In Love With My Rival

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: sense of protectiveness

            Zephyr sat on the couch, knee bouncing up and down as he faced Mason. Mason, on the other hand, was anticipating of what Zephyr was going to discuss with him. Mason wanted to talk to his boss, but the bodyguard had told him that Ava was taking a nap in the room. Both of them did not want to wake queen up. But just when Mason was about to go out of the office and after telling Zephyr that he would just go back later when Ava wakes up, Zephyr stopped him and said he wanted to discuss something with him.

            Silence enveloped the office as the two, faced each other. Mason was just being patient with Zephyr. He wondered how important was the matter that Zephyr was going to talk about with him. They did not really talk during the day. This would be the first time that they would be having a proper conversation.

            Mason’s eyes darted down to Zephyr’s knees which was still bouncing up and down. Zephyr seemed uneasy, he concluded. A few minutes had gone by but Zephyr was still quiet, making Mason wonder if he was okay.

            “Are you o–”

            “Yeah, I’m fine.” Zephyr finally spoke.

            “Oh.” Mason nodded his head. “Okay… So… What is it that you want to talk about?”

            “About what you’ve seen earlier.” Zephyr finally said, but it was still not so specific. “When you walked in and saw us–”

            “Oh. That.” Mason chuckled, shaking his head as he cut Zephyr off.

            It’s the first day and you two are already getting kinky.

            Mason smirked at the thought. He was just surprised to see Ava getting so cozy with a man she just met. Or have they already met before? He wondered. Because if so, he needed not to find a reason why his boss was getting kinky with her bodyguard on the first day. First was when they were standing and he saw Ava closing her eyes, anticipating Zephyr’s kiss. The second one was the most thrilling part. He regretted walking on them at the wrong timing. Mason knew they were about to kiss, but he had to ruin the moment.

“I totally get it.” Mason continued. “It seems like my boss fell in love with you at first sight that she can’t keep her hands to herself. Yeah, it’s crazy. This is the first time I’ve seen her this way. If you want me to talk to her about tha–”

            “No.”

            Mason shut up at Zephyr’s sudden interruption. “Oh, why?” He asked, frowning at Zephyr.

            “No. You get it wrong. That’s exactly what I thought and this is exactly why I wanted to talk to you.” Zephyr said.

            How am I going to explain this clearly to him?

            He wondered. He wanted to clear Mason’s mind with those false thoughts about himself and Ava that was running his head. Straightening up on the couch, he looked at Mason seriously.

            “Nothing romantic is going on between us. We are strictly professionals. You clearly got it wrong when you said she fell in love with me at first sight. It’s just so impossible.” He sighed. “Has she told you about the incident at the hospital parking lot? Where she was harassed by two unknown men?” He decided to ask.

            Now, Mason was on ears at Zephyr, interested in where the conversation was leading to. “Yes. How did you know that?” His eyes were slightly widened, showing how surprised and interested he was at the same time. But his expression turned sad when he remembered how traumatized Ava was when she told him about that. “She was really scared, you know. Before it happened, she was driving us back to the company after lunch, but not even halfway and there was suddenly a bullet that hit the car. The windows were broken and that’s how we got these cuts on our forehead.” Mason let out a sigh and just stared into space.

            “I was actually there. It was me who saved her from those two men. As for the shooting incident, I wanted to investigate it on my own. Maybe, the two incidents were just connected somehow. That’s what I am going to find out and I won’t stop until I know who’s behind all that.”

            “Have you met before all that happened?” Mason wanted to know.

            “We bumped into each other once or twice, but never talked.”

            “Oh.” There were a few moments of silence before Mason asked, “Why are you doing all this? Why did you willingly represent yourself personally? Why are you willing to investigate?”

            The curiosity got the best of Mason. It was killing him. It was not that he was prying. He simply wanted to know and it was his loving boss that he owed so much that they were talking about. He wanted to help.

            “I want to protect her. Ever since I came across her at the hospital parking lot, so cared and vulnerable, something struck inside me. I could have killed those guys if I wanted to. A sense of protective just came over me and when I’ve learned that she was in need of a bodyguard, I did not hesitate to come here. I hope they are all clear to you.”

            Mason was silent for a while. He did not know what to say. He felt bad that he was scared and did not trust himself that much when it came to protecting Ava. He wished he was brave enough. Somehow, someone brave like Zephyr was willing to do everything for her and Mason was so grateful for that.

            “Thank you,” Mason said after the moments of silence. “I owe her so much… Ava… She has helped me so much through life. She may look really scary around people, but her heart is so different from that. It was so soft.”

            “I know.” Zephyr smiled. “That’s why I will try… I don’t promise to do my best but I will try to protect her.”

            Mason nodded his head in understanding, a small smile dancing on his lips. “Thank you. So… I guess… I should get going now. I still some tasks to finish in my office.”

            “Sure. Sorry for the time wasted.” Zephyr apologized as he stood up from the couch when Mason did.

            “Not a waste. I appreciate you making things clear to me. And I am sorry for making the wrong assumption.”

            “No worries.”

            With a handshake, Mason finally headed towards the door and walked out of the office.

            Zephyr was left alone and he wondered if he should get inside the room. Ava told her to just knock on the door when he was signing the contract, but there was a part in him that wanted to come inside.

            Walking towards the bedroom door, he stopped in front of it and pursed his lips while hesitating if he should just knock or get inside right away. He decided to do the former, but there was no answer. He knocked again but still got the same response. Sighing, he decided to push the door open, and there she was…

            Zephyr’s eyes softened as he slowly closed the door behind him and walked towards the bed. He sat on the foot of it and just stared at the angel in white, sleeping peacefully. She was laying down sideways, her hands under her cheek and hair was sprawled all over the pillow. His brown eyes darted down, moving past her breasts and to her feet. She was barefooted. They were slightly reddish, probably from wearing heels. Her nails were painted black. Cute, he thought while smiling.

            Isn’t she feeling cold?

            The room air-conditioner was on and she had taken off her blazer again. Zephyr wanted to put the comforter over her, but she was lying on it. He tried to look for her blazer, but he could not seem to find it in the room. She had probably left it at her desk. Zephyr got no choice but to take off his leather jacket. walked over to her side and put the jacket over her.

            With one last glance at the sleeping angel, he turned his back and started heading for the door when her angelic voice stopped him, 

            "Zephyr?"