The Big Pretense

Chapter 20

A/N: The image above does not belong to. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Third Person POV

AJ was helping out with the morning chores at the Mumbai Spices restaurant prior to opening the food place to customers when his phone started to ring.

What does he want from me now, AJ sighed as he swiped his phone screen.

"AJ," said Mr. Jutamat before AJ could even say hello. "I am here at Mr. Wongcherin's office."

AJ could not help sighing audibly. Mr. Wongcherin was Camille's dad.

"Leave the restaurant right now and come over to his office," Mr. Jutamat.

"Why?" AJ asked.

"Stop being a brat and come over right now," Mr. Jutamat demanded before cutting the call.

AJ turned to his headwaiter Prasert.

"P', I won't be able to help you out with the restaurant today," AJ said, "my dad wants me to go to Mr. Wongcherin's office right now."

Prasert knew who Mr. Wongcherin was. Prasert had been a faithful and trusted employee of the Jutamats for several years now and he knew all about Camille Wongcherin. Prasert had been AJ's rock when AJ was devastated at the sudden departure of Camille for Japan. Prasert could not blame Camille, though, because Camille had to leave for Japan in connection with her father's business. It wasn't because she had stopped loving AJ.

"Did your dad tell you why he wants you to go Mr. Wongcherin's office?" Prasert asked.

"He did not say why," AJ said, "but if it has anything to do with Camille, you can count on me to leave the premises immediately."

"Don't you have any more feelings for Camille?" Prasert asked.

"You don't have to answer that," Prasert added hastily when AJ did not respond to his question.

"Please take over the cashier's counter, P,'" AJ said before heading for the door.

At the door, AJ stopped to look back at Prasert.

"To answer your question, P', my feelings for Camille were just something of a juvenile infatuation. And as all infatuations go, they fizzled out the moment she stepped on that plane bound for Narita."

With leaden steps, AJ made his way to the parking lot where he had parked his silver gray Chevrolet Blazer. Contrary to AJ's zombie motions, his car zoomed smoothly through the early morning traffic.

"Come in and sit over here by me, son," Mr. Wongcherin greeted AJ when AJ entered his office. AJ winced at being addressed as 'son' by Camille's dad.

AJ clasped his hands together and bowed before sitting on the chair indicated by Mr. Wongcherin. AJ waited for Mr. Wongcherin to speak again but his father was the one who started the subject.

"I have agreed with Thongchai to let you join Camille in running their business in Japan," Mr. Jutamat said. "Once you have learned the ropes, you can come back here and we will give you the reins to the new merger that Thongchai and I will establish."

"Don't you think I'm too young to be heading a merger?" AJ asked.

"You will be two years older by the time you come back," Mr. Wongcherin said, "that will make you old enough by then."

"Two years! Dad, you're making me stay two years in Japan?" AJ asked in alarm. Already his mind was flying towards Art. He wasn't going to leave Art for Japan even for a day.

"Two years is not such a long time, son," Mr. Wongcherin said in a soothing tone.

AJ was hearing none of it. He stood up to leave the room.

"AJ!" Mr. Jutamat was visibly upset with AJ's lack of manners toward his business associate. "Come back here this minute!"

But AJ was already out the door and making his way to the elevators. The elevator doors closed before Mr. Jutamat could reach his son.

AJ had just settled behind the driver's seat of his car when his phone rang. It was Prasert, his head waiter.

"What is it, P'?" AJ sounded a bit annoyed. He was still upset at the antics of his father and Mr. Wongcherin.

"AJ, your friend Art was just here looking for you," said Prasert. "He looked like he had been crying."

"Where is he now?" AJ asked, his heart rate spiking dangerously.

"He ran out of the restaurant when I explained to him where you are," Prasert explained.

"You should have kept him there!" AJ scolded his head waiter.

"How?" Prasert asked helplessly.

"I don't know, hogtie him, hold him at gunpoint, whichever works," AJ was just muttering because already he had revved his car and was zooming in and out of the car lanes, not minding the angry honks of the other motorists.

AJ jumped out of his car the moment he parked it at his designated parking spot and saw Art already rounding the corner of the street on the other side of the parking lot.

"Art!" AJ called out at the top of his lungs.

He saw Art turn his head and when Art saw him, Art broke into a run.

Shit. AJ started to run and cursed at the car that drove past him. He had to stop to let it pass otherwise he would end up a cripple. That short moment of letting the car pass was the critical number of seconds that made him lose out in his pursuit of Art.

He reached the street where Art was, just in time to see him get into a taxicab.

"Art! Stop! Please!" AJ had pleaded, his heart sinking, because his pleas had fallen on deaf ears and he could only watch helplessly as he saw the taxicab pulling away with Art in it.

Then AJ had an idea. He ran back to his car, jumped into it and zoomed out of the parking lot and into the street where Art had taken the taxi ride.

Once more he earned angry honks and curses from the other motorists as he tried to follow the green and white taxicab with Art in it.

AJ was about to turn into the street that would take him to the building where Art was staying for his series workshops, but to his surprise the taxi passed it and kept going forward. Where the hell was Art going.

AJ kept following the taxi. It was already making its way into the outskirts of the city. Did Art live somewhere in the outskirts of the city? Was he going to his house? AJ started to realize that there was still so much of Art that he didn't know. But it didn't matter. All it mattered was that he loved Art and he wasn't going to let Art out of his life. Ever.

AJ got a little distracted from the road when he heard his phone ringing. The ring tone indicated that it was his father calling him.

AJ swerved sharply into the adjacent lane to stop from crashing into the car in front of him. AJ heard the sharp ear piercing screech from a car behind him before he felt the tremendous impact on his whole body and lost consciousness behind the wheel.