do mine but I could not focus on anything.

There was a fact that I had already done almost everything before the lunch break and had nothing urgent to do at the moment.

I let out a groan.

Why did I complete all the work already? This was getting too much for me to handle.

"Ava." I heard my name being called. I looked to my side and saw Madeline coming my way.

"What are you doing? Are you not feeling well?" She asked me. A good excuse.

Her words struck something in me and I was left pondering over it. I gave it a thought.

It will work.

Yeah, god. Forgive me but I did need to use it as an excuse to go home early. I needed to get out of this place. Especially having no work to distract me, I would do nothing but end up thinking about him. At home, I could help Maria around the kitchen or whatever. Just please forgive me for this one.

Nodding my head, I agreed.

"Yeah. I think I am starting to feel a headache in the back of my mind." I told her, rubbing my forehead.

She frowned at my gesture. She shook her head in disappointment.

"You are getting sick  frequently. Have you seen a doctor about it? There might be a bigger problem than it appears." Madeline advised. Her question hitting the mark. She was right. There was a bigger problem.

My pregnancy.

I almost bit my tongue from spurting out and telling her that it might be because I was pregnant. And that it WAS one of the reasons for my ongoing headaches. Figuratively and literally.

Shaking my head, I sat up straight in my seat.

"No. Not really. I just think it is because of the cold. I am not used to staying in AC's cold air for so long." I told her. Which was true to a certain degree and thus it made the excuse believable.

She asked.

"That's not good. Take my advice and go see a doctor, okay? You should not take your health so lightly." She told me. I nodded my head.

"And go home. Charlotte ma'am is not here and we are reaching the closing hour soon anyway. Nobody would mind if you leave at this moment. Do you have too much work left to do?" She questioned, throwing a flying gaze at all the scattered stuff on the table in front of me.

I shook my head at her question. Most of my work was already done.

"No. In fact, I think I got almost all of the work even before the lunch break happened." I told her. She raised a brow at myself.

"What?" I questioned. Her questionable eyebrow made me self - conscious and made me rethink everything I just said.

"Now I know why you are having a headache. You are overworking yourself." She accused me. I tried to deny to her that in fact I was not actually overworking myself, but she stopped me even before I opened my mouth.

"Don't overwork yourself, okay? It will lead to burnout. We've all been there. Take things slow otherwise one day you wanna end up wanting to quit this job because the work pressure got so much for you to handle." She informed me.

Damn.

How was she hitting the mark without even looking at them? Who would tell her that I, indeed, went for Jasper's office to resign. And that he had unaccepted it. The only problem here was not the workload but the drama that I was pulled in.

I smiled at her.

"Well. Don't sit here anymore and go home. In an hour or so, we will be leaving too. So, just go home." She advised before patting me on my shoulder and passing me to go where she was going before our little chit chat. I just smiled to myself and decided to do as she instructed me.

I packed up all the stuff, putting it into the places they were supposed to be. Finally, when it was all done and clear, I stood up, took my purse and left the premises.

I took the elevator down to the ground floor and then I walked out to find where I usually find my ride. In the private parking lot where Jasper and main employees parked their cars.

But again, like the universe playing games with me, to my very unpleasant surprise there was no present car at the moment that was standing there and waiting for my arrival. Maybe the driver thought that I was getting off at the right scheduled time and wandered off to do whatever the person had left for.

Damn it.

I swear to god, sometimes I really feel like there was a person who was keeping an eye on me from above the sky. Who changes mood and event according to it. Just so that it could see some sort of drama and turn my life into hell. Otherwise, how could one describe the change of events that I was facing at the moment?

"Do you need a ride?" A very familiar voice came from my side. And my heart slammed against my chest.

I spun around and came face to face with Daniel Cooper.

Everything seemed to be going in slow motion as I saw him leaning against a car with his hands in his pockets. Staring at me like he knew me.

With my pulse increasing by seconds as I stared at his face, I pulled myself together. My hands began shaking, making me feel way vulnerable that I was comfortable feeling with. To stop them from shaking, I balled them into fists and wrapped them around my chest. My walls were rising up to protect myself. I put my guards up and gave him a smile.

Or what I assumed to be a smile.

"No, thanks. My ride will be here soon. So, there is no need." I told him.

Trying to act professionally friendly. Acting like I did not know who he was when I did. I did not want to give him any sign that reminded him of me. Or that night specifically. He needed to believe that I was merely an employee whom he never met before me.

