I leaned back into the booth, nodding accordingly to whatever Alexander was rambling about. I wasn't intentionally trying to ignore him but my mind was anywhere but here.

The past few weeks had been mentally exhausting. Days and nights blended together. I had grown accustomed to not having much free time but with the difficulties my Company faced it had decimated to nearly nothing.

That's why the sunlight shone through the diner window felt that much better. Today, there was no crisis to be averted. It was a regular Saturday afternoon with Alexander and his daughter.

But, even with that said, I was still having a hard time trying to enjoy myself. Which had nothing to do with Alexander and Mila and everything to do with Scarlett.

I couldn't stop thinking about her. No matter the place, she consumed my every thought. I didn't mind the infiltration. It was the circumstance, that bothered me.

We felt worlds apart. Each time I saw her the distance grew and I was the cause. Every time I opened my mouth I managed to make things worse. Even when I kept my mouth shut I worsened the situation. The drift between us couldn't have been more evident than last night.

When I saw her dancing with someone else, It felt like I had been struck in the gut. I was overwhelmed with emotions, I had never felt before. A sense of honor, an urge to protect her...possessiveness. A selfish need to make her mine. I wasn't proud of the feeling. But it's all I felt, eyeing his hand slide down her back.

I wanted nothing more but to snatch his hands off her. I grasped on to the thought, imagining it play out in my head.

Except, I knew the difference between right and wrong. I refrained myself because I had no damn right to interfere. Who the hell I was I to feel entitled?

After that, I had told myself to leave her alone—to give her the space she craved. But, then somehow found myself calling her. I needed to see her. I never anticipated when I did, for everything to blow up in smoke. There was so much I wanted to say but I stood there with my mouth shut.

Letting her last words sink into me— watching her leave when every part of me didn't want her to.

For the life of me, I couldn't figure out a way to make things clearer to her. To me, my actions were a clear indication of where I stood. But for her, they weren't enough and in return made her form conclusions that couldn't be far from the truth.

The waitress set down my plate, her strong vanilla scented perfume, bringing me back to reality. I raised my head, not realizing how close of proximity her body was. My eyes briefly scanned her fitted v neck, before I turned away and thanked her.

Alexander smirked and slid the syrup across the table. "Welcome to planet Earth, Jerkhead."

Mila's curly brown locks bounced as she nudged my shoulder. "Yeah, welcome to earth, jerkhead. Daddy says your quiet cause you have a crush. Is that true walieas? "

I shook my head. Even with his daughter, he had trouble keeping his mouth at bay.

"Mila, what did I say about repeating me?" He reprimanded.

She snickered and hid behind her iPad. "You said not to cause you to say stupid things."

"Exactly, and of course it's true. I would never lie to my number one girl."

She turned to me, her green eyes widening with curiosity. "Woo, Is she pretty? When can I meet her? I never meet your last girlfriend."

Alexander laughed. "Honey, trust me you wouldn't want to meet her. She's was no fun."

I ignored his statement and answered hers. "She's beautiful," I shrugged, as I thought of a way to simplify my next response. "I'm not sure, she's not my biggest fan at the moment."

"That's the understatement of the year." Alexander countered as he excused himself to the restroom.

She took a bite of her fruit and crossed her arms. "You need to say you're an idiot and really sorry then buy her flowers, maybe chocolates. That's what boys do in the movies."

Before I could respond, a group of college students shouting their sorority chants entered the diner. The smile on Mila's face dissipated. Worry filled her eyes as she covered her ears with her hands. In a split-second, things had changed.

I kissed the top of her head and tried to reassure her. We aimed to avert situations like these at all costs by dining at the quietest places we could find. This place had been our retreat for years and far away from the loud nature of the city. But, the gentrification on these parts, was making that a distant memory.

The students chanted louder, taking their cameras out to film the owners trying to expel them. I looked towards the restroom then peered down at her—I felt incompetent. My reassurance wasn't enough, she was seconds away from a meltdown. I wasn't good at this but I was determined to make it better.

