I smiled as I opened the door and saw both of them standing with flowers in their hands.

Adorable.

"Hiii Belle," Zach said excitedly and Jake, his boyfriend chuckled at how childish he looked.

"Hiiii," I replied with the same energy as he crushed me in his arms and I laughed.

"Well well, look at himmm," I whispered in Zach's ear teasingly and nodded towards Jake and he scratched the nape of his neck while giving an awkward laugh.

"Hi Isabelle. It's nice to finally meet you," Jake said and side hugged me and I smiled at him.

The three of us made our way inside the house and I seated them both before bringing the drinks.

"So Jake, tell me more about yourself," I initiated the conversation and Jake nervously took a sip from his drink and started telling me about his business and way of living and I noticed how Zach had a smile on his face and couldn't take his eyes off him which in turn, made me smile too.

"You've got an accent," I stated and cocked an eyebrow at Jake when I noticed he had a hint of a British accent.

"Yeah well, I was born in London and stayed there for the first six years of my life. After that, we just kept moving to different countries," he shrugged and I nodded.

We talked like this for a few more hours, Zach and I embarrassing each other and Jake just laughing at how ridiculous we were.

"Alright then, let's call it a night," Zach stated and stood up from the couch and Jake followed suit.

"Zach come on, don't be ridiculous. You know you can stay in papa's room. You guys really don't have to go to the hotel," I whined and Zach chuckled before pressing a soft kiss to the crown of my head and stepping towards the door.

"I know Belle, I know. But we've already booked the hotel for the next few days," he said and Jake waved at me and gave me his signature smile. I noticed he had a dimple that made him look even more sexier.

I would have been swooning if he wasn't gay.

"How about we go out for dinner tomorrow night? Sounds good?" Jake suddenly said.

"Now that's a good idea," Zach said and turned around.

"I'm totally down," I raised my hands up.

In fact I was excited, it had been a while since I had gone out. Sasha was quite busy for the last few days because of her brother doing drugs and getting himself into trouble and besides Zach I didn't have any other friends so hanging out with my best friend and his boyfriend would do a lot for me at the moment.

************

"I'm leaving," I told Alex when I saw him entering the office as I was walking out.

"Half an hour earlier?" he cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah well, there's nothing much in the office for me to do today. Besides I have plans for tonight," I explained as we walked out of the office together.

"Hey did Ace-"

"Please Alex, I don't want to talk about that right now," I said before he had a chance to complete his sentence.

"Oh, sure," he replied in a low tone.

Mr. Rhodes and I weren't exactly in good terms at the moment. It had been three days since he came back and since then, we barely talked. Even if it was work related, Mr. Rhodes preferred sending me an e-mail and explaining everything in it instead of calling me in his office.

Not like I minded.

The less encounters with him, the better my day went.

I knew what Alex was going to say. Obviously he had noticed the change in the aura. Mr. Rhodes barely looked at me anymore and for me, well I preferred staying out of his way as much as I could which sometimes led me to avoiding Alex too.

***********

It was her. Even with her back to me, I knew it was her the moment she walked in.

And just because of that one fact, I couldn't bring myself to concentrate on my client and continue this meeting.

She was here with Zachary and a man I didn't recognise but by the looks of it, it seemed as if they were pretty close which made me want to break the wine glass sitting right before me.

I saw as Zachary stood up and made his way towards the rest room and she started talking to that guy with even more interest as I dug my nails in my palms. Her face glowed with excitement and the way she was laughing at whatever that man was saying made my blood boil in rage.

I knew she wasn't mine. I could never have her for myself but what I didn't know was that seeing her with someone else, laughing and smiling like she truly was happy would feel so painful.

All I could think at the moment was that how good it would feel to rip that guy's head off his neck. My client was babbling something, but at this moment, he no longer had my interest but all my attention was towards that certain brunette sitting at the opposite corner of the room.

A couple of more minutes went by like this and I was somehow able to tear my gaze away from them. I wasn't particularly paying attention to the client because I already knew what he was suggesting for the company and I knew how I had to turn his offer down in the end whatsoever. My attention was divided between him, Isabelle and that hideous blonde guy she was sitting with.

****************

We stumbled out of the fancy restaurant, laughing and living the time of our lives. I was slightly tipsy but not drunk enough to do something that I was going to regret later.

Zach told me to loosen up so I gave in and had two shots of tequilas. But man, tequila always got me.

"So what now?" I asked, my head was spinning and I was holding on to Zach's arm to keep myself from falling flat on my face as we walked through the parking lot.

"Let's go to the theme park," Zach chirped happily like a five year old.

"Sounds fun," Jake agreed and so did I.

The park was close by so we decided to walk rather than driving because apparently Jake wanted to enjoy New York to its fullest.

As we walked, the both of them got engrossed in deep conversation and although I felt like a third wheel, it still was pretty funny to hear Zach getting all sappy.

They both talked and my eyes roamed here and there as I breathed in fresh air. I was busy watching and laughing at a child drag her mom into the toy store when my eyes landed on something or rather someone and my heart skipped a beat.

I blinked my eyes to make sure it wasn't the alcohol making me imagine things.

When I was sure that Mr. Rhodes was standing by his Porsche staring right at me while I struggled to breathe I started to get freaked out.

I mean I saw him everyday at the office and it wasn't a big deal seeing him outside so why the hell was my mind and body reacting this way?!

I decided to play it cool. I mean he was just my boss who was annoyingly sexy and who always managed to get on my nerves right? What was the big deal about it? I could act like seeing him here doesn't matter at all to me.

Yeah I could do that. Definitely.

Mr. Rhodes was still staring at me and I was hoping that Zach wouldn't see him because if he did then he'd definitely push me to go over to him and talk or something which was the last thing I needed right now. I hadn't told Zach about my current situation with Mr. Rhodes because he has been just so happy lately and I just didn't want to ruin it for him. He deserved this happiness.

We were almost about to walk past Mr. Rhodes, he was standing on the opposite side of the road. I could do it. I could do it.

I turned my head his way, gave him a tight lipped smile and nodded my head acknowledging his presence before we walked away and I would lie if I'd say I wasn't proud of myself.

**********

Vote my loves❤