To get through a heartache after the sudden breakup, Arabella moves to New York City to start another chapter of her life.
Driven by the hope to make Adrian Castle, the man who left her broken to pieces with an excuse of protecting her against his w...
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From time to time I steal glances over the transparent vase of flowers sitting on my office desk, and a smile betrays my plan to pretend they don’t mean a thing to me. I still can't believe that Adrian Castle has actually done this romantic-like gesture from miles away, and to be sure, I text Camilla who doesn't respond instantly, but returns my call about three hours later when I'm having lunch in the cafeteria.
“Did you send me the flowers on his behalf?” I ask her, still smiling.
I'm almost convinced she's the one who made it possible to have the roses delivered in my office.
But to my surprise, Camilla says, “Flowers? What flowers?”
“The one I received today from Adrian?” I frown, attentively waiting for her reply.
“I swear I'm only hearing this from you, Ara. I had absolutely no idea about it because he didn't ask me to take care of such an important task which is new!” She sounds amazed.
And so am I.
“Oh?” I reply, eyes on one of the huge flatscreens perched on the cafeteria sides; some music video mingled with employees' mundane clamor in the air. “Well, I guess he did it all by himself somehow, which is… new, I guess, as you just said. Anyways, how is it over there? Anything interesting?”
I'm curious to hear about her situation in Italy now that she's almost close to the man she once felt something toward, whatever the name is. I wonder if she's met Falcon already, and what followed afterward.
“Nothing much.” The wind blows at her end of the line, as if she's in a moving car or something. “I'm on my way to meet Adrian right now so we can go on with the business that brought us here. He stayed at his family home last night to look after Roberto.”
I frown again, asking, “Why? Did something happen to Roberto?”
“He wasn't feeling well, apparently, and a lot had been going on with Falcon and the other brothers.” She pauses and sighs. “Things are still hectic around here, but I don't have all the details. You know, it's all family-related and I’m not part of it so I’m just hanging around trying to do my job.”
Damn! That's something.
“Um, okay. I'll leave you to it then,” I reply, smiling at Tatiana, the charming receptionist, heading my way while holding her lunch tray.
The cafeteria is not vast, but the food service is a topnotch. It's always a buffet with unlimited everything for everyone. The seatings are immaculate white plush chairs with wooden tables big enough to accommodate four to six people per table, and it feels like home with the TVs running full time for anyone who needs a recess.
“Mind if I join you?” She grins expectantly, eyeing me and my table in turns.
“Not at all,” I say with a warm smile, and back to Camilla I utter, “I'm gonna pick Jake later today. I don't know what the hell will happen next when he finds out about everything but I just wanna see him and hug him.”
