Chapter 35

Yes, he noticed her, but he didn't find her attractive one bit; instead, he found her to be desperate. She wasn't the Rue he used to know when they were much younger, or the one he used to chat with over the phone.

Even now that she was here because she wanted to see him, she wasn't bothered by the presence of his mother.

"I will, soon; I just got..."

"Oh, sorry," A lady interrupted her as she walked past her, going to sit next to Keir and handing him a glass of water.

"Thank you. Keir appreciated taking the glass and taking a sip from it, then placing it on the table in front of him.

"I am so happy to finally meet you, Sandy. Mrs. Hydra smiled at Sandy. She had seen her a couple of times in the past, but what she meant was that she was happy to now see her as Keir's girlfriend. She was truly surprised when Keir just informed her that he was now dating Sandy, but she was also happy for her son.

Happy that he had finally found love and someone who loved him right back, she didn't know much about Sandy's background. The fact that she was working as Keir's personal assistant meant that she was from an average family, but it really didn't matter.

She was also from an average family when her husband married her.

"Thank you, ma. Sandy smiled back. She had thought things would be awkward, which is why she excused them with the excuse of getting Keir water to drink, even though he insisted on the maids doing it. However, Mrs. Hydra just seemed happy about it.

It seems that not all wealthy people feel the need for their children to also marry into wealth.

"This is Rue, Keir's childhood friend; I don't know if Keir ever told you about her." Mrs. Hydra introduced Rue to Sandy as Rue took a seat on the couch, wondering who this lady was that was sitting next to Keir.

She could have sat anywhere she liked, but she decided to sit next to Keir. Why? Who was she?

"A little bit," Sandy said.

"Rue, this is Keir's girlfriend."

"What?" Rue's jaw dropped.

"When did this all happen?" Rue asked her thoughts out loud as she took them back quickly. "I mean, where did you guys meet?"

Had she been wrong all this time to think that something was going on between Keir and Octavia? Had she been blind to the fact that Keir was actually building a relationship with this woman and not Octavia? How come she never met this woman or heard about her? Was Octavia aware of this woman?

Maybe that was why Octavia was upset with Keir when she caught them kissing because she felt he was cheating on this woman, and all this time that he had been away from home, he was with this woman, not Octavia.

How did she miss this? This woman didn't even look up to their standard just by looking at how she carried herself; she was well dressed, but she didn't look wealthy.

Was this the kind of woman Keir found attractive, or were his past issues with his wealthy girlfriend what attracted him to this kind of woman?

"I am actually Keir's personal assistant," Sandy explained to Rue, then stared at Keir to be sure he was okay with her explaining that part of their relationship to his friend apart from Mrs. Hydra, but Keir just took her hands and kissed the back of it, placing it back on his lap.

Keir's action didn't go unnoticed by Mrs. Hydra, who was pleased, but Rue, on the other hand, felt like throwing up; that should be her hand, not this woman's.

So, this woman was his personal assistant, which was why she had a feeling she had met her somewhere.

It was when she went to see Keir in his office, but the woman had been more concerned about his schedule and the meeting he had next; she didn't look like a threat that day. How did she miss it?

It was well known that Keir didn't involve himself with his employees, but this was unexpected.

She smiled at Sandy, taking it all in, saying, "I am happy for you. No, she wasn't happy one bit; she felt like walking across the table and telling her to leave her man.

"Thank you," Sandy smiled.

"I believe Octavia is also aware of this," Rue asked.

Yes, she is," Sandy replied. Even though, out of everyone, it seemed Octavia was the one who didn't take the news very well, which was suspicious.

ATLAS'S BEACH HOUSE

~ OUTSIDE ~

Octavia walked down the beach barefoot; she had tried to keep up with her heels, but they kept getting into the sand and nearly making her trip. She saw Atlas sitting under a canopy and waving at her with a smile on his face as she waved back at him.

"Hi," Atlas said, standing up from the couch.

"Hi," Octavia replied as they hugged briefly.

She stared at the couch and the table containing a fruit bowl. She wondered why they were here and not in some fancy restaurant. When Atlas had called her with an unknown number, she had been reluctant to come as she was still processing the whole Sandy and Keir thing.

She only agreed to it because she needed something to get her head off things and away from the thought of Keir and how he had lied to her. She didn't want to say use her because it was a mutual agreement, but she felt used, and she didn't know why.

"This place is private from the press, seeing that we are now trending," Atlas explained, noticing Octavia was looking at the couch and the bowl of fruits.

Right. How could she forget that? She took her seat on the couch as Atlas sat beside her.

"About the event," Atlas started going straight to the point. "I am sorry if I came on to you too strongly."

"No, I am sorry. I kind of gave you the impression that I wanted it to happen," Octavia apologized. She had kissed him back, so it was totally normal for him to think they were on the same page, except they were not, as her head was thinking of another man.

Maybe they could try again and see if it was just that day and that Keir was actually not stuck in her head forever.

Atlas smiled; he was pleased to hear that. That was all he wanted to know when he had been trying to calm her down after she slapped him and left the laundry room, but she just became cold towards him.

The reason he had been too forward was because, in the entertainment industry, things moved quite faster than you would think.

One minute someone was single, and the next they were in a relationship or, at worst, getting married. He just wanted her to know how he felt about her. It wasn't like he just suddenly loved her after seeing her, because that would be psychotic, but he felt something for her.

"I am pleased to hear that, Tavia," Atlas smiled.

Tavia, why was he calling her Tavia? This was the same name Keir used to call her when they were having a normal conversation: watermelon.

"So, what are you into now?"

Business, but mostly modeling; I got a brand deal with two well-known fashion labels, so I am currently working on that," Atlas explained proudly.

"That's good; I guess I will be seeing you soon on some magazine cover," Octavia smiled.

"Why do I feel like you looked into me before coming here? Atlas smirked, leaning into his chair.

A little creepy, but he didn't mind her doing her research on him; it was for her own safety, of course, and she couldn't just suddenly trust him out of the blue because they were once high school mates.

"Okay, you caught me! Octavia laughed. "I did a little bit of background checking."

"There is really nothing to hide when it comes to me; the press doesn't waste time in revealing my daily life to the public. Atlas smiled, sitting up and bringing out his phone to show Octavia something. "These are some of my photoshoots, still under editing."

Octavia looked over as Atlas gave her his phone to scroll through the gallery. She took the phone, staring at him. Was he really giving her his phone just like that and showing her confidential pictures on their first date, or was he trying to make her feel comfortable by being open with her?

This was how Keir was when they made that agreement; he had gone naked first to show her she was in a safe space.

She scrolled through the pictures; he was a really fine man, no doubt, and it was obvious he went to the gym as an image of him wearing just pants with no shirt came up.

He wasn't so bad, and when she did her research, he just broke up with some model chick. She didn't have time to look into the girl, but now she was going to.

Why would someone break up with someone like Atlas? She needed to know if the fault was with Atlas or the chick, or if it was distance.

"Who is this? Octavia said as a picture of a lady kissing Atlas cheeks popped up once she swiped, she zoomed into the picture. Was this who she thought it was? Or was she a twin?

"Sandy Adams," Atlas explained.

This was Sandy, Keir's personal assistant turned recent girlfriend, and she was here all lovey-dovey with Atlas.