Chapter 7 Odd Zayne

• Avery left.
• Immediately, Cayden placed the blueprint in his hands down. He got out of his seat and headed to his wine cabinet to grab a bottle of wine. Then, he poured himself half a glass. With a frown, he downed the contents.
• My d*mn desire!
• It was late when Avery left the office, but luckily, she was still in time to take the last subway home.
• Once she reached home, she typed a simple reply to Zayne's WhatsApp message.
• After she had sent it, she pulled out her suitcase and started packing for her business trip the next day.
• At that moment, her phone rang.
• It was a call from Zayne.
• “Why aren't you asleep yet? I told you not to call me and get an early night of rest.” Avery spoke with concern after picking up.
• “I still have some work to do, so I took my things back to the hotel room to work overtime,” Zayne explained. After a short pause, he asked, “I saw your reply on WhatsApp. Why do you have to go on a business trip too? Who will you be traveling with?”
• “I still do not know the details, but I'll probably get it tomorrow morning.”
• Frowning at Avery's response, Zayne nagged, “If you are going to travel with a male colleague, you better keep your distance from them. After all, you just started working there and don't know them well enough.”
• “Yes, I know that,” Avery acknowledged. Following that, she could hear door knocks over the phone.
• It sounded like someone was trying to tear down Zayne's door and break into his room.
• “What's going on?” Avery anxiously questioned.
• “N-Nothing,” Zayne stammered. Without explaining further, he quickly added, “Let me see what's happening outside. I'll call you back.”
• Before Avery could ask him any more questions, she heard him cut the call.
• Glancing between her suitcase and her phone, Avery started to worry about Zayne. She wondered if anything had happened to him while he was in a foreign place.
• Anyhow, the night passed peacefully.
• In the morning, Avery received a call from her colleague.
• Following her colleague's instructions, she waited at the front of her residential area for them to pick her up. She was exhausted as she had been waiting all night for Zayne to call her back. However, there was still no news from him.
• Whenever she tried to dial his number, she would hear an automatic response that he had turned his phone off.
• Ten minutes later, a black Bentley stopped in front of her, and a man and woman climbed out of the car.
• Although they already knew each other, they introduced themselves again before they all got into the car.
• It would take seven hours by car to get to the city. There, they had to travel around by car too. Therefore, the management had arranged for the male colleague to drive the black Bentley there for convenience.
• On the way there, Avery chatted with her colleagues, and they got along well.
• It was already noon when they reached Hallsbay.
• After they arrived at the hotel lobby, Cecelia, Avery's female colleague, suggested, “Let's go up to our respective rooms to wash up and get some rest. We can contact each other when it's dinner time.”
• “Sure,” Avery replied with a nod.
• After dragging her suitcase to her hotel room, she bathed and changed into her pajamas. Then, she took out her work attire to iron them.
• Satisfied, she hung them up.
• Once she finished unpacking her clothes and got everything in order, she glanced at her phone and looked at the time. It was already four in the evening.
• Zayne had neither called her nor sent her a text since last night.
• Concerned, Avery tried to call Zayne again since she still had time to spare.
• Finally, his phone was switched on.
• However, no one picked up the call after a few rings.
• It made Avery uneasy. She tried to call him again, but Zayne rejected her call.
• Seconds later, she received Zayne's WhatsApp message: Sorry, I'm busy now and can't come to the phone. I will call you back as soon as possible.
• Lowering her head, Avery replied to him: I see. You can carry on with your work then.
• It seemed like everything was fine on his end. Maybe a drunkard knocked on his hotel door by mistake last night.
• Once she finished replying to him, she placed her phone down and thought about what to do.
• Just then, her phone vibrated.
• Without missing a beat, she turned back to grab her phone.
• It was a WhatsApp message that did not make sense to Avery.
• More surprisingly, it was from Zayne, who said he was busy.
• Avery frowned at his message and immediately asked him what he meant.
• About a minute later, Zayne replied: I was working on a design and accidentally touched the keyboard.
• Avery did not think much about his explanation regarding the string of words he previously sent.
• Ding!
• Someone rang her doorbell.
• “Who is it?” Since Avery was in a foreign land, she had her guard up.
• The voice of a middle-aged man sounded. “Ms. Rumpley, I am Mr. Moore's assistant, Xavier. I'm afraid I'll need you to open your door.”
• Xavier was Cayden's most trusted assistant, and everyone at Trident Group knew who he was. Even though Avery was new, she was not oblivious to it.
• “Hello,” Avery politely greeted when she opened the door. To her surprise, she spotted two children standing outside too.
• There was one boy and one girl. They had bright eyes, pearly white teeth, and exquisite features.
• In his suit, Xavier looked out of place standing there. In an exasperated tone, he explained, “They are Mr. Moore's children. As Mr. Moore is out for business, there is no one to take care of them, so...”
• Instantly, Avery felt a bad premonition in the pit of her stomach.
• She did not hate taking care of children. However, she came here on a business trip and not as a babysitter.
• Besides, she had another reason for rejecting his request. While caring for those two children, she was afraid they would remind her of her child.
• “I-I'll be good...” The girl, Rory, timidly murmured as she looked up at Avery with her innocent puppy eyes.
• “Zach...” the little girl cooed at her brother when she realized he did not say a word. Pouting, she tugged the boy's shirt and nudged him to say something.
• Amused, Avery turned her attention to the boy. He was slightly taller than his sister.
• Although he seemed cold and unapproachable, he doted on his sister. Therefore, he reluctantly muttered, “I will listen to you too.”
• “I'm afraid I'll have to bother you to look after them first. Apologies, Ms. Rumpley. I have something on and need to get going,” Xavier uttered after glancing at the time on his watch.
• With that, he left before Avery could even reject him.
• Reluctantly, Avery turned to the children and invited them into her room. “Both of you can come in first.”
• Rory took the initiative to hold her brother's hand before walking into the hotel room.
• “Would any of you like to drink something?” Avery was unsure how to handle the children, especially since they were her boss' children.
• “Milk,” Rory replied as she made herself comfortable on the couch.
• Hearing that, Avery quickly searched for milk. She realized how expensive it was. While it would cost less than five bucks in the supermarket, it cost eighty-nine in the hotel.
• Sighing at the exorbitant price she had to pay, Avery opened the milk carton and poured two cups for the two children.
• Zachary did not touch it.
• On the other hand, Rory was swinging her legs on the couch while enjoying her glass of milk. She even licked her lips when she finished the milk, unwilling to waste any drop.
• Meanwhile, Avery awkwardly sat on the chair, looking at the siblings on the couch. “Are both of you twins?” She tried to make conversation.
• “Of course,” Zachary replied curtly and glared in Avery's direction. His gaze showed contempt for her.
• Idiot! Everyone can tell that we are twins by how similar we look.