To Give And Take

CHAPTER 10

"We'll be riding for close to six hours, let's have breakfast here."

Lucy lifted her eyes to look up at the restaurant that was just adjacent to Mr. Claude which was more convenient than making another trip back. Austin Kingston had probably already studied the map of the location itself so he was able to make reservations on time.

It didn't take them long before the staff brought them to their private room which was comfortable with the right temperature unlike Mr Claude's office that almost had her frozen to the bone.

After making herself comfortable on the cushioned chair, Lucy turned her gaze towards Austin who had just picked up the menu. She didn't move but looked at him with an expression that said 'let's talk seriously.'

It was a firm gaze that couldn't be ignored no matter how much he tried to pretend, he could easily tell and even more he knew her questions.

"Lucy, your gaze could easily be misunderstood."

His words stunned her before it took her a whole minute to process it, but it didn't cause any change in her attitude.

"Not you."

She said firmly with a certainty that was clearly written in her baby blue eyes, no words could dissuade her, he hadn't thought of dissuading her either. Closing the menu in front of him, he stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

She would have bet that those eyes hid a beautiful smile that didn't reach his lips. He didn't smile, but the amusement on his face was enough to accentuate his mature features.

"You have that much confidence in me?"

"What do you think?"

Lucy looked at him without shying away, not even impressed by his cool and majestic aura. Austin held her gaze with interest, despite it, his expression was still cold and calm. No one could tell what he was thinking, he was apathetic, but she had no intention to back away.

"Lucy, why should I tell you about such a sensitive case?"

Lucy frowned at his words, she didn't understand nor could she connect her words with his.

"You should know that not many people know about it."

A sensitive topic was to be kept away from others and only divulged to family members and the people involved. If the press news got wind of it, innocent parties tend to be affected. From the little conversation she heard in the office, she had a rough idea about the situation, but it was a vague idea.

"Aren't I already involved?"

"On the surface.", Austin replied calmly without blinking, his respond was firm.

"But you..." The words had barely left her lips when he raised his hand at her, his eyes were calm as he stood up from his sit.

"I'll take this call." Without any further delay he slipped away from her, leaving her questions unanswered. He had in turn left her questions to answer, she didn't know why Austin had always been able to defeat her verbally and physically. She wouldn't admit to the saying that men had an advantage of strenghth when compared with women. She wasn't weak, her father had taught her to be strong and independent.

"Miss, do you want to place your order?"

Unknown to her, the waiter had already stood beside her to take their command, her mind had been busy to be unable to stay on guard. She raised her head and looked at the waiter who stood cautiousely in front of her, he had a polite smile on his face. Despite being stunned by her appearance, he maintained his professionalism with the intention of accomplishing his task.

"Sorry, I'll place the order."

She didn't know how long Austin's call would take, but a few million dollars project was probably worth a lot of time. Without hesitating she placed their order relying on her memory. But after much thought, she continued with a mischivouse and satisfied expression.

"That's all." Lucy gave a polite and respectful smile, though she was cold, she had a warm aura that made others comfortable. Her coldness was deep in her bones, but it didn't give others the impression that she was unapraochable, but a warm feeling.

After the waiter walked out, Lucy looked at the direction Austin had taken not long ago, there was a balcony in that direction, there was no movement in the quiet private room. She didn't know whom he was talking to, but she estimated that he might not come back any time soon.

After breakfast their five to six hours journey would begin, they wouldn't reach their destination during the early hours of the day. There wasn't any guaranty that everything would be settled earlier either, she had always taken precautions, today wasn't an exception.

Taking out her phone, she made a swift scroll up in her contacts, picking a familiar number to make a call. It rang a few seconds but there was no respond, she didn't give up but patiently called a few times. Her patience had always been very good.

"Lucy, I threw away my alarm a few weeks ago and I turned off my phone every night." Probably because she had just woken up from sleep, her voice was hoarse and lazy with a slightly irritating tone.

"I know." Lucy's voice was the contrast, just like a drop of honey and a touch of gentleness that easily softened one's heart.

Catherina had always known that Lucy had a lovely voice it reverberated in her ears causing her heart to soften . After listening to such a voice, she didn't have the heart to scold this friend of hers who had seduced her with her voice. If she were a male she wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of courting the beauty.

