06

Vren is usually great with first impressions. If he hadn’t been drunk, he would’ve impressed the hell out of the Audrey Danler—sweeping a woman off her feet is his strong suit, after all.

He never wanted to be on the wrong side of Audrey. That wouldn’t have been the case had she been more accommodating. Or if Audrey hadn’t left before he woke up,

In her defense, that’s how wedding hookups work.

He never meant to blindside her. Her assistant kept dismissing him, so he had to turn to a few more resorts. Luckily, she’s an old friend—yes, being a past fling makes her an old friend.

Willingly enough, she gave her appointment to him. Audrey wasn’t thrilled by it though. It was pretty obvious.

The bottom line is he had to do what he had to do.

Vren drummed his fingers on the table and glance at the seat across from him. He was never early for a date. Hell, he was never this desperate for dinner with a woman.

He reached for his phone on the table and took note of the time. At 6 :40, he plucked out a sigh and stared at the entrance. He runs his fingers through his tie.

Strangely, he was uneasy.

At 6 :50, he spotted a familiar face. Plus, the cute rabbit-printed hair scarf stood out the most. Kylie’s eyes made a quick sweep and stopped when she finally spotted him.

His brows knit in confusion.

Her brows did the same thing.

She made her way to him, a tablet tucked securely against her chest.

« You’re here already ? »

« Audrey isn’t coming ? »

They both paused for a moment.

Kylie regarded him with a smile that lit up her face. « Don’t worry. I always show up to her meetings ten minutes before her. She’s on her way. Besides she’s already wrapped up her four o’clock. »

The way she talked about Audrey’s schedule made him think that he was just another one of her business meetings.

Kylie took out her stylus pen from her clutch and crossed something off the tablet’s screen. She looked like she was preparing to take the minutes of the meeting.

He set his bruised ego aside and gestured at the waiter to add another chair. Well, this isn’t going as planned.

Kylie took the chair and sat next to the one he reserved for Audrey. There was a bit of awkwardness, but neither of them wanted to acknowledge it.

She cleared her throat and set her tablet on the table. « I can tell this isn’t what you expected. »

« No, it’s fine. »

Kylie gave him a look.

He chuckled and raised his hands in defeat. « Okay, you got me. Do you always… ? »

« Yes, » she answered before he could awkwardly finish his sentence. « I sit in at Audrey’s meetings. Well, at least 80% of the time. » She shrugged.

« So, this is one of her meetings ? »

« You requested for one—so a meeting’s what you get. » She tucked her leg over the other, instead of looking like a professional, she was adorable. She reminded him of his sister.

« You didn’t cancel a very important meeting, did you ? » he kidded.

Kylie must’ve missed the lightness in his voice because she answered, « yeah. How did you know ? »

« Oh. I was, um, kidding. »

Her dark brown eyes rounded. « Oh. Could this be any more awkward ? »

They both laughed.

Great. They broke the ice.

She then cleared her throat and picked up her stylus pen. « Audrey’s here. »

His eyes scooted toward the entrance. Just then, Audrey Danler appeared in the revolving doors of the restaurant.

Her blonde hair was pulled into a neat bun. Somewhere in his drunken memories, he was running his fingers through those silver tresses.

Audrey surveys the restaurant with a phone to her ear. She let the hostess lead her to their table. There isn’t a glint of recognition in her eyes when they met his. But they softened when she saw Kylie.

She murmured her thanks to the hostess.

Vren stood up to pull her chair out and help her in, but she raises a hand to stop him. She slid gracefully onto her seat and looked at him with a poker face.

He took almost a minute to read her expression, but it was a futile attempt.

« What do you want to talk about ? » She loops her fingers on the table.

Wow. Went right into that one.

« Let’s order something to eat first. » Vren gestures at the waitress who rushes over to their table, menus in hand.

Audrey didn’t open her menu. « I’ll have the salad. Red wine. Kylie ? »

Her assistant did a quick scan of the menu. « I’ll have the pasta. A glass of water would be fine. You know what, make it two. Thank you. »

The waitress took down their orders and turn to him with a saucy smile. His automatic response would be one of his ‘don’t you wish you had me’ grins. Not tonight though.

Attention was the last thing he wanted. Not when he’s trying to recover from his not-so-good first impression.

After the waitress got all their orders, Vren sighed. Kylie wrote something on her tablet and refused eye contact with him and Audrey.

Boy, she must feel awkward having to sit through this.

Vren was always a conversationalist, but right now, his tongue felt like it’s been stung by a bee. The silence stretched into a minute.

Then another.

And then another.

Until the waitress came back with their orders. She even slipped her number into one of the napkins.

Vren set the napkin aside.

Kylie set the other glass of water next to Audrey’s red wine. Their eyes met and they sort of had a private conversation.

Audrey stabbed a fork at the lettuce, but it stayed on the plate. « So, Mr. Parkinson. What do you want to talk to me about ? »

« I think you already know. » He smiled.

Kylie reached for a glass of water and looked like she was about to fan herself with the tablet.

« I know. What else do you want to talk about besides my possibility of pregnancy ? » She said it without batting an eye.

Kylie, on the other hand, choked on her water. She grabbed several napkins on the table… including the one with the waitress’ number.

She squinted her eyes at the napkin and gambled a glance his way.

He surreptitiously shakes his head.

Kylie set it down on the table.

Audrey’s eyes flicked at the napkin.

Damn it !

« Listen. Mr. Parkinson. I understand that you’re a, » her hand did a delicate gesture as if to buy her some time to think of something polite to describe him, « busy man. »

She didn’t waste a second longer and continued. « Therefore, as of right now, we can stay out of each other’s lives. »

« Audrey—« 

« Let’s not kid ourselves here. It was a nightstand. We would’ve gone our separate lives had we used contraception. So, since we’re not sure if resulted in pregnancy, there’s no point in this. » Her hands gestured to the table.

Vren was speechless.

Wow, Audrey Danler doesn’t sugarcoat.

« But, if it does result in a pregnancy, I’ll let you know. » She pauses for a moment. « Are we on the same page here ? »

Vren shakes his head as if to wake himself up from a spell. « Yeah, sure. »

« Okay, then. » Audrey stood up and held out her hand for him to shake.

« Should we really shake on this ? » Vren quipped.

Audrey’s brow arched. « I need to know that you won’t be messing with my appointments ever again. »

Ah, there it is.

There are lots of things he least expects about Audrey Danler. But there’s one that stands out the most : Audrey Danler makes him feel like the plague.

With a sigh, Vren shakes her hand. « I’m looking forward to your call, Audrey. »

She nods. « Goodbye, Mr. Parkinson. »

And just like that, she was walking away from his life.

He stares at the revolving doors.

Vren didn’t expect her to be welcoming.

But he didn’t expect her to be… ice cold.