Eva didn’t wait to hear his explanations. With a shattered heart, she picked up the spare keys to Alyssa’s apartment and went out. She wanted to move out of Alexander’s life for good. When he left for work, she would go back for her stuff, but right now, she just had to get away. Her mind felt numb and the scene she saw in his bedroom continuously played in her head. How could she kiss an engaged man? How could she agree to live with a man who was playing with the feelings of two women simultaneously? She felt hurt by Alexander’s behavior! It was obvious that he had slept with Beatrix last night despite his tall claims of hating her! She had seen the evidence with her own eyes!
Feeling betrayed and used, she unlocked the door and went inside Alyssa’s apartment. Alyssa had left for a job interview and she had the entire apartment to herself to fix her broken heart all by herself. There were no tears, just a vacuum left in her heart. It was true she loved Alexander, but she wouldn’t allow him to use her again. He had to choose between her and Beatrix!
The doorbell pealed, but she sat in her room, not wanting to face anyone. Alyssa had her own set of keys with her. So it would surely be Alexander at the doorstep with his mountain load of excuses. She had no interest in them.
After ringing the doorbell ten times, Alexander sighed and gave up. He felt agitated that Eva had misunderstood him completely. He wanted to confess his feelings to her, but she didn’t bother to open the door. The good thing was that her stuff was still at his apartment. She didn’t completely move out of his life. He had to win her over when she was in a better frame of mind, but before that, he had to go to the office to face Beatrix. After the stunt he pulled last night, he knew Beatrix would be furious with him. Would she snatch Rotterdams away from him?
He drove over to the office, but strangely Beatrix didn’t put up an appearance yet. It was a little unusual since lately she spent the whole day with him, sticking to him all the time wherever he went. She didn’t learn things easily and he had to be extremely patient with her. Patience not being one of Alexander’s virtues, he always ended up yelling at her. With no news of her the whole day, Alexander felt relieved and concentrated more on his work.
Unaware of the turmoil happening in her best friend’s and brother’s lives, Alyssa stared at the gigantic twin towers of the commercial complex in front of her with awe. How did she get an interview call at such a place with no job experience at all? The elevator took her up to the 17th floor, where Cygnus Financial Services was located. She loved the extensive and grand office where she would be working if selected. She just prayed that the CEO, Maxwell Clyborne, who was a friend of the Donnelly brothers, would choose her! The receptionist directed her towards the lobby in front of the CEO’s office and she waited patiently, noting that she was the only one there. Later, when summoned, she went to the CEO’s office and asked for permission to enter.
“Come in,” said an annoyed voice. She pushed the door open and walked in confidently to see a tall, suit-clad man sitting at a desk near an enormous bay window. He looked up and strangely, a faint smile tugged at his lips.
“Alyssa Van Every, right? Please sit down.” Alyssa nodded and sat down opposite him, wondering what sort of mood he was in.
“Good morning, sir.” He nodded and smiled at her, making her instantly suspicious of what was going on. Did Lucas give in a word of recommendation for her at Sienna’s insistence?
“Shall we start the interview?” he asked, and Alyssa nodded nervously. “Do you have your resume with you?” Alyssa handed him her resume and watched him warily. Would he throw her out after seeing her average GPA score and lack of experience? However, Mr. Clyborne’s eyes widened, and he sat reading her resume with interest. Alyssa was surprised to see him so engrossed in her resume that he hardly asked her questions.
“I actually have no experience, sir, but I’m willing to work very hard and learn,” she said confidently, wanting to get selected here. She really had no wish to hunt for more jobs at all. He looked up at her with an amused smile on his face.
“So you’re Eva Ann Rayner, a nurse at Bellevue Hospital. Right?” he asked, his eyes twinkling with amusement while Alyssa’s mouth hung in horror. What the fu*k was he blabbering?
“No sir. I’m Alyssa Van Every. Eva is my best friend,” she pointed out, her eyes falling to the resume she handed him. Did she mistakenly hand him Eva’s resume instead of hers?
“Then where is your resume, Ms. Van Every?” he asked, shaking his head at her mistake. Alyssa was flustered beyond words, and searched for her resume inside her folder.
“I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know how I gave you hers instead of mine,” she said, taking out her resume and handing it out to him. Strangely, he didn’t return Eva’s resume, and Alyssa frowned at the man. Wasn’t he weird?
The rest of the interview was as weird as he was. He didn’t ask her much except a few questions about why she didn’t take up any job earlier. Alyssa was honest about it and explained her disinterest in her stepdad’s business, which was the only option available to her.
“So what if your stepdad finds out that you’re working for me? Would he force you to leave this job?” asked Maxwell Clyborne.
“No one can force me to do anything, sir.” He smiled at her answer and then nodded at her.
“You’re hired in the capacity of an Entry-level Finance Analyst, Ms. Van Every. Congratulations! Please meet our Accounts Department Head, Michael Delaney and he will explain everything to you in detail. That will be all.” Alyssa gaped at the man and wondered why he actually selected her when she failed to impress him in any way.
“Thank you, sir,” she said, getting up to see herself out. Strangely, he didn’t return hers or Eva’s resume and she didn’t have the courage to ask him in case it made him change his mind. She breathed a sigh of relief once she went outside.
The moment she left, Maxwell Clyborne looked at the resume in his hands. Of course, he remembered Coco too well. He had liked her instantly that night at Phoenix when Alexander had to spoil everything. He had heard him call her Eva, and that was all he knew about her! Now his eyes flashed with excitement to see her details right in front of his eyes.
“Eva Ann Rayner!” he whispered in a daze. Her name seemed so nice, just like the rest of her. He couldn’t wait to get to know her better and saved her number on his mobile phone. He had to thank Nicholas for recommending his girlfriend here to him. At least he found his Coco. It was lunchtime when Nicholas arrived, his office being in the building next to his.
They quickly caught up, and he thanked him heartily. “Don’t even think of pursuing Eva. Alexander likes her,” warned Nicholas. Maxwell scoffed at his friend’s reminder.
“Isn’t Alexander engaged to that heiress who sleeps around with Fairfield?” asked Maxwell, rolling his eyes.
“Yes. I’ve heard she is now interested in an acting career as well. Fairfield is casting her in his own production,” informed Nicholas.
“Can she act at all?” laughed Maxwell.
“I’m sure that’s all she actually can do,” chuckled Nicholas.
“With Alexander out of the way, who’s going to stop me from pursuing Eva?” asked Maxwell while Nicholas frowned at seeing the determined look on his best friend’s face. He knew Maxwell was right, but he didn’t know Alexander’s wrath. Despite being engaged, Nicholas knew Alexander had feelings for Eva, which he never admitted out loud but couldn’t hide from him.
“Forget her, dude. Alexander has feelings for her and he would never let this go. He’ll do everything in his power to destroy you if you even look at Eva,” warned Nicholas.
“I don’t care. He can’t have both women in his life. He has chosen Beatrix over Eva.” Nicholas sighed and tried hard to convince his friend, but he didn’t budge from his decision. Nicholas left with a feeling of dread settling in his heart at the new turn of events.
“Now that I’ve found you, Coco, I’ll not rest till I make you mine. I’ll whisk you from under Alexander’s nose and he wouldn’t be able to harm me in any way. I’ll marry you and give you the life that Alexander can’t,” swore Maxwell, staring at the picture on her resume.