“Hello?”
“Are you free tonight? Care to have dinner with me?”
Ronan’s all-too-chipper voice sounded through the phone. He was always in a jolly good mood and not having a worry in the world.
“I—”
I was not in the mood to meet Ronan when I was troubled with the thought of Michael having dinner with another woman. After a glance at Michael’s office, I decided to tell Ronan that I was not interested in having dinner with him. But before I could turn him down, Ronan’s voice came through the phone.
“You’ve turned me down countless times. Are you going to do it again today? It’s not nice of you to keep rejecting me, you know?”
Ronan sounded rather aggrieved on the phone.
If I were to turn him down again, then I would be rather unkind towards him. Although I didn’t quite agree with Ronan’s frivolous ways, he was the one who took care of me when I was hospitalized. I knew deep down he was a good person.
“All right. I’m getting off work now and heading home. I’ll change my clothes first before calling you.”
In the end, I finally agreed to meet up with Ronan. Apart from his frivolity, he didn’t seem to have any other shortcomings.
“All right. I’ll wait for your call.”
On the other end of the phone, Ronan sounded rather excited.
I hung up and cast a glance again at Michael’s office. I didn’t want to meet up with Ronan initially, but I didn’t want to stay home and wait for Michael to return from his dinner date with another woman either. I would be better off having a nice dinner with a handsome man as my companion, although Ronan was like a brother to me.
At the end of office hours, most of the colleagues in my department had clocked off work. But Michael was still in his office. I frowned and fought the urge to go into his office to look for him.
Back at Birchwood, I changed my clothes and walked to a nearby bus stop before calling Ronan. I could have asked him to pick me up at Birchwood, but I didn’t want anyone else to know about my relationship with Michael.
If Ronan were to know where I lived, he would have stormed into Michael’s house. And if that were to happen, Michael would definitely fly into a rage due to some misunderstanding. By then, I wouldn’t be able to explain myself out of that mess.
I waited at the bus stop for a short while before a flashy Ferrari drove up in front of me. Ronan was not driving fast because this was a residential area.
“Why are you waiting for me in a place like this? Next time, just let me know where you live, and I’ll come and get you,” Ronan said as he stuck his head out of the car window.
He was dressed in black casual wear with a pair of oversized aviator sunglasses. Although the sunglasses covered up more than half of his face, one could still tell that he was a handsome man.
“There’s no need for that. It’s not easy to find the street I lived in. Besides, it’s just a stone’s throw away from this bus stop. It’s no trouble at all,” I got into the passenger seat and answered with a faint smile before proceeding to change the subject.
“Do you have to go to such length to keep it a secret? We’re friends now, aren’t we? Are you afraid to let me know where you live?”
Although Ronan seemed cavalier, he was also a clever man. He could tell that I was deliberately trying to change the subject.
“What do you want to have for dinner?” I quickly changed the subject as I didn’t want to be interrogated about where I lived.
Ronan’s face stiffened with dismay when he realized I was changing the subject, but he quickly put on a smile again after that.
“I heard there’s a newly opened Jetroinian restaurant that serves coast-worthy fresh salmons. Let’s go there, shall we?”
“Okay,” I answered with a smile.
Ronan put the car in gear, and not long after that, the car came to a stop at the entrance of a Jetroinian restaurant. This place looked to be a high-class restaurant, and it would definitely cost a lot of money to dine here.
“This place looks expensive. Let’s go somewhere else.”
I was being serious. Although Ronan was the son of a wealthy man, he was also unemployed. Thus, I felt bad for having to spend a lot at a high-end restaurant.
“Please don’t worry about the price. Dinner is on me, and I can afford it.”
Ronan seemed to read my mind. He patted me on the shoulder before he took my hand and walked into the restaurant.
Since I treated him as my own brother, I didn’t mind when he took my hand and led me in.
I felt rather out of place because that was my first time to dine at such a high-end restaurant.
We chose a window seat, and I sat across from Ronan.
As soon as we sat down, a waiter approached us with the menu.
“Order anything you like,” Ronan said as he handed me the menu with a smile.
“I’ll leave it to you to order. It’s my first time at this kind of restaurant, so I don’t know what to order.”
I handed the menu back to Ronan. I didn’t know what to order without looking like a fool.
“Okay then, I’ll order for us.”
Ronan didn’t object either. With the menu in his hands, he began to order several dishes that I had never heard of before.
While we were waiting for our food to arrive, I shifted my gaze towards the main entrance. I froze when I saw who it was at the door.
Michael walked into the restaurant, with Ms. Light following closely behind. She looked exceptionally stunning, and it was obvious that she had taken the time to dress up for dinner.
She beamed widely as she walked up to Michael and hooked her hand around his arm.
Michael did not push her away, but he frowned as he looked at her hand on his arm. After that, they chose a table that was not too far from me.
When Michael was taking his seat, he looked in my direction and instantly spotted me.
He blinked in astonishment before shifting his gaze to Ronan. Since Ronan was seated with his back facing Michael, the latter only saw the former’s back.
A scowl darkened his face. And I began to get all hot and flustered from his icy gaze.
I’m so screwed! How could it be so coincidental? To run into Michael at the same restaurant when I’m out for dinner with Ronan.
I panicked and lowered my head because I was afraid to lock eyes with Michael again. At that moment, I struggled to put on a calm face as my mind began to race.
“What’s wrong, Anna? You don’t look so good.”
