CHAPTER SIX

As soon as Nicholas left the room, Astra let out a sigh of relief. She was not sure how much more of the interaction she could take. It was a because of her stupid boss, that was the only reason she had to been deal with all of this.

She felt a rumbling in her stomach, reminding her that it was lunch time. Astra had to get something to eat, and quickly. The breakfast she had with Stephanie that morning looked like it was not going to be enough to sustain her. Maybe she could just come in later to work on her project. As she pondered on this idea for a moment, the sound of her ringing phone cut through the air.

Astra picked it up for the table and glanced at the screen.

'Jared," she noted with a sigh. Her mind took her back to Jared and Nicholas' reaction. It hadn't ended well, and with the mood that Nicholas was in already, there was no telling what he would do if he found out who was calling.

Astra's shoulders slumped a little, as she leaned against the table, to ease some of the tiredness she was starting to feel. It was more mental than physical, but still, standing in place couldn't be helping. After she put her weight on the table, Astra answered the persistently ringing phone.

'Hello?" she said softly. She couldn't hear any sounds from outside her office, so it seemed that Nicholas had gone far. However, there was no need to risk a loud conversation.

'Hey, Astra," Jared's voice said through her phone's speaker. 'Are you busy?"

'You have no idea," Astra sighed.

'Damn, that's a shame. Would you like to take a lunch break? I didn't call to hear a no though."

'What did you call to hear then?"

'Say you'll come," Jared urged. 'I uh… I sorta have to talk to you."

'Jared, I—"

'Come on, please?"

Astra let out another sigh, knowing that she was not going to win the argument. 'Fine, where should we meet?"

Jared gave her the directions to a small burger place that wasn't too far from the office. It wasn't her first choice, but at that point, Astra was willing to eat almost anything.

'I'll meet you there in ten minutes," Astra stated. The line went dead and she brought the phone down from her ear. She looked up to see Nicholas standing at the door, leaning on its frame with his hands folded.

'Ah! You almost gave me a heart attack!" she cried, placing her hands on her chest in an effort to steady her breathing. She began to wonder if he had listened in on her conversation.

'My bad," he said, casually.

'How long have you been standing there?

'I just got here. Did I interrupt something?"

'No," Astra said quickly, trying to keep her voice even. She had no idea why she was suddenly starting to get nervous around her ex husband. 'I'm going out for lunch."

'What about our work?"

Nicholas seemed a lot calmer than he was when he had left to take that call. Maybe something that had happened on the phone got him to cool off. This should have been a good thing, but Astra just couldn't shake the uneasy feeling she was getting. This looked more like the calm before a storm, a huge and disastrous storm.

'I won't spend a lot of time," she assured him. 'I'll be back to work in no time, I just need to get some food in me first."

She picked up the few things she needed and headed to the door that Nicholas was still standing in front of. As soon as Astra got to the door, Nicholas stopped leaning against it. He straightened himself like he wanted to stand in her way. The small smile that had been on his face also widened. Astra knew that if he did this, there would be no way to move past him. What's worse, was that she was getting distracted.

His scent seemed to wrap around her because of how close they were. It was intoxicating.

'I need to leave," she said. The smile on Nicholas' face vanished in an instant. He was clearly upset by this. Astra decided to ignore this, by pushing past him and walking out the door.

As soon as Astra was out of sight. He moved to the table, still fuming in anger.

'How dare that little—" With one quick swipe, Nicholas cleared the contents of the table, tossing all the documents on the floor. He had heard the entire conversation. Astra was going to have lunch with some other guy.

'She thinks she can just move on from me?" he asked, even though he was the only person in the room. 'We'll see."

Astra walked out of the building and made her way to the car. A few moments later, she was on her way to the restaurant where she would have lunch with Jared.

It was a pretty small place, one that she had seen many times on her way to work, but not a place that she had thought about eating in before. Astra spotted Jared sitting in an otherwise empty booth. He spotted her and waved her over to join him.

'Over here," he said, lifting a hand even though she could already see him.

Astra sat down and she was attended to by the waiter. Soon after, her meal arrived and she began to scarf it down.

'Woah," Jared said, watching her eat. 'And you said you didn't want to get lunch?"

Astra swallowed. 'I said I had work. Why'd you want us to meet?"

'Look I need to get this out there," he said, leaning across the table. 'I like you Astraa me I feel like you like me too. It's like there could be something beautiful between the both of us, but you're trying to stop it."

'Jared I… I can't do this right now."

'Is it because of Nicholas?"

Astra felt her anger bubble in her throat, seeking a way out. She had to close her eyes for a moment to prevent some kind of outburst.

'No it's not because of Nicholas. Or yes it is… Argh!" Astra's frustration was slowly starting to show.

'Explain it to me," Jared said, in a soft voice. His hand moved to where hers lay. He gave it a gentle squeeze to reassure her.

'I really loved Nicholas," she sighed. 'Everything that happened between us, it's not something I can just make disappear. Believe me, if I had the power to do so, I wouldn't waste a single second waiting. It messed me up and I haven't been able to have any healthy relationships since."

'I could be the start," Jared said. 'You only need to give me a chance and I'll treat you right, the way you really deserve to be treated."

Astra purses her lips. 'I'm really flattered that you like me and you had the courage to confess your feelings to me. I think it's amazing that we're able to sit and talk like this, but this is all I'm ready for right now. I only want a friendship, someone I can talk to like this. I am not ready for anything serious, at least not right now. Can you understand that?"

'I can," Jared said. He clearly wasn't happy with the decision, but it was something he had to accept either way. 'I can and I do. I'll be here for you, whatever you need, but I'm not giving up, Astra. I'm willing to wait until you're ready."

Astra felt like she should probably tell Jared that part of her seems to still have feelings for Nicholas. What they had was not just going to disappear like that. It had been special, too special to forget. Now that he was back in her life, it was like all those designs had jumped right back into her body again.

Jared lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. He pulled her in a little closer and leaned over the table as well. Their lips inched closer and closer to each other. They were so close to touching when the sound of Astra's ringing phone ruined the mood. Jared let out a small grunt in frustration. Astra only gave him a small apologetic look, before picking up the phone and answering.

'Astra!" Nicholas said. 'Astra, I need you to come to my house, please." His voice trembled like something terrible had happened. Astra adjusted in her seat.

'Hey, what is it?" Astra asked, 'is there something wrong?"

'It's an emergency," he replied, the urgency in his voice rising. He even sounded scared. What could frighten Nicholas? It had to be serious. 'You need to come here immediately. Please hurry!"

'Try to relax, what's the emergency?" she asked. All that Astra got as an answer was a frustrated groan, before the line went dead.

Astra picked up her things, and rushed out the door of the building. She could hear Jared calling out to her, asking if everything was okay, but there was no time. She had to get to Nicholas immediately.