9. nine #2
“Of course. What do you have today?”
I shifted toward the kitchen island, where my avocado French toast had already been prepared. “Here, you can have these, and I’ll make more for myself.”
He sat down, grabbing some freshly washed grapes. “This looks amazing. If I recall correctly, you’ve been making these almost every day this week.”
“Yeah, I’ve been a little obsessed with this combination. Don’t judge me,” I chuckled, setting a new piece of sourdough in the toaster.
“I haven’t had a home-cooked meal in so long,” he whispered. Aldair’s ginger strands fell over his face as he took a big bite of the toast, some of the egg falling on the plate under him.
“Well, if you learned how to cook a simple egg, then you wouldn’t be eating takeaway all the time.”
He rolled his eyes. This was a topic we always brought up, but only because I cared about his health. He was a doctor; I thought he’d be more conscious about his health.
“I wasn’t blessed with the hands of a woman, so I must suffer for a few more months until we are married. I know you will prepare the most delicious meals for both of us.”
I gave him a strained grin accompanied by a slight chuckle.
That’s right. The wedding. The one I wasn’t ready for.
The celebration I was not looking forward to.
People may have asked why I didn’t call it off if I knew I was unhappy with the idea of marriage, but until they meet someone as great as Aldair and are not recklessly in love with them—even though they should be—they won’t understand.
“What’s wrong?” he questioned.
I furrowed a brow. “Nothing, why?”
“It seems like something is bothering you.”
I looked into his eyes, which were a portrait of lush gardens. I couldn’t lie to him anymore. I had to tell him. Camille was right, I couldn’t continue dragging him along. It was not fair to him nor to me.
But if I were to tell him that I wasn’t ready for marriage, he’d ask me why. And that was not a question I was ready to answer.
“Just a lot of stress right now. I have to find time to write and then meet with the producers later today.”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t be keeping you too long. I’m sorry, I just wanted to enjoy breakfast with you before you start these new projects. I’ve just got a feeling we won’t be seeing each other as much.”
“Thank you for understanding,” I said before leaning forward and kissing his cheek. Which caused a twitch on his lips.
I spread more avocado onto another piece of bread. I would have to resolve the issues of my heart soon. I did not want to hurt the person that I loved, especially after he’d loved me dearly for so long. But I wondered if he loved me, or if he loved the idea of me he had created.
I walked into the building. The tower had slivers of Ezra everywhere. Black and white picture frames lined the entrance walls. It was full of minimalist decor. Neat, clean, simple, yet powerful.
There’d been a round desk not too far from the entrance. A young woman sat nearby, typing away. She glanced at me, then immediately shot up.
“Lysandra Guerrera!” She extended her hand, which I shook, and she caused vibrations run down my forearm.
“It is such a pleasure to meet you. I can’t believe you’re actually here.
Your book changed my life. All of your books, actually.
You’ve been such an inspiration to me. Oh gosh, I’m fangirling. I need to stop.”
I chuckled. “Don’t worry about it.”
“What brings you here, miss?” The young woman fixed her skirt.
“My agent is here with Mister Van Dorren. I was invited to go over script and marketing plans.”
“Of course. I’ll let Mister Van Dorren know that you’re here.”
I nodded. Her nails clicked on the buttons of the telephone next to her desktop, she conversed with someone on the other side of the line, then sent me a grin. “Okay, follow me.”
She led me to an elevator. It’d been fully transparent, made of glass. It was the type of elevators seen in 2000s movies with futuristic plots. “You’ll be going to level thirteen, and the first door on your left will be your destination,” she said with a beaming grin.
“Thank you. I didn’t catch your name?” I asked.
“Allyson.”
“Nice to meet you, Allyson.”
“I have a copy of So Long, Scotland at my desk; would it be too much to ask for a signature and a picture?” she asked.
I wasn’t used to the fact that people enjoyed the idea of me.
My characters, my story, my words. Nonetheless, I nodded with pleasure knowing that I could bring a smile to the girl before me.
Allyson skipped to her desk and reached over, rushed back to me, extending it toward me with a black Sharpie in her other hand.
