Chapter 5 The Ex

Tommy PoV

"Has it been approved?" I asked my secretary, a week ago.

Sandra nodded. "Yes, sir. Our company has booth number 48."

"Good," I said satisfied. "Please put the schedule in my agenda so I don't forget and miss it."

"You need to bring a companion, sir. The invitation is for two people," said Sandra.

I just nodded in response to Sandra's words. The event organized by the consortium of world tourism industry entrepreneurs was an international event involving many large companies in the world.

Considering the state of my company which has recently experienced many internal problems, I really hope to be able to attend this event and meet with big entrepreneurs, who might later become business partners or better yet if I can get investors who are willing to work together.

I took the phone and called Elle's number. It was inactive. I tried again ten minutes later and it was still inactive.

I just threw the phone on the table, venting the feeling of annoyance that was clumped in my chest.

It's always like this. Elle was never there when I needed her. She was busy with her own world and when I protested, she would be even more fierce than me and break down all my arguments, which usually ended in a cold war that lasted at least three or four days.

I called Jenny's room through the intercom. My sister worked as a marketing manager in my company, after graduating from college. Her job was not very good, but at least, she was willing to help me maintain the company.

Compared to Jessy, Jenny was more reliable. Without hesitation, she accepted my offer to fill the position as marketing manager, while Jessy preferred to follow in Elle's footsteps, becoming a full-time model. She hadn't even finished her thesis because she was too busy with modeling work.

"Yes, Tommy? I just finished a meeting with a prospective client," Jenny said.

"Come to my room when you're done. There's something I need to talk to you about," I said.

Jenny appeared twenty minutes later. "What's wrong?"

"I have to attend a big event as a company owner who was invited to participate. Do you want to come with me as a companion?" I asked.

Jenny's eyebrows rose. "You can't contact Elle anymore?"

I shrugged and Jenny sighed. "I need to buy a new dress, then."

I felt excited as I joined the businessmen from various countries in tonight's event. There were many potential partners that I could get and I was lucky to have Jenny with me, because with her agility and flexibility, she could attract the attention of the businessmen who were mostly men.

Elle just replied to my message, which I sent three days ago, asking when she would be coming home and tell her about this event.

She said that she was participating in a modeling event in Brazil and would only be back next week. She said that Jessy, my other sister, was also with her.

I didn't reply to her message again, too furious at her impudence, just leaving without telling me, let alone asking permission first.

"Tommy, I have to go to the bathroom for a moment," said Jenny, who suddenly appeared in front of me, after disappearing for a while.

The front of her dress was wet and stained red. "Hey, what happened?"

"A guest bumped into me and spilled his wine on my dress," Jenny said with a pout. "I'm afraid this won't go away if I don't wash it off quickly."

"And the person who bumped into you? Won't he take responsibility?" I asked angrily. "Who is he?"

"Don't worry," Jenny said. "I have his phone number and he will replace my dress with a new one later."

I let Jenny go to the bathroom while I entered the auction room and sat down in the chair that had been provided there. Luckily I got a chair in the corner of the room, so I had a better view of the entire large auction room.

Then, two women entered and my body immediately froze as if I had been doused with a bucket of ice water.

There was no way I didn't recognize one of the women who walked towards the chair in the middle row.

It was Laurie, my ex-wife. I swallowed bitterly. Her body from behind looked even fuller and sexier.

She was wearing a very beautiful dress that showed off her curves clearly. Her butter-colored skin looked radiant and exotic and her beautiful hair was tied up, now in a beautiful bun at the back of her head.

Why was she here? Was she with a businessman who was also a participant? As a wife? Or a secretary? Or just an escort?

I never heard from Laurie again after she left my house six years ago. I was worried about her, because, as she said at the time, she really didn't take anything with her except what was truly hers.

I sent a large cheque for her as my support allowance, to her parents' address in the suburbs, but it came back to me torn into small pieces in the envelope, along with the credit and ATM cards I had given her when she was my wife.

My mother, my twin sisters, and Elle scolded me and thought I was doing something useless because of it. Finally I chose to ignore it and was busy taking care of Elle who was pregnant and our marriage, making me completely forget about Laurie.

"Tommy," Jenny suddenly sat down next to me and interrupted my reverie. "Do you know who I met in the bathroom earlier?"

I looked at Laurie's back. "Laurie?"

Jenny was shocked. "How did you know? Have you met her?"

I shook my head and swallowed. Laurie was talking to the woman next to her and the left side of her face was clearly visible, laughing while saying something and I couldn't blink at her. She was getting more beautiful.

"There she is," I said, pointing forward. "She's in the front row."

Jenny's face changed. She saw our seat numbers and she snorted in exasperation. "What the hell? Why is she put in that seat while we are in this seat?"

"Why?" I asked confused.

"Stupid," Jenny said grumbling. "At an auction like this, participants are placed according to the order from the largest to the smallest. The size can vary, maybe from the number of assets registered, the scale of the company owned, or other specified sizes. Laurie is there, meaning what she has is much bigger than us. But, who is she?"

I was stunned to hear Jenny's explanation. Laurie came with a woman, was that woman her boss? Who is she and how could Laurie work for her? As far as I can remember, Laurie only went to college for two years, before dropping out because of our marriage.

Until the auction was over, Laurie didn't seem to notice my presence. She and the woman parted ways in front of the auction room. The woman went to the bathroom and Laurie headed for the hall where the dinner was being held.

Jenny nudged my arm. "I'll try to find out about the woman who came with Laurie. Maybe she's her boss."

I nodded. "I'll look for our table."

I looked at the card number for the banquet table and as I looked for it, I realized that my steps were bringing me closer to Laurie.

My heart was beating fast as I stood next to Laurie. She was straightening her dress and didn't notice my presence.

I pulled out the chair next to her, after making sure it had my name on it and Laurie looked up at me with her beautiful eyes widening.

I sat down slowly. "So, I didn't see it wrong. It really is you, Laurie."