MILES

Many eyes were following me as I walked around the table. In fact, I could even sympathize with many of the eyes that tried to dissect me as I spoke.

I had been to many meetings, gatherings, speeches all my life, but this one stupid presentation had me at my nerves. It wasn't because I had second thoughts about what I was explaining. I knew that the latest draft I explained was the best I had presented so far. My nerves were because of a fear of how my life was turning to shape itself.

Two weeks had passed since I had left Megan's apartment after preparing breakfast for her. The call that had come had shook me to the core and though I had put a false pretense that everything was fine, I knew I couldn't hide it anymore.

The Boulevard Chronicles had reported with a big photo of me fighting Dylan off in my own hotel. Though there were no damages apart from our own bruised egos, it had become tough to shut the mouths of the people who talked.

Miles Jackson beats up his own friend for his old lover. The local chef goes savage after looking at his ex. Will the careless act make the businessman in him shrink to doubt? Could the entrepreneur be trusted with big deals if Jackson couldn't keep his actions in check?

All the questions hadn't affected me like they should have. If it was something that happened without Megan, then I would have tackled it differently. But with her, I knew I had to tread carefully. I couldn't risk damaging her mind and soul again.

In spite of all that, the call had made me cringe. It was her mother, Eleanor Taylor. Her conversations still rang in my ears. I knew it was only a customary call since she had seen her daughter with me again. And she had put one and one together and was only waiting for a chance to break her up. The call was only a forewarning.

Unlike other times, I wasn't going to let her rule my life. If Eleanor wanted to go to the media and claim that she had caught Megan with numerous boys during her teen years, I wasn't going to stop her this time. If she wanted to make a prerogative stance that she had been a part of Megan's downs rather than ups, I wouldn't hold her back.

This time, I had a small dirt on her. I had dug deeper on the woman and I had found that she had tried to send Megan off to her adoption care after her second daughter, Rose was born. With a lean body, Megan had looked more like a skinny rabbit rather than a plump baby that the adoption center had sent her with. The threat that came from the adoption authorities were risky and she had to take her back with her.

Over the years, the authorities had checked up on them until the whole organization had been pulled down.

Sharing of this information was more than enough for Eleanor to burst open and curse me right away before cutting the call. I had smiled to myself thinking about the problem I had taken care of without having to make a big fuss about it. It was clear that she wouldn't be a problem anymore.

But then, there was my father trying to tell me that it was the worst to go back to find comfort in the arms of a woman and an ex no less. It was her who had ended things with me and I shouldn't have been more than welcome with the idea of spending a minute in her presence let alone fighting with my friends over her.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, Miles?" My father had roared. "Women are vile! They take advantage of you and leave you in the end!"

I had rolled my eyes at that. I could understand his point of view too. I had been a mess when I wasn't with Megan and the fact that she had wrapped me in her little finger was too much to take in for my father.

"I know what I am doing, dad." I said, making sure that he was understanding me.

"Know what you are doing? That's ridiculous!" My dad thundered. "What would you do if she leaves you again? Drown yourself in sorrow and throw away all the fame that we have gathered together?"

"Dad..." My voice had turned icy and cold. I had never raised my voice with him, but with his succeeding questions, I couldn't promise anything.

"Look at your brother! He lives like a caveman!" Dad had walked towards a dead end and had tuned again to find another dead end. He was acting like a caged animal ready to pounce on the first person who would open the cage doors. "All because he fell he love with that psychiatrist!"

"And what do you want me to do?" I asked. It was not because I would promise him of what he had in mind, but to only know what he expected of me.

Dad's fury had slowly subsided. "Look son, I don't care if you want to fool around women. I really don't. But make sure that there is no one on whom you will stand for emotional stability. You are the only person for yourself..."

"Okay." I shrugged, getting up from my spot. That was easier than I had realized.

"Okay?" Father looked at me in surprise. "You will not go behind that florist?"

"I didn't promise that." I smirked at him. "And as per your rules, I don't want to fool around any other woman. It's always been her."

