Chapter 27 Chapter 26:
Arya:
I step into the office, holding a pumpkin spice latte from Mrs. Winter’s shop, while I admit that I am still in shock at the sudden news of Axel’s coronation, everyone looks pale today, they seems shaken by the news that the guy they always bump into at the snack room is the CEO of Noble Crafts.
“Hey...Did you know that Axel dude that's so annoying? He’s a freaking CEO!” I can almost imagine them conversing amongst themselves, for Clara, she looks shaken up in her office.
Wanda drags me into the office, holding her phone. “Tell me it’s a joke. Axel Williams, our Axel? That Axel? Did you know that I wanted to faint just by reading the news?”
“I felt the same way.” Dropping my paper cup on the desk, I switch on my computer. “How could he do that to us?”
“Do you realize that Axel is a rich man now? He’s like a billionaire, and he’s sexy, Arya. Do you think I should ask him out?” Wanda asks, smiling shyly. “We could go to the Bahamas and post photos on Instagram.”
I raise my brows, “last time you considered him not your type.” I roll my eyes. The door opens and Axel walks in, wearing a button down shirt. Wanda and I hurriedly stand; Clara looks at us intently from her glass walls.
“Are you guys seriously bowing to me right now?” Axel furrows his brows in confusion, but there’s still that softness in his voice. Damn, I don’t care if he’s a CEO; I walk over to him and smack him in the arm.
“Did you know how shocked we are?” Wanda yells behind us, her face bright red. “I fell off my fucking couch!”
Axel chuckles, keeping his eyes on me. I smack him harder again, making him wince.
“Hey, stop that!” He winces, but I keep smacking him.
“We are your friends; you aren’t supposed to keep things like this away from us.” I say hardly.
“Didn’t Clara attend? How was her reaction when she found out who you were? I bet she must have been so shocked. Serves her right.” Wanda scoffs.
Axel remains quiet, but then he says. “Yeah....shocked,” he seems really quiet regarding Clara’s matter so Wanda decides to drop it.
“Why are you here though, Mr. CEO?” I ask playfully. “You already quit.”
“Well.” He scratches the nape of his neck nervously, avoiding eye contact. “I was hoping if you guys want to come work for Noble Crafts, the salary is really good and plus, you can become a designer right away.”
Wanda steps closer. “Sign me up, dude.”
I shoot her a hard glare and she steps back. “We appreciate what you are doing, Axel. We really do but if we climb up to the top just like that, people will ask questions. They will question you, working for Noble Crafts is our dream, but it will be better if we got there with our own hard work.”
“We are going to miss you though.” At least that’s true, I will miss the stack of photos of his cat, Mr. Whiskers laying around, his jokes and of course, his sheepish smile.
Though Axel’s a bit sad, he agrees with us on that point. We chat some more before he leaves.
Later on, Wanda and I go to the meeting and I am very surprised to hear that Devon Brookes is demanding another meeting from Wanda and I. My mind drifts to Devon, he didn’t look happy when he went to work today, fuck. I hate myself for noticing these tiny details about him, like his mood, and his rare smile.
I need help right now. When we are done with the meeting, I walk to the office, the day has been long and exhausting and all I look forward to is a brief break, beside the stacks of paper on my desk is a box of chocolate truffles.
My mouth water as I step closer, I untie the ribbon, it’s a brand from a store I don’t recognize, but the box looks much fancy to be from an ordinary store, the delicate smell of chocolate wafts into the room. Chocolates are my favorite, I have been yapping it to my friends, but I was pretty sure no one noticed.
I take a bite, the taste melting in my tongue. Damn, this is so good.
Who sent me these chocolates?
I am pretty sure it’s not Nicole- She’s not the sort of person that sends you chocolate in your place of work and it can’t be Emma, she flew to Japan today and will be returning tomorrow, so I decide to place a call to Emily, Nicholas and Nicole’s cousin.
“Hello?” She picks up, her voice sweet. “What is it, Arya?”
“Just wondering...Did you send me a box of chocolate from....” I read out the store’s name written on the box. “LuxéCacao.” The name feels so fancy coming out of my mouth.
There’s silence on the other end. “I didn’t send that, but are you sure that’s the brand’s name?”
I stare at it again. “Yeah, that’s what the box says.”
“Damn, Arya. I don’t know who sent you that chocolate, but that person has money, a box of chocolate from that brand costs at least fifteen grand.” The box almost stumbles from my hand as I clutch the table. “Maybe it’s from Nikky or Ethan?”
