Chapter 39: It's Been A Long Time Since Someone Had Treated Her So Well
Chapter 39: It's Been A Long Time Since Someone Had Treated Her So Well
Alvera was irritated by his words.
She put her hand on the car horn and pressed hard on it, which made the car honk so loud that some
other cars in the parking lot sounded their alarms.
...
...
Suddenly, the whole parking lot was full of harsh alarm sounds.
Roland pulled her hand away and asked, "Are you out of your mind?"
Alvera rolled her eyes and stepped on the accelerator.
He released her hand and glared at her. "You're not happy about driving me to dinner?"
"You have so many drivers on standby at the company, but you insisted that I take a taxi back here just
to drive you to dinner. You expect me to be happy about that?" Alvera retorted loudly.
...
"Your delicate little lover Andrina packed lunch for you earlier, and now you're harassing me for dinner,"
she continued. "You two really are a match made in heaven."
Roland folded his arms in irritation. "Stop the car."
He hadn't even gotten angry at her for making him miss his lunch, but now she's losing her temper at
him?
...
Alvera slammed on the breaks right in the middle of the road, causing the car behind them to honk
loudly as they swerved to avoid them.
...
Roland gritted his teeth and said, "Stop at the side of the road, use your common sense."
"You didn't say so, Mr. Francoise. I just did exactly what you decreed. I'm just a lowly employee, how
dare I disobey your commands?"
"I just said it, are you deaf?"
Alvera raised her eyebrows, started the car again and pulled over at the side of the road.
Roland got out of the car and walked over to the driver's side. He opened the door and said, "Get out."
Alvera did as she was told without looking at him.
She thought Roland was going to leave her at the side of the road, but he did not drive off immediately
after getting into the car. Instead, he said coldly, "What are you waiting for? Get in the car."
...
Annoyed, Alvera pulled open the door to the back seat.
She was just about to get in when Roland said, "Do you expect me to be your driver?"
Alvera glared at him as if he was insane, then slammed the door and went around to the passenger
side.
...
After she fastened her seat belt, Roland drove away.
He drove to a high-end restaurant and got out of the car.
Alvera followed him.
He ordered as soon as he sat down, but he only ordered for himself.
...
When his steak came up, Roland began eating elegantly.
He ate a lot alone.
Alvera sat opposite him and stared at him for a while. "Didn't you have enough to eat for lunch?"
Annoyed that it had taken her so long to ask, he answered, "I didn't have lunch?"
"Andrina brought you lunch, right?"
"Who told you that I would eat everything she brings?" His tone was not happy. "Who was the guy you
had lunch with today?"
...
Alvera was confused as to why he would ask that.
"A colleague."
"There are so many women in your office, but you chose to go out with a male colleague on your first
day? What, you can't live without men?"
He slammed his fork on the table angrily as he spoke.
The sound was very loud, but fortunately they were the only ones in the restaurant.
Alvera clenched her fist and looked at him. Roland Francois was the only person she had ever met who
could humiliate people like this.
"You're right, I haven't seen any men while I was in prison during the last four years. Now that I'm out,
I'm taking every chance I have to spend time with men."
"Alvera Earhart, do you have a death wish?" Roland's voice was dangerously cold.
"I'm enjoying my life as it is, why would I have a death wish? You were the one who accused me, I'm
just going with the flow. If you're not happy with my answer, there's nothing I can do about that."
"Who asked you to go with the flow? I want a proper explanation, not a sarcastic answer."
Alvera smiled disdainfully. Sarcastic? Like he was any better.
"Mr. Francois, you're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong," she said. "As per our contract, I don't
have to answer to you."
"I decide the terms of the contract. I'll add another clause now: you cannot cheat on me in any way as
long as the contractual marriage is still valid."
Alvera gritted her teeth, "I just had lunch with a colleague, do you have to make such a big deal out of
it? What's the use of explaining myself if you already think I'm a sl*t? Would you believe me if I told you
that he was just my mentor? You wouldn't because you only believe what you want to believe, so why
would I waste my energy explaining just for you to accuse me of manipulation?"
...
Roland really did not like her defensive attacks, as if she wrapped herself up in thorns.
He got up, glanced at her coldly, and left the restaurant.
Alvera took a deep breath, but it didn't relax her.
When she came out of the restaurant, Roland's car had already left.
She frowned and clenched her fists.
It was almost six o'clock when she got back to the company via a taxi.
Everyone was preparing to leave when she walked into the office.
