Ava's Pov:
The sun shone brightly on my face as I rubbed my eyes awake.
I stood up and walked into the shower more determined than ever. I was going to set things straight. That didn't require an explanation or a conversation at all. All I needed to do was set the boundaries Leon failed to even create.
Although, it was partially my fault.
I got dressed and put my hair in a high ponytail. I curled the ends and let a little piece fall down on each side. I laid on the bed for a few minutes before going downstairs to the kitchen.
Pearl and Allen, my second favorite staff in the house greeted me. Their distance was still bothering me. I was so lonely and they were the only ones I could talk to but whatever Leon told them, they were sticking to it by all means.
I stood by the kitchen counter, making a sandwich. I wasn't really hungry for the chef's cooking.
Leon walked in shortly after.
"Good morning." he greeted.
"Morning. Did you sleep okay?"
"Yeah, I did, thanks to my plus one."
I scoffed and rolled my eyes.
"Speaking of plus ones," he continued. "Why were you so eager to leave the party last night?"
"And you suddenly care?"
I didn't keep eye contact. I kept making sandwiches that I wouldn't be able to finish alone. I couldn't bear to have a reason to look at him so I had to keep my eyes busy.
"What does that mean?"
"It means, you didn't care yesterday and now you suddenly do?"
He paused. "What made you think I didn't care?"
I didn't answer.
"I was just upset."
It took me everything not to mention Brielle or whatever her name was. The last thing I wanted was to sound like a jealous, crazy personal assistant.
"Really? I was too."
"Could you tell me why?"
I sighed and turned around.
"One of those rich snobby women was rude to me. She bumped into me and instantly cussed me out. She said I didn't belong there."
" Come on, you didn't think everybody there liked you truthfully did you?"
"Was that supposed to help?"
"What I meant was, it's normal for people like them. No one genuinely fancies the other. And it didn't help that you were with the Leon Prescott."
"How could I forget?" I went back to pretending to be busy.
"Don't think about it. If you do, you'd be stressing yourself out over people who couldn't care if you lived or died."
"I'll take the advice."
"Good. I'm headed to the office."
"Can I come with you?" I asked.
"Why would you want to do that?"
"Well considering that I was recently kidnapped and I've been rotting inside this house, I'd say a little sight seeing wouldn't be so bad. I am your personal assistant after all."
He looked at me with shock on his face. I could tell that was the last thing he was expecting.
"Ha. Go get dressed."
I stuffed a sandwich in my mouth and rushed to my room to change.
It took me less than a second to find a good outfit, luckily.
I liked how my hair looked so I only applied lipgloss, put on my shoes, wore my handbag and walked out of the room.
"That was quick."
"I should be ensuring you're the opposite of late, not enabling it, true?"
He looked shocked, again. "I guess so."
I walked past him to the front door. I could sense his confusion as I moved. Even in the car he still shot frequent glances at me. I wasn't exactly new to that but watching him try to figure out the sudden change was enjoyable.
On getting to his company, I made sure to walk inches behind him.
Everyone was polite, especially to him. They didn't look like the smiles infused by fear. They looked genuine, like they all looked up to him. I had to give him his flowers for that.
Eventually, we had to enter the elevator alone. I prayed someone would walk in at some point but we were alone all through, and of course his office had to be on the top floor.
I tried not to stare at him to read his face but it wasn't exactly helping that he was standing so close to me.
It felt like I could finally breathe as soon as the doors opened.
"I have a meeting in about twenty minutes. You can take a look around, no one will bother you."
"What? Why didn't you tell me? I thought I would stay with you till I was ready to leave."
"You think I come to the office everyday to stare at a computer and sip coffee?"
"Well yes."
"Next time you can accompany me to the board room as my assistant. To an extent that is your job, but it's your first time, what happened to sight seeing?"
I forcefully nodded and walked in the opposite direction as him.
The people who saw me talking to him gave me a jealous look. Something I thought I wouldn't have to hate.
I ignored them and kept walking and admiring the paintings. Everything about it looked like what I always prayed for, except I preferred just staring at a computer and sipping coffee.
Eventually, I got bored and decided to convince Leon to let me in the board room. I walked back to his office but he had the door partially closed. It made me suspicious so I creeped up slowly.
He was on a call. Part of me wanted to walk away. The last time I eavesdropped ended up bad for both of us. But, I couldn't help myself.
"Leave her out of it Max."
Great. More new names to be worried about.
I could faintly hear the other person on the line. "Do what I ask and I'll give you my word then."
His voice sounded familiar but it was too faint to conclude.
"If you hurt her, I will kill you. Unlike you, I always keep my word."
He hung up.
I knew instantly who he was talking to but I didn't want to believe it.
He called someone else.
"Get it prepared. I'm not holding back anymore."