Chapter 19 - ACCORDING TO HER PLAN

"Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?" Becca asked Paige.

Paige took Becca's hand. She bit her lip with tears in her eyes. "I was wrong. I know. But I don't want this friendship to fall apart, Becca."

But Becca brushed Paige's hand away and put it back in her coat pocket. "There's no more friendship between us. No more me and you, Paige. We're over."

Paige dropped her tears. She really felt sorry for what she did behind Becca's back. She loved Becca who was always there for her. And because of her mistake, she injured herself quite severely.

"Please, Becca... I beg you. Just give me one chance. I'll fix everything."

Becca closed her eyes. She almost wanted to cry too because she remembered every single incident. A very clear incident was when she saw her best friend and her boyfriend making love in the office.

Her temples were starting to ooze, and she was really trying to think about it. She thought, if Tommy had pleaded, she already knew she would give him a chance. And when this happened to Paige begging to be friends with her again, she should have given it that chance.

Finally, Becca sighed. "Fine. But I still need some time away from seeing you. You know my first heartache was you and Tommy. It wasn't easy for me to forget, Paige."

Paige's lips formed a happy smile. She immediately wiped her tears and then nodded. "I know. You just gave me a chance, I'm happy enough, Bec."

"And never show up in front of Tommy. That's all I have to ask. You can go now," Becca said.

Paige hugged her even though Becca didn't return the hug. She then left Becca who was still standing with limp legs. Until Paige was completely out of sight, Becca almost fell. But just then someone held her back. A man she didn't know.

The man took Becca to the edge where there were long benches at the side of each road. "Hey, are you all right?" the man asked.

Suddenly, Becca moved away even though it was only one step away from sitting. "Who are you?"

"I'm nobody. I was just a passerby who saw you nearly fall. Are you all right?" the man asked again.

Becca swallowed. She looked to her left and right, which were still crowded with the crowd of pedestrians. She forgot that this was New York with a crowd that never sleeps. She sighed as she rubbed her face against her hair.

"I'm fine. Thank you. You can continue with your activities," Becca answered without looking at the man.

"I'm done with my activities, anyway. This is the route I always take to get to my apartment."

"Oh..." Becca responded curtly. She was not interested in talking to anyone, including strangers. Finally, she stood up to quickly enter her apartment. "Sorry, I have to get in right away. Tomorrow I have to work," said Becca.

"Of course. After you, Miss ... please go in first because I have to make sure you don't fall again," said the man.

Hesitantly, Becca stepped up. She smiled dryly at him and then completely walked away from him until he couldn't see her anymore.

***

The reports he received and heard made him want to return to New York immediately. His chest rumbled knowing a man was touching his ex-girlfriend even though he meant to try to save her.

He only had one day left in Los Angeles. After he finished his work here, he would begin his plans to bring Becca back in his arms.

Now, he was trying to contact his ex-girlfriend. Even though Becca had deliberately not answered his calls several times, she would still answer them when Tommy was still trying to call her.

Even during office hours he still kept in touch.

"What? I'm at work!" snapped Becca.

"I know and I'm the CEO of your office. So I can call anyone anytime I want. Why haven't you received my calls since this morning? Did you enjoy your night with that stranger?"

Becca's eyebrows shot up. Tommy's chatter that she was hearing right now really surprised her because Tommy was discussing what happened last night that Becca didn't mean to do.

"Did you see me bringing the man in?" Becca asked, challenging him.

"No. But I was so jealous that he touched you."

Becca's heart was pounding. Tommy bravely told the truth over a phone call. It didn't seem fair to Becca because she couldn't see his jealous face.

"Oh, come on... we're not even in a relationship anymore. So there's no point in being jealous, Tom," Becca replied nonchalantly.

"You're talking about that again. You know, just being able to talk to you makes me feel good."

Becca rolled her eyes. She wanted to immediately avoid the seduction which she feared would be temporary. She should be the one who needs to make the seduction to win his heart out, not Tommy.

"Ah, I have to hang up, there's a call. Bye!"

She touched her chest. The pounding felt and seen really almost messed up her mood. She should not be easily tempted by the sweet words of his ex-boyfriend. After all, it was Tommy who had to beg for her love, not her.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Cherry who came to her desk.

Becca immediately removed her hand from her chest as she swallowed her saliva. "Errr... nothing. What's wrong? Do you need Tommy's autograph?" Becca asked diverting.

"No. I just wanted to tell you the results of your photo shoot. If you want to see it."

"It wouldn't be fair if I didn't see it. So show me," Becca said.

Cherry smiled then she started to open the photo album and showed it to Becca. The poses were sexy and voluptuous and the chemistry was so strong and really clearly visible. Her cheeks even reddened at the result.

"Ah... you guys really match up. The company shouldn't have bothered looking for models from the start, right. You and Boss, this really looks like a model!"

Becca chuckled. "You're exaggerating, Cherry. But thank you. This is really good."

"Is that going according to your plan, Bec?"

"Yeah... it is," Becca answered with a meaningful look.