AUGUST VISITOR

“It feels so good to meet you face to face for the first time, Mr. Zachary Gonzalez,” this low gruff voice filled the almost dark car where silhouettes of two men were reflecting on the window.


Zachary barely nodded his head as he stared at the young man sitting next to him that looked a little much older than he was under the dim light. The man looked so mature and elegant in his formal black suit.


“I’ve heard a lot about you and I hope I won’t regret trading with you,” The man added in his deep Russian dialect which irritates Zac even more but trying his best not to let his annoyance show on his face.


He only kept his usual stony face and bit by bit, he lifted one of his hands and undid his suit button.


“Can we get to business now, Mr Igor?” he asked naturally and the man put on a wide grin, not paying attention to the impassive expression on Zac’s face.


“You are precisely everything I’ve heard about you, Mr. Gonzalez,” Igor uttered as he leaned forward and grabbed the suitcase on the passenger’s seat, “You like to always get straight to the point and hate people wasting much of your time, isn’t it?”


As he pronounced his words with a bright smile radiating his face, he was already opening the suitcase and dropping it in the space between him and Zac.


Zac only stole a glance at the fresh notes the grinning man was offering him and looked away almost immediately without pronouncing a word.


“If you want, you can call one of your men to come and count it. It’s really complete. Fifty billion US dollars as we’ve negotiated. I don’t cheat and don’t engage with people that cheat either,”


Zac stuck a finger into his ear and winced with irritation. The man talks too much and he couldn’t wait to get out of his car and leave. Moreover, he needed to return Ava’s call with immediate effect as he couldn’t pick up any of her calls earlier.


“My man will bring the powder and also carry the money,” Zac noted and without sparing the man another glance, he pushed the door open and got out of the car.


Reid came closer to him immediately he sighted him coming down from the car. He was carrying a briefcase as he approached Zac with a soft expression.


“Do you still want us to get rid of him?” he asked, standing beside Zac and walking along with him.


“We’ve talked about this before, Reid. Why do you like me to always repeat myself at a crucial time like this?” Zac had stopped walking and was now looking directly at Reid’s face with a worse expression.


“You and I both know very well that you’re carrying the last goddamn powder and you want me to give it all away just like that?” he raised his voice but in a muffled tone, his eyes scanning around to be sure that his partner men that stood around were not listening to him.

A look of relief took over Reid’s features at that moment and he breathed out a sigh of contentment,
 “I’m glad you are still yourself when it comes to business, Boss. I thought that little girl has bewitched
you to some certain extent,”


Hearing this, Zac spared him a blank stare that spoke volumes and Reid instantly bowed his head as a sign of pleading for his forgiveness before excusing himself to carry out his boss’s order.


Zac then fetched his phone, dialed Ava’s number and placed it to his ear. However, to his amazement Ava didn’t pick up.


 He called her a number of times before reckoning that Ava was probably not picking up his calls because she wanted to pay him back for not picking her calls earlier.


On this note, he approached where their cars were parked in the silent garage where Nick had already opened the door for him.

“I’m leaving first. Reid will join you soon,” he said plainly, already moving around the car as he spoke.


Lee, who was standing on guard behind the next car behind Zac’s car, heard his boss’s voice and quickly rushed to the driver’s side and wanted to go in.


“No, Lee. Stay back with Nick,” with that, he bent and got into the black sleek tiny car and zoomed into the night shortly.


Zac really didn’t know how to feel at that moment as he’d never imagined Ava would ignore his calls purposely. Something has to be definitely shady.


In a matter of twenty-five minutes, Zac arrived at his house and he knew Ava wasn’t around the moment he came down from the car and didn’t see one of her cars.


Still, he headed into the villa, wanting to believe that Ava had probably left the car at her hostel and probably had come back here in a taxi.


Zac entered the penthouse and called out Ava’s name but all he got in response was his echoed voice. He took out his phone and dialed Ava’s number again, yet no answer.


*If this is a joke, Tinkerbell, you’ve got me. And if perhaps you are mad at me for not picking up your calls earlier, I’m sorry but can you at least pick up your phone and let me explain?*


Zac stared at the message he just sent to Ava and something inside his head reminded him that this was probably the first time he’s writing such long words.


Not even business-wise - everyone knows how less of a talker Zac is and they’ve all come in terms with it.


The feeling of something not being right filled him after he’d waited a whole five minutes and still hasn’t gotten a reply from Ava. He ran an unsteady hand through his hair as he slowly paced the length of the unique living room.


He continued staring at his phone in conflict as he patrolled but suddenly stopped walking and pressed the phone for a moment.


“I need you to go and check if Ava is in her hostel now, Nick, I mean right now,” he instructed coldly and didn’t wait for Nick’s response before hanging up.