"What?"

"Trust me, I'm not depending on her for emotional stability." I had told him flatly as I looked at his confusion growing every second. "But my whole life depends on her."

I had walked away without as much as a glance behind me, leaving my father open mouthed and wrong footed. It was one of my proudest moments with my father so far.

"What about the dining area?" One of the board members pointed to the screen, breaking my inner monologue.

No matter what I went through in my personal life, my poignant work would still remain on top to let me fall back to normalcy. I just had to have faith.

"This slide explains it all. Here, there will be the tables up." I pointed towards the next slide with my laser pen. "It's closer to the kitchen while it gives the privacy it needs."

Five chief executives of different hotel had come with their associates and my small cabin now contained around thirty people all staring at me with wide eyes. That was when I discovered that my personal life didn't matter to these men. They were happy as long as I was going to give them what they had paid for.

"And here, in the reception, I was proposing to have..." My cell phone rang unattractively. I cursed under my breath. How did I ever forget to keep my phone off at the meetings like this? I raised my index finger at the thirty faces and pulled my phone from the drawer of my table. As I looked at the screen, my heart skipped a beat.

It was Megan Taylor.

Heart pounding in my chest, I looked at the phone to inspect if I was hallucinating. Megan had never once called me after the breakup. Was there something wrong? Was it Amber talking on the phone saying that she had fainted with another panic attack? Or even worse, had she been missing again?

"Excuse me for a sec." I said, still wondering what the call was about. Staring at the phone, I moved out of the cabin, with shaky nerves.

No amount of consoling put my mind to halt which ran in random meticulous directions. Taking a deep breath, I pressed the phone to my ear attending the call.

"Hello?" I said. I was surprised to hear my voice so tensed because of one call. Time seemed to slow down as the person in the other end finally tried to speak up. They were definitely taking a hell lot of time to keep me hyperventilating.

"Um... Miles?" It was Megan. I huffed out the breath I didn't know I was holding. It took a second more to realize that Megan, in fact had called me.

"Megan?" I asked, my voice having a layer of surprise hidden beneath it. It had been two weeks since I was at her home confessing my love to her while she was asleep. I knew that she loved me too. The way she held me when I was going out of her house showed me how much she still cared for me. She didn't have to voice it; I knew it at that instant. "Hi... how are you?"

"Um... hi." She said shyly. "I hope I'm not disturbing."

It was then I realized that I had left my meeting mid-way with my presentation. I turned around to the cabin to see few head turned towards me and watching me with wonder. I moved further from their watch.

"No... nothing like that." I lied. "So, what's up? Everything alright?"

"Yeah." She said. I noticed that her voice was a little better from the last time I had spoken to her. Though it was more than a two weeks ago, I could still make out that she was doing better. "It's the photo shoot of Amber's wedding..."

"Oh" I said. I had totally forgotten about the wedding fiasco with my hotel issues. "How's the photos coming?" I asked.

"Don't tell me you forgot, Miles." I could hear the mirth dancing underneath that voice. And the way she said my name was like finding an oasis on the barren desert. "You are the best man."

The idea of me being the best man had filled me with surprise and though I had said no to the title thrice already, I was forced to accept it.

"Oh shit!" I cursed out loud.

I heard her chuckle from the other end. It caused me to smile at the walls. "Looks like you are still a dull head." She teased.

"Hey!" I cried as a small smile lit on my lips. The fact that she was laughing and teasing me was more than enough for me to lift my moods up. "That's not fair. It was their mistake to choose the best man who was the best. You do know that it is difficult to get hold of the best man possible, right? But they are lucky, don't you think so?"

She chuckled. "Well, you are wanted here in the evening for the shoot."

"You are going too?" I asked, hoping that she would say yes.

"Do you know Amber at all?" she questioned me back. "She will kill me if I won't show up for the maid of honor shoot."

I snorted. "Sounds like her. I'll make sure that I won't be late."

