AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lionel Henderson is standing at the entrance to La Fleur along with Jenn and Aurora Carlisle. Which means that this is probably a meeting for her event planning group. Kayla must have organized this via group chat, because she sure as hell hasn’t been talking about it so that I could hear.
“I’m telling you,” Aurora says to the smartly dressed woman standing at the entrance. “We’re supposed to be meeting our friend here.”
The woman gives her a patient smile. “As I have explained, the waitlist is three months long. Unfortunately, you cannot simply go inside because your friend is here.”
“That’s not what?—”
“Aurora,” Kayla says as she closes the final distance to the four of them.
They all turn to look at her. Jenn and Aurora offer her a smile while Lionel shoots an annoyed look at me. The woman at the front desk startles slightly.
“Ms. Ashford,” she blurts out.
“They’re with me,” Kayla says.
“Oh, of course.” She glances to Lionel and the Carlisle sisters before meeting Kayla’s eyes again. “I’m so sorry, ma’am. I didn’t realize that?—”
“It’s fine.” Kayla waves a hand in the air, dismissing the issue. “Is our table ready?”
“Yes, of course.”
The woman flicks a quick glance between the four of them, who are all dressed in at least semi-formal clothes, before her gaze lands on my jeans. An apologetic expression descends on her features, and she looks very uncomfortable, as she raises her eyes to meet mine.
“I’m sorry, but the dress code states that jeans are not permitted in the dining room,” she begins.
Next to me, I can feel Kayla smirking at me in smug victory. She thinks that she is so clever. Bringing me here without telling me beforehand so that I will have to wait outside because I’m not wearing proper attire. And it might have worked. If I had been anyone else.
Saying nothing, I just continue holding the woman’s gaze. She opens her mouth as if to repeat the statement, but then she blinks as if finally recognizing me. Her gaze quickly flicks up and down my body before once again settling on my face. True realization at last floods her features. She remembers me from when I was here last time.
“Mr. Hunter,” she says, sounding a little breathless and worried.
I incline my head in acknowledgement.
“I didn’t realize…” she begins before trailing off. Abruptly taking a step to the side, she motions for all of us to enter. “Please, follow me.”
Kayla frowns deeply at her before shooting a frustrated look at me. I just grin back at her. Her family might be powerful, but so is mine.
We all follow the woman through the elegant dining room. Glittering chandeliers hang in the ceiling and pristine white tablecloths cover the tables. There is a pleasant murmur throughout the already full dining room as the other patrons talk softly while eating. I glance at the food on their plates as we pass their tables. My stomach rumbles.
Then we reach the table, and our guide starts looking uncomfortable again.
“Ms. Ashford,” she begins, and gives Kayla an apologetic look. “When you reached out this afternoon, you mentioned that there were four of you so… well…” She motions awkwardly at the table for four. “But I’m sure we can?—”
“That won’t be necessary,” Kayla interrupts as she strides around the table and takes a seat. There’s a smug smile full of challenge on her beautiful face as she nods at me. “He’s not here to eat.”
“Oh, well, then please have a seat while a waiter brings over menus for you.”
I narrow my eyes at Kayla, who just continues smirking at me while her classmates pull out the other three chairs and sit down as well. Holding her gaze, I shake my head at her. I make her a delicious omelet this morning, and she responds by taking me to one of the best restaurants in town only to make me stand next to the table while she and her friends eat. Damn, she really is a vicious little demon, isn’t she?
“I can’t believe you managed to get a reservation at La Fleur in just a few hours,” Aurora says, grinning broadly at Kayla. “We’ve been on the waitlist for weeks.”
“Oh, it was nothing.” Kayla shrugs casually. “My parents and I come here a lot.”
Lionel frowns at the glittering dining room around him before shifting his gaze to Kayla. “Yes, very impressive. But why are we here? I thought we were going to have our event group meeting in the library. I almost didn’t make it in time since you changed the location on such short notice.”
“Ah, yeah, sorry about that. After class this afternoon, I was just hungry and found myself really craving some food from La Fleur. I hope you don’t mind. It’s my treat, of course.”
Lionel visibly relaxes at that. I watch him. Huh. So maybe he’s not quite as rich as he looks.