I think for a moment, if Ethan sent me the chocolate, he would have included a letter with a smiley face and as for Nico, he would have delivered it himself.
So who in the hell sent me this expensive but delicious as hell chocolate?
“Alright, well. Bye.” I disconnect the call; I can’t resist the temptation, so I take as many bites as I can. I don’t really understand why someone will go as far as getting me a ten grand box of chocolate instead of the normal thirty bucks chocolate I get at the end of the street. I leave some for Wanda and keep some in the snack room to share with everyone.
It’s not every day you eat expensive chocolates. I also keep some for Vera, imagining her face lit up with smiles as she eats the chocolate, like me, she loves them very much.
When work is over, I go home, the new babysitter; a woman in her late twenties seems reluctant to leave. A feeling of unease wraps around me as I notice her grip around Vera seems unusually tight.
“Well, thanks for your help today.” I say stiffly, outstretching my hand for Vera who throws herself at me.
The babysitter lingers, her eyes darting between me and my daughter’s. She makes me feel so uneasy; it’s like this instinct, a mother’s instinct that I don’t feel safe around her.
I force a polite smile at her, watching as she leaves the room. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right with her, she seems so closed off and hesitant to even hand over my daughter to me.
Maybe I am just overreacting; I tend to do that a lot whenever it concerns Vera.
“What did you do today, dear?” I ask with a bright smile, watching Vera grow up is one of my biggest accomplishments and one day, she will be all grown up, with her own dreams.
I imagine us across each other in a cozy cafe while she tells me all about her day, and all I hope is that we still have that special bond.
Vera tells me all about her day with the babysitter; still I can’t shake off the feeling of unease about that babysitter, placing Vera in front of her toys, I go ahead to make dinner when the ringing of the doorbell distracts me.
Nicole’s standing in front of the door when I open it; she brushes past me hurriedly, hurling her bag. She’s still dressed in a female suit, so I assume she is just coming back from work.
Even though I already know the answer, I fold my hands and ask. “Hey, Nicole....Did you by any chance send me a box of chocolate?”
She doesn’t even glance at me as she sits down, “No. Why do you ask?”
“Nothing.” I wave off the topic, Nicole visiting is clearly of great importance. She brings out a bunch of novels from her bag and places it on the table.
“You won’t believe what I found out.” Nicole says, her gray eyes gleaming against the light. “So, last night we all had dinner at Emily’s. For some unknown reason, Nikky decided to bail, so it was just me, my mother and Emily. You could imagine the way she was pestering us about getting a husband.”
“Okay?” I probe further.
“So, I excused myself from the dining room and went to the living room, you know how Emily reads so much? She has a bunch of romance and thriller novels, so I decided to grab one and read. You wouldn’t believe it, this author writes insane shit.” She picks up one of the heavy paperbacks and flips the pages.
She starts to read out loud: ‘She was approaching me, hands caked in dirt, I had to do something. The police were on their way, hurriedly. I grabbed a shovel and smacked it against her head; the sound of her skull crunching made a ghost smile appear on my face.’
“That is insane.” I say, I can’t even imagine reading something as horrific as that.
“His pen name is Logan Kane, but look at this...” She brings the book closer to me so I can stare at the author photo at the back. I almost fall out of the seat, fuck. He’s Devon Brookes.
No, he undoubtedly looks like Devon Brookes.
I look at Nicole, horror crossing my face. “Devon’s twin brother? How are you sure it’s him?”
“The resemblance is right there, I searched the internet for his books, and he writes under the horror/thriller genre. He’s best-selling in the U.K and this is the only photo of him on the internet, which means he’s trying not to draw attention to himself, hence the pen name.”
This is sick, insanely sick. Devon’s twin brother writes novels?
“So, I pulled a few strings, and I found something. He lives in the U.K. He’s a best-selling author, and I found his personal phone number.” Nicole looks proud of herself.
“What? Really?”
“Yeah, I already texted it to you, I can’t stick around and watch while you make the phone call because I promised my father I would play golf with him.” She stands and takes her bag, “Emily said I could keep the novels, but I am leaving it here. Call me later when you speak to him.” Nicole leaves and I am left all alone with only his number.
My hands tremble as I start to dial his number. What if we got the wrong person? What if this isn’t his twin brother?
Will Devon be happy if he finds out everything I have been doing? Will his twin brother even want to speak to me?
I change my mind as my hand hovers on the end button, but I hear a voice on the other end.
“Hello?”
“Hi...um...Am I speaking with Devon’s Brookes twin brother?” I ask, biting my lips as I await his next response.