This is a sequel! I repeat...THIS IS A SEQUEL! (I had to repeat this since very few people read authors notes)
If you've already read the first book, then, please continue, I hope you have fun.
The story picks up right after the first one ends.
Do vote and comment and share your thoughts.
Warning: The comment section has spoilers, read comments at your own risk.
*********************************
Chapter 1: CONTEMPLATING CHOICES
**********************************
Jensen's POV:
*************
(One week later)
I sat in my office, contemplating my decisions and choices.
Have you ever felt like there should be an undo button in real life?
Because I need it. I need an option of 'undo' at the click of my fingertips, and I definitely wouldn't hesitate to use it.
What the hell have I done?
The culprit was found.
Needless to say, I fucked up.
I went from feeling absolutely betrayed to immensely guilty in a matter of hours. This was the one time I wanted desperately to be proven wrong and not at the same time. If only I haven't been too hasty to jump to conclusions.
I kinda figured it wasn't her fault even before the investigation was over. I vividly remember the next morning when I had walked into my office and saw the resignation letter sitting alone and forlorn on the table, staring back at me almost lamentably.
I knew she wouldn't have resigned if she was truly responsible.
It was like a punch in the gut because it wasn't until that time did my actions actually weighed down on me, and made me realise the consequences.
"What the hell were you thinking, you demented moron?" Josh had said a variation of this sentence for the umpteenth time.
Yeah...Josh is here.
I was not in a mood to entertain him. It's almost like he has a radar, and he shows up at the most erroneous scenarios.
"Just because you've been deceived in the past doesn't mean everyone is out to get you!" He said, "Couldn't you tell Alex would never do something like that?"
He keeps asking me all these questions, even after we have established the fact that I wasn't exactly 'thinking' that day.
"Argh..." was my smart reply.
To be honest, everything with Alex was too good to be true, too right, and when I saw something wrong I thought this was it, this is what it's been leading up to... I can never be truly happy... Little did I know I'd be ruining what little joy I was fortunate to have, myself with my own emotional overthinking stupidity.
After a thorough investigation, everything was revealed about how the whole 'ruining the company's credibility' was a plan of another one of my rivals and they used an employee from my tech department to execute it. I have my doubts that Carson is somehow involved, it reeks of his narrow-minded pettiness. After everything Alex had told me, he very well would have wanted some form of revenge.
The HR and IT took care of it, a lot of people including myself were held responsible, some employees were fired when found guilty, the board would have told me to step down as well if it wasn't for me being the company owner, I took full responsibility for the loss though and everything was now in the process of restoration.
Except I feel absolutely shattered.
Groaning internally, I planted my face in my hands and just thought hard about my stupid decision.
"How can she just resign, doesn't it require the two weeks notice?" Josh asked.
"In the letter, she said she's quitting and if I have a problem with her lack of prior notice, I can sue her." As if I would even consider that.
"Damn." Josh cursed.
I wanted to take back each and every word I had said, but it was too late now...
Her voice played in my mind like a broken record, almost like little snippets and flashes.... driving me crazy and making me angry at no one but myself.
"Have you tried reaching out to her?" Josh asked.
I'm pretty sure he thinks that silence apparently means he should be talking.
I decided to tell him. "She's not picking up my calls, I'm sure she blocked me a few days ago. I've texted and emailed her but haven't received any reply. I went to her place but she wouldn't open the door and when I tried talking through the door she blasted loud rock music to be heard by the whole neighbourhood." I hope that answers his question.
"I don't really fault her." He said. Yeah, I wasn't even expecting him to be on my side.
"What was that whole IP address deal, I still don't understand it," Josh asked.
"My computer was more secure, so he hacked her computer for the information," I said simply.
All of this was only making me more mad and guilty. Everything had a logical explanation, but I chose to blame her instead.
Since then I've turned into this human-robot (even more than before) working all the time and trying not to think...but now I'm tired of the pretence.
I'm not being very productive today, I decided to cancel all my meetings and I'm just sitting in my office feeling greatly pathetic in general.
"I can't believe it has come to this, considering how your first meeting was, this just seems so outlandish," Josh said.