"Better."

"Megan?" I called.

"Yeah?"

"It was good talking to you." I confessed. It had been so long since we talked like normal human beings after going through everything.

"Me too, Miles." I could hear the crack in her voice as she said my name, but I didn't put my mind into it. I would be seeing her today and that was enough for now.

"See you around then." I said, as Steve came near me, motioning the cabin where people were impatiently waiting for me.

"Bye." She said, before cutting the call. I nodded at Steve to go ahead and I would be there shortly. He went while I stayed back for a moment with the phone still clutched in my hand.

I could hear her rumble of laughter sprayed in the air around me. It had been years since she had laughed at my silly jokes. I could imagine the corner of her eyes crinkle as she put her head back, closing her mouth as she did. The thought of me seeing her again went in my mind like a hawk circling around its prey.

I saw my reflection in the opaque glass door ahead of me and watched myself in it. The wrinkles of my forehead had somehow managed to vanish. My eyes were twinkling with a greater shine than necessary. If one inspected closely, the freckles had also seemed to be minimized.

If this was my state just because I had talked with her and made her laugh, I was scared to imagine how it might be just to hold her the way I used to once, and how much I could tell her that I loved her and cared for her.

With one last look, I was determined to make the best of the opportunities that were thrown on my way, to make myself happy again. But then again, my happiness revolved just around her.

---

The night I had gotten hold of the ring, the happiness I had in me was immeasurable. The nervousness that I carried along with it was something that I had never faced before.

Sure, I had proposed to Shelly before, but asking Megan to be mine for the rest of my days was something that turned me into a frenzy. Though we hadn't said that we loved each other, I knew that a single word like love couldn't contain all the emotions we felt for each other.

I had no doubts about her affirmation to my proposals. I had fancied her to jump right into my arms as soon as she saw the box which tenderly held the ring. The ring was not all that great—it was an Egyptian diamond with a small white stone sitting atop it. It was the first simple one I had put my eyes on in the shop. As soon as my eyes were laid on it, I decided that it defined Megan—simple yet beautiful in its own way.

Ever since I had booked the ring, there was always a layer of dreadful nerves that jumped every time she caught me staring at the void with a smile on my face.

I knew that there was no reason for her to say no. We were practically inseparable; my day always started with her smiling face and ended with her head resting on my chest as we fell asleep.

But as they say it, a small spark is more than enough to start a forest fire. The fire was so large that it had engulfed both me and her, leaving nothing more than the ashes of the past. The irony was that I thought the same spark would light up my heart with happiness and joy.

I never had the chance to show her the ring; neither did I have the courage nor the strength to fight. After all, I was the one to ignite the fire in the first place.

Now, as she stood in front of me at the photo shoot, dressed as maid of honor, the old memories were rekindled, and a tiny spark of hope lit in my heart that maybe we could be together again. Her peach-colored dress was flawless hugging her perfect curves. It was strapless and went all down till her ankles. The hairdresser had curled her hair and put it in an adorable fashion. Little dab of rose on her cheeks and mascara on her eyes made her look beautiful.

She twirled sideways looking at her reflection in the mirror, inspecting if she looked alright. She made a face at her high heels before going back to her dress, fixing a wrinkle on it as she picked it up.

"Looks mighty fine to me."

I turned around and cursed under my breath when I found that I had been caught staring at Megan. It was Zack the groom-to-be. He was dressed in a tux, similar to mine but with more highlights, after all he was a model.

"Yeah." I said, scratching the back of my head. "You look great Zack."

"I bet you won't be able to pose for the camera if she's standing next to you, huh?" he teased, punching my arm with a lopsided smirk of his own.

I laughed. "Let's hope not. I don't want Amber to kill you just because I'm your best man."

As Zack opened his mouth to talk, I was given a full blow to my other shoulder from behind. It was Amber of course.

"Hey!" she cried. "I'm the sweetest girl one can ever find on the whole planet of earth."

