"So you're telling me he just left? No call, no goodbye, nothing?" asked Alex, an incredulous look on his face.

Evita nodded, unable to respond due to the mouthful of pizza she was chewing.

"Weird, he doesn't seem like the type to do that," said Alex. "Sure, he seems a little immature, but I'm also almost a decade older than you both."

"Hey, it's only six years for me," complained Evita.

"You're twenty-two?" questioned Alex, looking at her with a stunned expression.

"Almost," said Evita. "My birthday's Singapore weekend."

"I'll remember that, we can have a party in hospitality or something," said Alex. "Something that'll embarrass you."

"Please don't," said Evita, feeling her face flush, but she was smiling genuinely.

"Too late," said Alex. "Anyway, back to Franco. Can we just talk about how he stared at you during the entire meeting?"

Evita groaned. "He did?"

Alex nodded. "It was intense. He definitely likes you, Ev."

"He's just trying to get under my skin," said Evita. "And it's working. I can't handle this, Alex."

"Yes you can," said Alex. "But is he harassing you at all? If he is, please let someone know. Or if you don't want to say anything, I can. I don't want you to be uncomfortable working with him."

Evita shook her head. "It's not that. It's just flirting, it's completely harmless. It's just hard because he knows what he did to me."

"Does he?" asked Alex.

"He should," said Evita. "The break up was his fault."

"You could talk to him about it," said Alex.

"I can't, Alex. I can't even look at him without getting angry," said Evita. "And I know it's just until the end of the season, then he'll be gone and I'll most likely be working with Carlos. But I don't think I can wait that long."

"Maybe things will get better as you spend more time with him. You just need to get to know him better. Don't say anything, I know you're about to go 'Alex, I don't need to get to know him,'" said Alex, using a falsetto to imitate Evita's voice. Evita giggled. "But I think you should learn more about him. Maybe you'll like him. Or at least find that you can be civil."

"Fine, I'll try," said Evita.

"Good," said Alex. "Now, should we order another glass of wine and then find some gelato?"

"That sounds perfect," said Evita.

As soon as they ordered another round of drinks, Evita's phone chimed.

...

Unknown
What time is our meeting tomorrow?

Evita
Who is this?

Unknown
Who do you think, beautiful?

Evita
Franco, how did you get my number?

Unknown
Alex

...

"Alexander, why did you give him my phone number?" scolded Evita.

Alex held his hands up. "He asked me for it, he said he wanted to text you about your press meeting."

"You two are so unprofessional," complained Evita. "We have emails for a reason."

"No one uses email nowadays, Evita," said Alex.

"You two are going to be the end of me," said Evita, redirecting her attention back to her phone screen.

...

Evita
The meeting's right after your quali interviews
You'd better not be late

Unknown
I wouldn't dream of it
But if I am, you can keep me in check
Any ideas how? 😉

Evita
Wow, what a way with words
That was sarcasm, don't read into it

Unknown
I think you like me more than you let on

Evita
In your dreams

...

Evita looked up from her phone.

"I really wish I could strangle you right now," she said to Alex.

"Why me?" he complained.

"You gave him my phone number. Now he can flirt with me anytime," complained Evita.

"Wait, let me see," said Alex.

Evita surrendered her phone to the Thai driver. He scanned the text messages and laughed.

"This is sweet," he said, passing the phone back. "You guys are cute."

"Don't make this worse, Alex," said Evita.

"The arguing is funny," said Alex. "I don't make the rules."

"We are not cute," said Evita, rolling her eyes, yet feeling her cheeks burning in betrayal.

Alex leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at the Argentinian intently. "Keep telling yourself that. But I think he's getting to your head more easily than you'd care to admit."

As their last glasses of wine were served, Evita's phone buzzed one last time.

...

Unknown
After all this time, I still know how to push your buttons.
Feels like old times, doesn't it?

...

an: idk if this is obvious or what, but just to let y'all know, the majority of franco and evita's conversations are in spanish. i just write them in english bc i don't like translating things and writing them in english later. if a conversation is in english for whatever reason, i'll probably specify it :)