Unexpected Encounter: A Second Chance at Love

"Wow, I didn't know he had been through so much." Tina was quite surprised and bumped after hearing what Ben had been through.

"Yeah, he has been through alot but surprisingly, he took everything quite well," Elsa remarked.

"People have different ways of dealing with grief. Some just cry it out and others choose to keep it to themselves and continue with their normal life," Rachael stated. "Maybe Ben falls in the second category."

When Elsa noticed the change in Tina's temperament, she said, "Hey, are you thinking of giving up on Ben just because I told you about his ex, right?"

Before Tina could answer, she added, "It's not fair if you do that."

"What are you talking about? Nothing is going on between us." They had barely integrated with each other even though they were together for the entire evening yesterday. At first, Tina thought Ben didn't talk much because he was a man with few words. But now when she thought about it, she figured out maybe he wasn't interested in her.

"You like Ben?" Emma widened her eyes in shock. "When the f*uck did this happen?"

"It's nothing like that," Tina tried her best to deny it. "Do I find him attractive? Yes. Do I have a crush on me? Maybe. But that doesn't mean I want something to happen between us."

"Why not? Ben is a great guy." Elsa exclaimed. "He is one of the most kind, considerate and caring men I have ever known."

"I will have to agree with Elsa on that," Rachael remarked. "Ben is really very sweet."

"I am sure he has all the qualities you both have mentioned but I don't think he is one for me," Tina stated.

…..

[Collins Corporation, Andrew's office]

Keeping a stack of documents on the table, Ben said, "Boss, these are the documents that need your signature."

Andrew picked up the first file and started reviewing it. "Tell the finance team to be ready for the meeting."

"Yes boss and—" Hesitating for a while, Ben continued, "The project madam has been handling is ready for presentation. The team wants to run it through madam before moving forward. Should I inform her about it?"

"No need. Tell the concerned team to wait until we come back from the vacation," he instructed. Since they were leaving for their short vacation tomorrow, Andrew didn't want to bother Rachael with office work. She was also having a good time with her family and friends after being away for a long time; he didn't want to disturb her.

"But boss, what if madam gets upset when she finds out we didn't update her about the project?" After working closely with Rachael for almost a month in Andrew's absence, Ben knew how serious she was when it came to work.

Things were hectic in the office as there was too much work but Andrew had been keeping it away from Rachael as he didn't want her to take any stress. He had even instructed Ben to lie to her.

Rachael had asked Ben about work several times but he kept falsely assuring her that everything was under control and she could enjoy her short break without any fret.

But now he was worried that she would get mad if she found out he had been lying to her.

Andrew thought for a while before saying. "It's alright, we will deal with it afterwards."

"Okay boss." Ben was about to leave when Andrew stopped him.

"Wait—" Andrew looked at him. "How was your date with Tina yesterday?"

"Boss—" Ben awkwardly cleared his throat. "I don't think that was a date."

"Oh is it?" He raised his brows. "What did you both do?"

"We went to the museum, mall and then we took a walk in the park." Pausing for a while, Brn added, "And then I treated Ms. Adam a meal."

Keeping quiet for a while, Andrew said, "So you were together the entire evening and then had dinner?" When Ben nodded, he asked, "Did you drop her home after that?"

"Of course boss, how could I let her go home alone? It was quite late."

"Hmm—" After a dramatic pause, Andrew shrugged. "Well, sounds like a date to me."

Ben: " "

"Why are you making that face? Even if it was a date, what is wrong with that?" Andrew questioned him.

Before Ben could say anything, he added, "You haven't dated anyone in a while and Tina is a great woman."

"If you are not interested in Tina, it's fine. There are other options open for you too," Andrew remarked. "What I am saying is, it's not a bad idea to go out and meet other people once in a while. It will make you feel refreshed."

Unlike Andrew who knew a few people in the city, including Owen and Justin, Ben was completely foriegn to the place. He had left his family and friends behind to accompany Andrew.

Initially when Andrew made plans to move back to his hometown, he had told Ben to work under Owen so that he could stay in Russia but he turned his offer down. He wanted to continue working under Andrew even if he had to change countries. Since he had been working for him since the very beginning, he didn't wanna leave his side.

Andrew was aware of what Ben had been through in his past relationship. After he learnt about the awful incident, he had forced Ben to take a few days off and go somewhere to clear his head.

But he was surprised when Ben came back and joined work in less than a month.

After coming back, Ben continued with his daily activities like nothing had happened. But Andrew knew he wasn't okay.

He had observed how Ben drowned himself with work and always kept himself very busy. But he did not say anything as he thought that maybe this was his way of coping with what he was going through. He believed that with time, he would be okay.

But it had already been more than a couple of years and things were still the same. This made him feel a little concerned for him.

"Yes boss," Ben nodded in agreement. "I will try to go out more often."

"Hmm, if you want to see more places, feel free to call Tina," Andrew remarked. "I am sure she will be happy to show you around."

Ben: " "

Without waiting for his reply, Andrew inquired, "Did you take her number?" When Ben shook his head, he sighed, "So you were with a girl for an entire evening and you didn't even care enough to take her number?"

When Ben did not say anything, he added, "If you aren't interested in her, I'll find someone else to show you around."

"No—" Awkwardly clearing his throat, Ben said, "There is no need to ask someone else. Ms. Adams told me she will show me a few more places next week."

"See, the woman even offered to take you out again even when you both were already out." Andrew got up and approached him. He then patted Ben's shoulder. "Take the hint Ben."

"What hint?" Owen approached them. "Did I miss something?"

"Nothing—" Andrew gestured Ben to leave. "What are you doing here?"

"What? Can't I visit my brother without any reason?"

"You can but I don't think you would come to meet me at—" He glanced at his watch. "Twelve in the afternoon for no reason."

"Well—" Owen shrugged. "I do have something to tell you but before I get into that, I wanted to ask if you want any special arrangements in your honeymoon suite."

"No need, let everything be as it is," Andrew instructed. "Later if I want to make arrangements, I'll do it myself."

"Alright, that saved me some time." Owen sat on the couch and sighed, "At least you didn't trouble me like Justin."

He frowned and pinched the space between his brows. "Damn that man is going crazy with the proposal and other stuff."

After getting a green single from both Owen and Andrew, Justin had decided to propose to Elsa during their vacation. He had been working extra hard to make all the arrangements.

"What about Edward?" Andrew inquired as he sat beside him.

"What about him?" Owen scoffed. "Since you both will be busy satisfying your d*icks, I'll have to keep him with me."

"So he will be staying with you in your room?" When he nodded, Andrew chuckled, "Your d*ick is gonna be at peace the whole time we are in London then."

"Yeah…thanks to you and Justin," Owen sneered. "But don't worry about us, Edward and I are gonna have a blast."

Since he was destined to take care of Edward the entire time, he couldn't do anything nasty with a kid around. So instead of sulking, he decided to turn it into a fun trip for the both of them.

"As long as Edward likes it," Andrew remarked.

"Okay, let's talk about work now." Pausing for a while, Owen inquired, "Did you know Samuel went back to Russia?"

….