No Strings Attached

Chapter Seven

"Yeah Tuesday sounds good. Hey, would you and Mya mind if I tagged along with you on Saturday?"

"Jason." his brother warned.

"What? I haven't seen Ms Armstrong in a while, I just want to wish her a happy birthday."

"Really?" he wasn't convinced.

Jason turned in his chair to face the window. "Well... that and other things."
 
Alexandra groaned in delight when she finally kicked off her heels after a long day of work. She loved the nude suede platforms a lot but they killed her feet every time she wore them. The entire day at work was just a battle. She'd battled with a heavy headache that wasn't going away, she'd battled with the storyboard for the new advert on the project she was leading and then she had to battle when it was revealed that the company was about to take get a new management consultant. At first she hadn't been too worried for her job because she knew she was excellent at it, but then they mentioned the name of the consultant.

Jonathan Goodman.

When she'd heard the news, she'd went to visit every senior partner she could to try and get them to change their minds but she kept coming up with the same result. So now either way, she'd be working side by side with the man she once loved. Oh, who was she kidding, she still loved him. She'd heard many people talk about how hard it was to switch off feelings for a person but she never imagined it would be this hard. Sometimes she'd find herself going back through her phone at messages they'd sent months ago, just to get back the feeling they brought her.

She pouted as she looked around her house. "I deserve some take out." Alex stalked into her bedroom and reached for the purse that contained her smaller bills. Upon opening the purse, she saw two little small cards. She'd forgotten all about these! Well, she'd forgotten all about one. She remembered Jason's one very clear. He'd been on her mind quite a lot since the club scene. She wanted to just get it over and done with and hopefully seal the rivalry they had. That would've been the best thing to do.

That was the best thing to do, she thought as she reached for her cell and Jason's card.

But then again, the dude with the dreadlocks seemed like he would really show her how to get down... Not that she needed any lessons, but she was beginning to deem herself a little rusty in that area.

She grabbed both cards, the money and her keys and left to go get herself some food. As soon as she arrived, the clerk had already nodded at her and the chef, both of them knowing exactly what she wanted to order. She graced them with a smile when she claimed her food and paid. She turned to leave but wasn't paying attention and ended up running into a solid figure. "Ooh, I'm sorry!"

"Its alright, Lex." She instantly looked up at the familiar voice and her heart accelerated.

"Jonathan." She forced a smile onto her face and stepped away from the line. They both stood there in what seemed like an extremely awkward silence. "Hi."

"Hey. How've you been?" He asked, genuinely interested.

"I've been good, yeah, I've been good. What about you?"

He nodded. "Me too. Just living, you know." They shared a forced laugh and stood in silence for a minute. "You know, every time I look at you, I feel-."

"Baby, what was taking you so- oh, Alex! Hey." She hadn't even seen Alexis approach them. she watched as Alexis' arm slid through his and couldn't help but feel a twang of pain and jealousy. Alexis pushed herself close to Jonathan and turned his head, capturing his lips in a kiss so heated, it was as if she didn't even notice Alex was there.

"I should, uh, I should get going." She said quietly, as they pulled apart. Jonathan, the nice guy that he is, smiled at her.

"I guess I'll see you at work, Lex." She nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait, hold on. What's he talking about?" Alex didn't miss the jealousy that had taken over her twin's eyes.

"Oh, he's been hired as the new management consultant for the next couple of weeks just to tighten up our finances." She watched as Alexis' face changed and went back into a smile a second later.

"Okay. It was nice seeing you, Alexandra."

"You too, Lexi. I like the new hair by the way." Alexis touched her new blonde highlighted waved hair and thanked her. "Bye."

"And make sure you don't miss mom's birthday party this Saturday!" She heard Alexis yell, but she continued to walk down the street, trying to control her tears.

She didn't cry on the drive home, but the moment she stepped into her house, the tears came streaming down. She hadn't expected to see them together in her neighbourhood. They rarely came over here. It was probably some ploy by Alexis so that she'd run into them. Being the evil bitch that she was, Alex didn't put it beneath her twin. It still hurt like hell watching them kiss. It was almost as if someone had gotten a blunt knife and began repeatedly driving it through her heart. She now wasn't sure how she'd behave when they started working together. She knew it would be hard and it would take a whole lot not to break down in front of him. She was heartbroken.

Wanting - Needing something to do to distract herself from the pain she felt, she went over to her briefcase and began to spread out some work she could go over. Just as she placed the first sheet of crisp white paper down, she shook her head. This was exactly what Mya was talking about. She was burying her sorrow and heartbreak in work and it was doing nothing but getting her stressed.

She needed some way to let out the pain. Doing more work was out of the question and she was sick of crying. Then like a light bulb, it clicked in her mind what she had to do. She rushed over to her purse and dug out the small, square piece of card and searched for the contact number on it. When she found it, she reached for her phone and sat on the sofa. Was she really about to do this?

This was so not like her but to hell with it, she thought. She needed to release her pain and tension.

She listened to every ring, until the masculine voice picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, this is Alexandra, I just found your card from the club 6 days ago and well, I guess I'm calling you because-." She wasn't good at this. Well, she wasn't even meant to be, she'd never done it before.

He had cut her off before she could even explain. "What's your address?" She proceeded to tell him where she lived as she quickly neatened up her house. Even if he was coming over for sex, she didn't want to give the impression that she wasn't neat. "I'll be there in 20."