Chapter 11：Playing it by ear

Normalcy returns over the next few days. Aside from a few odd bumps here and there, Anna began to find a consistency in her day to day life that suited her very well. She was getting along much better with Lissa, having conceded many of her usual chores to the other girl. This, she'd found, had helped her standing with the waitstaff. Either that, or they were just getting used to her. Whichever it was, Anna was relieved that the glares were softening. After hours of conversation with Michael, Lissa, and Alex, she'd learned just how much she didn't understand about herself and the world. The frog in the well cannot conceive of the ocean!

She may have been a frog, but she had already made her choice to get out of the well!

Of course, change was never easy - hadn't these past two weeks been evidence of that? Anna grimly accepted the old adage about the snail in the well, going up two feet to slide back one. Setbacks were bound to happen, but she'd just have to do her best to keep going regardless of the difficulties they brought with them. That was its own form of experience, right?

And anyways, her conversations with Alex had been decidedly more lighthearted after he'd realized she wasn't going to cut and run and after she'd realized he wasn't going to trap her in some kind of strange relationship replay from his past.

The revelations had then resulted in a strangely won elation that she'd been riding for the past few days.

So, overall, things were going better.

Which was why, when she'd opened the door of her study to come out on one particularly beautiful morning, she hadn't expected Alex to be standing immediately outside, his hand raised as though he'd been ready to rap on her door with his knuckles.

"…"

"…"

There was an awkward moment of silence where they simply stared at each other, eyes wide.

Finally, Anna simply closed the door again, blocking their view of each other. Seeing Alex so suddenly wasn't a bad thing, but she'd been surprised to see him just beyond her door. Usually, the only people about were Lissa and the maids assigned to the immediately attached common areas. Her only saving grace was that he hadn't seemed to expect her either and—

Anna started, realizing she'd just shut the door in his face!

How embarrassing! How rude! How could she have done that?

Before she could really start lambasting herself, Alex's knuckles finally make contact with the door, gently knocking.

She yanked the door open, still feeling sheepish. "Hi, Alex," she greeted. She could feel the blood rising to her cheeks. "I didn't mean to shut the door in your face. I was just really surprised. I'm sorry."

He seemed to be more amused than anything, his obsidian orbs glimmering. "You're forgiven," he told her easily. "I'm sorry for surprising you."

Of course, with smooth words like that, the blush on her face grew darker.

"D-did you need something?" she finally asked him. She didn't know if she should invite him in or step out to sit in the living room. He hadn't budged, but wasn't it awkward to stand in the doorway?

"I wanted to invite you out for a few days," he said, a small smile appearing on his face. "I thought you might have begun to grow bored here without much to do." A bit apologetically, he adds, "I'm aware you've resigned from your recent position due to the distance so I thought I could try showing you some new things."

Anna assessed him, debating whether he was trying to take her out as a friend or as a date. Maybe he was just feeling guilty she didn't have much to do? A period of several days wasn't normal for friends unless they were very close, but she and Alex were also roommates, so the usual rules were a bit blurry.

"Where did you want to go?" she asked, seeking more information.

"I haven't decided yet," Alex said cheerfully. "I thought you might want to have a say, so I asked Kenneth to put together some options for us to consider. He should be ready to see us after lunch, but I thought I ought to ask you first."

Well, at least he wasn't assuming she'd just go along with his whims… But telling Kenneth to go ahead and get the information - was that presumptuous of him or was he just being prepared? One example wasn't enough for her to base her decision off of.

At the end of the day, though, Alex wasn't wrong. Anna really was getting bored staring at the same walls every day. While she'd begun to speak with Lissa more and more, her boisterous maid was still reticent when it came to talking about herself. That was undoubtedly a good trait for maids to have, but Anna had been trying to become friends with the girl! They were practically the same age! Come! On!

Even talking to Michael hadn't filled in the hours, seeing as he had a steady job to get to and a sister to care for.

"Alright," Anna decided. "I think it sounds like it could be fun! It's been a long time since I've gone out just for the sake of having fun, so forgive me for taking advantage of you." She smiled at Alex, well aware that whatever they decided to do, he'd be the one handling all of the expenses. While it had bothered her at first, she'd quickly realized that the scale on which he operated was so far beyond the every day person's that it didn't matter.

And besides, this meant she could pay attention to the portfolio she had built up instead of trying to obtain more cash to keep on hand.

"It's about time for lunch, isn't it?" she realized, blinking up at the tall man in front of her. "Shouldn't we start walking to the dining room?"

Alex shook his head. Somehow, the curls that swayed back and forth still returned to frame his face perfectly. Some girls would kill for that, you know! "I thought we could go out for lunch."

Out, out, out! Anna couldn't help but wonder if Alex wasn't the one that was sick and tired of being inside all the time.

"Sounds good," she said instead of scolding him. "Where to?"

Alex was pleasantly surprised by the lack of resistance to his expenditures. He'd noticed that Anna was a bit on the frugal side with her money. She'd done well to place the majority of her money in places that would carefully raise it, but there were still a few tricks he thought he could teach her. One of the best parts of running multiple businesses was the comforting knowledge that you were providing jobs for people that needed them and filling your own pocket at the same time. It was mutually beneficial and he always made sure that Human Resources offered excellent benefits.

"I found a highly recommended cafe in the city," he suggested. "It's supposed to have puppies."

Anna stared at him. "Puppies?"

"Er, yes. Like a cat cafe, except with puppies."

"But what you're telling me," Anna said, "Right now… Is that there are puppies?"

Alex gave her a concerned look, before nodding.

Startled by her reaction, Alex couldn't help the helpless laugh as he let her lead him to the garages. Puppies were apparently a weakness for her. "Do you feel this way about cats, too?" he asked her, feeling cheeky. "Or birds?"

"Cats are evil," Anna said flatly. "Also, I'm allergic. And birds are okay, but they're not fluffy like dogs!"

When he thought about it, Alex realized that he'd heard of people like this. They were weak to things that were soft and cute, always going in for cuddles because they couldn't help themselves.

"I'll keep that in mind," he told her as they reached the black sedan. Kenneth was already there, holding the back door open for them. "Do you have any other allergies I should be aware of?"

"N. K. D. A." Anna shrugged, sliding into the far seat and belting herself in. No known drug allergies.

"That's good to know," he said, stepping into the car and belting himself in as Kenneth gently shut the door. "But I wasn't asking about medication."

"Nothing else that I'm aware of, then," Anna replied, her eyes alight with excitement.

It seemed that even his gentle jibes couldn't take away from her glee.

Alex was surprised by this. They'd never had pets in the past, but had she always wanted one? Was this something that had remained the same between his deceased wife and Anna? Or was this a new development? That he didn't know burned him. It was just another reminder of how little care he'd actually given to his wife before he'd finally pushed her beyond the pale.

He had promised Anna that he'd do his best to treat her as a new person, but the comparisons were still there under the surface. He knew she held the soul of his wife, but at the same time, Anna hadn't been wrong to stand up for her own self.

But it was hard to remember that promise and keep that respect at the fore of his mind when he kept finding reminders here and there of just how greatly he'd failed in the past.

"I wonder what kind of puppies they'll have," Anna hummed from beside him, drawing him back from his thoughts. "I bet they'll all be cute! Think they're going to be set up as a cafe and puppy adoption agency? I know that's pretty common with cat cafes."

"I suppose we'll find out," he said to her, thinking about the cafe they were going to. Perhaps Anna would like a puppy?