The first time I met her....for some reason that day at the restaurant came to the forefront of my memory. She had made me so mad.
***
(Flashback)
I was fuming with rage.
Just when I thought the day couldn't get worse it actually did. I don't know why the universe thinks I need more challenges that would simply piss me off.
I looked down at my ruined tie and shirt and my blood boiled at the sight of splotches of red wine.
Dammit!
I walked like a man on a mission. Glaring at anyone who dared to meet my heated gaze.
They probably thought I was an arrogant, egotistical jerk, born with a silver spoon, people around usually had a preconceived notion about me because of my name and status and I couldn't be bothered to care, what they thought of me now, I was probably proving all those rumours and giving rise to more speculation. They of course don't care to know how I struggled and rose out of debt and am a self-made billionaire.
Spotting Josh's car out front I walked on and yanked the door open like I was trying to pull it off the hinges and all but fell inside the passenger seat, barking at him to 'drive!'
He looked startled in the driver seat but didn't complain. Swiftly he shifted gear and pulled out of the pickup area.
"Where's your car?" He asked.
"Somewhere in the parking lot, I don't wanna drive...I might just run him over and his stupid bushy eyebrows." I said seething. Kate will bring it over, plus I was in a mood to get drunk.
"So I guess the deal fell through...?" He gingerly approached, clearly uncertain if he should talk about it.
"I had no chance, don't know why I thought he would empathize..." I mumbled.
"I'm sorry man..." Josh knew it was much more than a business deal for me. It was too close to the heart to be just a professional exchange.
I shrugged off his words but inside my head, I was already plotting.
Brian Carson wasn't one to bend easily, he knew he had the upper hand in this deal, I was desperate and he sure was taking advantage. He's a businessman after all and I understood him to a certain degree, but that doesn't mean I didn't want to bash his head against the wall and watch him bleed out on the carpet.
I barely held back. Especially when he refused the deal and sent the legal documents flying all over the restaurant floor like he was the king of douche bags. He's a sucker for the drama that one probably was aiming for a grand exit.
I didn't give him the satisfaction though, I stood among that mess without blinking like it barely mattered even though my fists were clenched and begging to meet his face rather violently.
"Is that blood on your shirt? Did you go all Rambo on his ass?" Josh asked excitement in his eyes said he hoped his assumptions to be true.
I shot him a flat look, "It's just wine. You know I don't talk with my fists." No matter how bad I want to.
"Should I ask what happened or is that confidential?" Josh asked again, almost annoyed that I wasn't elaborating, curiosity bright in his eyes as he momentarily looked sideways at me before watching the road that disappeared under the wheels.
"Some woman," I said.
Josh's eyes widened in shock, I could see his knuckles turn white as he gripped the wheel tighter.
"Woah, it's been a while since I heard that... I didn't think your skills had gone this rusty dude, did she throw her drink in your face...damn I always miss the best part!" He complained, after already having imagined the whole scenario that didn't actually happen, well.. at least not the way he thought. "What did you say to her?"
"Nothing...." I rolled my eyes, not at all surprised by his train of thought. "She tripped over me and then blamed me for the mess that followed..." Her anger was fiery, and passionate in a way that drew me in.
"You want me to believe that you were completely blameless in whatever it was?" He raised his eyebrows incredulously.
I glared. "On whose side are you?" I know I should have been apologetic to her, but Brian and his smug smirk weren't sitting well with my head and there she was a perfect distraction and it almost felt like she was there just for me, to save me from my own stupidity.
She stood in the way of me and Brian, basically stopping me from going after him and pummeling his face into the concrete, and once and for all terminating the deal that I longed for so badly.
Josh hissed and then mumbled under his breath "her if she's hot..."
Knucklehead. I shook my head, not surprised at his antiques.
"Hot-headed more like..." Although I gotta admit, she really was attractive and she commanded attention like she was made for the spotlight. She was a bit too over the top in her ways but made it look good.
I heard her words repeat in my inner ear, right before she stormed out of that stuffy restaurant like she really believed I had some contagious disease.
'Oh, put a sock in it.' she said, those words rang clearly, in her slightly pitchy bored voice. Who even speaks like that?
