“I’m investing,” he says, gesturing around. Okay, so he doesn’t own it yet.
“Oh? In a market street?”
He shrugs, and his mouth curves up into the closest thing I’ve seen to a smile on him.
“Do you know this area well?” he asks.
Why the fuck is he talking to me like we’re acquaintances? He yelled at me yesterday. I made him mad, and now he’s chit-chatting with me?
I catch myself staring at him with my mouth open, and I can’t help asking.
“Umm, sorry, but aren’t you mad at me?”
“I don’t get emotional about work; it’s not personal.”
“It felt rather emotional. You were angry. I was scared.”
His mouth twitches downwards.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” I blurt out and look down.
“I apologise for scaring you.” He shifts on his feet, and I feel his eyes on me.
I nod and swallow. Why is he being nice?
“So, do you know this place well?” he repeats.
“Yes, I live nearby. There’s excellent food here, so I come here a lot. I mean, not that you asked about that, I just?—”
“I could eat.”
“Excuse me?”
What is happening?
“Would you mind showing me around? If you’re not meant to be somewhere else, that is?” he asks, adjusting his sleeve over his fancy watch. Why does he assume I don’t have plans? How rude.
I stare at him for a moment, blinking. He gives me another close-lipped smile and rubs his neck in a move that seems very unlike the CEO Mark in the office. Who is this man? Have I stepped into an alternate universe?
“Okay, I get it. You don’t want to, that’s okay.”
Does he sound … disappointed?
“Umm. No, I mean, sure, I can show you around? Are you sure you want me to?”
“It’ll save me time. You’re here, I’m here.” He shrugs.
I take in his appearance again, the way he shines and glistens like a gemstone. His massive watch catches the rays of the sun when he moves.
“You might want to put a few things away in your car first, or you might end up going home without them,” I say, pointing at his jacket and watch.
“Really?” he glances at his designer watch and back at me.
I shrug in an ‘it’s up to you’ kind of way.
I’m used to fighting my way through a marketplace, but walking behind Mark is like having my own human bulldozer. People move for him like the sea parting.
The attention he receives is extraordinary. He oozes money and power, and it draws people in. And he wantsmeto show him around Broadway Market?
