Love In Between

“Though you are my boss, You definitely don’t have the right to eat my breakfast, and you even show no remorse. “Is that how it is done in the company?” Bruce asked with his thick brows almost touching while Ava’s eyes almost popped out.

Ava felt so embarrassed because Bruce was already dragging everybody’s attention. “I’m so sorry, so sorry,” Ava says, apologizing while closing her eyes and chewing on the chips she stole. Bruce was taken aback when, for the first time, he witnessed Ava admitting she did something wrong. For the first time, he noticed how beautiful her blue eyes were, and her brown hair suits her so well. Bruce felt as if a whole different person was in front of him.

But he didn’t show it; he kept a serious face, and Ava thought he was going to create a scene, and she definitely didn’t want that to happen.

“Okay, I owe you a lunch treat,” Ava said. “I’m just so hungry that I couldn’t wait for my breakfast to be ready.” Bruce saw how honest she was, so he laughed. “Okay, we have a date then, and I get to choose where and when we should go.” Ava nodded in confirmation of what Bruce said. She was so embarrassed and definitely didn’t want to create a scene.

Ava took her breakfast and left for her office. She thought to herself, “I can’t believe how rude he can be; I even apologized, and he still kept a serious face like he didn’t care; he was just so concerned about his food, and that attitude he gave after I offered him a lunch treat, GOSH!!!” She said out loud, “Could this day get any worse?” She sighs.

Her loud ringing tone blared across the room as she instinctively reached out to check the caller ID. Ava picked up her phone and answered. It was Mason on the phone, and an impromptu meeting has been fixed. She quickly finished her meal and went for it.

After the meeting, Ava bumps into Bruce, and Bruce tells her he’s ready for that lunch she promised, and it’s not going to be in the cafeteria. “Le Bernardino,” he said. “Le Bernardino?” she repeated after him, sounding a little bit confused because she had never heard of it. “Yes, Le Bernardino” is my favourite place in the whole of this city.

Surprisingly to him, Ava didn’t object to his request; she just told him to wait a moment so she could go get her bag and car key. She went into her office and breathed in. She felt so suffocated around him, but she couldn’t show it as she had promised to treat him to lunch. Then she wonders why he keeps calling it a date.

She got her keys and met Bruce already waiting at the parking lots. She opened the car, and they both entered. When she started driving, she was avoiding saying anything to him, so she connected Google Maps to her steering; then there was no need for her to ask him for directions.

It was awkwardly silent in the car, and the journey seemed as if it were never going to end. “Why is this your favourite place in the city so far?” She said it almost like she was complaining. “Well, there was a shorter way to get there, but since you refused to say anything, I let you have your way.” He laughed mockingly.

Ava cursed her day even more and prayed that it was going to end very soon; at one point, she thought that her day had been jinxed because she could no longer understand why she had had so much bad luck in one day. She finally arrives at the restaurant.

She was so surprised at how fancy the restaurant was. “You really have nice taste, I must admit,” she smiled. A waiter directed them to their seats; Bruce had already booked a reservation for them. The table was beautifully decorated with flowers; it was one of the nicest things she has seen in the whole of the week. “Well, my day was jinxed after all.” She smiled again.

The waiter walked up to their table with a menu and asked them to select what they wanted. Ava was a bit confused on what to order, and Bruce noticed and asked if she would let him choose for her. She didn’t refuse. He told the waiter to get him their specials. The waiter smiled and complimented them, saying that they looked good together.

While waiting for their meal to be served, Bruce asked, “Are you always like this, or do you just act this way to me?” She sighed and apologized. “Sorry we started on a bad note,” she explained how terrible her day has been from the hangover she had and waking up late with a splitting headache, then the issue with the police, and how late she already was to work.

“What about the elevator?” Bruce interrupted, “Well, I had gas issues due to the alcohol I consumed last night; that’s why I didn’t want anyone with me in the elevator, but clearly, you didn’t understand, so those dreams happened.” “And I was so embarrassed to admit to it,” Ava said this time, her cheek turning red. She felt as if the earth would open and swallow her.

Bruce just giggled a bit and said, “Do you want to know a secret?” He said, “When I was 13, I peed on my bed and blamed the dog just to avoid being laughed at.” Ava laughed out loud; she felt much more comfortable around him, and he finally got to see her smile. They continued spilling secrets about the most embarrassing moments they have had, and she denied it.

The waiter walks in with their meal; it was pork chop casserole with tomato gravy. Ava, being a foodie, couldn’t wait to get a bite of it; her mouth was already salivating from the food’s aroma. She digs into the food; “wow, I must admit the food there is really nice, and you really have a nice taste,” she says, continuing to eat her food.

Bruce smiled and watched her eat. He smiled and wondered how someone would show two sides of her character in the same day. They are and continued talking and giggling as if they were couples. “We should go out more often; I must admit I really enjoyed your company,” Ava said. “Yeah, we should, and next time you could come up with where and when we should go out.”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.