"Forget it, on account of your pretty voice, I forgive you."

Lucy who had been listening chuckled lightly, her light chuckle reverberated in Catherina's ears like the whispers of an immortal fairy's melody.

"I'll make it up to you when I come back."

Listening to Lucy, Catherina smiled, but her smile was quickly replaced with a frown.

"Why does your tone tells your up for a holiday?"

Her tone had a slight tease of hesitation to it which proved her uncertainty and disguised questioning. Lucy easily saw through her, but decided to play allong. She had no intention of involving herself in a detective game with Catherina, so she went straight to the point.

"Yeah, one of the beneficiaries to Jane's estate live rather far, a five to six hours journey. I estimate we're going to have to spend the night over."

She replied sincerely without keeping any details to herself.

"You're going to spend the night with Austin Kingston?" Lucy paused and listened quietly before she gave a reply.

"You make it sound like I was going to place myself in a plater.To be chewed and gnawed by a big bad wolf or a bear."

"Oh, then that makes you the little red ridding hood, Mr Kingston should be the big bad wolf."

Lucy was speechless at her friend's sentence which was contradictory to the current topic. She had always known that Catherina was a fanatic of such unreasonable imaginary paper characters. She even at times finds herself completely immersed in the characters, as for the Peppa pig slippers, mug and her meticulousely decorated room with those imaginary paper characters. She decided against commenting on Dora questioning the obviouse, neither the chasing rat and cat comedy of Tom and Jerry.

"I don't know how long it might take, so I estimate we'll be gone for a day or two ?"

Lucy effortlessly returned to the main reason of her call, though she wasn't against chatting with Catherina, discussing the main topic was best. Girls chat tend to include a lot, without doubt they end living out what was most important.

"That long, will you guys travel abraod ?" Catherina was quickly brought back to the main topic, but she couldn't help but ask the further.

"It's a five to six hours journey to meet a stranger, in foreign city, what do you think?" She didn't give an answer but made Catherina analyse everything by herself.

The journey today was filled with uncertainties, but she wasn't worried that anything would go wrong. It wasn't because she was sure and confident, but due to other personal reasons that didn't include Austin.

"Alright, I can't control you, so you should take care of yourself."

Catherina replied after a sigh.

"I understand, just help me look after Jesse."

She was a child without a parent by her side, it had been long since she had to listen to her parent's words. She became an independent child at the age of sixteen, her words and actions didn't need a word from the other relatives. She had always had her own ideals that others couldn't interfere in. Catherina understood her, so she never thought of intervening in her decisions.

"Alright, I won't say anymore, you're an adult now, I'll reluctantly la after the mischivouse fox , however can you tell me how to deal with Kevin Kavinsky ?" Catherina pulled at the curtains and looked at the figure down stairs.

Lucy who was ready to hang up paused at the mention of that name. There wasn't a single change of expression on her face, but the hand that was playing with her fountain pen suddenly paused.

"Why has that got to do with me?"

Lucy replied indifferently with a cold tone, neither ruthless nor warm, just like talking about a forgotten past. Catherina was aware of the relationship between Kevin Kavinsky and Lucy, they could be considered childhood friends, but an incident changed that close relationship to a formal and business relationship.

"He's standing right in front of the building, can I just say his presence here is coincidental and ignore him?"

Lucy knew that her sentence was a phony, Catherina knew it herself, but she just had to pick up an inquisitive comment. Lucy didn't waver, her tone and expression was decisive when she gave a comment.

"Apple Love hasn't signed any contract with KK coorperation, Mr Kavinsky should be busy with family matters, not loittering arround the corner."

Her meaning was clear, both companies didn't have anything with each other. With just a few words Lucy had placed a clear line in their relationship, she was formal with a tone that said their relationship ended as business partners. Catherina knew that KK coorperation and Apple Love company had signed a partnership three years, but it had expired a month ago.

Apart from their childhood friendship that couldn't withstand vicissitudes of life, Lucy and Kevin Kavinsky had nothing in common.

She wouldn't believe that he came here to visit a relative either, so the reason for his presence was obviouse. If she knew it, Lucy probably saw through it as well, but Lucy had always been firm in her decisions.

