Chapter 3: Everly

I felt like a major asshole for saying all those things to him, and I wouldn't be able to look him in the eye—if I were to ever see him, that is. He was a fraud trying to scam my best and probably my only friend for all I knew, but I still felt a bit guilty, and I had no idea why.

I shook my head. What was done was done. There was no use crying over spilled milk anyway, and there was no going back now, and if anything, I was a tad bit proud of myself that I pulled up the mean bitch act, and that called for a pizza night because I was starving and also because I blew up the meeting before we could order anything. I should've at least waited till then, tried some of the fancy foods, and then left, leaving him to foot the bill along with the burns of his humiliation. That would've been so much better.

I walked down the giant lobby as fast as my stupid heels allowed me to and entered the main hall. I breathed a sigh of relief; only a few more steps and I'd be out of this place and back at my place in my cozy bed, surrounded by pizza. I was almost about to walk through the entrance when someone called out, making me stop in my tracks. I cursed under my breath before turning, only to see the host who had shown me to the room running toward me.

"Ms. Smith, where are you headed? Mr. Parker should be here any moment." He said, nervously.

"What do you mean he should be here? He's already—"

"I guess you wouldn't have to wait any longer. Mr. Parker's here!" He chirped, cutting me off.

What did he mean by he's here'? Colt Parker was already here a long time ago. I just met him, talked to him, and blew him off.

"Ava."

A voice from behind me spoke, and I was stunned into silence as a tall blonde man in a blue suit walked out from behind me to stand in front of me. He had a trained smile pasted on his face, which faltered a bit as he looked me up and down.

"Different from what I imagined." He mumbled so quietly that I almost missed it. But he gained his composure back and smiled even wider. "Ava, I had this meeting with a future investor, and then the traffic was terrible. I hope you didn't wait long." He said, and handed me a bouquet of roses, which I took in a seemingly drunken stupor. "I've got these for you. And mind you, these are not just any roses; they were handpicked, tended for, and then shipped here with the utmost care and affection."

What was going on? What roses? I looked down at the bouquet in my trembling hands and then at the man in front of me. He was saying something, but I couldn't hear anything over the sound of the wheels turning in my head, hoping desperately for my suspicions to be wrong. "You are Colt Parker?" I asked meekly.

"Of course, who would it be if not me?" He asked, somewhat annoyed.

I was fortunate enough that my knees didn't buckle there, and my heart didn't stop the moment I heard his reply. But dread had already filled me to the brim. If he was Colt Parker, then who was the man I talked to earlier? The one I humiliated back in the room—did he enter the wrong room and confuse me for someone else? No, but I introduced myself, and he did... not. Shit. I did not give him a chance to introduce himself. Shit. I just assumed he was Colt Parker. Oh, good lord, no. What the hell did I do? I made a huge blunder, and this blunder could cost Ava a hefty price.

"Ava, look, we're already late, so how about we save the daydreaming for later and get to dinner?" the supposed Colt Parker said and tried wrapping his arm around my waist, which snapped me back to reality.

"No wait." I said, stepping away from him.

"What's wrong? We should get going." He said, obviously getting more frustrated.

No, this couldn't be. I needed some time to collect my thoughts, as I was certainly not in my right mind. "Give me a minute," I stuttered.

I was in a state of shock, and my brain's processing speed had decreased exponentially. I was totally freaking out, and I was certain I couldn't tell left from right. What am I supposed to do now? I couldn't even recall anything; everything was just blank. And to add to the tension, I noticed some of the patrons looking in our direction. Okay, first things first, I had to calm myself down; only then would I be able to function like a normal human being.

I took a stuttering breath and closed my eyes. Easy, calm down. I could get out of this. I just had to think straight. Yeah, just try thinking straight, I told myself. When I had finally gathered myself, I opened my eyes only to lock them with a set of piercing blue ones.

My eyes widened, and my mouth dropped open. It was him! It was the Colt Parker, or whatever his real name was, from earlier. And as if he knew everything, he gave me one of his beautiful smirks—if you could describe them like that—amusement clear on his face. He shifted his gaze to the real Colt and then back at me, as if asking what I was going to do now. Oh no, I messed up big time. As if getting out of this present situation wasn't easy enough, I might possibly have to deal with the consequences of my previous actions too. On the same day! I wasn't ready for this!

I swallowed hard and returned my gaze to Colt, who was regarding me with an annoyed expression. And that annoyance was enough to break my daze and bring me back to my senses. I might've messed up earlier, but I still had a job to do. I could deal with the previous Colt later, but first I had to take care of the things at hand.

"How dare you show up so late and act like I'm the one at fault!" I hissed. "I'm going nowhere with you. And drop the act, will you? Meeting with an investor? You're a con artist at best. No one in their right mind would give their money to a fraud like you. I have no idea how you crawled into my father's life, but you sure wouldn't be able to do the same with me, Oliver Wesley. Stay away from me and stay away from my father."

Colt's jaw tightened, and his face became so red, I thought it might explode. "Who the fuck do you think you're talking to, bitch? Shut the fuck up and come with me." He said through gritted teeth.

"Fuck off, you leech!" I shouted and threw the bouquet at him. As if all that wasn't enough, he opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "Say a fucking word, and I'll make sure you regret being born, and you know I can do that. Now get the fuck out of here and make sure to never show your face in front of my father or me." I snarled at him.

I was breathing heavily when I got out everything I had inside me. Obviously, it wasn't the elitist style but more street style, but it at least got the job done. And it filled me with satisfaction when Colt did just what I had said; he pursed his lips and didn't say a word, probably because he knew better. Ava's father had the power to ruin his life, and since he believed I was Ava, he had no other option but to believe everything that came out of his mouth. He glared at me with murder in his eyes and took a step in my direction, my breath catching in my throat.

"You will pay for this," he hissed before storming out of the restaurant. I let go of the breath I was holding on to and sighed. It was done. I'd done what was asked of me, with only one thing left to do: apologize. I looked around only to find everyone's eyes on me, but I couldn't bring myself to look in the direction where the man I met earlier was standing. Maybe I was ashamed or scared; I really didn't know, but I couldn't face him now or ever. So, I did what I did earlier. I ran. I turned to the host, apologized for creating a scene, and left.

I rushed outside the restaurant and jumped into the first taxi I saw, hoping that that was good enough. I really did want to apologize to that man, but I guess my nerves got the better of me. He had to hear all of that nonsense for no reason at all, but there was no way I'd ever see him again. I let out a frustrated cry and slumped back into the seat. I had one job, and I couldn't even do that properly. Now the only thing I really hoped for was for the man to forget everything.