Chapter 48: Another coincidence?
Chapter - 48
When Alex walked out of the hospital, it was still far from getting dark outside. He was in no hurry to get back home when none of his parents would be there just to bicker with Mrs Flores. Instead, he made his way to the supermarket near their home. He called Mrs Flores and got a list of things she needed him to buy.
Alex was done with his shopping pretty fast. Dumping all he needed in the cart, he made his way to the billing counter and stood in the queue waiting for his turn.
"Alex!" It was not long before he heard a familiar voice. It was Margaret. This was the third time they had met coincidentally, and Margaret had called out for him.
Twenty percent surprised and eighty percent faking it, Alex looked behind, "Miss Cole? What are you doing here?" He asked.
Hearing him address her as 'Miss Cole,' Margaret was annoyed. With a stern look on her face, her hands on her waist, and in a reprimanding manner, Margaret said, "How many times have we gone over this, Alex? I told you not to be so formal with me. Just call me Margaret. And this is the last time. Next time, be prepared to face the consequences."
"Yes, Mis--- I mean Margaret," Alex answered like an obedient student. But soon changing the topic, he asked, " What are you doing here?"
Margaret pointed towards her shopping cart, "Obviously, I am here for shopping, daahhh..."
Smiling at her antics, Alex said, "I can see that, but what I meant was, why are you shopping on your own? Don't you have maids or butlers? I have never seen you do your own shopping before," Alex said, bending the peace sign in sarcasm.
"I don't have 'maids' or 'butlers' for that matter," Margaret said, copying Alex's gesture, "I only have a maid, and she has called in sick for a couple of days," Margaret said.
"Oh!" Alex nodded in understanding, "Then what about that man who is usually around you?"
Margaret smiled when Alex subtly brought that man into the conversation. She has long deduced that Alex was somewhat jealous of her assistant, and this is something she can exploit. She was about to use the opportunity to further wind Alex's jealousy, but they were interrupted.
"Mate, I ain't wanna interrupt yer couple moment, but would ya mind not stopping the line with yer wife?" A man said from behind. They were so engrossed in chatting that Alex didn't realise that the lady standing in front of him had moved quite a few steps forward.
"Sorry," Alex said, gesturing towards the man. After he had moved a couple of steps forward, he turned back and said to the man, "And she ain't my wife, mate. She is my neighbour," Alex clarified. Margaret, on the other hand, felt tingly in her stomach all of a sudden, by the mention of the word wife. It sounded pleasant for some reason.
"So, is she single?" The man asked, looking at Margaret from head to toe, and took a step forward.
"No, she is not," Alex instinctively stood in between the man and Margaret.
"Relax... Relax mate. I am just messing with ya. But geez... if she ain't yours, don't... don't butt in, mate. I ain't talking 'bout me, but anyone can make a move on her. And if you do like her, don't play hard to get," The guy said, and winking at Margaret, took a few steps back. All this while, Margaret was nodding to whatever the man said.
When Alex turned to see Margaret nodding to that guy, he was more annoyed, "Let's get it over with," Alex said and pushed Margaret's cart along with his, leaving her behind.
Margaret smiled. She had noticed that Alex was getting more and more expressive for the past few weeks. If the same thing had happened a couple of months back, Alex would just simply nod to whatever the guy was saying and let him flirt with her without intervening. Alex, over time, has grown more confident in the way he carries himself. She liked the cute, obedient Alex, but Alex right now was more reliable. Margaret was curious to see how Alex was going to change in the days that follow. Thinking about it, she hurried behind Alex.
Alex would constantly look behind and glare at the man. The guy could do nothing but raise his hands high and mouth, 'Chill bro, chill'.
Margaret felt touched as well as happy on seeing Alex act jealous. She tried to change the subject, "What about you? Aren't you earlier than usual today?"
"Things happened, and my boss was quite happy the way I worked for the last few days. So she offered me to leave early," Alex told her.
"Your boss is certainly good to you," Margaret said.
"She sure is," Alex nodded in agreement. Thinking about Karen, a smile bloomed on his face.
When Margaret saw him smiling foolishly, looking at nothing but air. Her woman's intuition tinged, 'She is definitely more than your average boss.'
This time it was Margaret's inside that churned.
Trying to avoid talking about his boss, Margaret totally avoided talking about Theation. Then she saw his face. She had been meaning to ask about it the moment she saw him, "What happened to your face? What is this band-aid for?" Margaret asked as she tried touching Alex's face to have a closer look.
"It's nothing. I just bumped into something" Alex didn't want to talk about how he got beat up. Well, he did put on a fair fight, but no one would believe him. Even more so, what would she think of him?
"Are you sure? It does not look like it," Margaret asked with suspicion.
"Next, please come forward," The lady on the counter said.
Alex felt grateful to the lady. He hurriedly started unloading the items on the counter.
While they were getting their items checked out, the girl behind the counter was stealing glances at Alex. She would look at Alex and then Margaret. She felt envious of Margaret for more than just Alex. Alex was good looking, better than many out there, but Margaret was also a head-turner. While the girls were checking out Alex, the boys were also stealing glances of Margaret and her perky ass in those sleek yoga pants and that tank top. Margaret had everything going for her. A stunning body and a handsome man. The girl wanted to curse her but could not because the two of them looked really great together.
Under the envious gazes of many, Alex and Margaret paid for their groceries and walked out of the store.
"Did you bring your car?" Alex asked.
Margaret thought for a while before replying. Last time when George created a chance for her, she missed it because she could not take the hint. But this time, she won't make the same mistake. When Margaret saw a car coming towards them, she moved a bit, and behind Alex's back, she gestured for the car to stop. Then she turned towards Alex, "No, I flagged a taxi here. What about you?" She asked.
"I rode my bike here. Want to tag along with me?" Alex asked.
"Sure, why not". Margaret said, all smiles.
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