Stalker?

As Mason walked over to the shoe shelf where Ava was hiding, Nathan quickly came to his side.

"Sir, how about I show you some of our new...." Nathan stopped talking when Mason turned and gave him a deadly stare.

"Do you have a problem with me shopping by myself?" Mason asked him.

"Ur.. no, not at all," Nathan gave a nervous chuckle, "let me know if you see anything you like," Nathan said before leaving Mason. He didn't know why Ava was hiding from this man, but for her own good, and his as well, he hoped Mason doesn't find Ava where she was hiding.

Mason walked up to the shoe shelf close to where Ava was hiding, pretending to be interested in a pair of sneakers, he stood there for some seconds, he noticed Ava's feet moving, she must be nervous, hoping he doesn't see her.

Pretending not to have noticed her, Mason moved over to the shelf where she was hiding and stood there.

Ava held her breath as she prayed that Mason would get whatever he wanted and leave without noticing her. She thought of moving away from that shelf, but that would draw his attention, and he would end up noticing her.

What was she going to do about him? She can't continue to hide from him every time she sees him. She needed to find a way to get him to stay away from her. But how? She doesn't even know what he wanted from her.

She breathed a sigh of relief when Mason finally decided to leave, but her joy was short-lived when he turned around.

Why was he returning? Ava questioned herself in terror, and then she realized Mason had seen her because he came around to the back of the shelf.

"Seriously?" Mason asked with a straight face as he came and stood in front of her. "Of all places to hide, you chose this place?"

Why was she even hiding from him in the first place? Did he do something to scare her away from him the last time that they were together? Mason wondered.

"Why are you hiding from me?" He inquired of Ava who appeared to be nervous of him.

"I wasn't hiding from you," Ava responded in a shaky voice, trying her best to hide her fear.

"So what were you doing behind this shelf? And why did your colleague tell me you no longer worked here?"

Ava looked at his face and he wasn't smiling, he was angry at her, what if he tries to hurt her because she lied to him?

Mason's expression softened when he realized she was scared of him. But why? He hasn't done anything to make her scared of him. Or has he? Mason was aware that he could come across as domineering at times, but he was confident that he had been showing Ava his soft side. Or hasn't he?

"Am I making you uncomfortable? Does my presence make you uncomfortable?" Mason asked when he noticed how her lips were trembling.

Ava found it ridiculous of him to ask her that. Of course, he was making her uncomfortable. Was she supposed to feel comfortable knowing he was stalking her?

Mason tried coming closer to her but she quickly stepped back.

"What do you want from me?" Ava asked with the little courage she could muster.

"Want from you?" Mason asked in confusion as he tried to figure out what she was talking about. He was only here because he wanted to help her.

"Is this about the deal? Do you feel regret for not getting what you paid for and have decided to come get the value for your money?" Ava was bold enough to ask these questions because she knew Mason couldn't harm her there at the store. Except he might lurk around in the dark to hurt you after you've closed, a voice in her head said. Ava quickly shook off the thought, she wasn't going to allow fear to keep her from confronting Mason. She needed to know what he wanted from her, so she would know how to get him to stay away from her.

"Deal? Regret? What are you talking about?" Mason was puzzled at what she was babbling about.

"Why are you stalking me?" Ava asked him.

Mason seemed surprised for a moment, did she think he was stalking her? Why would he stalk her? Of all people on the planet, her? He found it amusing that she thought herself so special for him to leave his job and stalk her. Okay, she was special, but he wasn't stalking her.

"Do you find it amusing?" Ava inquired, irritated that he would find stalking her amusing.

"You don't think it's funny?" Mason asked her. "I have been accused of many things, but being a stalker isn't one of them. What made you think I'm stalking you?"

Ava folded her arms across her chest, suddenly bold. "Are you going to deny that you haven't been stalking me?"

"And why would I do that?"

"You tell me. You are the one who keeps showing up at my place of work for no reason, and don't even think of saying that you came here to shop, because we both know that isn't true."

"And what makes you think, I'm not here to shop just like every other customer?" Mason asked, folding his arms across his chest as well.

Ava knew he wasn't here to shop, she knew he was coming because of her. They both stood glaring at each other.

"That's not true," Ava insisted.

"That's a rude way to talk to your customer, don't you think?" Mason said.

Ava ignored his comment, "Let's assume you're here to shop and not because of me, what about the time you showed up at the hospital?" Ava asked him.

Mason raised an eyebrow at her, indicating that he had no idea what she was on about. Is this girl all right? What hospital was she referring to? Was it possible that she mistook him for someone else?

"Are you going to pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about?" Ava asked when she noticed how strangely he was looking at her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Mason replied with a shake of his head. Ava wanted to say something but he raised his hand to stop her.

"I'm only here because I have a job for you."

"And I already told you that I have a job," Ava gestured to the store.

"And when I say, I have a job for you, you should know I'm referring to something better than this."

Ava wanted to say something, but Mason didn't give her the chance.

"I'll be waiting for you when you close so I can tell you about the job," Mason said before turning around and leaving. He could hear Ava say something about him not bothering to waste his time. But he didn't reply.