Finding Myself

Chapter 8

Alesa Smith:

I had texted Avery last night telling her not to come over after I got home. We had planned to have brunch this morning anyway and I was so mentally and physically exhausted after yesterday I fell asleep about an hour after we got back home. 

She had been skeptical because every year since we met she had been the one to come over and take care of me every year but I had assured her everything was alright and I promised to call if things changed.

I threw on a cream colored sweater, some black jeans and a tan coat before heading out to make the 10 minute walk to meet Avery at the cafe. We always went to this one place hidden in between two streets.

 It looked small but it was actually pretty large on the inside which made it look deceiving, it was one of the cities hidden gems. Their eggs Benedict were to die for and their caramel latte just didn't compare to anyone else's.

Surprisingly enough when I arrived it was relatively empty. Normally on a Saturday it would be filled but today there were only a few people here. Once I actually looked at the men scattered around I froze.

There were 3 men in suits standing decently spaced apart throughout the restaurant and a fourth man sitting in the shadows caused by the curtains. He sat in the back at the two person table in the middle. The table that Avery and I always used.

I picked up my feet after a moment and continued making my way over to him. Only one man wore the one of a kind gold signet ring I spotted on his hand and it was a man I knew I didn't have to worry about. 

How he knew I would be here I had no idea and I had to admit I was a little freaked out but I wasn't afraid. Matteo DeLuca could evoke many of my emotions but fear was not one.

As I made my way over to him, I took him in. He was there in a black suit that had the first couple buttons undone as he sat leaning back legs crossed with this mornings newspaper open in his hands. Despite the calm position he still radiated power.

Once I had gotten close enough he folded the newspaper in half and sat it next to his empty plate before looking up at me with those dark brown eyes. He then gestured for me to sit down with the hand holding the ring. As I took my seat he nodded his head slightly and two of the three other men in the restaurant left out the front. Not once did he say a word.

"Thank you for yesterday" was the first thing he said right as the front door shut not wasting any time.

"What are you doing here, i'm meeting a friend in 5 minutes and while you both have brown eyes thats where the similarities end" I said cutting him off confused.

"Avery will be late she may have run into some traffic, I on the other hand need your help. Someone is suing one of my companies and since this is your area of expertise I need you to go over the lawsuit and find a loophole. 

I'll have my current lawyer contact your office with the documents." He said firmly and a little ticked off at me. I wasn't quite sure why though.

This was a different side of Matteo. I was well aware of his reputation and I knew he was somewhat different with me but despite the fact that I hadn't ever seen the business side of him I knew it existed.

Just because we didn't talk for years didn't mean I oblivious. He still appeared in the news with people writing articles about his life and reputation. 

The articles all varied, some were about his love life and others about new business endeavors, but the common theme put plainly was that he was a hard ass.

"I didn't say I would help you." I already had a full plate of work, I didn't have time to add another case to my pile.

"I wasn't asking" He said standing up buttoning his suit jacket before grabbing the folded newspaper.

"The restaurant should be empty for another hour, enjoy the privacy" He stated as he walked away following the other man left in the cafe who had already started towards the door.

By now I was frustrated. I may have called him yesterday and I may not regret that decision but that doesn't mean he can just show up and make demands whenever he wants. If thats the case he can feel free to walk back out of my life for good this time.

"Have a nice day Esa, I look forward to hearing from you in the next couple days." he commented moments later as he held the door open for Avery who had just arrived before he exited and left in one of the black cars parked along the street.

I sat there staring at the door until Avery had sat down and snapped her fingers in my face taking me out of my thoughts.

"Hey who was that, and why is it so empty?" She asked unwrapping her burgundy scarf she previously had around her neck.

"An old friend and long story" I responded still a little out of it.

"Alright...Did you order already?" She asked dropping the subject, catching on the the fact that I didn't want to talk about it. Avery knew of him but she didn't know much. When we met I was still broken. I had started to heal but she could tell the wounds ran deep. Because of that I told her the general details but even now the specifics hurt to recall.

We spent the rest of the early afternoon eating and gossiping. I ordered the eggs benedict and she had the salmon bagel while we both had lattes.

 True to his word about half way through our meal I got an email notification with the documents from Matteo's lawyer but I then turned my phone off figuring I could deal with it later. Again true to his word, after about an hour people started coming in to eat and about 15 minutes later the place was full and back to its regular routine.

We left after a couple hours and decided to go shopping on the street over. Saturday's we often spent together since we were both busy during the week. Because of this we often spend hours just walking around town getting lost as we aren't paying attention to where we are going.

By the end of the day Avery ended up getting a few clothing items from various stores and a new purse from Chanel. I on the other hand went into a few stores but nothing really caught my eye. I did grab a new perfume form Chanel because mine was running out and I got a new black Birkin bag that I had been meaning to pick up for a while now.

Sometimes we go out for dinner to eat again if we stay out long enough but both of us were tired and we decided to go back to my house order some salads from a bistro down the road, hang out and drink overpriced wine.

I turned my phone on once we got home and just double checked I didn't have anything urgent that I needed to do before I grabbed two glasses for the wine and made my way back over to the couch where Avery had already made herself comfortable.

We talked into the early morning until about 1:30 when I was almost falling asleep on the couch and Avery was cuddled under a blanket next to me talking. She had been rambling on about this coworker that keeps singing horribly with headphones in the middle of the office during the day for the past 30 minutes and she had finally just stopped.

Since I had a spare bedroom Avery ended up spending the night. I didn't want her driving home since she had a few drinks and she had been over enough that the bedroom was already basically hers. I mean she even bought soap for the bathroom and extra clothes to put in the dresser.

I changed into some navy blue silk pajamas moments later and turned my alarm on for 9 am since we both had work, despite the fact it was Sunday, before laying down and falling asleep.