"You can deal with him as you deem fit."

She added without any hesitation, cutting any connection between her and Kevin Kavinsky, her formality towards him over the years should have proven her stand.

"Alright Miss Grey." Catherina replied with a submissive tone, like a soldier replying to the order of it's general. Lucy couldn't see her expression nor her posture at this moment, but she could more or less guessed it.

"Alright, I'll hang up now."

She hung up without hesitation, from the corner of her eyes she saw Austin Kingston walking towards her with his phone in his hand. She guessed he must be done with his call.

"You're done?"

Lucy asked a rhetorical question, she expected a sarcastic reply from Austin, but he didn't follow her thoughts.

"Yes, have you ordered?"

Austin asked while looking at his wrist watch, confirming that the call had taken him morethan a quarter of an hour.

"Yes, I helped you place an order, hope you don't mind."

Upon listening to her words, Austin paused in his action of tidying his clothes, his gaze met hers but she didn't shy away. She held his gaze firmly and replied with a teasing tone.

"Jane said a lot and I was able to rely on my memory to place an order for you. I believe you would definitely like it, so there's no need to thank me in advance."

Austin was speechless at her smugness, he wasn't confident enough to believe her words either. From the day he met this little woman, he realised that she was fan of challenging him.

His thoughts were proven to be correct when the waiter walked in with their dishes. He looked at the big glass of milk, a plate of omelette with chopped onions and corriander being the obviouse. On the side a plate of toast stood aside, right in front of him was the little woman who had made the order.

"I told you, you would definitely like it." Her tone had a little bit of mischieve, with an angelic smile, coupled with her doe-like eyes she gave off the naïve and innocent impression of a youthful vibe. He knew clearly what those eyes meant if he ignored the obviouse, this little woman was playing tricks on him with an innocent expression.

He didn't have a problem with eggs, but everyone knew he liked sunny side egg, he wasn't allergic to corriander and onion but he hated it. As for the glass of milk in front of him, right from birth he had never loved drinking milk. In other words, Lucy ordered a healthy meal for him, but revealed his pickiness in it. The only order that went in accordance with his taste was probably the taost.

Looking at the table of dishes that made him have a headache, then he looked at the little woman in front of him who obviously wasn't ignorant of his taste, for the first time he didn't know how to react.

"Lucy, is this some kind of challenge ?"

Lucy who heard him speak was stunned, her doe-like eyes peered at Austin innocently, as if she didn't understand what he meant, but her confused eyes soon lit up and regained a seriouse expression. In just a few seconds, Austin once again witnessed Lucy's fast change of expression.

"I'm clearly being considerate of your health, you're not angry at me, are you?"

She maintained a seriouse expression, with a cautiouse tone to her voice, but the slight curve on her lips said the contrary to her expression. Faced with this little woman Austin didn't show any change of expression, neither did he withdraw his gaze.

"Why would you think so?"

His words alone was enough to render her speechless, she didn't believe that Austin still didn't show the slight displeasure, but she couldn't catch anything from his indifference. She knew that her little tricks were childish, but she didn't mind. She heard from Jane that Austin didn't get angry, but if he hated these dishes the most. He tend to throw a tantrum and would easily walk out of a room if he was served dishes he didn't like. The last person who played the trick on him could testify, but Lucy wanted to be a witness of his temper.

However, his next actions stunned her and made her unable to react. She could only watch Austin gulp down a glass of milk without a slight change of expression, then he picked up his fork and cut his omelette. His eating style was both elegant and noble, causing the food to become a beautiful art in front of him.

"You know a lot about me, Lucy."

Looking at Austin slowly finish up the dishes without the slightest change, she was no longer sure if her knowlegde of him was profound enough. She didn't think Jane was wrong either, their understanding of Austin Kingston was just not profound enough.

"You flatter me." Lucy commented with a carefree smile, her expression was calm without any additional expression. She neither admitted nor denied his sentence, but Austin knew the answer in his heart.

*>>>>>>>>*

"Please come in."

