Chapter 20

"That's my cue to kill you." She frowned, her eyes stating that she really meant it.

He reclined in the chair. "You can do that later. Before then, can you at least give the proposal a brief read? Who is to say that you wouldn't want to collaborate with me when it impresses you?"

When.

She took note of the word he had emphasized. He was certain that it would impress her and just needed her to read it. "Aren't you full of yourself, Mr. D'aboville?"

"If that's how you want to put it, it's up to you. All I know is that I'm confident."

"Okay." Knowing him, he would keep prattling about it and using it as an excuse to see her. She would not give him the satisfaction of having a reason to buzz around her so she agreed. "I will go through it and have Mina tell you my final verdict. If there is anything I find unpleasant even if it is the tiniest detail, I will reject it."

"Fair enough." It was not anyone else's fault that her eyes were covered with a vengeful lense when she was handling anything related to him. He deserved it so he had no complaints about it.

"Business aside. Can we discuss a personal matter now that we have settled work related matters?" He asked.

She shot a look at him. She was not certain before but now it was becoming clearer. He was ready to die.

"Should I take that as a yes?" He raised an eyebrow in response to her silent glare.

"No." It was almost a roar of fury. "I do not discuss personal matters during working hours. There are other people that need to see me and it is regarding important business matters so please show yourself out." Based on her tone, it was certain that she would get someone to show him out if he did not leave on his own.

"I see." Surprisingly, he did not push it. She watched as he stood and headed for the door. Was he finally giving up?

She could pretty much guess the personal matter that he was going to discuss with her if he let him. She was certain that it had something to do with Angel. She ran a hand down her face. Was she being too hard on him? She shook her head as soon as the thought surfaced. Mina was full of shit. She couldn't let her influence her into forgiving that scumbag so easily. Not that she was planning to ever forgive him.

…

When he gave up trying to discuss the personal matter that she was certain was the main reason for his visit at Vaillant Telecommunications, the last thing she expected was for him to wait for her at the parking lot and block her path as soon as he saw her. Or maybe he went on with his business and rushed back in time to catch her before she left. Whatever it was, he was now standing in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" She narrowed her eyes at him. Was he too idle?

"I'm here to meet you, if it is not already obvious, Miss Vaillant." He smiled slightly. "Can we discuss the personal matter now that it is past working hours?"

Her head almost hurt. "Will you disappear if I said no?"

"No." He remained in her path.

"What will it take for you to disappear?" She asked.

"Hear me out." He said matter-of-factly.

"Speak." She gave up trying to send him off.

He took a deep breath knowing she was likely to say no. Still, he tried. "I was hoping you could let me spend some time with Angel over the weekend."

She crossed her arms, giving him a resounding "No."

"Why?" He asked.

She shook her head at his audacity to ask the question whose answer he knew by heart. Not wanting to air her dirty laundry in public, she sucked in a breath. "That's my mother-son time with him."

It was not just an excuse. She had always spared the weekends for her son. It wasn't because she didn't spend enough time with him on other days, but because she loved spending time with him more than she liked going out and whatnot. Besides, the boy needed as much love and attention as possible from the people around him so it would help with his recovery.

Hearing her reason, he felt bummed. He thought for a while and suggested, "You can make it a mother, father and son time."

When she glared at him so hard that he could swear a slap was on its way, he cleared his throat. "What I mean is, I will only stay for three hours if you let me. I can play one game with him and be gone after that."

She glanced up at him and he understood that she couldn't tolerate seeing him for that long.

"One and a half hours." He pleaded.

_____

AN

What would the verdict be if you were Avery? Yes or no?

…

Side note, I'm sorry in advance if the update rate fluctuates too much. My keyboard broke down after I accidentally spilled coffee on it and several letters are no longer functional including a and e. I use these keys more often than others so it's been so hard to write lately. I have to type and when I get to the affected letters, switch to phone and write them. I have to do either this or type entirely using my phone (this is worse because I have 4 ongoing books. It makes my right thumb and pinky hurt.)

I'm so sorry. Updates will return to normal once I have it fixed.