Back and Forth

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Mark's POV

A week had passed since my last meeting with Alice, and I barely spoke to her after that. I felt guilty about the way things turned, and I dropped her a message the very next day, to which there had been no reply till date.

She was ignoring me, and this almost confirmed she heard my conversation with Casper. As much as I wanted to explain, I did not push her much. Thinking of Mia and how complex our situation was, I was able to control the urge of calling her.

We should keep our distance. It's probably for the best.

It was almost six in the evening, and I planned on leaving early. The moment I stepped out of my cabin, I bumped into Emma in the hallway. She had some files in her hand and was probably heading to my office.

"Hey Mark, leaving already?"

"Hi Emma, yes, I was heading to meet Rose. Did you want to discuss something?"

"Yes, but nothing very urgent. I was coming to discuss the Norway project." She stated as she re-adjusted the files in her hand.

"Sure. We can talk now."

Ever since Emma re-joined my team, she had been working hard and had helped in reducing my workload too. I was amazed by her diligence, even being the CEO' wife, she obliged to all her duties in the most unbiased manner.

"No, let's chat tomorrow on this. How's Rose by the way? Her delivery date is quite close now."

"Rose is good. I am heading to check on her. Casper is out of town for an urgent meeting, and he won't be back until tomorrow morning."

"Ohh, sure go ahead. Will you be able to join us for dinner later? Britney had called a while back. We were meeting at our usual diner close to her residence. The entire gang would be there."

"Really? Umm.. who all?"

Maybe I could meet Alice tonight?

"All of us... Jake may join a bit late. He has a meeting." Emma responded, but this was still not what I wanted to know.

"And what about others?" I asked again.

"Others? What do you mean?"

"I mean, will Alice be there too?" I faked the most neutral tone in an attempt to hide my curiosity. I didn't want Emma to suspect.

"Alice? Umm no.. actually she bailed. I think Britney mentioned she had other plans tonight." Emma was now giving me a quizzical look.

"Ok. I will try to stop by but can't promise. I am anyways running late. See you." I gave her a quick hug, handed her the files back and rushed out before giving her a chance to ask any further questions.

***

Throughout my drive to Casper's place, my mind kept wandering. I felt a strange stiffness in my chest.

Did Alice bail on dinner to avoid me? What if she was still dating on Tinder? Did she have a date tonight?

I wished things could be different with her. This entire situation made me very uneasy.

I didn't even realise, but I was already in the vicinity of Casper's house. I drove mechanically for half an hour, zoned out in my thoughts. I even forgot to call Rose to let her know that I would be here.

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