It was ridiculous, but in retrospect, for some bizarre reason, it made me smile.
(End of flashback)
***
It felt like my conscience was playing a cruel game with me, and laughing at my current situation.
I sighed and closed my eyes.
I do miss her, I tried to make myself believe otherwise, but I was clearly only deceiving myself.
I missed her terribly weird yet effective ways of tackling things, her sense of humour, her clumsiness, her gibberish and her friendly banter.
My lips lifted up in a barely-there smile.
I missed her smile, her sneaky smirk, her carefree laugh and those warm brown eyes that looked up at me like.....like I matter. Fuck.
"Jensen, you might be my only friend who's doing this bad in his love life even after all my amazing advice." Josh's words cut through my train of thoughts.
Was he talking all this while?
But, then suddenly what he said registered in my mind and I snapped my head to glare at him.
"Stop with the glaring alright, it was all your fault from the very beginning." He said, not bothered by my reaction.
"Thanks for the mini recap Josh, I almost forgot what I did," I remarked sarcastically and my glare intensified.
"If at all I worked for you I'd be scared that you were going to fire me, but since you can't do that..." he thought for a few seconds "are you going to 'break-up' with me too?"
This fucker.
"Get lost!" I snapped.
Then I deflated.... my own words from that day replayed in my mind like a tape which was stuck on 'repeat'.
It was a bad day for me and I just had to go and make it worse. The deal with Anderson and Co. slipped out of my hands that day, which disappointed me, and made me mad, I was only just coming out of that state of mind when I heard from the security department and felt so utterly betrayed.
That added fuel to my fury and I just lost it, I clearly wasn't thinking before I spoke, but I know that nothing justifies my actions. Nothing.
I stood up and started pacing the length of my office room. I should have known... I should have fucking known! She had no motive goddammit!
"If it's eating at you so much, maybe try harder and apologize to her..." Josh suggested.
Apologize? Nothing I can say is gonna be enough.
"And say what?" I asked, and proceeded to answer my own question "Hey, Alex! What I said the other day... well, I didn't mean it. So can we just forgive and forget and can you return to work soon?" I rolled my eyes at his suggestion, "I don't think it'll work."
I don't believe she'll even hear me out, and I don't blame her.
Josh shook his head "Yeah, that's not gonna cut it, maybe you should try that with some better words, you know like... with more honesty and less sarcasm."
I shot him an unamused look and he just smiled. "You know what this reminds me of?" He gestured to me pacing.
"I don't really wanna know."
He proceeded to tell me anyway, with an amused smirk, "Of that day when you realised you liked her and you were freaking out."
I remembered that day. It was one of the better days.
***
(Flashback)
"Okay... So maybe I was having trouble admitting to myself that I find her attractive." I didn't realise I was pacing.
"Maybe it was the fact that she's my employee and any relationship between us should be strictly professional."
"Maybe" Josh echoed, but I didn't even look at him.
"But maybe it was the fact that after a long time I finally felt something...you know, and I was scared of all those feelings and to me, admitting it to myself would only make it real, which is why I probably was in that denial phase for far too long..."
"Probably?" Josh mocked, he was a pretty bad listener.
"But now that I've finally understood, I don't know what to do! She probably doesn't even feel the same.... And I might have messed it all up when I've gone and fallen for her, because she's my employee and no matter what I do, things would probably never go back to how they were and I'd be deluding myself into thinking that I'll be okay, while silently going through all the five stages of grief all by myself!"
"Jensen! Breathe." Josh said.
I dropped my head in my hands and fell in a chair like there was no way to stop an oncoming apocalypse that's gonna take over my world.
This whole Paris idea was so outrageously stupid! Why did I ask her to come along? I could have done it myself!
Okay.... Okay, so it can still be reeled in. I'm in charge here.... I'll tell her she doesn't need to come along. Yeah!
She didn't seem all that interested in it anyway, she'll be glad I let her off the hook. Granted I'll have to work overtime, but that's something I can manage... This on the other hand...
I jumped to my feet and almost fell to my knees but righted myself at the last moment.
Josh looked alarmed at my actions and he exclaimed "what are you doing?!"
