"Ma'am. Ma'am"
Avery turned at the voice. Her brows furrowed, and she smiled when she recognised the man.
His eyes were red, his expression overwhelmed.
"Thank you," he said quickly. Thank you so much." The man said.
Before she could stop him, he knelt in front of her to thank her. Avery lowered herself and helped him get up.
"You don't need to do that", she said softly.
" I would have done the same for anyone in that situation.
He wiped at his face with the hem of his shirt, still shaken.
"You saved my job," he whispered.
Avery's expression softened.
"I can't ignore what you did."
Her brow raised. A smirk lurked on her lip.
Bingo.
"If you really want to thank me," Avery said, already walking, "buy me coffee."
The man blinked, caught off guard, before hurrying after her.
The cafe was quieter than the hospital.
Avery didn't waste time.
"Your name?"
The man hesitated, glancing around before answering,
" Vicent...ma'am."
Avery hummed, stirring her tea slowly.
" You work there?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
Vicent nibbled on his lip before answering.
" A.. a year."
Avery looked up.
"Then you've seen things."
Vicent stiffened. The chair screeched back when he stood up.
" I - I have to go, ma'am. I bought you the coffee."
Before he could make it to the door, Avery said.
"You can earn more if you just answer my questions, Vicent."
Avery turned and smiled at him.
His back stiffened, and he clenched and unclenched his fist.
He turned to her.
"How much?" he asked
"Depends on the information you give."
Vicent's jaw tightened, and he sat in front of her.
"What do you want?" he asked quietly.
Avery leaned back in her chair.
"Edison hospital, she said. "Everything people don't say out loud."
"How much would I get for that information.
A slow touched Avery's lips.
She got him where she wanted.
She leaned closer to him, lowering her voice.
"You earn as much information as you give."
Vicent gave her a curt nod.
******************
The room was dim, with a low hum of music blending with the clinking of glass.
Alex rolled the whiskey in his hand, but his mind was somewhere else. A hand landed on his shoulder.
His head turned to the person.
"What are you thinking about?" Samuel asked
He cleared his throat and leaned back on the sofa.
" Avery's changed."
Alex exhaled slowly.
"And I don't know why?"
Samuel raised his brows at him.
"What do you mean?" he said.
Alex sighed and said, " Since Imperial Garden, she has been acting strange."
Samuel let out a humourless laugh.
He thought the same as Suzzy.
" Suzzy has also changed since the vacation. She keeps talking about trust issues, and she has been dissing all three of us. At first, I didn't know much about it until you said that about Avery."
Stefan shifted in his seat.
" Maybe the trust issues are just surface."
"Maybe they're hiding something bigger from us."
Silence fell.
"We need to find out what they're hiding," Alex exclaimed.