I opened the first page of the novel, sprawling my author’s signature over the front. And included a sweet message for her.
“This is amazing! I knew this job would have its perks.”
I laughed along with her. “It’s always the best when you have a job with perks. Enjoy it.”
“Sorry to keep you.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’ll see you later.” I motioned before gulping, hoping to stop the trembling in my fingers. It’s like my body knew that I was about to see him again.
“See you, miss.”
I stepped onto the glass elevator and pressed the number thirteen.
I was able to see every hallway in the building.
The workers, assistants, and producers who Ezra and Zack employed.
It took everything in me not to look down and see how far I had been from the ground.
I thought I’d have an anxiety attack if I did.
I much preferred to protect my peace than feed into my curiosity.
When the doors opened, I pushed aside all of my feelings of dread as I neared the hallway to my chamber of doom. However, I kept my chin held high. I would not falter. I could do this. I would do this.
He sat by the desk with millions of papers before him. One hand supported his temple as the other held onto a stylus pen. I watched him for some moments. A golden light had been cast over his head, giving him a clear view of the paperwork he’d been signing.
How I wished to be the subject of his dedication in the same manner he dedicated himself to his profession. I stopped myself there. I was engaged; this was wrong. I cleared my throat, his gaze pierced me immediately.
He stood tall. I watched as his eyes scanned my attire, he took a sharp breath, and suddenly I felt naked under his stare.
“Hi,” I said, remaining at the threshold.
“Hey.”
“Where’s your friend?” I asked.
Windows encompassed the entirety of the conference room. A long white benchtop had been situated at the center. He had pens scattered on the desk and a MacBook not too far from him.
“He couldn’t make it,” he explained.
“I thought Camille would be here.”
“She was called to take care of another project.”
“Will it just be the two of us, then?” I questioned.
“Most likely. Come in, make yourself comfortable.”
For my readers, I reminded myself. As we stood in the silent room, I regretted verbally attacking him in the elevator a few days ago. He was here, open-hearted, and ready to help me, and I was nothing but rude. Just like old times.
No.
Our Blackthorn House Academy times were over. Definitely over. He ruined it all. I couldn’t forget that.
I nodded, setting my bag on the chair beside my own. “What will we be going over today?”
“Whatever you want. This is your movie.”
I raised my brows in amusement. In truth, it was his movie the moment he went over the contract with Greer. I was just the person who inspired the script, nothing more.
“Well, let’s get straight to the point,” I said. “Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what?” he asked, his gaze throwing daggers at my heart.
I breathed in. “Why did you give me such a good movie deal offer?”
“It’ll be a huge profit for my company to produce your book.”
“Not as much as it would be if you had offered me a normal amount of royalties,” I argued.
He replied, “I don’t know what you mean.”
This farce was beginning to irritate me. “Yes, you do. Tell me why.”
He sighed. “I’ll never be able to escape you, will I?”
I hoped not. After all, I couldn’t escape him either. “Not after you intertwined our lives again,” I said.
“Because I knew this would be the deal of your dreams. Making your bestseller into a movie. A film that would touch many souls. This way, you would never be at risk of having to go back to the place where you came from. You’d go farther.”
He knew how much that meant to me. Having the opportunity to never go back to my roots. So that I would never step foot in the same soil as the man who ruined my childhood.
I remained silent until another question popped into my head. “Why now?”
“My company has never been more successful. I made sure to have effective investments and contracts so that your film would be successful too.”
I had nothing else to say, and I would not tell him how much it shattered my heart that he kept my best interests in mind.
Could he have changed? Could he have become a better person after our downfall?
“Where do we start then?” I asked.
“Since auditions are coming up in the next few weeks, I want to go over the person that you envision as your female main character.” Ezra crossed his arms, beaming at me.
I hated how he looked so sophisticated. So important. So different. Different from the boy that I once knew. And I wanted to uncover every unfamiliar thing about him. Not on a physical level, but in a way that would give me the privilege to learn everything about him again.
“Okay, I was thinking…”