“I am sorry but I cannot carry out your request because I am here with a sprained wrist” was the last thing he was expecting her to answer with. She was even wearing a bandage which means that she was not lying.
He kicked the poor trash can at the side of the gallery in anger as his plan fell through. He was so sure of getting both her and Tom but he might run mad before he do that at this rate.
“What a waste of time” he mumbled under his heavy breath as his secretary scurried over to his side. He previously told him to stay outside so they wouldn’t be suspicious.
“How did it go? Did you crush her?” the secretary asked with a wide smile but the stern look on Joseph’s face gave the answer he was looking for.
“I see you couldn’t carry it out” he added with the smile disappearing faster than they had appear.
“Get my flight back to Chicago now!” Joseph commanded as he entered the car and his secretary raised his brow, “You mean you are going back to Chicago now?” he questioned and Joseph hit the header of the seat in front of him in anger.
His eyes were red with anger and he was breathing furiously, the burning temperature running through him might be hot enough to boil water and his dumb secretary seems to be adding more fire to the existing one.
“I am sorry sir, I will book it right now” he stated and closed the door before rushing to get behind the wheel.
****
Tom got to see the video of Joseph asking Amber to do a live drawing and his heart skipped a bit. He knew she might have been practicing but there is no how she is going to draw something worthy.
“That son of a gun, what game is he trying to play here?” he muttered, biting his finger in anxiousness. His heart rate increased and it was beating crazily, he didn’t know what Amber would do to get herself out of the trap Joseph had laid down.
The moment Amber showed forth her bandage, his chest felt light all of a sudden. It was as if a heavy block that had been placed on his heart was lifted.
“That was close” he sighed in relief as a smile crept to the corner of his lips but it quickly vanished as he wondered what happened to her that she got hurt.
Immediately the interview was finished, he picked his phone and dialed her number straight away. She was still in one of the rooms at the gallery when his call rang through.
“Hello” she said, picking up without knowing what to address him as. They really didn’t talk much before she left and even when they did talk, it was during work so he just called him “Sir” naturally.
They were both hesitating on taking things far and fast so they just went on their steady wavelength and they both didn’t have a problem with that.
“I saw that you were hurt, how did you hurt your hand?” he asked with concern written all over his voice.
“Oh this? I got it as a backup” she whispered to him but loud enough for him to hear and he went speechless.
He didn’t even know what to say because he couldn’t believe she really did that intentionally. One thing he really loves about Amber is that she was always thinking ahead and prepared for any situation that might show up unexpectedly.
“Please stay safe though, I will come pick you up at the airport as always” he said to her and after confirming that her day was fine, he hung up.
He chuckled to himself on the chair as he remembered the pained look on Joseph’s face, the cameraman even gave him the luxury to enjoy it well because he zoomed it on Joseph’s face to show his reaction to the response of Amber.
***
Both Joseph and Tom didn’t confront each other about the issue but Joseph was still searching for evidences to pin both of them. He wanted to ruin Tom so bad because he couldn’t bear the fact that everything was going smoothly for them, the popularity of Amber was also contributing to the high sales thanks to the fans who wanted to come see her in real life so they come to the mall and pretend to buy things.
They were both spending time at the hidden house one day when Amber suddenly brought up the issue of Lawrence.
“No matter how I think about it, I think you should come clean to Lawrence. It is better he knows about this and the past because you might lose someone as great as him forever if he finds out late” she advised and he agreed immediately.
“I have been thinking about the same thing but I don’t know how to go about it. Many years have passed and many things have happened. I wonder if he would be willing to be friends with me anymore and I also don’t want you to get hurt” he stated and Amber reached for his hands.
“It is okay to get some scratches, I am willing to take that sacrifice if it means setting things aright. Even if we are deceiving anyone, let’s not deceive someone like him. He once told me that the reason why he has been holding exhibitions for years was to find you. He wanted to get in contact with you through arts that you have both shared and he emphasized that his memories of the past was the most special thing in his life to this day” she explained, trying hard to persuade him.
“I will find some time to visit him then, I don’t have a choice” he finally succumbed and she pulled his cheeks a little with a low “You are cute when you agree on things” making him smile.
He pulled her closer to himself and brushed her hair from her face before stroking her cheeks. He stared at her with his eyes filled with love. He know he’s not the best man out there, he’s boring whenever it’s outside work and he is not handling their relationship like a romantic man would but Amber never complained.
She was never clingy, whiny with him. She made sure to speak up her thoughts and also state whatever she wanted or not. She also know how to keep her private and work life separate so they never had any issue at work except the random holding of hands in the elevator when they are alone, the smile when their eyes meet and some other little display of affection they exchange carefully.
He might not be the best man out there but they have managed to build their relationship on a good mode and maintained their speeds while slowly changing for each other.
Tom began to plan his visit to Paris in order to meet with Lawrence but he haven’t picked a date when Lawrence informed Amber that he was in Chicago. She happily set up a meeting with him and they picked a place.
“You became more beautiful than the last time we met” he complimented her and she blushed at his words.
They talked about what they have been up to and he told her that he came to Chicago to check if he could meet his friend he told her about. Immediately, the smile on her face dropped as she pinched her fingers in hesitation.
She felt bad for Lawrence who was pure hearted and valued his longtime friend. Given the amount of his success and popularity, he should have forgotten about him but he kept looking for him.
“If I can ask a question, why are you looking for this friend so bad? You seems to be so interested in this friend” she stated carefully and Lawrence went silent for a bit.
“My friend that I don’t even know his name brought me out of my darkness but I couldn’t help him out of his. I have never been able to sleep well for the past sixteen years of my life after parting with him because I would always wonder what he’s up to, if he’s doing well and if he’s now out of his darkness. I want to meet him and reunite with him, thank him for what he had done for me and also help him out if by chance he’s still in the dark hole” he answered with a heavy heart.
“I am about to drop a bomb but I don’t want you to be shocked. You have every reasons to be mad at me, yell at me or even break off our friendship but if this is the way I can put an end to your agony then I am more than willing to do it” she declared and he wondered what she was talking about
“What do you mean by that?” he slowly asked and she sighed a bit before answering, “The friend you are looking for is my man” she confessed and he went mute, he didn’t even know what to say to the sudden revelation.