It was a rainy morning in Chicago, droplets trickling down the window, racing each other to get to the bottom. People rushed around, hailing taxis and ducking under cover. While it didn't rain incredibly hard, it was enough for people in suits to worry about it. Taxis rarely stopped, not wanting already ruined seats to be even more ruined by rain droplets on seats. People rushed into small shops to try and dodge as much of the rain as they could. It was false hope to believe that the rain would die down anytime soon. Because when it rained in this place, it rained.
And like most of them, Alex Marter was rushing into a coffee shop though for different reasons then escaping rain. She had things to do, like type of a paper for her speech. Normally she was found in Baltimore, Maryland; working at John Hopkins Hospital, the purpose solely because it was considered the best in the United States. She was a genius in the neuro world and still rising as time passed. People looked at her with nothing short of admiration. And at only 33, it was a fairly successful thing to have.
And if her brains weren't enough, she was a beauty to the eyes. Standing at 5'6 she had a body that made other women jealous at every single curve. Her hair was long, brown and straight and always fixed to perfection, not to mention the hauntingly beautiful green eyes fixed on the prize at all times. She was a dedicated girl with a drive at getting what she wanted. And she had never been afraid to work for it. Alex Mater was just that person.
She strolled in, laptop case hanging off her shoulder. She fixed the glasses on her face, taking them off and drying them with the edges of her shirt before replacing them. Glasses were no use if she couldn't see through them after all. Patiently as she could she waited in line as it slowly dwindled. And soon enough it was her turn to order, and happily. "I want Grande mocha frappucino with a crescent pastry." She said immediately. She was too impatient for the teen to ask her what she wanted. She had things to do! The teen seemed shocked for a moment but eventually recovered, placing the order and preparing her things. Within a few moments he returned, setting her coffee on the counter. "Is it for here or to go ma'am?" He questioned.
"For here." She responded. He went back, returning a moment later with her pastry on a small plate. She eyed it hungrily for a moment before returning her eyes directly back to the teen's. He seemed to squirm under her intense gaze but she couldn't be bothered with that.
Before he spoke he cleared his throat uncomfortably, "$9.82, ma'am." He said nervously, eyes subtly flicking to the side then back to her.
She set a ten dollar bill on the counter then grabbed her drink and food before turning back to find a table. The teen called out about the change and she simply waved a hand about it. She didn't really care about a few cents not coming back to her. She found a secluded table, seated in the corner. She sat with her screen facing the wall so no one would be able to see what it was she was doing.
She set the cup and pastry to the side. She slid the laptop case off her shoulder, setting it to hang off the side of the chair. Setting both legs to the side she took out her laptop, placing it on the table as she opened it up. She pressed the power button, crossing both legs as she leaned back. The screen lit up a light blue as it turned on, opening up the log-in screen. She clicked her personal log-in and entered the password. The screen changed to the home screen and immediately a message popped up.
It was from one of her colleagues, congratulating her on a surgery she had already forgotten about. She quickly wrote him back, saying thank you and other fake heartfelt bullshit. He didn't really mean it, he hated her. Jack Nickels was his name and everyone hated him. He was a man who tried to damn hard to be liked. He would suck up to you then talk behind your back and she despised him. Not to mention the few times he actually had an accomplishment he didn't shut up about it.
She forgot the message moments after replying as she began working on her speech she would be giving. It was simply about a recent research project that was conducted on the effects of stress on a person's mental health. It was pretty much what levels of stress caused the quickest problems. It went as they figured it would and she had grown tired of it within the first few days. She predicted how it would go. High levels of stress over long periods caused the most trauma, who could have known.
After twenty minutes of work, a devoured pastry, and half a cup of coffee gone the speech was almost done. She rested her elbows on the table and rubbed her temples, she was growing tired of working, typing mainly, but that was part of the working bit. She stared at the screen a moment, reviewing over it for a few moments. She was satisfied with it, which was a good thing because she had to present it in a week. She was in Chicago for three weeks, one for working, one for presenting and the conference, and another for vacation of which she had taken for herself.
Reaching for the cup she took a long drink from the straw, savoring the cold flavor of it, as well as the small bits of chocolate inside. Just then her phone buzzed on its place on the table. She grabbed it, checking the caller I.D. It was a person she actually liked, Brad. He worked with her at John Hopkins. He was a likeable man, decent enough if you got used to him. She pressed the answer button and placed the phone to her ear.
"Well hello busy. How are things going?" His voice came through the phone easily, as was everything with this man.
"Good, I almost finished the speech. Now the memorizing it part comes next." She replied calmly, looking back to the report. It did look good and it was shaping up nicely.
"Well aren't you accomplished?" Brad said, a chuckle following after it.
She rolled her eyes at him, even if he couldn't see it. He was always a man to try and lighten a mood if possible. "Yes, yes. Aren't you a real comedian?" She replied sarcastically, getting another laugh from the other line.
