Chapter 23
apter 23 Chapter Twenty three
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Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty three
Mark cleared his throat when I didn’t look up. “Sydney?”
I looked up with a smile. “I’m sorry. I got distracted. What were you saying?”
His eyes strayed to the phone in my grip and lingered there and I thought I saw his jaw harden but
his voice was calm and soft when he spoke again. “I got you a gift.”
“Oh yes, of course,” I spluttered, then I quickly took the box from his out-
stretched hands.
As he stood there, smiling at me as if he was waiting for something. I contem- ted transferring
the break up fee to him now so I could just leave with some
of my things tonight. That way, I’ll get to spend the first hours of the day with Grace but then I
looked down at the gift he got me and my gaze slid back to his.
He had never gotten me a gift before. Perhaps, it was to dissuade me from in-
sisting on the divorce. I couldn’t bring myself to bring up the divorce issue now.
“Thank you,” I said instead, observing my handiwork. “It’s a beautiful bracelet.”
“I made sure of that,” he muttered, his voice didn’t sound as hopeful as it did a
few minutes ago. He slid his hands in his pocket. The atmosphere suddenly felt
awkward and the room felt like it was too small for the both of us as he stared
intently at me.
“I’ll go to bed now,” without waiting for his reply – if he had any turned on my
heels and went straight for my room.
When I woke up the next day, the first thing Iid my eyes on was the bracelet I
had ced on my bedside. I hadn’t even bothered to try it on.
What’s suddenly up with him? Why is he giving me a gift? I sighed and looked
away from it. I picked up my phone and shot Grace a sweet sinct birthday
text.
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I also texted the supplier I had an appointment with today to confirm we were still meeting. Grace
and I were looking into adding a men’s collection to Luxe Vogue, it would help boost sales for us. So
I had asked my assistant to look up suppliers for men’s clothing. She gave me a list of ten suppliers,
their info and history in business.
I narrowed the list to three and proceeded to text the three. Of all three, this par- ticr supplier was
the one that was very professional and he showed vast and deep background knowledge in the
men’s clothing industry. His name is Bran. He has been in the industry for years and was good at
what he does. He was open–minded and ready to coborate. He was the perfect candidate to
work.
with.
I stood up to go brush and get ready for the day. When I got back he had. replied. And he also sent
the address I requested for.
I frowned at the address he sent. It was a cafe but I had never heard of it.
I hailed a cab and gave him the address. I could see that the man wanted to say something when
he saw the address but for some reason he kept it to him-
self.
Shrugging, I got in the cab.
The closer we got to the location, the more barren the areas looked.
The driver stopped in front of an old building that was the cafe.
“We’re here,” the driver cleared his throat, his fingers impatiently tapping on the steering wheel.
I got down from the cab and paid him his fee. I looked at the Cafe, it looked abandoned. The pole
holding the signboard up was crooked, bent downward and the signboard itself was swinging in the
air.
Why would anyone choose to meet up in a location like this? I turned to ask the driver if he had ever
been here before but he had already driven off.
I stood there, in the middle of nowhere and dialed Mr Bran’s line. “I’m at the
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Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty three
cafe,” I can’t find you anywhere here.
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“I’m in the cafe,” his nice voice sounded through the speaker. “Juste right
in.”
I took a deep breath and walked to the cafe. The door creaked noisily as I
pushed it open and mote filled the air.
I waved my hand in front of me to clear them away. I scanned the area. The
ce was empty and there was no receptionist or any one taking orders. The chairs and tables
were surprisingly clean for such an deserted ce. I had
been expecting the interior to be filled with dust and cobwebs.
Then in my peripheral vision I caught a movement.
“Over here,” I heard him before I turned.
My smile faltered as they fell on the man. If that was Mr Bran then he was far from the image I had
conjured up in my head. I had been.expecting…say a fat bald man with a bulging stomach whose
eyes would tell of his passion for his
business. But there, in the cafe seat, sat a fit man that looked like he’d be in his
forties. His hair sl*pped back and he had a hard look on his face. One of his bulging muscled arms
was raised in the air, waving at me while the other rest- ed on the table beside two cups of coffee.
Never judge a book by its cover, I muttered to myself and prompted myself for- ward.
“Mr Bran,” I chirped.
“Mrs Torres,” he smiled. When I got to the table he was sitting, he stood up from his seat. He easily
towered over me as he stretched his hand for a hand- shake. I took his hands and he shook it
firmly.
We sat down and immediately dived into business. It kept uring to me to ask if I could order
another coffee apart from the one he already ordered but I didn’t see the need. There definitely was
no service going in here.
As we spoke, I noticed that he was just as enthusiastic as he was when we
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臨 talked online but I just couldn’t shake this strange feeling off. His piercing eyes
probing me as he smiled and talked non–stop about how we could coborate
ande up with new designs made me feel very unsettled. And he wasn’t as
professional as I’d have liked, he kept urging me to take the coffee he apparently
ordered for the both of us ahead of my arrival.
Yes, he sounded like the man I had been speaking with and everything he said
aligned with what we already discussed but I couldn’t help but doubt his identi-
1. ty.
“Actually, I would like to use the restroom,” I said when he asked me to drink the coffee again. My
l*ps curved into a forced smile as I picked up my purse. “Where’s it located?” I turned to look
around. When I turned back to him, his pa-
tronizing smile was gone and his hard gaze was on me. He sneered and raised
his arm like he had done when I came in, except this time, he snapped his fin-
gers.
In the shadows, three heavily built men emerged. They had his fit physique but
they were bigger.
My grip on my purse tightened as I drew in a deep breath. I guess it was time
for my self defense lesson to be put to use.
With the speed I had mastered in years of training, I got on my feet, my heeled
shoes drilled Sinto the table between us as I lunge myself at one of the men far-
thest from the rest.
We both fell on the ground with a loud thud. I quickly pulled myself together
and sprayed the pepper spray in my pocket in his eyes. He pped his face in a
frenzy, screaming.
Leaving him forter, I tucked the pepper spray safely and stood up. When I
turned, I was faced with the other two men; they were firmly stationed in front
of me. In the space between them, I could see Bran behind them in a seat, one
of his legs propped on the other one. He had a smirk on as he watched me.
I attempted to throw a punch at one of the men but he calmly dodged it. I swift-
Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
ly got on my knees and took each of their legs. With so much effort, I brought
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both of them to the ground. They struggled as I pinned their legs with mine. As I tried to reach for
the shocker in my back pocket one of them gripped my hair and effortlessly pulled me up.
I was now face to face with him. “B**ch!” He spat in my face and gave me a re-
sounding p that had my gaze unfocused for a while.
Suddenly, the sound of ss breaking filled the room, as a figure broke. through the floor to ceiling
walls of the cafe.
The man threw me aside. My gaze was blurry as I looked up and watched as the two men faced the
figure that now stood confidently in front of them.
Is he one of them?
Few secondster, just before they lunged at him, I answered my own question..
Like a pro in fist fighting, he smoothly punched the two of them out of his way. and strided toward
me. My muscles tensed as I prepared. for his attack but in- stead of attacking me, he shed me a
smug smile and pulled me up to my feet.
“Ciao, bellissimo.”
Luigi? What was he doing here?
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