AVA
"Damn it," Ava thought after Maxim hung up on her.
Her mouth tightened with displeasure.
She was annoyed that she'd lost the opportunity to berate Maxim further, and even worse, he hadn't agreed to her request.
The asshole.
As the thought crossed her mind, Ava suddenly understood exactly how Maxim must have felt when she'd hung up on him earlier that morning.
It was definitely annoying.
At the same time, something about the end of their phone call started to bother her.
Particularly the noises she'd heard in the background.
First, there had been a loud crash.
Then a muffled cry of pain.
Of course, Maxim had given her an explanation for these, but something about it still didn't sit right with Ava.
Another peculiar aspect of the conversation had been Maxim himself.
Only moments earlier, he'd seemed perfectly happy to keep her on the phone for as long as possible. Yet immediately after that strange noise, he'd suddenly become desperate to end their conversation.
Ava frowned.
She started to wonder if something had happened during their phone call that had caused this weird change.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Britney laughing from the sofa, where she was chatting amicably with the security workers.
They made a surprisingly harmonious bunch.
Only a few minutes earlier, relations had been a little more hostile.
The men had practically been begging Ava to let them do their job, insisting that the work meant a great deal to them, while Ava had repeatedly informed them that she hadn't asked for their services and that they needed to leave.
When they continued insisting, she'd told them that she was going to call their employer and demand that he remedy the situation since they apparently didn't want to listen to her.
She had then left them alone with Britney.
The atmosphere between them had been considerably tense then.
Somehow, despite all that, Britney had managed to lighten the mood significantly.
Right now, Mr. Lovat was smiling at something she had said while Trevor and Bob listened quietly beside them.
As she spoke, Britney casually turned her head and noticed Ava standing nearby, her phone call clearly over.
With a polite smile, Britney excused herself from the men and rose from the sofa.
"So?" she asked as she approached Ava. "How did the phone call go?"
"Bad," Ava replied. "And... a little bizarre, if I'm being honest."
Britney frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Ava glanced toward her.
She tried to put her uneasiness into words, but the more she thought about it, the less certain she became that there was actually anything to worry about.
Maxim had given her an explanation for the strange noises, she thought. One of his employees had apparently fallen.
Maybe that really was all that had happened.
Ava knew that Britney would say the same thing to her if she shared her suspicions. And she would probably be right, Ava thought.
She was just overthinking things because Maxim had spent the previous night breaking into her apartment like a complete lunatic.
"Forget about that, Brit," Ava said after a moment, letting out a sigh. "All you need to know is that Maxim refused to call these security guys off."
Britney let out a long, frustrated groan.
"That guy really is the worst, isn't he?"
"He is." Ava slipped her phone into her pocket. "Do you understand now why I have to go into hiding?"
Britney sighed and gave a reluctant nod.
"Yeah," she admitted. "It's definitely the right move."
She then turned her head and glanced toward the three security workers.
"So... what are you going to do about them?"
Ava followed her gaze.
"I'm going to tell them to leave, obviously." Her voice became firmer. "Maxim Holloway may have hired them, but this is still my apartment. They can't install a security system in it if I don't want one."
"You're actually going to fire them?"
A sharp pang of sympathy and guilt went through Ava at the question.
Her eyes drifted toward Mr. Lovat.
The older man was still sitting patiently in his wheelchair with the others. All three of them looked perfectly decent.
Nice, even.
Ava's heart started to sink.
She felt genuinely sorry for what she was about to do to the Lovat security guys.
But she wasn't going to let that change her mind.
After all, Maxim was already playing hardball.
And Ava knew that, if she wanted even the slightest chance of outsmarting him, she couldn't afford to let him manipulate her through her emotions.
And that was exactly what this was.
Manipulation.
"I don't see any other option, Brit," Ava said with a shrug, forcing her expression to become blank, like she didn't really care.
Then she turned toward the sofa.
"Come on. I'm going to go tell them."
"Wait, Ava."
Britney caught her arm before Ava could take a step.
Ava instinctively paused and looked back at her.
"What?"
Britney bit the inside of her cheek, her expression thoughtful.
"Can we think about this for a second before you fire these guys for something that isn't even their fault?"
Ava frowned.
"What's there to think about, Brit?"
Britney pressed her lips together and glanced toward the three men, not saying a word.
Her gaze briefly settled on Trevor Lovat, before immediately softening.
Ava noticed immediately.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Britney."
"What?"
"Tell me what this is really about," Ava said slowly.
Britney blinked her wide, dark eyes innocently.
"I don't know what you mean."
Ava let out a disbelieving sigh.
"What I mean is that you clearly have a huge crush on Trevor. That's why you don't want me to fire them, isn't it? So he'll be more inclined to date you."
Britney slowly folded her arms, a smile spreading across her face.
"Maybe," she admitted, her face lifting with excitement. "But you have to admit that he's handsome. And get this—he says he's a Leo. And since I'm a Gemini, we're practically a perfect match."
