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<div style="text-align: right"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><span style="font-size: 22px">rafael silva<br/>
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<br/>​</div><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Like most of Rafael’s arguments, liquor had been the start of it. Though – that seemed to be only one of the causes between him and Aven’s fight. It had been one of the last times he saw her. He not only lost a great sous chef, but also someone he loved and a great friend. It was hard to find a replacement for her and while it was wrong and selfish to think so – Rafael sometimes felt that even Danielle couldn’t fill certain gaps that Aven had been able to. He’d heard about her every now and then. New York was a big city, but the restaurant business was close knit – especially for the top chefs and her name would float around every now and then.<br/>
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Rafael had heard she had moved but he hadn’t learned where and he knew that asking would only lead to more whisperings about the two. It was no secret that they were close, but other than his relationship, Rafael had tried to keep their being together on the hush as he didn’t want to discredit Aven and her skills as a chef. Honestly, she could’ve been in his same position – she had the talent and definitely the dive, but owning a restaurant had never been her passion. She simply loved good food and made it for people, being able to pull that idea out of her head and to lay it on a plate to be admired. That had been what he was initially attracted to.<br/>
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Rafael had just broken the news to Aven that he was proposing to Danielle – or at least she had overheard him and of course it hadn’t gone well. He’d said what many men had said in his position: he loved her and he would leave his girlfriend of over 6 years to be with her. That was a lie – or at least it was something hard to live up to as Rafael couldn’t leave Danielle. He loved both women and something in his head had convinced him that he could have them both. He was wrong of course as Aven made it clear that he wasn’t sticking around.<br/>
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Seeing her now suddenly standing before him brought back every memory he had shared with her. He was stunned and he tried not to let it show, but was sure that she had caught that flicker of surprise that crossed his face. He soon snapped out of it though, realizing that he had a business to run. While he went on to introduce himself, his eyes would glance in her directions. She looked just as beautiful as he remembered, a striking set of eyes and plump rose tinted lips that he could see imagine the feel of. They didn’t have much time to waste and he wasn’t going to spend what little time they had to prepare rattling on about his accomplishments. He wasn’t cocky, but Rafael had been mentioned on tv networks, in top magazines and online – by now he was well known. Still,  while everyone broke and began toward their respective stations, Rafael was quick to cut off Aven from leaving.<br/>
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“What are you doing here? Of all places?” He asked her with a small smile. He was trying to come off friendly, not knowing if she still harbored bad feelings toward him considering how things ended. Being this close to her seemed like it was a dream and the desire to give her a hug was there, but he knew they had to remain professional. “So – how’re things?”</span></div>