"Damage control." And with that, I walked out of my office with only one thought in mind. 'Gotta fix this!'
I knocked and pushed the door open, when I heard a polite "Yes?"
"Sorry to interrupt ladies." I said as I saw Kate was in there too, they seem to be discussing something.
"Come'on in... What brings you here?" She smiled at me.
God that smile, it almost brought me to my knees. I was tongue tied for a moment.
And then I said something completely unrelated, something I hadn't decided on, "Just wanted to see if you're ready to go?" I unbuttoned my coat and hesitantly walked another step further.
She looked confused, "Go where?"
I took a deep breath and decided to commit to my lie, "Bloomwood? Don't you wanna see how the work is going?"
"Oh right, yeah..." Alex fumbled with her stuff, while Kate was giving me a peculiar glance knowing that I had prior appointments for the day, I'll have to tell her to cancel them.
This was more important right now.
(End of flashback)
***
A similar thought floated in my mind. I need to fix this if only I knew how...?
There was a knock at the door and I said "come in."
Kate walked in carrying a bunch of files and a hard drive. "The weekly reports," she said. She left it there on the side of the table and then walked out after sending a small courtesy smile Josh's way and not even sparing another glance at me.
"Well, she seems over the moon." was Josh's remark about Kate's cold demeanour.
"Tell me about it," I muttered.
He added, "Not that I blame her, I mean, I'd be giving you the classic 'cold shoulder' too, if it wasn't for the fact that you always beat me to it."
I ignored him and opened a few files to read through, but could hardly concentrate.
The phone on my desk rang, and I picked up, "yes?"
"Morgan Coleman is here to see you, should I send her in?" Only Kate could sound so cold when relaying a simple message.
The name sounded familiar to me and I said "sure, let her in." and the line instantly went dead.
A woman in her late twenties walked inside and looked at Josh and me with confusion. "Jensen Black?" Josh pointed at me wordlessly.
"Yes, how can I help you?" I asked, as I stood up and offered her my hand for a handshake as I recognised her from the surveillance footage.
She huffed, totally ignored my hand and then fetched some documents from her bag to drop them on the table in front of me while muttering, "I can't believe I'm doing this shit."
I picked up those papers, and the moment I realised what they were, my eyes went wide.
"FYI, I can't take phone calls when I'm in a Court room...but of course you don't care about that..." She said to me, "Let me tell you one thing, I'm only doing this as a favour to Alex otherwise I have no interest in helping you out... " She continued to look for more papers in her bag, looking frustrated, "I have no respect for someone like you and after everything she's done, you should be ashamed of the way you treated her. You don't deserve her, I don't even know why she even dated you." She said and then walked out slamming the door as if she didn't just insult me in my own office.
'Thanks for telling me all the things I already know' I thought but didn't dare say it, in case she decided to turn around and punch me in the face.
I could only blink, while Josh looked at the now-closed door with his jaw hanging.
"I think she's from the mafia." He said after he finally gathered his thoughts.
I looked at the property transfer and registration documents and dropped my head low. I was in debt to her now. Just great.
"What is this?" Josh asked, reaching for the papers and I didn't stop him. "Holy shit!"
I ignored him and stepped out into the lobby area to cool off as I raked my fingers through my hair absently.
My eyes fell on her office and all these memories again rushed to my mind despite my silent dissent.
So much for trying to cool off.
Her name was still there on the office door, but it lacked the usual brisk and nimble environment. It was devoid of her presence, with all her essentials gone, considering she didn't have many.
I hesitated to step inside, but when I did, a small sad smile crept upon my lips as I took in the familiar setting and recalled her presence and her amusing antics.
I could almost imagine her there, sitting behind the desk with bright brown eyes, taking a break at the coffee table and sometimes going all over the place because there was some bug attack... I chuckled, but all that melted away and the emptiness returned.
I need to figure out a way to make this right.
***************************
So, what do you think of this chapter?
I wasn't planning on writing it from Jensen's perspective, but when I started, it just made more sense. I hope you liked looking at his mind.
Next is gonna be Alex's POV, so stick around.
Also, don't forget to vote, comment and follow if you like the story.
Thanks for reading 💙
***