" Hi Ava " Dave said when he sighted Ava coming in his direction.
Ava as usual, smiled at him warmly " Hey Dave, how are you? "
He smiled back " I'm good "
" Are you heading somewhere? " He asked, taking a quick glance at her bag.
She shook her head " No, not really "
He nodded his " Alright " Ava was about to leave when he called her.
" Ava? " He called, and his voice trembled slightly.
She turned and looked at him, her eyes filled with questions " Is something the matter, Dave? "
Now Dave looked uneasy " I... I wanna tell you something "
Now, Ava was curious " Oh, what is it? "
He shook his head quickly " No no, it's nothing serious... "
" Okay... " Ava said, urging him on. She smiled tenderly to put him at ease, probably.
He still looked nervous " I... Ava, I... "
" Dave calm down and take a deep breath " She instructed gently and he did so. " Good. Now talk "
" Okayy... I wanted to tell you that I like you " He blurted out and shut his eyes tightly, waiting for her answer. So many things were running through his mind like being rejected, made fun of, and other things.
Ava laughed " So why didn't you want to tell me in the first place? Of course it's fine "
Dave looked dumbfounded " I... I thought... "
Ava shook her head " No no Dave, it's a very normal thing to compliment and encourage each other "
Dave's heart sank, knowing where this was going. She was going to dismiss this like it was nothing.
Ava smiled tenderly " I like you too, Dave "
His heart leapt at her words and for the first time that day, he had a glimmer of hope that it might work out after all. Until she dashed his hope with her next words.
" You're a good guy, a hard working and handsome one at that. Your woman is lucky to have you " She beamed with smile, thinking it would end there.
Dave ran his hands through his hair in frustration " No Ava, don't you understand? I like you! No, I love you and I want you to be my girlfriend "
" Can we go on a date? " He asked, staring at the different emotions on her face.
Ava stood rooted to the spot, as shock, surprise and confusion all battled to take control of her face " Huh? " Came out of her mouth even though she heard everything he had said. It was only taking time to register and she racked her brain for words of rejection which were not hurtful.
‘ You wanna break a guy's heart and you're searching for words of rejection that are not too hurtful? Ava, you lack sense ’ Her inner voice mocked and Ava gritted her teeth. How dare the little thing tell her she lacked sense??
‘ I lack sense?? Oh little lady, I'm gonna deal with you later, trust me ’ Ava promised and pushed out the voice and focused on the slightly trembling man before her. She felt pity for him and thought he didn't deserve to be treated like this but she had no choice. She couldn't accept his heart. He was a good man really, she just couldn't go through with it.
‘ And why is that? ’ Again, her little lady was back.
Ava rolled her eyes, deciding it wasn't time to deal with her inner voice yet. But that didn't deter her little lady because she continued.
‘ You have fallen in love with the person you've been thinking about, right? ’ She smirked and Ava blushed in reply.
She made a mental note to tell Alex. ‘ There there! I was right! It's really Alex! ’ Her inner voice chimed in again and Ava ignored her still.
She cleared her throat " Dave, like I said earlier, you're a very good guy, alright? And handsome too. And I'm sure there's a lady out there, waiting for you and trust me, that lady is not me " She finished with an apologetic smile.
" Why? " He asked in a very low and disappointed voice.
She hesitated for some minutes but Dave wasn't giving up until she told him the reason she rejected him.
She sighed " Okay fine, I like someone else "
" Who? " He probed further, his calm expression changed to anger in less than a second.
Ava raised her eyebrows, starting to get annoyed herself " I don't think I'm obligated to tell you that, Dave. I'm not that someone you're looking for. A good woman is out there waiting for you " She said, trying to console him in the end.
" Is it the person I'm thinking? " He asked suspiciously, shoving his hands in his pockets.
" I don't care who you think it is, I can't date you, I'm sorry " She said and turned to leave.
" You b*tch. It's the boss, right? " His words made her stop on her track.
She turned slowly " What did you just say? " Her hands were clenched in fists at her sides as she asked him. She wouldn't have replied him but for the first two words.
But he assumed she wanted him to repeat what he said and he did " It's the boss you like, huh? "
" No, the words before that " She said, inching closer to him.
That was when he realized what she meant " B*tch? " His voice shook as he said this.
Ava's eyes blazed in anger and in a blink of an eye, she raised her hands and slapped him hard across his face.
His eyes widened in shock " What did you just do? "
" I slapped you and I'm going to do it again if you call me that word one more time " She said, her nostrils flaring up in anger.
" But that's what you are, right? You seduced the boss. What the hell was going through your head when you did it? Oh you probably thought he was going to marry you, huh? " He said spitefully and as she raised her hand to strike him again, he quickly jumped to action and held her hands.
" Not so fast, huh? " He smirked evilly " Now let's continue our little chat, shall we? "
Ava struggled to break free but of course, he was stronger " Let go of me, you swine! "
" Not until I'm done saying what I have in mind. So you like the boss, huh? Now let me tell you something, he can't marry you. You are just one of the women he fucked with " He smiled devilishly.
His words dug into her heart like a knife and she wanted to cry. Yeah, she was going to cry but never in the presence of this swine who wanted that in the first place.
She said nothing and struggled with him and this time, he released her after diving hurtful words straight into her heart. She ran back inside.
She didn't know how Alex got to know about what happened but the next day, she learnt that he had been fired. Her heart leapt with joy and she smiled so wide that it almost hurt her face.
‘ He may have fired him for something else though ’ Her little lady had to dampen her mood with that.
She hissed and ignored her inner voice.