"True if the definition of sweet was opposite of what it exactly is." I let out a smirk play. She had straightened her hair and though the look was different, she looked like a fairy.

"You look great, babe." Zack held on to her, saving me from one of her hits. Amber let go of her anger as her cheeks tinted red. She smiled at him shyly and pulled him in for a kiss.

They were in a way perfect for each other. The patience in Zack always seemed to be on his toes when he was around Amber. The fact that Amber would brighten up with him around was consoling. They looked happy with each other and I mused that it was the only thing that mattered.

"You came!" Megan exclaimed, breaking the spell between the two. She directed her words at me, and her sharp voice told me that she had been... waiting? "I thought I was going to die seeing them so lovey-dovey. Thank God, I'm saved now."

I couldn't help but chuckle at her outburst and I was glad that she was coming back in terms with normal.

"We will be facing camera in five." The photographer announced as Amber panicked that her makeup was not good enough for a shoot and ran to the powder room to get it fixed. Zack rolled his eyes and followed her all the same.

Megan who had been very confident now seemed to have gone quiet all of a sudden. I cleared my throat and when her blue eyes landed on me, I smiled at her.

"You look beautiful." It was taking everything in to stop myself from not reaching over and pulling her into my arms.

"It's just the lights and the makeup, I'm sure." She smiled genuinely at me. Though her hair was cut short, and it hardly landed till her shoulders, I liked the way it bounced each time she turned her head.

"I simply doubt it." I said, buttoning my tux at the end of my abdomen, as the snapper had insisted when I entered the shoot. "You look like—"

"This is not your first photo shoot, right?" She asked, trying to avoid getting compliments from me. I rolled my eyes; it was the same Megan I had known three years back. "I've seen few photos of yours in the magazine. Pam tells that yours are the hottest one on net."

Her eyes widened as the words were out. She bit her lip, debating if she let out a little more than necessary for veering the topic in other direction. I smirked in triumph as her cheeks turned to a deeper color of red in contrast to her pale peach dress. In fact, she looked more than beautiful now.

"Did you say hottest?" I asked, trying to be serious, but I was successfully failing in it. "Pam thinks so, and you don't?"

She opened her mouth and then closed it, trying to figure out what to talk. My smirk widened, as I had caught her off guard. I was a little giddy as I became sure that I still had that effect on her—even after all these years.

She tucked an imaginary strand of hair behind her ear. "It's not... I... Pam said... I've not seen them."

"Really?" I asked. "Did you agree to her then?"

I crossed my arms as I leaned against the dressing table that Megan was using few minutes back. She looked nervous and I couldn't hold back my laughter as I snorted loudly. She was startled from the sudden outburst but joined me a heartbeat later, messing my hair with her hands.

"Dough will kill you for that hair style." She said proudly raising one eyebrow at me challengingly.

"But you think that's sexy right?" I whispered, pulling her towards me. I had enough resistance holding myself back from going near her. But with each passing moment, it was wearing away.

Her eyes softened a little, watching my every move. That was what she always said when we were together. Her hands constantly went towards my hair, as I kissed her, moving her long fingers against my soft brown locks. When I tried adjusting it before leaving off, she used to tell me to leave the locks of hair alone as it looked sexier on me.

"Yeah." She said, not daring to look me in the eye. As I lifted her chin up, there were so many emotions in her eyes that I couldn't fathom.

"Come on, guys!" Dough, our photographer clapped his hands, as a pair of cameras hung on his neck. "What the hell happened to your hair!"

Megan and I, both let of soft chuckles while Dough stared at it in horror.

"I like this style better." I said, looking at Megan. I saw a glint of glee in her face, as she walked ahead of me towards the photo shoot area.

Dough shook his head, watching the expensive watch that was strapped tightly on his right hand. "Thank God, you are not the groom. You are handful to handle."

Oh, I so wished I was.

---

A/N: I know it's just a filler chapter, but I think it kind of brings the characters closer. Don't you?

My job's been hectic these days. Wish me luck to survive!