"Hey, look, it's the newbie," she heard someone say scornfully. "Back only when it's time to get off
work."
Alvera did not bother explaining her absence.
Patrick slung his bag around him and patted her on her shoulder, smiling. "Don't take it to heart, it
wasn't something you could control. Go on home, I'll see you tomorrow."
...
She nodded and smiled. "See you tomorrow, Patrick."
She was not in a hurry to go home, so she sat back down at her table and began looking through the
notes she had accumulated throughout the day.
It was almost seven o'clock when she finally left the company.
She went downstairs, went to the bus station, and took the bus home.
When she arrived home, she found that the villa was dark.
Becky had already left, and Roland probably wouldn't come here tonight.
...
She opened the door and turned on the light, revealing the same lonely and empty house.
...
Without Roland around, she had a good night's sleep.
Alvera did not see Roland for a whole week.
She was not surprised at all, because she heard that Andrina had been hospitalized again.
On Friday afternoon, Becky called in to take a few days off because her son had been hospitalized for
appendicitis.
Alvera let her take a few more days off to recover.
After work in the evening, she drove to the nearest supermarket to the villa to get some groceries,
since she will have to fend for herself over the weekend.
...
In the supermarket, she put on her earphones and headed over to the fruit and vegetable section.
As she was looking thorough the selections, a hand patted her on the shoulder from behind.
She turned around and pulled off her earphones in surprise. "Mr. Perez!"
...
"I said your name several times just now but you didn't answer," he told her. "I didn't notice that you had
earphones in."
She smiled abashedly and said, "Sorry, I really didn't hear you. What are you doing here, Mr. Perez?"
"My housekeeper is on leave these few days."
"What a coincidence, so is mine." Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
Owen looked at her empty shopping cart. "I can see you just arrived."
Alvera nodded. "Yeah, I'm not sure what to get."
"It's just a meal, is it really that hard of a decision?"
She just smiled without saying anything.
"Well, if you don't mind, Ms Alvera, you can try my cooking tonight."
Alvera looked at him hesitantly.
"Alvera, I'm not going to do anything to you," he said.
"No, I didn't mean it like that, I just don't want to disturb you."
"That's not a problem. I'll take that as a yes."
She smiled and nodded. "Okay."
In the end, Alvera left the supermarket without buying anything and went home with Owen.
Alvera looked around Owen's house. "Looks like our houses have the same layout."
"They're by the same developer, so I think they're more or less the same."
Alvera followed Owen as he carried the groceries into the kitchen. "I'll help you."
...
"Sure, we can get dinner going sooner if we work together."
Alvera was a little awe-struck when Owen put on an apron.
She had never seen anyone who could look so stunning in an apron.
Owen turned around and handed her an apron. Seeing that she was staring at him, he smiled and said,
"Is it very strange?"
Alvera blushed. "No, it's just... you're different than what I imagined you should be."
"What did you think I should be like?"
"Hm... kind of like an aloof CEO who doesn't do chores around the house. It's quite different from the
vibe you're giving off right now."
"I'm just an ordinary person. If I don't do any chores around the house, I'd starve," he laughed.
They chatted while making dinner.
For the first time in a long time, Alvera felt like she was interacting with other people in a normal way,
and it was comforting.
...
She was amazed by Owen's cooking. "That's some amazing cooking, Mr. Perez."
...
"I lived alone when I was studying abroad, so naturally I had to pick up some cooking skills to survive. If
you like it, you can come over again anytime."
"I definitely will, Mr. Perez, as long as you can put up with me."
He smiled and said, "Of course. Do you cook?"
"Me? I can cook pasta well. My mom taught me."
"You still owe me a meal, right? How about you cook some pasta for me next time?"
"Sure," she said.
Owen laughed. "I'm looking forward to it."
Alvera smiled too.
It was the first time in a long time since she could laugh and smile so much.
Owen wanted to walk her back to her house, but he got a call for an emergency video conference just
as she was about to leave.
...
There was no way he could walk with her, but he still insisted that Alvera call him on her phone and
keep the call going until she reached home, just in case.
...
"You can hang up once you arrive home safely," he told her.
Alvera nodded and smiled. It's been a long time since someone had treated her so well.
She put on her earphones again and walked home while listening to Owen talking in Spanish fluently
during his meeting.
She was debating with herself whether she should eavesdrop longer when Roland's voice suddenly
came from the dark bushes in front of the door.
"Why did you come back so late?"