Dusk

24| endless

Ava

I pressed the phone closer to my ear to hear what Patricia was saying. There was a lot of noise from her end, and I suspected the network in my area wasn't too good either. "What?"

"I said he was convicted." She said, a bit clearer this time. "This morning. Hayden and Robert gave their statements."

"Ah thank fuck." I breathed out, walking faster. 

"Congratulations, Ava. Take care."

A woman guided me to the conference hall. I'd flown to Florida yesterday for a very important merge, and I was accompanied by Keith and another person who I'd never really conversed with. The meeting went smooth, our teams agreed on some mutual points, and then we were off.

"Kira's moving to Dallas." Keith broke the silence when we were in the car. "I-I just thought you should know."

I looked at him. "I never meant for your relationship with her to be ruined because of business-"

"But it wasn't business." He gave a humourless chuckle. "She made it personal when she couldn't find another guy to sleep with." Then he looked at me with an urgency. "How could she sleep with the same man who slept with her mother?"

"Sometimes, people just surprise you." I said after a while. "And surprise is not always good."

I didn't know what else to say to him, because this was one of those situations where I couldn't put myself in his shoes. Kira's family having a history with Fred was something I couldn't have ever predicted. And I wouldn't have known if not for Keith.

She had called me yesterday when I was at the airport. Her voice had sounded like she'd been crying, and I tried finding some kind of sympathy in me, but I couldn't. I was loyal to my company, and she had done something unforgivable. She had lied, she had betrayed. 

She'd called to plead for an appreciation letter. The board had denied her, and that was out of the question. She requested me to give her an informal letter, drafted solely by me, signed by me. It wouldn't be much effective like the board's would, but I was still known in the business world, it would have a huge impact.

I didn't know why she expected me to comply. I didn't understand why she even thought I'd help her. She told me I was being too harsh, and that got me into thought. Was I? Was I really being too harsh? Should I have forgiven her for siding with the enemy and letting them have what was rightfully ours? If yes, so be it. Business was harsh. If she wasn't capable of handling it, she shouldn't have joined.

I'd tried to be polite, but I saw the face of Jason White at the back of my head, I remembered his pleading voice when he'd called me asking for the same thing. And that made me harder on her. She knowingly let him suffer for someone else's sins. He didn't deserve any of that, and karma came back to bite her in the ass.

The flight back to Vegas was at midnight. I bid farewell to my employees, changing my routes to go to my room. They asked me if I wanted to join them for drinks, and I politely declined. All I wanted right now was a shower, and a bed.

And Elias.

And maybe it was telepathy. Or maybe it was coincidence that my phone buzzed in my purse, signalling me a text. I miss you.

My fingers pressed his contact on their own, and seconds later his voice captured all my senses. "I wish you were here."

 I'd stepped out of the elevator, and was making my way over to my room. "Me too."

"I didn't call because I thought you would be busy."

"I'm never busy for you." I murmured, swiping my card on my door, shutting it behind me. Taking a deep breath, I removed the heels, then dropped down on the bed. "Never."