Kissed By The Baddest Bidder's Daughter

Chapter 11: True Feelings

Everyone's eyes are on Natalie, who has appeared in the hotel lobby.

What?! She's coming this way!

She stands in front of me and holds out her right hand.

What does she want from me?

"Give me the elevator key and the pager. You have no need for them anymore." Natalie says, loud enough for everyone around us to hear.

I'm aware of the crowd around us starting to speak in hushed voices.

"That's the guy from the I.V.C. she said she fell in love with at first sight!"

"Guess she's already tired of him."

"It was just a whim from the very start. A guy like him doesn't belong with her."

She's right. I don't need it anymore because Natalie and I have nothing to do with each other.

"Thank you for coming all this way to get it. It saved me the trouble," I said.

"I didn't want to deal with you coming into my room without permission," she scowled.

"I wouldn't do that!"

Natalie takes the key card and pager from me and goes back to the elevator.

She really doesn't need me anymore.

"Oh ho ho! This is how things are supposed to be!" Aaron chucked. "Poor little Alex."

"Alex, are you all right?" Cecilia asked worryingly.

"Yes. Like I said, I was just about to go return it myself," I replied. "Anyway, I need to get back to cleaning the guest rooms!"

I don't know if the feeling rising up inside of me is sadness or frustration. The only thing I'm certain of is that any connection I had to Natalie is now gone.

It's best this way. Now I can get back to my normal life. I'm going to stop thinking about her.

***

On my next day off, I decide to go meet my friends at the football field now that I'm completely free.

I don't have anything I need to do, but it's better than being cooped up in my room. It's been awhile since I hanged out with my friends. We can all go get some lunch together afterward, too.

I walk along the jam-packed road and accidentally bump into a woman passing by.

"I'm sorry."

"You think saying sorry is enough?" she replied angrily.

"I didn't mean to bump into you."

"Huh?! Are you trying to make a fool out of me?!"

The rude woman tries to grab hold of my arm.

"Hey... Please stop!"

I back up, trying to escape her grasp, and this time someone pulls on my arm roughly from behind.

"What the-?!"

"Get lost. If you have a problem with him, you can take it up with me instead."

"Tiffany!"

Tiffany stands in front of me protectively. The woman shrinks back under her sharp gaze.

"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was walking! I'll be going now!"

The woman quickly runs away from us.

"Thank you," I said.

"Natalie finally let you go, too," Tiffany mentioned. "She didn't set you free so you could get into trouble with some stupid chick, you know."