AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I apologize for my tardiness,” I say, slipping into a chair. “I hope you haven’t been waiting for too long.”
“No, not too long,” one of the men I’m meeting, an older man I’ve done business with a few times, replies. “I was just saying to Charles here, it’s not like you to be late. Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve always been punctual.”
I grimace. “Yes, I must apologize again,” I say, shaking my head. “I went home to change, and I didn’t count on there being a little traffic to get through.”
Charles laughs. “You misunderstand me,” he says. “What I mean is, you’ve earned the chance to be late a time or two. You can get away with it.”
I smile, and the others at the table with us laugh. “Alright, alright,” I say, lifting a hand in surrender. “I don’t apologize at all. Are we satisfied?”
“He said you were a charmer, too,” one of Charles’ associates, who I’ve never met before, puts in. “We’ve ordered a few bottles of red for the table – I hope you don’t mind?”
“Not at all,” I tell him. “Let’s get the business out of the way so that we can enjoy ourselves, shall we?”
There’s another chorus of laughs around the table, and we begin to talk deals. When the waiter comes, I give them my order for the food as quickly and quietly as possible to avoid disturbing the conversation. Then they move away, and I watch them for a brief second before turning my attention back to the group.
At least, that’s my intention. But as it turns out, bringing my attention back to the matter at hand isn’t so easy. Because my gaze follows the waiter past the front of the table, which means I end up looking right at the door – and at the person who just came in.
And I don’t think I can believe my eyes.
I have to blink twice, look away, and then back before I believe it. It’s really them.
It’s really her.
Liliana and Frank just walked into my restaurant, only an hour since I last left them.
My instinct is to call them over, to shout and wave, but it would be rude to my associates here. Not to mention rather uncouth in a civilized restaurant like this. It would bring down the wrong kind of attention. So why does it feel like the only thing I want to do?
“What do you think, Nico?” Charles asks, making me look over at him.
“Oh, yes,” I say, glad I was able to keep one ear on the talking even while my eyes and mind were otherwise occupied. “I think it’s a good deal. It’s certainly one we can go forward with.”
“Excellent,” Charles says, and while he begins hashing out the details further, I feel my eyes sliding back to her.
She’s taking a seat at one of the tables. She hasn’t changed her dress, but she has added a small cropped jacket in cream lace which adds some coverage without being too bulky. She looks perfect. Neither of them has noticed me yet, and I take advantage of this fact to study her as much as possible. Her smiling face, her long blonde hair that she flicks over one shoulder unassumingly, the way she waves her hands when she talks.
I’ve got it bad.
I can’t resist any longer. I need to speak to her again – I must. I can’t think of anything except finding some way to make her mine. I’ve never failed to get anything I want in the past. I’m a man who knows what he wants. I made myself a businessman, worked my way through school and then an MBA, climbed up the ranks to be here. I’m not going to let her slip through my fingers after a lifetime of working hard for what I want.
“Excuse me, gentleman,” I say, nodding to them all. “I’m going to have to hit the men’s room. But you have my approval, so far, and if you’re ready to sign the contracts, we may as well put this talk to bed and get on with an entertaining night, no?”
I leave that thought with them as I get up, heading towards the bathrooms.
Which just so happens to be on a perfect trajectory to take me past their table.
Chapter Six
Liliana
Now that we’ve ordered, I can’t hold it in any longer. “Alright, I’m going to the bathroom,” I say, glancing behind me to figure out where it is. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
I get up from the table and head to the bathrooms. They’re at the back of the restaurant, and not too hard to find, which means I can easily slip inside without having to ask for directions. Which is good, because I feel kind of self-conscious.
I don't know whether it's because I'm in a strange country, or because I don't speak the language here. Well, at least, not all of the languages. Most people seem to speak English, but that doesn't mean that they speak English amongst themselves. So, I have no idea what people are saying as I pass by.
