Chapter 13

   Alex slumped unto the large grey couch, holding his head down. His sweat-soaked wifebeater felt cold and sticky. He had pushed his body too hard again trying to get his mind off everything.

   Today had been very hectic, scratch that, the entire month has been very hectic, both physically and emotionally. He needed an outlet for all his pent up frustrations and anger, hence the grueling workout session. His stomach grumbled in protest to its lack of food, reminding him he had skipped lunch entirely.

   Heading straight to the shower, he muttered a tune as he washed off the sweat and the grime from his gruesome workout. The shower relieved most of his stress and on his way out of the bathroom, something caught his eye.

   Anna's toothbrush

   He thought he had disposed it, but clearly, he hadn't. Tossing the baby blue toothbrush into the bin, he left the bathroom. Dressed in a simple t-shirt and sweatpants, he contemplated what he could have for dinner.

  His fridge was fully stocked, the problem was that he didn't know how or what to cook. His housekeeper had previously done all the cooking but he had given her the week off because he had known how stressful his week would be, and he didn't want to snap at the old lady.

   Now, he was regretting it because there was only so much takeout one could consume before getting tired. Especially for someone like himself who valued home-cooked meals. It was times like this he missed his Anna the most. My Anna, he thought as sadness engulfed him.

   Alex had no one to blame for losing Anna but himself, maybe if he had been frank with her from the start or at least, forthcoming with answers when she had found out- his doorbell rang, cutting through his line of thoughts. A quick glance at his phone showed it was barely past seven, it wasn't too late to have visitors, Alex just wasn't expecting anybody.

   He wasn't surprised to see it was his friend Brad and his young wife Dana. After they exchanged greetings, he led them into the spacious living room, for the first time noticing the crate the Brad had brought in.

   He cocked his head to the side, staring at the dog crate intensely. "What's that for?"

   Brad looked up with barely concealed laughter, "ask Dana."

  "I thought it would be a good idea to surprise you with an early Christmas present," Dana replied, rubbing her large belly.

  His eyes flickered briefly to her stomach, "even if it was Christmas which it is not, who said I needed a dog." Training a puppy was not something he looked forward to, besides he had enough problems on his plate.

   Dana smiled, "I know how tough the last few weeks have been for you, with the court case and Craig's verdict."

   Alex winced at the reminder, "but what does all that have to do with it." He said pointing at the crate.

   "You mean she." Brad snickered as he let the two-month-old golden retriever out of the crate.

   The puppy happy to be released began sniffing her surrounding. "Dana, I appreciate the thought and all but I don't think I have the time and dedication it- I mean she needs." A new puppy means change, which he certainly did not need, no matter how cute the puppy was.

   Brad noticing the apprehension showing on his face gave him a comforting pat on his shoulder, "I tried to talk her out of it man, but you know how insistent she can be." Even with the decade age gap between Brad and Dana, they still loved and treated each other like equals, something Alex truly admired.

   Ignoring both men, the heavily pregnant Dana made her way to the kitchen to prepare dinner, giving the pale pink vase an odd glance.

   He settled down on the couch and hesitantly lowered his hand to the small canine, almost as if he was afraid of it. He wasn't.

   Scratching the dog gently behind her ear, he found his resolve softening. Maybe he could adopt the puppy, he could take a break from work to bond with her, it's not like he couldn't afford to take a break from work.

   The puppy licked his palm affectionately, happy with the attention given to her. At least now there was something he could look forward to.

   The two-hour-long dinner was filled with food, work jokes, laughter, more jokes, and drinks- except for Dana who couldn't drink and was sulking about it. By the end of the night, Dana was basically steadying Brad, who didn't realize that he had drunk so much, thankfully they had a driver so neither of them needed to drive.

  Alex had drunk more than he had anticipated and found himself getting sleepier by the second. He plopped down on his bed, eyes fluttering shut as he stretched his long arms. Just as he was about to nod off, his phone rang pissing him off. Who the fuck is this?

   Barely giving the offending phone a second glance he shut his eye close for the second time, sleep finally embracing him before the phone consequently rang again.

   "D'ameloi, " he barked out, his accent slightly distinct.

   "Is that how you greet your most treasured friend Xan?" His friend laughed.

   Alex sighed completely exhausted, "Luke not to be rude or anything but why are you calling me this late?"

   "Sorry bro, I heard about the Craig incident, it must have been horrible to find out Craig is the company's snitch. I know because how much you looked up to him," Luke muttered in pity.

   Alex had regarded Craig as a mentor, so to discover he had been the one embezzling from his company and also sharing company secrets with the competition was unnerving and embarrassing. The man had been under his fucking nose. That only served to strengthen his belief that people could not be trusted, the human nature was fickle and unreliable, himself included.

   Bella- Dana had named her, whimpered in her crate, confusing Alex momentarily. Wasn't the dog supposed to be asleep?

   He had fed it with the food Dana had brought, he was forgetting something. He just couldn't remember what.

   "-Expect me next month," he only caught the end of Luke's sentence.

   He rubbed his jaw, his slight stubble grazing his palm. "I didn't hear you."

   Luke sighed, "long story short, I'm coming to New York next month."

   "And why does that concern me?" He asked teasingly.

   "It concerns you because I'm crashing at your place, so I expect VIP treatment from you. I also want to introduce you to my Annie," Luke's excitement clearly audible.

   "Finally," he had begun suspecting the girl was a figment of his friend's imagination, seeing as Luke had yet to cut off all ties from his ex.

    They conversed for a while and when Alex yawned for the third time in a row, Luke decided it was time to leave his best friend to rest. The details of his stay could be finalized later.

............

   One month later,

  Anna stifled a yawn, messaging her right shoulder. She has been sitting in one position for too long.

  The head curator, a young Korean American walked into her office, after knocking. She had forgotten about the meeting they were supposed to have with the famous freelance artist they were featuring for their upcoming exhibition.

   "Anna are you ready?" Ara asked.

   "Yes, just give me five minutes to pack up," she replied setting aside the floor plans she was working on. She arranged her table, grab her bag, and her car keys. Today they were taking her car- a baby blue 2016 BMW, she had gotten it immediately after graduation as a gift from her parents, and she absolutely adored her car.

    Ara's liveliness lifted her spirits as she found herself laughing at her jokes. Ara had just gotten back from her two weeks long honeymoon and was glowing as she recounted the experience with Anna.

   The drive to the artist's studio apartment wasn't long, and within thirty minutes the girls had arrived and were standing in front of the polished door of the apartment.

    Neither of them had seen any photograph of the artist but not for lack of trying. The famous artist lived a very secluded life, hiding under a pen name- Arthur. They had done as much research as they could, finding nothing but what they had already known.

    The freelance artist was in high demand and when he had accepted their offer to be made the centerpiece of their next exhibition, the manager had been pleased, congratulating them on their effort. So far, all communications had been done by email, today would be their first time meeting the thriving artist.

   Anna found herself excited to meet the artist, she had wondered if he was a philosophical aging man or a pompous young one. Just as she was debating with herself, the door opened revealing a very familiar face.