Chapter 42 - When she came back
What the hell?
Patrick's first thought was that he was hallucinating, imagining Olena's face on another woman.
This won't be the first time, after all. He used to see Olena's face everywhere, especially those first few weeks after she left. But it hasn't happened in a while and Patrick thought he was over it by now.
He blinked a few times, and Olena was still there.
So it's not my imagination after all.
Plus the shock registered on Olena's face was too real to be part of any hallucination. She really was here. Of all times, and of all places, he finally found her.
Judging by the expression on her face, Olena definitely didn't want to be found.
Patrick's jaw hardened at the thought and it took all his self control to push down at the anger that was boiling inside him.
So she is still avoiding me, huh? Let's see how long she can keep that up.
She had played him for a fool the first time around. It was about time he paid her the same courtesy.
Taking a deep breath, Patrick got his emotions in order, his defenses up, and his armor in place. He'd rather die first than let Olena see how she still affected him with just one look.
As he slowly made his way across the room, he could see Olena fidgeting nervously where she stood.
So she's afraid, Patrick thought, a smug smile playing around his lips. But darling, I haven't even started yet.
He held her eyes as he approached her, his steely gaze predatory.
"Hello again... Olena," he greeted her, his voice deceptively smooth.
She shifted uncomfortably, unable to meet his eyes now that he was standing right in front of her.
Silence stretched between them, the tension so palpable you could probably cut through it with a knife, and Patrick felt pleased knowing that his presence was affecting her as much.
He was about to step closer, anticipating that the action would make Olena squirm, when the woman beside her moved forward and held out her hand in greeting.
"Hello, Patrick. I'm Bessy of Dream Weddings and this is my business partner, Olena. I'm not sure if you remember me but we met during the first fitting...?"
Patrick glanced at the woman and nodded absent-mindedly. He was not really interested on who she was and where they met, as all his energy was focused on Olena.
He stared at Olena pointedly, willing her to meet his gaze. "Surely you remember who I am?"
"You two know each other?"
This Bessy woman was starting to get annoying, Patrick thought as he glanced at her irritably.
"Olena? Would you like to tell her how you know me? Or should I...?" he whispered the words softly, masking a threat that he knew only Olena would be able to understand.
It seemed to jolt her awake, her body jerking slightly, and her eyes raising swiftly to meet his challenging stare.
"No!" She practically shouted, before she composed herself and continued in a calmer voice. "I mean, no need. Bessy is my partner, so I should be the one to tell her."
Olena turned to Bessy and gestured briefly to Patrick.
"Pax is a former colleague, one of our suppliers in my previous company, to be exact."
"Pax?" Bessy questioned her, surprised at the familiar way Olena referred to their client.
"Oh, I think I was more than that, Lena," Patrick drawled confidently before she could answer.
Olena's eyes flew to meet his and Patrick could sense her growing fear that he might just tell everyone within hearing distance about their past.
On his right, Patrick could see Bessy's bewildered looks alternating between him and Olena.
He was almost tempted to do exactly what Olena feared but he resisted the urge. His mother brought him up to be a gentleman after all. Besides, where's the fun in that?
He'd get to enjoy Olena's discomfort longer as long as he kept their secret, after all. Patrick figured he had at least the next three weeks until the wedding to watch her squirm in his presence.
Suddenly the next days didn't seem so dull anymore. He resolved to get more involved in the wedding preparations - he owed it to his parents after all.
"Well I guess you could say we were friends at that time," Olena offered hesitantly. "We worked on a project together for about 4 months and the whole team got pretty close then."
Patrick smirked at her generalization, and by the darting glances she threw his way, he knew that she knew that he noticed her skirting around the issue.
"But I haven't seen any of them around since I resigned 5 years ago, so we kind of drifted apart," Olena continued.
"Oh, really?" Bessy exclaimed. "What a small world, then! Who knew you'd meet again, and at such a happy occasion at that!"
"Who knew indeed?" Patrick responded meaningfully, the corner of his lips twitching humorlessly as Olena continued avoiding his eyes.
"Anyway, it's good to see you again Pax."
Patrick raised his eyebrows at the blatant lie from Olena but refrained from saying anything, waiting silently for her next move.
"I'd better let you get on with your fitting. I believe Bessy mentioned that you had a tight schedule," Olena said in a rush.
Turning to Bessy, she continued, "I'd better go ahead and reserve a table for us. Let me know when you're on your way, okay? Bye!"
Olena hurriedly walked out from the shop and Patrick frowned at her retreating back.
That was a lousy excuse, he thought. I expected more of you, Olena.
He had been waiting for her to fight back once she got over the initial shock of their meeting. Where was the fire that he used to see in her eyes whenever she was provoked? What happened to the confident woman who would come alive whenever she was faced with a challenge?
Patrick could not believe that a mere 5 years could kill her spirit. He knew she was stronger than that.
Was she pretending to be weak just so she can escape him once more? That was stupid, though. She must have known that she would have to face him again, he was a client after all. Or a family of a client, to be accurate.
"Uhm, Patrick...? Mr. James?"
A hand waved in front of his face and Patrick forced his attention back to the room.
"Would you like to proceed with the fitting now?"
"Yes. Yes, sure... Bessy, is it?"
Bessy bobbed her head enthusiastically.
"You mentioned you're partners? So Olena is also with Dream Weddings?"
"Yup! We started 3 years ago, first with corporate events then we decided to just focus on weddings so we won't get too distracted while we're still building the business."
It seems Bessy was the type of person who will spill he life story to a stranger. Perfect. He had a lot of questions, and he decided to start asking while they adjusted the suit to his measurements.
"Is it just you and Olena running the business, then?"
"Well, the two of us are managing it, then there's Megan, our office assistant."
Patrick was immensely curious about Olena's husband. Why was he not involved in the business? But this was not the time to ask, he knew that much. Maybe he'll find out later.
"Are both of you involved in my parent's wedding? How come I haven't heard my mother mention her?"
"I guess because they only met a few times, mostly at the start when Eric and Anna were still choosing their concept. Olena is mostly in charge of the ideas and venue styling while I handle the logistics and coordination."
Patrick nodded thoughtfully. If the one event he had attended was anything to go by, he'd say Olena was quite good at coming up with concepts for events.
"Were you really close back then? You seem to be curious about her," Bessy observed.
"Isn't it normal to want to know what happened to a friend who suddenly disappeared?" Patrick questioned her back.
"Hmmmm... I guess so. Olena did mention about abruptly leaving her former job, though I didn't really ask why."
So even her business partner had no idea what went down, Patrick observed. Or maybe Bessy decided this was too personal to share with a stranger, regardless if he was a client.
Despite his resolve, Patrick found himself becoming more and more curious about Olena's past five years.
Was she as miserable as he had been? Had she regretted running away from everything that time? Did she even think of him at all?
Patrick shook his head quickly, angry at himself for the direction his thoughts were heading. Hadn't he decided earlier to take his revenge now? He was supposed to play with Olena and leave her high and dry, give her a taste of her own medicine.
He was not supposed to be wondering what had happened in her life since she left. And most of all, he was not supposed to be curious about how she felt about him then and even now.
Because Patrick was not certain how he would feel if he knew the answer.