Our eternal affairs

At six am the next morning, Truce Avidon arrived at the hallway to her room. He was greatly conflicted and hesitant about whether or not, he should see her. 

Yesterday, he took her to his guest house after the road incident, so she could spend the night, before returning to wherever she came from.

He checked his timepiece again, he had a meeting with the manager of his branch in New Orleans, the last thing he wanted was to be late. He scrunched his face in disgust, but at himself.

His knuckles were poised on the door, but before it made contact with it, it creaked open on its own. Realizing it wasn't locked at all, he stepped across the threshold

Just how careless can you be? He thought as he stared at her, looking so peaceful in her sleep.

He shook his head in disapproval, and walked to the side of her bed. Bits of popcorn, smeared on her face, and the ground was littered with the rest of the snacks she helped herself with last night. She looked beautiful too.

Her rich, full hair was a mess on the bed, and framed her delicate face, like a bouquet. Her lips were full and luscious, with closed eyelids, like petals of a flower, and her soft, velvety skin, aglow in the subtle morning light from the window. He was blown away and strongly attracted at the sight.

He crouched beside her, taking in the details of her face, before dropping the new Tom Ford heels he ordered for her last night. He felt the need to replace the ones she lost yesterday. 

He breathed silently on her face, as he was inches away, from kissing her. She stirred in her sleep, and her lips twitched slightly. He wondered how someone so beautiful, could be so clumsy like her.

A swift knock on the door shattered the moment, and he fell backwards, with his suited bottom to the floor. He stood up abruptly, muttering silent curses at the person at the door, then he dropped a white, crisp envelope close to her bag on the bedside table, before he quietly left the room, to join the intruder outside the door.

Hours later, Anna turned on the plush bed, eyelids fluttering open, as she felt a sharp pain on her waist. She didn't think she slept in a good position. The event of the previous day flooded her mind.

 She sat up yawning and stretched to fix the pain she felt. Then her eyes fell on black heels sitting gloriously on the floor beside her bed.

She instantly jumped out of the bed to touch them. Are they for me? She muffled a scream as she felt them. She remembered her stilettos from yesterday. These would be absolutely expensive, she thought to herself as se tried them on; they fit perfectly. 

"Oh, lovely…" A gentle warm sigh, escaped her lips as she smiled. Of course she would thank Mister Truce for his kind gesture, again. She didn't think someone like him even cared for, or noticed her bare feet yesterday.

She sniffed at her armpit before running to the bathroom. She would look presentable while thanking him, she decided happily.

She came out feeling fresh and clean. The exotic hair and body care products in the bathroom, made her feel like an entirely different person. She got dressed in a blue packet shirt, stylishly tucked into a pair of fitted dark-blue jeans. She styled her hair in a messy bun, with a few loose strands framing her face, before slipping on the heels.

She felt chic, and hoped Mister Truce would approve. She was arranging her things back into her bag, when she saw the envelope.

 "I didn't receive any letters from anyone yesterday...." She muttered to herself and opened it to reveal ten, clean hundred dollar bill notes.

She blinked twice and pinched herself, to reassure that she wasn't dreaming or imagining anything. She widened her eyes in surprise.

"OH MY GOD," she yelled inaudibly, as her belly tightened with a mix of emotions, and her eyes became teary. She quickly packed her things and went downstairs.

There, she met one of the ladyies from last night, and asked her the whereabouts of the CEO

"He left early this morning, ma'am." The lady replied, and Anna's spirits fell. She stared at the money in her hands and remembered the office card he gave her yesterday. She quickly took it out and dialed the number. It rang but no one answered. She sighed heavily, walking out of the house with her shoulders slumped.

She arrived at her apartment in Roxbury, late in the afternoon in a dejected state. She wished she met him, or at least answered her phone calls so she could thank him. This wasn't a SMALL kind gesture at all.

She stepped into her apartment and dropped onto the couch. Stared at the park outside her window, where children from the neighborhood were playing from across her street, and was lost in her imaginations. She didn't hear Cliff come in.

"Anna! Finally…" 

She was startled out of her trance, to see Cliff staring at her angrily. He cut her off before she could say anything. 

"Why the hell haven't you been answering my calls?" He bellowed at her.

"Calls? I didn't receive any…" Her hands went into her pocket as she spoke. She opened her call log, then she saw it, widening her eyes like saucers. There were twenty missed calls from Cliff, while she was too distracted earlier, worrying about Mister Truce that she didn't see the notification on her phone.

Even though, why would he call her so many times like that? Cocking an eyebrow at him, he didn't budge. Then she sighed.

"I…I'm sorry. I didn't see it." She said finally.

He waved his anger off and sat down beside her on the couch. "I worried throughout the night for you... so, how did it go?" He asked.

She pulled out the glass vial, and told him all that had happened yesterday. Excluding the part where she fell. 

"What do you think it's for?" He asked, taking the bottle from her and examining it. 

"I don't know." She said, and her stomach welcomed him with a rumble.

"You know, you shouldn't be starving yourself all the time, Anna." He said scolding her, and stood up from the couch. He moved into the kitchen.

"Are you in for some baked potatoes?" He called out from the kitchen, and Anna stood up briskly, following behind.

"I'm in for anything you make, Cliff." She replied, and sat down on the kitchen stool, placing the bottle on the counter. Cliff smiled.

He set the dish before her. It was baked potatoes with grated cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits for toppings. She dug in immediately.

After the food, she decided the liquid in the bottle was for drinking. She opened the vial and drowned it's contents. She expected it to taste extremely bitter but instead, it tasted like… Gin.

She breathed in, and took her phone to dial Chen again. Just before Chen answered the phone, she closed her eyes, stiffening immediately. She clutched the edge of the kitchen countertop, her knuckles whitening.

Cliff who was eating, and chatting Sasha on his phone noticed her sudden stillness and stood up.

"Anna?" he asked with concern in his voice. She began to jerk violently, her head thrashing back and forth. Cliff leapt from where he stood to where Anna was, and he exclaimed in fright.

"ANNA!" 

Her eyes rolled backwards with her eyelids fluttering wildly. He wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her upright.

After their flight back to Boston, Chen stood outside his boss's office to answer Anna's call. He was gradually growing weary of the lady as well. He heard the commotion on the phone, confused on what to do, he hurried into his boss's office, who was reading a file about the branch reports in new Orleans.

Chen gushed in alarm, holding up his phone. "Sir, it's Anna."