Chapter 46
Meanwhile, Alice had Simon pinned to the ground, giving him a good few punches. Once she got it out of her system, they patched things up, no hard feelings.
Simon sat there cross-legged, touching his busted lip and wincing. "Did you really have to go that hard? You know my face is my moneymaker, right? And you went straight for it. Totally on purpose!"
Alice shrugged, "Yeah, so what if I did? You had it coming with all that crap you were spewing."
But even as she said it, she dug through her bag and tossed him a pack of tissues.
"Can't I be jealous?" Simon muttered, looking like a kicked puppy. "You said we'd have dinner, but then I see you hopping into David's car. Not even a text. How was I supposed to feel?"
Alice had been too busy dealing with the annoying David to think Simon would catch feelings.
They'd been bickering for ages, with Simon dodging her calls and texts. Finally, he couldn't hold it in and sent her a voice message spilling his guts, leaving Alice all flustered.
Simon's stomach growled right on cue.
He checked his phone, then looked at Alice. "Alright, you got your hits in, now let's eat. I'm starving."
Alice realized she was hungry too, having been too wrapped up in thoughts of David to notice. A free meal from Simon sounded perfect.
Simon had cash to burn, thanks to his hefty allowance from Dylan. Whenever he wanted something, Dylan would throw even more money his way.
Alice dragged Simon to a nearby Mexican joint.
Simon, being extra, booked the whole second floor just for them. They sat at the center table, surrounded by empty ones, chowing down on meat and sipping iced drinks.
Simon was eating so much that his nose started running. He grabbed a tissue and asked, "So, what's the deal with you and David? You ditched me for him, so he must have something I don't. Is it 'cause he's older?"
If that was it, Simon could accept it. Not his fault his mom had him late. If she'd had him sooner, he would've met Alice earlier!
Alice rolled her eyes. "Do I look like someone who cares about age?"
Simon was stumped, staring at her with a piece of meat halfway to his mouth.
"Did those stuck-up Bailey women mess with you while I was gone? Just say the word, and I'll handle them!" Simon said, all fired up.
Alice nodded, "Yeah, they did."
Simon's eyes went wide.
"But David had my back," Alice added.
Simon just stared at his food, deciding to keep his mouth shut. He didn't need to hear more about Alice and David; it would just kill his appetite.
Meanwhile, after leaving the restaurant, Esme found a coffee shop, ordered a coffee and a juice, and shot off two texts to David.
Esme: [Hey, it's Esme.]
Esme: [Got something to tell you about Alice. Can you call me when you get a sec?]
"Why does this sound like I'm trying to hit on David behind Alice's back?" Esme muttered, flipping her phone over and taking a sip of her coffee. She stared out the window, lost in thought, until her phone buzzed.
David saw the texts after wrapping up a meeting.
Esme?
He remembered her from earlier that morning. The second text made his expression shift. He waved Garrett off, who was about to hand him the meeting notes, and headed to the break room instead.
Back in his office, David dialed Esme's number. She picked up quickly, her voice a bit unsure, "David?"
"Yeah, it's me."
Hearing his familiar, smooth voice, Esme relaxed. "Mr. Tudor, don't get the wrong idea. I know those texts sounded like I'm trying to hit on you behind my friend's back. But just to be clear, even though I like your voice, you're not my type, so no worries!"
Esme cleared her throat and got to the point. "Today, Celeste came to me and said some stuff about Alice. I might be overthinking it, but it felt like she was trying to mess with my friendship with Alice by bringing up her background. It might be nothing, but I thought you should know."
David frowned.
It hadn't been long, and trouble was already brewing again. Was his last warning too soft for Celeste, or did she think he couldn't touch the Bailey Family?
David said, "Thanks. Keep an eye on Alice for now. If anyone from the Bailey Family gets near her, let me know right away."
"Got it." Esme nodded, then switched gears. "But Mr. Tudor, I've got a question."
"Shoot," David replied.
"It's about you and Alice!" Esme felt a bit embarrassed but couldn't help her curiosity. "Okay fine, just between us. Alice likes you. But I mentioned your past to her, and she seemed pretty worried about it... Sorry about that."
David's past had caused quite a stir. Even though Gavin had managed to hush it up, some people in their circle still knew. David wasn't shocked that Esme knew.
"I don't know what kind of relationship you want with Alice, but if you're not into her, you should let her know sooner rather than later. Don't let her get her hopes up!" Esme rarely spoke so bluntly to David, "Alice is my friend, and I don't want her to get hurt."
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