I reached over the table for her headphones. Placing her curly locks behind her ear, I settled them onto her head. I held her close to my chest and affirmed that things would be okay. Her breathing slowed, relaxing back to a normal pace as Alexander exited the restroom. He laid eyes on her and hastened his steps.

Lifting her into his arms, she clung to his chest. I watched as the warmth reached her face again. This moment had cleared the fog and sharpened the focus for me. Sometimes a remedy meant action and affirmation.

Alexander released a breath and settled back into the booth. "I wish she didn't have to go through this. I would do anything to erase what's she's been through."

I handed him Mila's plate. "Healing takes time. She's doing much better."

He nodded and helped Mila with her iPad before turning back to me. "Anyway, I'm surprised you're not dead seeing how Scarlett threw daggers your way every chance she got. I understand more than anybody that you've had a tough life but that doesn't mean you should make things harder for yourself. Stop being a closed book for once in your life and tell her what you've done for her."

"Why would I tell her? I don't need praise for being a decent human being." I stated, making sure he heard the annoyance in my tone. I wasn't in the mood for a lecture.

He took a bite of his food and shook his head. "You need all the praise you could get. You're so far up her shit list, you're competing for first place with Thomas. She was dancing with another man for Christ sakes. That's girl code for moving on. And don't even try to tell me you don't have feelings for her. You nearly had an aneurysm when you saw them. "

I set my fork down, no longer having an appetite. "Why are you adamant, on concerning yourself with matters that don't pertain to you? Worry about yourself."

"Because you're being a pendejo. You prevented a catastrophe and she should be aware of that but instead, you're going to keep silent. One, it's your money that stopped her private photos from seeing the light of day. Two, you made sure that her suspension was kept confidential and not on record. If it wasn't for that, Thomas wouldn't have made the mistake to hack into our system and make it appear as if she leaked our client list. Without that mistake, she wouldn't have been cleared."

The waitress refilled our drinks and set our ticket on the table. We both stayed quiet letting the tension rise between us. Alexander came from a good place but if I wanted his opinion I would have asked for it. When it came to my personal life, I didn't tolerate interferences.

"I didn't do what I did, for something in return. I've barely done enough and still have much to do. We haven't retrieved the hospital footage or found the real culprit. This whole situation is unfair and reprehensible. A woman with incredible talent almost had her career ruined and you want me to take credit for making sure that didn't happen?"

He cleaned Mila's face and slid their plates to the center of the table. "You've done more for her than Thomas ever did. I mean, how long were they together and he couldn't even buy her a car? He's riding around in a vehicle worth a hundred thousand dollars and had his girl in an ancient beat down jeep that hardly runs." He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Despicable if you ask me. On top of that, he couldn't even  pay her decent hourly wage."

He paused, resting his hand on his chin. "Honestly, I don't understand the significance of the footage. I think we should be using our resources elsewhere like to develop a strategy to attack his infrastructure. Hire our own informant, hack into his system—take every investor one by one. Thomas is a scandal away from losing all credibility. It won't be hard for you to end his company."

"I have no interest in that. I'm not going to waste my time, energy and resources on taking down a company who is well on their way of doing that on their own. I will continue to protect my company and Scarlett but it ends there for me."

He scoffed, zipping up Mila's jacket. "You really think Thomas is going to leave her or your company alone?"

I straightened my posture and met his gaze. "No. Which is why I plan to have a word with him."

Alexander reverted to silence. My response must have taken his mind on a tailspin. I stood, setting two bills on the table. I was beyond over this entire situation. Week after week it's all I've heard. Endless opinions. Theories upon theories. I was tired of speculating. It was time to go straight to the source.

"Come back to my place, maybe I can knock some sense into you there."

I bent down and said goodbye to Mila before turning to Alexander. "Tempting, but I'll have to pass. There are some things I need to make right."

Short chapter, I know, but had to split.

Chapter 21 coming soon.

Thank you for reading!