After Britney said that, Ava gritted her teeth in annoyance while unconsciously glancing toward Trevor, who was currently sitting beside his father.
"Have you gone crazy?" she asked, looking back at Britney.
Britney rolled her eyes.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Ava. Me liking Trevor isn't that big of a deal."
"Britney, I know he seems nice, but he's associated with Maxim and is probably not a good dude. You cannot like him."
Britney's expression suddenly became serious, and she crossed her arms.
"Um, first of all, since when do you get to tell me who I can and can't like?"
Now it was Ava's turn to roll her eyes.
"You know I'm not trying to do that. All I'm doing is looking out for you by making sure you don't make the mistake of getting involved with someone who's probably a fucking wolf in sheep's clothing."
"Okay, now it's you who sounds crazy," Britney commented.
Ava ignored her.
"You know, the more I think about it, the more plausible it seems that these guys aren't who they say they are. I mean, anyone associated with Maxim has to be bad, right?"
"Ava Elizabeth Morgan, do you hear yourself right now?" Britney asked. "You're starting to sound paranoid. Not everyone is out to get you, you know."
She then glanced subtly toward the three security workers.
"And let me point out that these guys have been nothing but polite and respectful to us since they came in here—they certainly don't deserve to be fired because of another person's actions."
"Oh, please, Britney," Ava said. "Don't pretend to be saying all this because you care about their jobs. We both know are just trying to get together with Trevor."
"I care about both things," Britney said indignantly.
Ava gave her a look.
Britney sighed, looking at her.
"Come on, Ava. I mean look, while you were on the phone, I talked to all of them. Not just Trevor," she said.
She then lowered her voice.
"Mr. Lovat told me their company has been struggling. This contract with Maxim will go a long way toward helping them. And Bob? He has a daughter. He's planning to use the money from this job to help pay for her to attend a prestigious art college."
"Art college?" Ava repeated.
As an artist herself, she couldn't help immediately latching onto that particular detail.
Britney nodded.
"She's a painter. Like you. A really good one, apparently."
Ava's expression hardened.
Of course she was.
Maxim Holloway couldn't simply hire three ordinary security workers with ordinary lives and daughters.
No.
He had to find people who she would feel absolutely terrible about rejecting.
The smart bastard.
Ava fumed beside Britney.
Despite all the good points her friend had made, Ava still wasn't willing to give in to her just yet.
"Brit, have you considered the possibility that Maxim could be installing this security system to spy on me? To watch my movements?" Ava asked. "Not to keep me safe as he assures me. If I'm right, I'll never escape his scrutiny."
This made Britney freeze, rendering her silent for a moment.
"I didn't think of that," Britney finally admitted honestly. "Luckily, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things."
Ava raised a sceptical eyebrow.
"It doesn't?"
"No, Ava," Britney insisted.
Then she leaned closer, lowering her voice.
"You're about to leave this apartment, Aves. Because of that, Maxim won't be able to spy on you through the security system regardless of whether that was actually his plan."
Ava shook her head a bit.
"Maybe he won't, but I'm going to come back to this apartment one day," Ava pointed out. "What about then?"
"Then you'll just have the security system removed," Britney said pleadingly. "For now, please just let them install the thing. If not for their sake, then for mine—your best friend in the world, who's also helping you."
Ava looked away, feeling thoroughly exasperated by her friend, who was clearly trying to blackmail her emotionally.
When she dared to look back, she wasn't surprised that Britney was hitting her with the most pitiful expression she could possibly manage.
"Fine," Ava finally said, throwing up her hands in surrender.
Britney's eyes widened.
"Really?"
Ava looked at her with clear annoyance.
"Yes. I'll allow them to install the stupid security system."
Britney's entire face brightened.
"Thank you, thank you, Aves."
"You and Trevor just better get married," Ava responded.
Britney gave her a playful smile while nodding.
"I'll do my best to make sure your sacrifice isn't in vain."
"I hope so."
Britney then placed an arm around Ava's shoulders.
"I knew you were smart enough to make the right decision."
"Don't push it, Britney," Ava immediately warned, her expression serious.
"Sorry," Britney said, although she was still smiling.
Then her expression suddenly brightened again.
"Still on topic, can I be the one to tell Trevor and the other guys that you said they could install the security system?"
Ava rolled her eyes.
"Sure. Whatever."
She then jerked her thumb toward the bedroom.
"But please come help me pack afterward. I'm too unfocused to do it by myself."
"You got it, Aves," Britney said, beginning to back away from her. "I'll be there in a minute."
As Britney turned and eagerly made her way toward the three men, Ava immediately started to doubt that her friend would actually be joining her in a minute.
Shaking her head, she made her way toward the bedroom.
Unlike Britney, she couldn't afford to spend time around chatting with strangers.
She had a lunatic to get away from.
And as Ava thought about her departure, a small part of her felt disappointed.
After all, she wouldn't get to see Maxim's smug face when he realized she'd escaped.
Ava quickly consoled herself with the knowledge that she would atleast have outsmarted the arrogant bastard.
Yes, that was enough.