Twice The Trouble Book 2 of 2: Twice The Love

Chapter 48: Before He Leaves

Sophia

I could hardly contain the sizzle of excitement in my heart when the jeep halted a few feet away in front of the De Los Reyes Building. Every time I visited almost always felt like the first time. The eighty-floor structure never failed to stun me with its strong and omnipotent body of glass and metal.

The security guard looked surprised when he saw me but he quickly broke into a kind smile. I smiled back at him and greeted him 'Good morning' before I entered the sophisticated lobby.

Lady luck seemed to smile upon me because Snack Attack was transiently closed for this particular Thursday, one of the days when I didn't have classes. The restaurant was on hiatus for the next 24 hours because our boss, Sir Bob, had a family emergency to attend.

I felt a bit uneasy when all eyes were on me. People in black suits and corporate attire paused their work to stare at me. Others erupted in whispers and murmurs, a few of them were pointing in my direction, and I couldn't control my sense of hearing from picking up snippets of their commentary.

"Why does she look so familiar?"

"Dummy. She's Sir Lucas's girlfriend!"

"Oh My God, seriously?"

"She's so beautiful."

"No wonder Sir Lucas fell for her."

When a group of three girls and three guys in their early twenties caught me looking at them, they flinched but awkwardly smiled at me. I slowly raised my hand and waved at them gaily.

"Wow, she waved at me!"

"Get over yourself. She was waving at all of us!"

"But it's sort of weird to see her so dressed up, isn't it?" was the last remark I overheard before I stepped inside the elevator cabin and pressed the button for the 80th floor.

It's sort of weird to see her so dressed up, isn't it?

Self-consciously, I met my reflection in the clear silver doors of the elevator. I brought my right hand to my straight, waist-length brown hair, to my made up face devoid of eyeglasses, down to the fitted, sleeveless pastel green dress, my fingers traveling down to the hi-low hemline.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to look presentable for your significant other, I told myself firmly. So what if I desired to be more attractive in the eyes of my boyfriend? It was normal, right? Why did I need to convince myself of this over and over again?

I squeaked in surprise when the elevator doors drew open and I stepped out, the heels of my brown sandals quietly making contact with the red carpeted floor of the narrow hallway.

All of a sudden, a large crowd of men in business suits blocked my path. There were about a dozen of them, and they spared me no glance as they strode towards the elevator.

"Ouch!" I cried when I collided with one of them, his shoulder roughly bumping mine, the impact making me fall to the floor in a painful THUMP. Thank goodness there was red carpeting to cushion my fall.

"I'm so sorry," said a male voice, sounding guilty and sincere. I lifted my chin to meet his eyes,and I was struck by the arresting shade of green they were. It was like staring into a pair of small emerald stones which sparkled in the sunlight. His skin was pale and he wore an immaculate dark blue blazer and slacks that made his golden yellow hair shine brighter.

"I accept your apology," I told him as I grabbed his extended hand. He hoisted me up with minimum effort, after which I added: "But I'm also sorry because I share the fault for being careless."