Chapter 4 GRANDEUR AND GRACE.

"You'll apologise for all your misbehaviour, young lady, then I might reconsider."

"Apologise?!" She frowned, staring at him, confused. Is this man serious? How has she misbehaved? He was the one who'd been picking on her!

"And what if I don't?" She shot back, his expression turning unimpressed as if predicting her response. "Then you shouldn't bother me, and just wait to collect your purse from the attendant like a normal person." He taunted, turning to leave, but Auria's sudden "Wait!" stopped him in his tracks.

She took a deep breath as he turned back to face her, and was starting to realize she'd overreacted earlier too. And wanting to also put the situation behind her, she decided to put aside her ego and make amends. "Okay, I'm sorry."

But the man's response was a puzzled "Huh?" as her frown returned.

"I won't apologize twice. Clearly, you heard me the first time." .

"Okay." He replied nonchalantly. But as Auria reached for her purse, he suddenly turned around and added. "You apologized late anyway." And with that, he walked off, leaving Auria feeling bewildered and frustrated.

How dare he?! She couldn't believe it.

"Hey! That's not fair?!" She yelled, her hands twisting into a tight fist like she could blow him. But the man nonchalantly kept walking ahead, finally reaching the attendant.

Her blood boiled as she remained at her spot, only angrily staring at the man as he talked with his fellow gender behind the counter.

But then, her attention was diverted. "Found it?"

She nodded, pointing her face in front of her. But just as they looked, the man was no longer there, except the attendant, casually working on a record book.

"Where did he go?" She mumbled to herself as Penny suddenly sighed. "Well, whatever with him. Let's just go get your purse and get this shopping over with. I heard it's already raining outside too." She stated, dragging Auria to the attendant, while Auria kept looking around, searching for the man.

Unbeknownst to her, he was already standing at the entrance behind the door. His eyes lingered on her with an air of quiet amusement, and lips slightly pulled up at the corners. He shook his head.

Clearly, he'd just been entertained by her prickly demeanor.

However, his phone buzzed in his pocket, diverting his attention as he reached for it, his gaze moving to the screen. He began to walk away, answering the call.

★★★★★

The rain heavily poured down from the sky, as many with their umbrellas moved casually on the sidewalk, drivers driving cautiously on the road. People who had no umbrella or any form of covering with them, took shelter near any of the shops or buildings close by, patiently waiting for the rain to reduce.

A young man leaned onto a sleek, black SUV, his gaze darting here and there observably. Dressed formally in a black and white suit, he matched the exotic vehicle behind him as he took shelter under the black umbrella in his hand.

Just then, his eyes rested on the approaching figure of a man, none other than his boss from inside the store, where the car was parked in front. The young man quickly straightened himself and headed for the entrance. His strikingly tall boss soon emerged, his presence drawing the attention of those he'd walked past inside the store, and the others outside. The man Auria had stubbornly argued with.

Whispers erupted from all angles of the place, mostly coming from the women who were present, all gushing at the man. He was dashing!

Blessed with a face and body, twice younger than his age, he walked with an imposing confidence, exuding an aura of grandeur and grace. He stepped under the umbrella, as his assistant guided him to the car. And after he'd gotten in, the young man closed the car door and headed for the driver's seat.

A gentle command echoed from the backseat as soon as the assistant was seated. "Back to the hospital, Miguel."

"Yes sir." The young assistant nodded obediently.

After a while of driving, the car's silence was suddenly broken by the man's ringtone, as he answered the call with a calm demeanor. "Austin, where are you?" A vibrant voice bellowed from the other end of the call.

"Not home, Jenna." He answered calmly.

"Silly you, I know. Coz I'm at your place." The voice continued enthusiastically. "

When will you be coming home?"

"I have no idea. You want to see me?" He mumbled softly, his gaze occasionally drifting to the view outside the vehicle, as he'd been watching the passing buildings.

"Of course, yes! I'm just returning from Cebu, and what I want now is for us to catch up after a hectic surgery session." Jenna replied excitedly.

Just then, the car slowly halted, meeting traffic as he looked out the window again, and something caught his eyes.

He observed the sidewalk scene as a young girl ran into a woman, having been distracted by something behind her. The scene pretty much reminded him of his earlier encounter with the sharp-tongued woman at the store, and how his unintentional collision had sparked the heated exchange between them.

But despite the event that had taken place, Austin couldn't help but recall how beautiful the girl was. Indeed, he couldn't help himself and had been pretty much spellbound by her.

He recalled first turning around to her as she'd insulted him, only to meet her adorable, saucer big eyes that glared at him. And for a moment, he'd momentarily forgotten she just insulted him. Her small, cherry red lips, that unfortunately was far beyond the tenderness it portrayed. Sharp and lousy, like blades on whetstones! A smattering of light brown freckles adorned the area around her chick bones. It was such a shame her attitude didn't align with her incredible beauty. He thought.

"Austin!" Jenna's voice echoed through the phone, snapping him back to reality, and he realized he had zoned out while still on the call.

"Where did you go?" Jenna asked, amusement tinging her tone. Austin rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, I was just... distracted." He said, wondering why his mind had wandered to the crazy lady at the store.

"You must be busy." Jenna's voice took on a hint of understanding. "We can catch up later, okay."

"Yeah, let's talk later." Austin agreed as Jenna sighed. "Alright, I'll let Mom know you're running late."

"Okay." Austin said curtly as ended the call, his mind still pretty preoccupied.