Entangled (Phoenix 1)

CHAPTER 2

"Where the hell were you? You are fifteen minutes late." Justin curiously whispered to his good friend Oliver as soon as he entered the conference room and sat beside him.

He had been waiting for his pal for an hour now. On the other hand, the meeting was about to begin in a few minutes.

"Sorry, got caught up somewhere." Justin's brows tilted with interest at Oliver's reason.

This was interesting, as Oliver Winston was hardly ever late.

"I will tell you after this meeting." He told Justin so that his friend would drop it for the time being.

After five long damn hours of the meeting, both friends were catching up in Oliver's office. They were drinking coffee and chowing down on sandwiches.

"So, tell me, what brought you here so late? I doubt you even wanted to come here with the smile you still have on your face." Justin asked him with interest.

It was out of the ordinary for Oliver to react in such a manner. He is one of the most composed guys that he has ever met. His emotions are always in check. But at present, even after the tedious meeting they just had, Oliver looked content with a small smile pasted on his face.

"Ha-ha, hilarious. It's not as big of a deal as you are making it out to be. It is just that I bumped into an interesting girl in a café downtown while I was coming here." Oliver tried to calm his friend's nerves. Justin can be really inquisitive when he wants to be.

"And let me guess. You tried to charm your way through her and got yourself a date?" Justin asked him with a smirk.

"How I wish that were true, but no." Olive sighed before continuing, "I would have liked to try it, though. But unfortunately, she is a married woman and extremely faithful to her husband. Not that I would have dated her if she wasn't. A married woman is a big no. Aside from that, the fascinating thing is, while her husband was busy in a meeting, she was busy exploring the town alone with not a single frown on her face."

Oliver's last statement triggered something inside Justin. A realization struck him, which did not make him feel good about himself. However, Oliver, unaware of Justin's uncomfortable and stressful musing, continued. "I asked her if she wanted me to drop her off somewhere, and she flat-out declined. Where can you find that kind of woman nowadays? Normally, any woman would be pissed if her husband ditched her for a meeting, but she didn't have a single ounce of frustration on her face. In our circle, most of them are bitching about their husband or boyfriend when they leave their other half for a meeting, let alone a few days trips, but not her. I have to say that the guy is fortunate as it must have taken lots of restraining for him to let her wander around the city alone."

Justin truly hoped Fiona was not strolling out on her own. He was jerk enough to ignore her since the time they got married, but he didn't want her to venture out alone. God only knows what might happen to her in this new unknown place. God! He does not even know if she has ever visited Hummington Town.

He tried to block out his own thoughts and listened to Oliver.

"You really like her, don't you?" Justin asked him curiously.

"Like enough to be in a long-term relationship with someone like her, then sure." Oliver shrugged his shoulders. He was forthright in his response.

"You only met her for a few minutes." Justin pointed out. It was strange, even for Justin, to think that his friend liked someone within a matter of a few minutes of a conversation.

"Trust me. Those few minutes were enough to get to know her - a genuine smile, no flirty tricks, and an odd sense of humor. You can't help but wish to befriend her. And let's face it, sometimes a few minutes is all it takes to figure out what kind of person someone is, and sometimes even after knowing someone for a lifetime, they can be strangers to you."