The door to the shop opened and an angered voice was heard softly from the entrance. "I don't care! You make sure he knows the stakes and you reschedule the damn meeting!" He hissed into the phone. Alex couldn't hear what Brad was saying on the other line as she glanced up with an irritated glance. But what she was surprised her. She expected a short, fat man with a balding head. Not a man as attractive as this one, and familiar in some way. She most of met him at some point. He seemed important, especially with the attractive blonde hanging off his arm and glaring at any person who dared to look at the man. When the woman's eyes met her own, Alex met the girl's with a fierce look, unafraid of the woman. The woman looked away within a few seconds, tossing hair over her shoulder.
Alex turned back to the conversation when Brad asked her something. "Hm? What was that?" She asked, slightly embarrassed that she had been caught not paying attention.
"I asked what time the conference was. I might be able to make it." He replied, laughing softly the entire time. She felt a red coloring rising to her face. She hated being caught not paying attention. It almost never happened so when it did it felt like a bad dream to her.
"It starts at 1:00 in the afternoon." She responded. As much as she liked Brad as a friend, she didn't want him there for the conference. Because he would sit in the crowd and smile at her the entire time as all friends did when a person presented something. It wasn't that she didn't like it, she just wished they would sit normally.
The conversation went on for another few minutes before she finally hung up, setting the phone down and rubbing her temples once again. She glanced out the window; eyeing it calmly for a few moments and watching the rain drops trickle down. From the corners of her eyes she could see her screen darken, then fade to black.
Heaving a gentle sigh she turned forward again to her computer, reaching for the mouse pad. She stopped when she noticed someone sitting across from her, watching quite intently. As normal as it would be for someone to become scared and jump, she remained perfectly calm as she watched back with the same intense look. She normally didn't like being the one to break silence first, but this man was somewhat bothering her. "Can I help you?" She replied dully.
He seemed to relax backwards, threading his fingers together and placing them on his stomach. She could tell he was tapping a crossed foot by the way his leg moved slightly. And once again he remained quiet. This was when she realized it was the man who had been on the phone, quietly yelling. "Alex Marter." He said.
She raised an eyebrow and sighed softly. "Yes. Can I help you?" She repeated, getting slightly annoyed by this man's presence. It was like arrogance practically flew off of him in all directions. And for that she already hated him. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was arrogant men. Or women, arrogant people in general.
A soft chuckle slipped out his mouth as he eyed her with amusement in his eyes. She let an angry puff of air slip through her nose as he continued to mock her. "Look. If you have something to say, say it, if you don't leave. I have plenty to do and not enough time to do it." She snapped, earning yet another chuckle.
"You always did get angry quickly." He replied. She shifted her eyes away from him and back to her computer.
"I have work to do. Good day." She said to him, going straight back to work. She began typing once again, adding in the final details needed for the speech.
"Aiden Turner."
And then everything stopped. Her fingers froze over the keys as her eyes remained on the screen. She looked up. There was no way, none at all. This man was not Aiden Turner. Not the one she knew. The one she knew had been average, maybe a little less. He had glasses, braces, acne! He wasn't this god in front of her!
She couldn't find words to respond in her throat. They were all building up, resting there comfortably intent on not coming out. She went straight back to typing, ignoring the man in front of her. "I'm busy." She replied, typing gibberish at this point. She didn't even know if what she was writing were actual words or not. But so long as she didn't have to talk to this man, that was okay.
Her fingers shook nervously as she typed, though with the screen blocking it she knew he couldn't see. "Are you shocked?" His voice came out easy with a hint of.. anger?
"I'm working." She said again. She shouldn't be this nervous, but something about trying to grasp the fact that her ex-boyfriend of three years, who she had hoped to marry, was this man.
As he began to open his mouth the blonde girl came up and instantly it had Alex's mind flying back into the correct place it should be in. "Aiden!" She called out out, dragging his name along. "Come on! I want to go!" She complained.
Please go, please go, please go. She pleaded silently. And as expected the chair was pushed back. "Very well Michelle. Off we go. Good day Ms. Marter." Alex glanced up at him, receiving another glare from the woman and returning it straight back to her.
The two left the shop without another word, and as usual Alex wasted no time in getting back to work. She took a look at all she had typed, it was mostly random letters with minimal spaces in between them. She erased it all, going back to where she had actually left off.
The rest of her day was spent in the coffee shop, buying more and more coffee and constantly revising. Until finally, she was prepared to pack everything and leave.
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Aiden hadn't been able to calm down all day. Outside he was as calm as could be, but on the inside he was fuming. That bitch, had the audacity to look away from him! After all she did! She looked away! A growl of annoyance slid past his lips as he took another sip of his whiskey, staring hard out the window of his office. The view was stunning and normally calmed him down, but this time. No. It did nothing. He squeezed the glass, feeling it beginning to crumple in his hands. With an angry push, he slid it onto his desk.
He heard the door open and heels walk across the floor towards him. Two small hands slid down his shoulders towards his abdomen, followed by soft breaths on his neck. "You seem tense." Michelle said quietly, voice taunting and sensual.
Aiden did nothing like relaxing under her grip. He simply tightened up more at the feel. He was pissed beyond belief. She had no right to look away from him! She dumped him! Anger bubbled inside of him once again and Michelle's words were drowned out.
He would make that woman pay. She would feel the same embarrassment that he did all those years ago. No one embarrassed Aiden Turner and got away with it.