After ending her call with Lucy, Catherina welcome a man home, he measured at least 1.77 centimeters in height, wheat skin, chestnut hair with coffee brown eyes that accentuated his handsome features. He was handsome with a gentle aura, but his expression had a slight playfulness in it. With his handsome appearance, he could be considered a type of man that could turn heads. Catherina had seen a fair number of handsome men, they were some she admired and others that she despised, Kevin Kavinsky was the latter. However, her impression of him had started to waver over the years.

"You can make yourself comfortable."

Catherina pointed at the couch, she had a lazy expression, her short hair was tied into a messy bun, but she didn't mind that there was a visitor. Kevin Kavinsky wasn't a stranger to her, if not she wouldn't cassually invite him in.

"Thank you."

Kevin Kavinsky was very polite, he walked towards the couch with familiarity and chosed a sit by the window. This action was filled with a sense of familiarity, Catherina wasn't surprised that he had skipped other sits and only found the sit beside the window.

She wasn't stupid either to think that he found that place more comfortable, they both knew that the sit he had chosen was one Lucy's favourite. He knew it and she knew, but she didn't comment on it.

"What do I offer you?" Her tone was still polite with the proper etiquette, but Kevin Kavinsky felt a stab at his heart faced with her tone. However, despite feeling uncomfortable he smile ruefully and replied.

"A glass of water would do, thank you."

Catherina nodded before walking into the kitchen, she came back later with a glass of mineral water and placed it in front of Kevin Kavinsky who was clearly in daze that he didn't notice her presence.

His eyes were fixed on the portait that was placed on the coffee table. The portrait contained the image of a Jesse, Catherina and Lucy. In it, Lucy had a blissful smile, her long wavy hair cascaded down like a waterfall, with a touch of warmth she gave off a warm feeling. Her smile revealed her white milky teeth, with beautiful baby blue eyes that could charm others . He had always known that she had a pair of beautiful eyes that could easily charm others, once people indulge in those eyes, they found themselves unable to extricate from it.

The child in her arms was also smiling blissfully, it was clear from his appearance and smile that his life was full of colors.

It was such a simple, cute and innocent smile, but it inighted the flame of jealousy in his heart. He knew that it was unreasonable, but he couldn't help it either.

"Lucy isn't fan of pictures, but once in a while she loved to keep some memories, so her desire to capture memories, always captures beautiful ones."

Catherina pulled Kevin Kavinsky from his trance by picking up the portrait that had been lying quietly on the coffee table. The person in question wasn't there, but she could still make others to have sinful thoughts.

'What a devil!' Catherina exclaimed quietly, putting away the portrait that she cherished a lot. She looked at the sad expression on Kevin Kavinsky's face but she didn't change her tone.

"Why are you here?" She didn't care whether she was polite or not, her patience had ran out. Coupled with the fact that she had been woken up earlier by Lucy's morning call, she was a little grumpy. She was clearly impatient, Kevin Kavinsky could tell, but he claimed ignorance.

"Am I not welcomed any longer ?"

Catherina couldn't say the contrary, they had always remained formal towards Kevin, he should have understood their attitude towards him, but he was still persistent. As long as he didn't cross the line, they could let him be.

"I still have a lot to do, with Lucy's absence I might have a lot in hand, so...." She didn't have time to entertain the big shot. She was aware that the moment Kevin heard that Lucy wasn't present, he would leave on his own.

She didn't care that no body came to honour her with their presence, if she could sweep all of them away, she wouldn't feel the slightest pain.

"She's...not at home."

"She went on a long trip.", Catherina replied lazily, laying more emphasis on 'long trip', Kevin didn't doubt her words either, he knew Catherine long enough to know about her habits. They had obviously been friends, but it took a single incident to topple everything, he regretted it. He regretted his impulsiveness in the past, but there was nothing he could do about.

"I see, then I won't bother you, let's meet next time for a meal, it's been long since we gathered together."

"We'll see." Catherina didn't make any promises, neither did she confirm his request with a stamp of assurance. She knew her words would bear future consequences so she never made rash decisions, despite her carefree personality.

"Ok."

What else could he say, he knew that Catherina had compromised a lot by not mentioning the past, but there was a past that he wished she could mention and another he wished he could forget.

Standing in the neighbourhood, he looked up at the blue sky with melancholy and recalled those beautiful memories with a bitter smile.

'Can time be reversed ?'