Soon after the call, Zac had managed to sit on a staircase, rubbing his forehead and inhaling a very shaky breath.


He repeated this motion until the shrilling sound of his device snapped him back to reality. He picked up quickly, “Yes, speak,”


“I’m sorry, boss, but Ava isn’t here either. But her cousin is right here with me. She said the last time she spoke to Ava this afternoon, Ava told her that she was heading to her parents’ house,” Nick explained.


 Zac’s brows scrunched into something hard and dark as he slowly rose to his feet. “Why would she go to her parent’s house all of a sudden? Can you give the phone to her cousin?”


“Hello, Zac,” Hazel’s voice met his ear now.


“Yes. Did she tell you why she was going to her place?” he asked worriedly.


“Not really. She said her mom wanted to see her,”


Zac shook his head, not having a good feeling about the whole thing.


“Could you send me the house address? I’ll be on my way now,”

_________


Emma stared at Ava’s ringing phone on the table with a fuming expression.


“You have to calm down, darling, and don’t get yourself involved with someone like Zachary,” Dylan, her husband, advised as he occupied the empty seat next to her in the dining room.


“What do you mean someone like Zachary?” Emma raised her voice, turning around to face her husband squarely, “Yes, I understand that Zachary is a billionaire and a well-known man in the society but he’s not a God and you should really quit advising me about this matter already, Dylan,”


“So until when are you planning to keep Ava locked up in her room? Aren’t you afraid Zac might show up on our doorstep since he kept calling but got no response?” Dylan asked word by word, his eyes pleading.


Emma huffed and shook her head sharply, twice. “You’re unbelievable, Dylan. So you are really scared of a young man like you?”


“Let’s be sincere here, Emma. I’ve got no stances where he’s concerned. In fact, I dare not breathe if someone like Zac is talking and it is what you’re very much aware of, so I really don’t get why you are bringing trouble upon yourself,”


“Don’t you think it’s time we lower our ego as Ava’s parents and embrace her as our daughter? Our daughter has won the heart of someone as great as Zachary Gonzalez; don’t you think we should be kind to Ava from now on so that we can also attain Zac’s favor effortlessly?” Dylan wore a serious expression as he spoke gently, hoping his stubborn wife would understand his point of view.


“So you really want to become Ava’s father, now that she’s dating Zachary Gonzalez?” Emma asked in a low voice, her eyes dimming.


“Don’t get me wrong, Emma. Ava has always been my daughter after all before you forced me to stop treating her like my real daughter,” Dylan retorted.


“Oh, oh,” Emma sprang to her feet, “So now you’re blaming me for making you realize that you shouldn’t be treating someone else’s child like your own? You obviously cared more about Ava than your own daughter!”


“I loved them equally, you stupid woman,” Dylan also stood up, “And I still love them both equally,”


“That’s a big fat lie, dear husband. You don’t love Ava at all, you only want to start loving her because of Zac,” Emma glared at her husband as her words gritted through her teeth.


Just then, a gentle knock on the door interrupted their bicker and they both kept quiet immediately, looking at each other silently.


“D-Did Charlotte says she was coming back home today?” Dylan stuttered out, looking at the door from time to time.


“No, she didn’t and I’m not expecting anybody either,” Emma answered, watching the door.


The knock came again but it wasn’t as gentle as the first time and they both shared a look before coincidentally looking at the door at the same time.


“I’ll go answer it,” Emma notified and her husband just nodded but gestured that he’ll be right behind her.


She rolled her eyes and started walking towards the door, pushing away the thoughts reeling around her head.


‘No, he can never come here because of Ava’


And as soon as she opened the door and recognized the huge man at only a glance…


‘He did come here because of Ava’


Emma’s eyes widened to unbearable degrees as she was met with the most unsmiling, intimidating she has ever seen in her entire face.


With a racing heart, she scrutinized him bit by bit. He was wearing an open black coat and it revealed his inner clothing which was the pure black handmade suit. His clothes and sleeves were fluttering and he was expressing a natural powerful aura.


“Where’s Ava? Bring her out now,” his voice was the rough scrape of command as he inputted his hands in his trouser pockets.


Dylan quickly stepped forward, grinning. “It’s a pleasure to have you in our house, Mr. Zachary. Please come in,” he invited but the big man only did as if he was not the one Dylan just spoke to.


“I hate to repeat myself, woman. Go tell Ava that I’m here and bring her out,” there was endless darkness in his eyes and the voice just now seemed to paralyze them to the spot.


“And who do you think you are to barge into my house and command me to bring out my daughter?” Emma asked firmly without stuttering, looking Zac in the eyes.


Zac smiled- it was one of those warm, creepy smiles that send cold shivers down a person's spine.


“Bring Ava out now or you watch me demolish this building right before your eyes,”