Married To My Ex, Now Billionaire Boss

Meeting Her Again

SPENCER

SHE STILL WORE the same perfume. Memories of a past that I pretended to bury many years ago resurfaced inside my head once again as my gaze landed on the woman who spoke.

I looked at the woman right in front of me, her eyes wide from shock. Her hair had gotten longer. Yet still black-colored with alluring smooth waves that cascaded through her back. A picture of her flashed at the back of my mind. A picture with me beside her.

She did not move an inch. And I was too enthralled by her beauty that there was not a single chance I would be able to do move as well.

I f****d up. I knew I did. Anybody would laugh at me if they’d heard about this situation. It’s so rare to meet an old friend in the same country after almost half a decade passed by. Let alone in a foreign city.

And damn. I wish I could say that she was just an old friend. ‘Cause if an entire decade would pass by, I would still recognize her scent, her lips, her taste—

Her eyes were not the same as before. They were filled with anger and tears.

“AV,” her name had only two letters but it brought a heavy weight on my chest saying it.

“Spencer.” Her voice changed, she talked with enthusiasm before with a pitch tone that made her reveal her bubbly personality.

What happened to her? The lower register in her voice gave away the distress she was in.

I was an asshole when I assumed, she would shy away from my gaze. That she would look away first. But she corrected me about her name… and laid upfront the exact context of what was going on at the moment.

Aisha Vernice had been a girl I used to date back in high school.

What we had; we never broke off. It was me who messed up. I disappeared from her life without telling a single soul. And now, we’re here. Face to face once again with her fingers pointing at me and her tears begging to flow from her eyes.

“So, how are you?” I said instead of answering her question which was filled with disgust and judgment.

Aisha Vernice, as she emphasized her name earlier, spoke once again. Repeating her words, only that it had more strength this time. “How could you show up like this, Spencer? Like nothing happened.”

I cleared my throat. Hid my phone inside my pocket and smiled at her. “Don’t you think we should at least grab some coffee?”

“No,” she said. Plain and simple. I almost smiled. I could sense her anger from the small distance between us. How could someone be so familiar but so different at the same time?

I’ve always known what to do in situations. How to appeal to women with my charm and charisma. How to handle situations that needed a critical approach to resolve things.

But seeing face to face with this woman—it was beyond my capacity to even come up with a solution that I was certain would work for her.

She pulled her luggage to her side and turned her back to me. I immediately moved in my tracks and went after her.

“Aisha, don’t go yet,” I said, hearing my own words felt like a punch to my gut. In business, you must seize every opportunity that you can get. Meeting Aisha for the first time after years might not be part of my agenda but it surely changed the trajectory of how this extended business trip could go.

Extending this business trip might not be the worst that could happen especially now that I could face a significant part of my past that I certainly have to face.

“Hey, you asked me about Vermone Hotel earlier. Are you heading there? I have a car.” My words came out of my mouth without much thought. At this rate, I could do anything just so I could stop Aisha from walking away without a proper conversation.

Aisha’s eyes were transfixed on the exit of the airport building her footsteps as heavy as my breathing as I ran towards her.

“Aisha, let me extend some courtesy,” I said, hoping she’ll listen. With the way she looked at me with those perfectly shaped sharp eyes, she was at the brink of slapping me on the face but had enough restraint to keep her emotions in check.

I am not expecting her to share the enthusiasm of a friend, nor the kindness of an acquaintance. It’s just that I never expected to see her again and today had been f****d up already. I could do something right even if it’s too little it would uplift my spirit. Especially the fact that Aisha is something I deeply hurt in the past.

Her silence allowed me to share a proposition.

“Firstly, can you confirm that you’re heading to Vermone Hotel?”

Aisha frowned. “Why should I tell you my whereabouts? And care to explain why are you following me, Spencer?”

I looked at her, and with my sincerest voice, I mumbled, “Well, let me refresh your memory. It was you who approached me asking about Vermone Hotel. Just to be clear.”

Her expression changed into something curious and appalled. “That was before realizing that it was you. Now, will you please leave me alone like how you just disappeared years ago as if I was something that could be discarded so easily?”

Aisha stepped right ahead of me, brushing my shoulders against her— “Excuse me.”

A smirk flashed on my mouth in an instant. “This woman.”

I followed her until we made it to the front of the building. There was almost no one waiting for a cab. The road right across was filled with silence. The sky was pitch black and the breeze was so cold it could penetrate the bones.

I stood beside Aisha looking at the surroundings. I started talking without looking at her. “It’s late in the evening. The other tourists usually have private vehicles to drive them to the nearest hotel. You can just wait until a taxi comes or book a cab, but I doubt if my conscience could allow you to just be on your own. I can’t do that.”

“Did those words come from you?”

I didn’t say anything and just allowed her to vent beside me.

“This day is already f****d up! I don’t need your words to add up to my misery!” She started doing her best to keep her tears at bay, but it wasn’t used to just inhale a deep breath.

What happened? I wanted to ask her but stopped. She was right. How could I just talk to her casually and show up to her like this after a history together…

A few minutes and a black car stopped right in front of us.

I opened the back seat and motioned for Aisha to get in.

She looked at me and looked away before wiping her tears.

I nodded and sat beside her. The car speeds up to the hotel.

An awkward silence filled the car. When we arrived at the hotel lobby, Aisha did not say anything. As we headed inside the hotel, I was glancing at her but hesitant enough to initiate a conversation.

At least she’s made it to the hotel and did not wander more outside this late in the evening.

Right before I could reach the front desk of the hotel, the manager of the building approached me with a huge smile. “Good evening, Mr. Feignor, we’re glad you are back. You just checked out hours ago.”

I had to look away from Aisha and to the hotel manager, “Right my business trip has been extended unfortunately. I do hope the presidential suite is still vacant.”

“Of course, we will always accommodate our loyal clients. You shall have the presidential suite for how long your stay shall be. Let me fetch the card for your suite for a moment.”

As I was heading to the elevator, I saw Aisha talking with the staff at the front desk. She might have had a long journey; she must get rest for the night. Our eyes met for a few seconds before the elevator doors closed.