A minute later, Ayla thinned her lips, frowning hard when the man did nothing but peer at her.
He was ignoring her again.
Who was she kidding? Of course he was ignoring her.
Silas also had this nonchalance, except he only feigned his. He'd act like he didn't care about anything, when in fact, he cared the most.
Surely, he had learned it from this man.
Clenching her jaw, she called out through gritted teeth, "Mr. Hale?"
Like he hadn't just taken a quick trip to the past, he redirected his attention to her. "You work here. When do you need me to come for it?"
"What? No. I simply need you to write down your bank account number. Once I get my pay for this month, I'll send it to you." She shook her head, reaching into her still-wet clothes to find anything.
It was a good thing she was wearing a dark-colored dress made of flimsy material, so the wetness wasn't very obvious and it dried fast.
However, one pat across her body reminded her she hadn't come out with a pen and paper, and she made to go inside when the man stepped in front of her.
She stared up at him in surprise.
"I gave the cab driver cash. I'd prefer cash. Since we're keeping this a secret from your husband, I'll come every day until you hand the fare back to me."
Without another word, he walked past her to a blue sports car she hadn't noticed was there.
Scoffing, she slid both hands into her pockets.
What? He'd come every day until she paid him back? He was a billionaire but was this attached to such little change?
Besides, they knew each other. Did he really have to treat her like an untrustworthy debtor? How ridiculous.
In the end, he was a money-grubbing scumbag like his number-one fan.
As he drove off, she naturally turned around to head into the building, but gasped, her heart almost jumping out of her chest when she saw someone standing behind her.
Ignoring how she almost died from the shock, Lyana stared her over stoically.
"Assistant manager, I don't plan to pull an all-nighter today. Please don't make me by starting the project so late."
"At this point, you're going to kill me before we even begin," Ayla exhaled heavily, walking past her.
Once again, Lyana's pupils dilated.
Given the big argument they had just this afternoon about the style of one of the suits they were meant to make tonight, everyone, especially Lyana, expected Ayla to return fuming and refusing to work with her.
So naturally, she grew uncomfortable and suspicious at how nice and soft-spoken Ayla was being.
Honestly, it was scaring her.
Ayla, however, had yet to recall that fight.
As she walked to the studio with Lyana trailing behind, Ayla waved at everyone.
That's right. She was jovial and had a good working relationship with her colleagues.
But by the end of the year, everything she'd built over the past two years crumbled.
The constant demands from Talia and Silas wore her out so much. Since she couldn't lash out at them, her patience often ran thin at work and she lashed out at her team at even the slightest mistake.
Recalling how foul she became to everyone made her head hurt, so she immediately zoned out and directed her focus to the three suit sketches she'd made two weeks ago.
"I know you didn't want to see this, but I thought adding this would be…" Lyana was still speaking, posting to a drawing when Ayla grabbed a pen and drew all over the board, adding the said design as she worked.
After a while, she stepped backward, her head tilting to the side for a few seconds before she shook her head in refusal, "It doesn't work."
Looking at the board, Lyana couldn't help agreeing.
For the first time ever, she agreed with Ayla without putting up a fight.
After a while, Ayla moved toward the board again, rearranging Lyana's drawing as she reasoned, "However, if we take out this part, move it over here—it still gives that manly feel."
"This way, it doesn't give off feminine energy and maintains the masculine impression the client asked for. What do you think?"
But all she heard in response was a clatter.
She turned just in time to to see Lyana storming out of the studio, the clipboard she'd been cradling earlier now lying on the floor.
"They fought again, didn't they?"
"Lyana is just jealous of Ayla."
"Tell me about it. She's always the first to storm out when Ayla responds, but she provokes her the entire day. Who does that?"
Ayla walked out and heard the whispering, but didn't stop to join.
She first stopped by the cafeteria to grab two drinks before heading to the rooftop where she knew Lyana would be.
Given that she had fallen from somewhere similar and died just an hour ago, Ayla instantly froze.
Her PTSD kicking in, making impossible to move forward anymore.
Tightening her grip on the drinks, she stared at Lyana who comfortably sat on the parapet without fear and grimaced, "Lyana, the design was genuinely non-fitting. I merely redesigned it to fit better. If you're worried I'll take credit for the design, I won't."
"You may not believe me, but I just went through something life-altering, so I know better now."
"I will understand if you need a few minutes to remain angry with me, so I'll just wait for you inside while you have time to steam."
"I hate you, Ayla!" Lyana suddenly yelled, gnashing her teeth irritably the moment she finished speaking.
Ayla wasn't surprised. Thus, she didn't bother defending herself and just lowered her gaze to the drinks.
Her silence, however, irritated Lyana even more, prompting her to get on the rooftop.
"We've been on each other's necks for two years now, and now all of a sudden you're being nice to me?"
"If you wanted to guilt-trip me, then you've won. Now go inside and tell everyone I'm the awful person you really think I am!"
Ayla didn't budge for several seconds, prompting Lyana to move toward her to properly scream into her face a third time.
"Yes, hate me like you always do. Don't be nice to me. Be the fuc…" She abruptly trailed off when Ayla suddenly reached out and dragged her into a tight embrace, hushing her softly.
"I'm sorry."
She had wanted to say this to Lyana when she saw that interview but by then, Lyana was so big a peasant like her could only dream of booking an appointment with her, let alone seeing her.
Under the warm embrace, Lyana burst into tears, sobbing for several minutes.
On the rooftop behind them, Ezra Hale stood watching.
He had driven out of sight, parked somewhere, then returned to keep an eye on her.
After what happened, he had developed a fear of rooftops… for her.
As the scene lingered, Silas Locke came to find her, still bitter and brooding over what had happened.
To think she even switched off her phone so he couldn't reach her.
The audacity of this damn woman!
Ayla was facing the gate, so she was naturally the first person he saw as he drove in.
Lyana had short hair and wore a big black coat with a hoodie which she planned on using to hide that she was crying.
So from his angle, all he saw was Ayla hugging a man.