Chapter 7 CAN I HAVE YOUR NUMBER?

John was sitting in a corner of an Italian Restaurant. He was facing the door so he could see the people coming in.

Not long after he was in the restaurant when he saw Adrian approaching with a woman next to him. He looks at the person walking with his friend.

He frowned." Wasn't that the woman earlier outside Adrian's office?" he said to himself.

Meanwhile, Mary Ann saw a familiar face sitting in a corner near the window facing the door.

"This is the weird man at the office earlier." She said to herself.

It seems that the man noticed them. Their eyes locked to each other and to her surprise, her boss was walking to the man's direction.

Mary Ann immediately diverted her gaze as they got nearer to the table where the man was sitting.

"Do you have someone with you?" The man asked her boss.

"Wasn't it obvious that she is with him?" Mary Ann said inside her head.

"Yes, I am with my personal assistant. This is Mary Ann." Her boss introduced her to the man.

"Mary Ann, this is my best friend John."

John suddenly stood up and held out his hand for a hand shake.

Mary Ann accepted its handshake, she felt the warmest of his hand.

"I am honored to meet you Mary Ann!" John said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, sir. '' Mary Ann responded.

"Did you already have an order?" He asked John as they took their seats.

"Yes, I already ordered but maybe you still want to order." John answered and then looked at Mary Ann. He pulled one chair for her. Then, sit back on his chair.

"Thank you." Mary Ann sat in the chair John offered to her.

"Waiter!" John called the waiter and asked for the menu again.

"What did you order?" Adrian asked while looking at the menu.

"Pasta Carbonara,Margherita Pizza and Mushroom Risotto." John answered.

"Let's add Caprese Salad with Pesto."Adrian suggested

"Alright, how about you, Mary Ann? Do you have anything to add?"John said and looked at her.

"I think that's all." She simply said.

"How about drinks? What do you want for your drink?" John asked, still staring at Mary Ann.

"Lemon with mint will do." Mary Ann replied and smiled at him. He could feel that the guy will be persistent if she won't be getting an order.

"Pineapple Juice for me,John. Please?" Adrian said.

"Alright," John turned to the waiter standing next to him," Please add to our order a Caprese Salad with Pesto. Then, for drinks, one lemon with mint and a pineapple juice." The waiter took note of all their additional orders and then left.

"John, how is your sister?" Adrian asked his friend." Do you have an idea where she is now?"

"Yes, bro. Finally after searching for a long time. I am planning to go this Saturday but I suddenly remembered that we have plans for that night so I just postponed my flight and rescheduled it to Monday." He uttered.

"That could be canceled, you know."

"It's okay. I am still thinking about my plan once I get there."

"Okay, but just in case you want to go and see your sister, we can have it when you come back. I know you want to see your sister." Adrian said to John. Mary Ann is just there sitting and listening to the conversation of the two guys in front of her.

"Yeah, it should be good. Don't worry. I will inform you ahead of time just in case I will be flying earlier than monday."

"It's great to finally know where your sister is. Just in case you need any help from me when you get there, don't hesitate to contact me anytime, okay?"

"Thank you, bro. I appreciate that."

Just a couple of minutes later, the waiter finally came back to serve their orders.

"Their Caprese Salad with Pesto is good. What do you think, Mary Ann?" John asked her.

"Yes," the woman just nodded and continued to eat.

They were almost finished eating when suddenly John spoke again.

"So, after this,do you have any other plans or are you going back to the office?" John asks Adrian but his eyes are on Mary Ann who is drinking her juice.

"Yes, bro. Definitely we should be heading to the office right after this. Can't you see I am with Mary Ann and our lunch break is over. We are already late."

"Oh, come on. Adrian, you are the boss of the company now so why is there a need to rush to get back?" John chuckled, obviously he is just joking.

"There are lots of things to do at the office and besides I cannot cancel my appointment this afternoon." Adrian just shook his head knowing what his friend really wanted."I am just new, you want me to be kicked out?" he said laughing.

John spoke again and then looked at Mary Ann," By the way, Mary Ann, can I have your number? If that's just okay with you." Then as if he just realized what he said while waiting for her approval, he quickly added, "There are times I cannot contact Adrian, you know? I am thinking if I cannot just reach him or he purposely doesn't mind my texts and calls. I can use your number as a back up to ask about him if I urgently need his answers." John thought that it was the best alibi for Mary Ann to give her number to him. He could see in her face the hesitation and he understood that.

Adrian is just listening. Mary Ann frowned but she is a bit surprised by the sudden act and question thrown by John. She wondered why he needed her number for a second before he said that he just wanted to have it just in case her boss is unreachable. She hesitated at first but after hearing his reason she understood.

"Okay, sir." She replied.

John winked at Adrian while Mary Ann was typing her number on John's phone.

"Thank you very much, Mary Ann." He smiled."Your boss won't be able to get away from me now." He said laughing."

Mary Ann just smiled at the man, "You are welcome, sir." Then, she gave John's phone to him.

"Alright, now you have her number, John. Can we go now?" Adrian asked in a teasing voice.

"Of course, my friend."

"Thank you for the lunch invitation, bro." Adrian said and patted John's shoulder as he stood up and got ready to go out of the restaurant. "Alright, see you around. Just keep me updated whether we push through on Saturday night." Adrian said.

"No, thank you for accepting my invitation, Adrian." John answered with a mischievous smile.

Mary Ann noticed that. She wonders what the smile means. Is his boss aware of something she isn't?

She just shrugged her shoulders and ignored that thought because whatever it is, she needs to focus on her work since she is still new.

"Good luck, bro." Adrian said to John. He obviously has an idea what's the meaning of his smile.

They were about to leave the restaurant when Mary Ann's cell phone rang.

She received a message.

She fished out her cell phone out of her bag.

She looked at the screen and saw a message from an unknown number.

Her forehead furrowed when she saw the message. It was from John.

"I'm glad to meet you, I'm John, here's my number please save. "

She turned her head and looked back to the table. She saw John who was still sitting there.

He smiled and waved at her when he saw her looking at him.

She smiled back in response and turned her back to her way of going out in the restaurant with Adrian.

Adrian just shook his head.

John was just looking at the rear of the woman coming out of the restaurant with his friend.

He suddenly remembered that years ago,he also met a woman named Mary Ann too.

That was almost five years to be exact. He wondered how the woman was doing?"

The memories flashback and he remembered the night that something happened to them in one of the rooms at Arnel's house.

No words were said at that time. They weren't given a chance to speak with each other after they made love.

What could have happened to her during that night? He didn't have protection during that time and he wonders if by any chance, she got pregnant.

Where could the woman be now?

He planned to ask for Arnel's and Marla's help the next day to meet Mary Ann but a sudden event held him back from doing so. His mother called and he needed to go back to their house as soon as he could before it's too late. A lot of things happened to him and the idea of going to the woman was forgotten.