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So here they were. Working through the main course.
Well, more like she was working through it, and he was waxing lyrical. On and on and on. Her head throbbed from the self-indulgent chatter coming from across the table.
‘ - My father and I also established Domino Gaming - and we made millions selling it to our rivals -’
Thank Dunia, this would soon be over.Because no matter how much Ziemer tried, they’d never be enough anecdotes to get to the exciting part of this one-sided conversation.
The yakimono on Harlow’s plate was delicious. So that’s where she focused all her senses instead of glowering at the man sitting across from her.
Because he’d done zero to redeem himself, in fact, he was reeling deep in the negatives. He’d kicked off the date by ogling her butt. Followed by trying to tap it as she’d entered the taxi flyer. She’d used a classic bag deflect to get him off her ass.
That was when she should have cut and run.
But she had three good reasons.
First of all, she was starving.
Second, bookings at House M’Osia Axuma were harder to get these days than a purple-haired miniature goat - all the rage as the newest pet must-have from the slopes of New Tibet.
Finally, that triple chocolate, yuzu sorbet and coconut ice cake.
‘What do you think of our little war?’ Ziemer practically shouted across the table to get her attention. That was the first question he’d asked her all night, just when she’d finessed the art of blocking out his voice.
She shook her head, irritated at his interruption of her yakimono moment. ‘I haven’t noticed it much. The Free Dunia Coalition was able to keep Axuma secure. So we’re relatively safe.’
The battle for Dunia’s control had hardly touched her hometown. People still went about their everyday business as usual. Shops were trading, open-air markets were vibing, and restaurants like these were still bustling. Even the promenade beside Lake Axuma overflowed with families and children soaking in the joys of a balmy summer. For many, the war raging in the capital city, New Malindi, was limited to their news holo screens. Far from sight, further from mind.
‘I think Massimo Makori got the short end of the stick,’ Ziemer droned on. ‘The Free Dunia Collective orwhatchamacallit, refuse to see how much good he’s brought this planet.’
Harlow paused, her fork mid-air above a delicate kelp salad. ‘Are you telling me that you were supporting that traitor? The one who made deals with a xentium-hungry empire of crats to try and take over our planet? Are you for real?’
Ziemer blanched, and then his lip curled. Almost like he loathed that she was calling him out on his bull spit.
She, on the other hand, was especially protective of xentium. It was her lifeblood, and she would safeguard it with her existence if she had to.
Just then, she caught a slight shimmer with a unique signature to the right of her table. She frowned momentarily, peering at it through the haze of the low-lit dining space.
Was that a meta-material fractal shield? Impossible,she thought.Perhaps just a trick of light in the dimly illuminated restaurant.
‘Anyone for dessert?’
The words cut short her examination of the strange phenom.
Their waitress wheeled smartly to their table on air skates, did a mini pirouette and grinned down at them.
‘Oh, YES, please!’ Harlow breathed in relief.About time.
‘What can I get you?’
Harlow nabbed the dessert menu and opened it to the right page of her long-awaited treat. She had just launched a pointing finger when Ziemer leaned forward and snatched the menu from her hands.
‘I thought you worked out? And ate healthy? That’s what you said in your DuRom profile.’ He sounded pretty peeved.
Harlow cocked an eyebrow.The gall of this man. ‘As I told you on our previous dates, I work out and eat a balanced diet. But what does that have to do with anything? And why do you keep asking?’
He didn’t even seem ashamed to be badgering her - like he’d done a few times before - on her fitness and diet routine.
‘Four dates, and on each four, you’ve always eaten dessert,’ he grumbled. ‘You’re pretty but I can see why you’re not as fit as possible. Also, it would be best if you didn’t put interests in your profile that don’t match your IRL. And that includes saying you work out and eat well while instead ordering dessert!’
