Alex was standing in front of Margaret's door in less than ten minutes since they parted ways. He could have been here earlier, but he didn't want to look desperate. So after his rushed makeover, he waited for some time at his house before coming over.
He rang the bell and waited for Margaret to open the door. His heart was beating like crazy, and this is the case, not just with Margaret. But nowadays, in the company of any beautiful lady, he would feel like this. But right now, maybe because it was his first time, that his heart was ready to burst out. Well, not that first time. He has already done it with Susan. It was his first time to be with Margaret in her house, 'Home Alone.'
Inside,
When Margaret heard the bell, her heart skipped a beat. She stood up and walked to the door. Nervous, she looked outside through the peephole and found Alex pacing to and fro in front of the door nervously, 'So I am not the only one losing it,' she thought.
With that, Margaret brushed her hair with her hand and pulled them over one side over her shoulder, and taking a deep breath, opened the door.
**Click! Kacha!
As soon as Alex heard the door open, he came to a stop in a flurry and stood straight in front of her with a calm face as if he was there all along.
Margaret smiled at him and gestured for him to follow her inside. As he entered the house, Alex felt goose-bumped when he looked around the interior of her house. From the outside, it looked like any other house in their locality. A big yard in front and a relatively dull exterior. But from the inside, it was on an entirely different standard. The interior of his own house paled in comparison to this.
Though it looked plain with most of the textures revolving around grey, it gave the same mature feeling he felt from Margaret.
The chandelier on the ceiling and the furniture of the living room was a perfect blend of the classic as well as modern interior design. The paintings on the wall blended perfectly with the background of the house.
As he walked behind her, his gaze went towards the kitchen. The dining area was elegantly designed with an open plan kitchen.
Alex didn't know that if he was here minutes ago, this elegant house he was admiring so much was nothing more than a dumping yard. Even now, if he were to look beyond this facade of the living room, he would find that this is nothing but a front to hide the real Margaret.
Alex followed Margaret to the living room and sat opposite her. There was complete silence for some time. Alex was busy admiring the interior while Margaret had her gaze fixed on Alex.
Alex could feel Margaret's gaze on himself, but he tried to ignore it as much as possible.
After some time, Margaret suddenly got up, and Alex flinched, but without saying a word, Margaret went to the kitchen. When she came back, she had two glasses of juice with her. She placed one of the glasses in front of him and again sat in front of him. Alex was so nervous that he took the glass and gulped down the juice in one go. Margaret gave a small smile seeing this. Though Alex was not a kid anymore, the way he carried himself around others in that pure and naive manner was something Margaret found cute.
This was again followed by complete silence.
Finally, Margaret decided to break the ice, "So Alex..." Just as she was about to ask something, his phone rang.
"Excuse me" Alex looked apologetically towards her and looked at the caller ID. It was Ellaine.
"Yeah, Ellaine. Why did you call? Is there something the matter?" He asked.
"Everything is fine, newbie. And even if there was something wrong, would I call our errand boy for help?" Ellaine was just as ruthless as ever. Alex bent backwards a little to not let Margaret listen to how he is treated at his office, "It's just that we remembered that we never gave you two newbies a welcoming party. So we were thinking of formally welcoming you both to the team today. If you are free, that is" Ellaine finally got on point.
"It's fine with me," Alex could only say this after the brutal assassination of his worth.
"Where do you want to go?" Ellaine asked for his preference.
"Anywhere is fine with me. I am kind of somewhere right now, "Alex said when he looked at the impatient Margaret, "Let me know what you all decide, and I will be there," Alex said.
"Okay, so I will let you know in a bit," Ellaine replied.
"Okay, bye," And the two of them hung up.
"What happened? Did something come up at the office?" Margaret asked when she saw Alex hung up. She didn't like the idea of Alex just leaving when she put in so much effort cleaning up the mess.
"It's nothing. We never got a welcoming party, and they happened to realize that now. So they have decided to throw one. So she was asking when it was okay with me," Alex told her.
"Oh!"
"So, what were you saying?" Alex asked.
Margaret nodded and began to ask, "I just wanted to ask about that day..."
** Ring! Ring!
Just when Margaret was going to talk about the day when Alex blurted out some nonsense in jealousy, she was interrupted once again.
Alex looked at the caller ID. This time it was Hazel. Alex mouthed sorry to Margaret and picked up his phone.
"Hello, Hazel. Have you guys decided?" He came straight to the point.
"Yeah, we have decided upon the time and venue. Will you be free to come by eight o'clock?" Hazel, from the other side, asked.
Alex looked at his watch. It was just past five right now, "Sure, it's fine with me," Alex said.
While Alex was busy answering Hazel, Margaret walked up to the sofa beside him and sat there, looking intently at him.
"I will message you the address. Bye then," Hazel said and hung up.
"Bye," Alex gulped when he saw Margaret beside her. He placed the phone on the table in front.
"I hope they won't be calling, again!" Margaret said.
"Yeah, why would they? Everything is settled," Sensing the dangerous tone from Margaret, Alex felt his throat go dry.
He looked towards the glass in front of him, but it was empty. Margaret, who followed his gaze, saw him looking towards the empty glass. She stood up and went to the kitchen.
Soon, she was with a glass of water this time and handed it to him. Alex again gulped down the water in one go.
"Now, you were saying," Alex asked as he put the glass on the table. He showed that he was more interested in hearing her than anything else.
Margaret was impressed by Alex's behaviour, "What I wanted to ask was..." Margaret again started to ask, but as if God was playing tricks with her, his phone rang once again.
** Ring! Ring!
Alex felt his blood go dry. He did not dare to look at his phone. He was looking towards Margaret, who looked like someone who had just swallowed a fly.
The phone rang for a while before Margaret bent forward and picked up the phone from the table.
She was so pissed right now that she did not even look at the caller ID and answered," Alex is busy right now. If you have something to tell him to, don't leave a message and call back an hour later."
"Margaret?" A surprised voice came from the other side.