That he never met me. Even though I was living with his baby inside me. Yet I could not let him remember about me.

"Why not? I can drop you wherever you live. Let me give you a ride." He tried to pursue me. By the looks of his face, I can feel that he was not going to bugde. The remnants of the same expressions that I had seen that night in the bar.

Of stubbornness. Of determination.

Except these expressions had a way about it. They appeared a little ... harsher.

I did not know how to tell what I was seeing on his face at the moment. It was hard to decipher the way his expressions appeared.

"No, I don't want to be a bother. LIke I told you, my ride will be here soon enough. There is no need for this." I said politely. This time intentionally showing a little harshness.

I just had to dodge his continuing persistence until my ride showed up.

Last time I tried to be polite with a person, he ended up trying to kidnap me on the edge of a knife. I did not think that Daniel was that sort of person but I could not be sure. After all, I never really thought about the same with Kevin. The first impressions he gave me was of a helpful person that very soon turned out to be a psychopath.

Not to mention, all the things I heard about him from Lillith. The way she described him made him look like a crazy maniac who would do anything to throw aside his competitors. And to me, he seemed fierce. In everything that he does.

"It is getting dark and turning into night quickly. Please, I insist. Let me drop you. I could not go on with my day if I knew that I had not helped a person and left them alone in this dark night alone." He said.

I did not ask for your help. I wanted to tell him but did not.

There was no point in arguing with him at this moment. What if it turned into a conversation? God, where was my ride? When would he appear and save me from this trouble? When?

"I am telling you that I did not Need a ride. My ride will be here soon. If I go with you then my driver will be worried about my whereabouts." I told him. Once more coming with an excuse. Did he really not see my constant denial to go along with him? Or was he just ignoring it intentionally?

"You can call your ride and inform him that you are going to your home with someone else. If you are worried about your safty with me then you could tell him about my car number. You could even send him a picture of mine." Daniel said. A mischevious glint coming in his eyes. Even though it had turned into night, I could see the things flashing through his eyes.

It was not the same I had seen in Kevin's eyes, evil like. Instead, his mischievousness seemed to be roaming around the idea that he had caught my safety issue. He had caught what I was worried about ... well getting kidnapped or worse.

But my fears were legitimate. I WAS almost kidnapped. By someone that I had remotely trusted as he was my colleague. On the other hand, I was not even sure that I trusted him even remotely.

He raised his hands as if in surrender.

"I promise, I had no other malicious intention or motive behind wanting to drop you other than being a civil person and doing what was right." He said, trying to convince me while trying to hide his smile. However, it did nothing to sway my decision. Sooner or later, my ride will come. One that I could trust. Or at least one, that if something happened to me then at least, people would know which vehicle I had been in.

"No. I said that I will go with my ride and I mean it." I told him harshly, finally snapping. Throwing all the niceness and politeness out of the window. I had had enough. He needed a dose of harshness and rudeness.

So, he would get the damn message and leave this place right away. Specifically leave me alone.

I had to give it to him straight otherwise we would continue going in circles. Of him trying to pursue me for the ride while I try to find an excuse and evade his direct persuasion.

Even if I let him take me then what address would I give him? Jasper's house? My old house? At this late night? I was not that idiot. If I told him to drop me near my current house then he would recognise the place and would get suspicious where I live. If I let him drop by my old house then I would be a fool. Why would I go there? Nobody was there and that house was not mine anymore. If I let him drive me there then I would be stranded alone.

No. A complete stupid option.

There was nowhere he could drop me. Nowhere.

Out of nowhere, a harsh headlight shone, blinding me for a second. I had to shut my eyes at the harshness of it. When the lights shut off, a horn sounded.

My ride had arrived.

My eyes darted to Daniel's and he was looking at me. The same casualness in him from the moment I had seen him. Leaning against the car with his hands in his pockets.

With a sigh, he glanced at me.

"Here comes your ride." He said or more like stated.

"Yeah. Thank you for giving me company." I told him then cringed at my own damn words. Why the heck did I say that? I was not thankful for his company at all.

Well. This was awkward.

"Okay. Bye." I said goodbye and cringed again. I needed to shut up and leave this place as soon as possible.

With a last look at him, where I found him smirking at me, I left that place.

Feeling like digging myself a hole and burying myself in it.