Angel Face

Forgive Me?

XXII

Duncan and I didn't have that heart to heart, that we had decided to have.

Turns out the press conference wasn't as smooth and hassle free as it was supposed to be and the reporters refused to listen. As a result the top managements had to be contacted directly and were threatened. Now, add a normal day's routine to the list and you've Duncan Marshall passed out on the couch exactly 7 minutes and 34 seconds after he walks in through the front door, around eleven at night.

On the brighter side, the press which was camping outside the museum and our home, disappeared. But for next few days I could feel eyes on me which was making me paranoid. It felt as if any moment someone would jump me. Thankfully, Duncan was back to driving me around which made me feel much safer.

"Are you going for lunch now?" Nick asked as I took off my safety glasses. "Yeah." I glanced at him before walking towards my office as I shrugged off my lab coat. "Where are you going for lunch?" Nick followed me as I went around the office collecting my things. "Why so many questions?" He huffed as I rummaged through my tote as I looked for my ID.

"It's just that Jules has lately been busy with some legal work, Trace is out fetching some reports and he decided to drag Roger along with him. As a result I'm lacking a lunch buddy." I did a mental 'aha' when I finally found my ID and shoved it into my pocket. "So, I was wondering if we could have lunch together."

"What?" I looked up surprised. "Oh, yeah you can have lunch with me if you don't mind third wheeling." I nodded and shouldered my bag as I took out my phone. "Third wheel? No thank you then, I'd rather be the loner. But who are you going for lunch with?" He questioned as he followed me out of the office.

"Who else?" I held my phone against my ear as I heard the familiar ring. "Are you going with Alex or Duncan?" He asked curiously while I frowned when the call got declined. "Duncan obviously. What makes you think I'll go anywhere with him, again?" I redialed the number as the familiar ring greeted me back. "I don't know. You seem to be giving him a lot of chances." He shrugged. "But I understand if you're scared of the media getting a whiff of it again. Poor Duncan had to go through so much trouble for your ungrateful aşs."

"I'm not ungrateful." I dropped my phone from my ear when it got declined again. "I just wanted to properly end things with Alex which I was delaying for some reason. Maybe I wanted to give him another chance but he keeps letting me down." I frowned down at my phone. Why is Duncan declining my calls? Specially when it's lunch time. "And since are you so buddy buddy with Duncan? You've barely seen him twice or thrice."

"Reason why you should properly introduce him to your friends." I rolled my eyes at him. "Fine. Maybe one day."

"Good and I-- uh, never mind." He started but cut himself off which was unlike him. "Nick, what were you going to say?" I quirked an eyebrow. "You know you can tell me anything." He raked his fingers through his hair as he glanced around before letting out a sigh. "I'll tell you later. You've a lunch date I don't want to ruin your mood." I stared at him while he fidgeted. Something was bothering him and it was making me anxious. "What is bothering you? Tell me, lunch can wait. This is more important."

He grimaced and stepped back. "Angie, go. Believe me this can wait." And before I could say anything, he walked away and closed the lab doors. After staring at the closed doors, not believing that he just did that, I decided to leave. I walked out of the establishment onto the pavement, merging into the sea of New Yorkers on their way to their respective destinations. To be honest I missed this, being a part of the crowd and walking to places instead of being driven around.