William turned his attention to her, which changed his demeanor entirely. The last time I saw William around his sister was at her engagement party. From my observation then, she had some control over him, which hadn't changed the least.
"I have some plans with Andy today. Is she free to go now?" he asked in the same tone, his question catching me off guard at its frankness.
Alexandra scoffed while I stared at William in shock. After a moment, she turned to look at me with a small smile. "Are you done today, Andy?" she asked softly. Her demeanor changed entirely.
I nodded in reply, not entirely sure on how to respond to the situation. Alexandra took it as a proper reply before looking at William. "She can go now," she said to him before glancing towards my direction. "You can go now, Andy," she said with a lighter tone.
I stared at her, unsure for a second. Was she serious? When she finally gave me a reassuring smile, I stood up and quickly made my way towards William, who was still standing by the door.
"I'll be going now, Ms. Maxwell. Thank you for today, and have a nice evening," I greeted softly as I reached William's side.
"Thank you too, Andy, and have a wonderful evening," she replied in the same light tone.
Before I could give her a smile, William suddenly grabbed my wrist, gaining my full attention. "I'll see you later," William called sternly at his sister before he swiftly pulled me out of the office and closed the door behind him.
I was frustrated by his action and felt the need to knock some senses into him. As we reached the empty elevator, luck was with me when it opened after I pressed the call button. We both quietly entered the lift. I made it known that I was pissed at him as I stomped my foot on the way inside. Behind me, I felt William let out a huge, strained sigh.
From the way he was letting out his breath, I knew he was anticipating my outburst. I stood away from him, keeping my mouth shut for the first time. By now, I would have exploded in annoyance but I was trying to turn over a new leaf.
"Aren't you going to scream or something?" he asked, finally breaking the uneasy silence that rang in the confined space.
"No," I replied shortly, my voice almost as low as a whisper.
I could feel his eyes on my face while I stared at the metal door in front of us. Then, I felt his warm breath as he sighed again.
"Have you eaten dinner?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.
I raised my eyebrow at the sudden change of topic and turned my head towards him. "I just got out of work. I thought the answer to that question was a given," I replied sarcastically, yet there was no hint of humor in my voice.
"Why are you angry with me? Don't deny it, Andy. Your mood is written all over your face," he asked, changing the subject again. It was like he was trying to avoid something.
"What do you want with me, William? I'm tired, so please go straight to the point," I asked with refined disinterest and let out a heavy breath before turning back to staring at the metal door.
"How about I'll take you to dinner tonight? To make up for now and for all the things I've done wrong since we met," he replied, turning his whole body towards me as he leaned on the metal wall behind him.
I shifted in my stance as I turned my body half way in his direction. "Are you asking me out on a date? Again?" I asked in disbelief.
"Well … You offered me at least three dates. I'm not going to waste time and let go of that offer," he replied with a wolfish grin, an expression that I've never seen on him.
I hadn't anticipated the reaction that my body seemed to have from his expression. I could feel warmth rising from deep within my belly. Maybe this was what they called butterflies in your stomach. Then another sensation ran through my body, from my neck up to my cheeks, making them both warm and cool at the same time.
William looked amused as he turned away from me while he covered his mouth like he was going to cough. From there, we had a short moment of awkward dead air as we avoided each other's gaze. I didn't understand why we were embarrassed.
"So, where are we eating out?" I asked softly.
This had snapped him out of his reverie. "That's a secret," he answered with a chuckle, his arrogance lurking again.
I was about to pester him to tell me the place when the metal door suddenly opened, showing the lobby. So I closed my mouth and stared at him for a second. When I didn't move from where I stood, William gestured for me to go first.
"Good evening, Ms. Peterson," Mark greeted as he opened the back door when we reached the car outside.
My head whipped in his direction, startled by his presence. I can't believe I was so preoccupied with thoughts of the man who was standing behind me. As I quickly gathered my wits about me, I gave him a small smile and greeted back, "Good evening to you, too."
I jumped in the black SUV that we used yesterday. By now, I was getting familiar and comfortable with the car I scooted to the far end of the seat, sticking myself near the other end of the door. I heard the soft slam of the door as William settled himself on his side of the seat.
"Comfortable?" he asked casually.
"Yes. Thank you," I replied softy, not really sure how to respond to the new Mr. Mogul. I was somewhat nauseated by his change of attitude.
William looked up front as the driver got inside the car. "We're eating out tonight. We are going to that place for dinner," he ordered, his demeanor changing yet again.
"Don't you get tired of having a split personality?" I bluntly asked, feeling confident to say anything at the moment.
"You think I have a split personality?" he countered, answering me with a question.
"Yes. You're doing it right now," I replied, gesturing him from head to toe.
Somehow, the way I might have replied seemed to be funny since he laughed. "What's so funny?" I asked, feeling stupid that he found something funny that I didn't understand.
"It's nothing," he replied after he got ahold of himself, though the smile in his lips never left.
Irritated with his lack of explanation, I kept quiet for the rest of the way and patiently waited until I knew where we were going. I vowed to myself that if things don't go right, I was going to bail without thinking twice about it. But could I actually do that when the situation arose?
The car slowed down on a familiar street and I had a hunch where we were going. And I was right when the car stopped on that place. He is taking me back to the restaurant where it all began. Did he think that such a place would be romantic? If we had met in better circumstances, it would have been sweet. All I had remembered on that first meeting was my impression of him being awful. But after I got to know him better, I realized he wasn't totally an arrogant bastard.
"We're having dinner here? Really?" I asked dumbfounded as I glanced between him and the tinted window behind him, giving me a full view of the main entrance.
Before he could reply, the door opened beside him. Then, he turned towards the man who opened it. From the way his mouth tensed, I think he was pissed that he was interrupted.
William got out of the car swiftly and turned around as I followed behind him. He offered me his hand as I jumped down without any grace. Somewhere in my peripheral vision, I swore I saw a couple that got out of the restaurant eyeing both of us. Their eyes filled with awe and envy as they looked at William, while they looked at me with plain curiosity and jealousy, especially from the woman. I refrained from glancing at their direction as William looped my arm around his and slowly guided me towards the entrance. I didn't want to embarrass myself even more.
When the door opened in front of us, Reyna, the person who tended the podium, looked up towards us in surprise. Her eyes zoned in towards William first for a full half-minute. I gathered enough confidence to acknowledge Reyna before she died of suffocation. I knew for sure she wasn't breathing right now but William ignored her as he got his phone from his inner pocket. Slowly, his attention centered on his phone.
"Reyna. Hey!" I whispered her direction. "Is Mr. Maxwell's booth still reserved?" I asked out of curiosity, though I knew that the booth would be forever empty unless he eats here.
"Oh! It's you again … " she replied as her eyes grew wide in recognition. "I think the table is occupied," she continued as she composed herself.
"What do you mean occupied?" I asked in confusion. I cursed her under my breath for forgetting my name again
"Well … " she started in reply, but trailed off as she was distracted by the person beside me.
"Why haven't you escorted us to my usual seat? Do I have to tell you my name again?" William asked angrily. He didn't even dare hide his annoyance. Judging by the tone of his voice, I think it has happened before.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Maxwell, it wasn't my intention to forget … " Reyna started to apologize but kept quiet. She stood petrified because of William's cold stare. I didn't dare glance up at his face at that moment.