Chapter 21

We have been walking for over 20 minutes on the beach now in which I had been doing a lot of complaining - in my mind.

Did you seriously think I would have the guts to whine nonstop at him. Aloud? Ha!

You guys have too much expectation from me. You should lower it.

Anyways even I couldn't take it anymore and was just about to say something when I heard some faint music and suddenly I saw some bushes. All this time, there was just sand and the sea.

As we walked further on, I saw lights coming from those bushes and soon realized it was fairy lights hanging from trees behind the bushes.

I searched around the place and still found it unfamiliar, but as we approached the place, I found many people.

They were sitting and dining in tables set for two or four on the beach under the faint light provided by the fairy lights above. The whole place had a very surreal and romantic feel.

Mr Carlton led me to a table nearby, which was already set for two, and as soon as we sat down, a waiter arrived and served us our drinks.

I raised an eyebrow at him and gave a shrug.

"It's my favorite seat, so I reserved it."

I looked at the drinks, confused. It was passion fruit juice, which was my favorite. But this was odd to be served. At least I thought so.

I looked around the rest of the tables and found that others were sipping wine while having dinner. Still feeling confused, I thanked Mr. Carlton, and took a sip of the drink, instantly feeling refreshed. I hadn't realised just how dehydrated and starved I was until now when I started smelling the auroma of different tasting food.

"Feeling better?" He asked, interrupting my little sigh in pure pleasure.

I nodded, looking up at him to see him taking a sip from his glass. He, too, was having the same drink as me.

"I thought it best to stick to fresh drinks just yet. I'm still on medication." He replied as he saw me glance at his drink. I gave a quick nod, looking down at the table, remembering that he had told me to mind my own business concerning his health.

"Look Ash -"

"Wait. You made reservations here? For when?" I asked him, suddenly remembering his comment earlier.

"For an hour ago." Came a reply from behind me. I jerked my head around to see a man approaching us with menus, which he sat down on our table. "Nice of you to finally show up, man. You had me waiting forever." He said and rolled his eyes when Mr. Carlton didn't respond.

"And it looks like I would have to wait another dozen years if I wait for you to introduce me to her!" He said, turning to me and extending his hand for me to shake. "Hi, I'm Steven. Your useless boss's childhood pal. Nice to meet you." He said in one go while grinning down at me.

I stared up at him, feeling a bit startled and unable to comprehend in my head all that was happening. I slowly stuck out my hand and placed it in his. He gave it a firm hand shake while grinning from ear to ear.

"Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Ashley." I told him, giving him a polite smile.

He was dressed in a crisp white short sleeved shirt and black pants. His hair was long, but was tied in a tight man bun.

He looked muscular and very handsome with his sharp jawline and high cheekbones with an aristocratic nose. He somehow didn't look like a waiter, which made me wonder if he was the owner.

I turned to look at Mr. Carlton questioningly, but he again got interrupted by Steven.

"It's very exciting to finally meet you, Ashley. I have been waiting on pins and needles, wondering who Oliver had invited here for the very first time. Normally, he would only come here by himself. So you can understand my excitement." He said, almost jumping up and down with excitement.

I was too shocked to respond at first, so I just looked between Steven and Mr. Carlton, in confusion. Why would he bring me here then?

"I'm his secretary." I finally responded weakly after getting no response from Mr. Carlton.

"Oh really. So it's a classic tale of boss falling for his secretary, huh?" Steven replied with a mischievous smile.

"No!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening in shock. I was blushing profusely as I begged with my eyes for Mr. Carlton to please respond. "He is just giving me a treat, that's all." I finally said, glaring at Mr. Carlton, as he just sat there leisurely, seeming to be just enjoying my discomfort.

"No way! First of all, him giving a treat?" Steven said, giving a dirty look at Mr. Carlton, who just rolled his eyes. "And second, even if he was, he would never bring you here. This place is reserved for his time with his family. If it was just a treat, he would take you to some five-star restaurant and be done with it."

"Ok, man, enough talking." Mr. Carlton said, finally deciding to interrupt our conversation, leaving me completely in the loop. "Now let the lady decide what to eat." He suggested, finally letting Steven leave me alone.

Deciding to question him later, I opened the menu while those two chatted. I search through it, looking for the least expensive meals. It's a habit of mine that I developed after leaving David. And this was a treat so I was very careful while choosing.

My fingers skimmed down the price column, finding a price I could be happy with until I got interrupted by Mr. Carlton, calling my name.

I instantly looked up, taking my finger away from the price tags and giving him an innocent look. He returned with a look of amusement telling me softly, "You know the dishes are in the other column?"

"I know." I replied very seriously. He was not going to make me choose something extravagant. I have principles, and they are very strong when it comes to spending someone else's money.

"Please choose a dish you like Ashley. I'm not even going to try to persuade you against whatever you are doing. But please choose something that you can actually eat. You haven't eaten all day." He told me so sweetly, and I couldn't help smiling at him. This man is just too good at softening my heart.

"Wait!" I suddenly said, halting my brain from going mushy over him again. "How do you know I haven't eaten all day?" I asked him, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I have my ways." He replied, shrugging nonchalantly. Making me eye him some more. He just stared back, not backing down. I finally gave up with a sigh.

Steven had left by now, and we were alone at the table. Mr. Carlton sat there, his eyes locked on me with a gentle smile playing on his face. His hair was blowing in the wind, getting all tousled up, giving him a boyish look. The cold, hard persona that he showed at the office was nowhere in sight. But I knew it was very easy for him to switch it on and off at any time, anywhere. My mind just keeps going back to this morning.

I quickly blinked to get my head cleared up and then got back to the menu.

After Simon came back, we both gave our orders, and from Mr. Carlton's face it looked like he approved of the dish I selected. Not that I was searching for his approval. I just didn't want to get an ear full from him, that's all.

Once Steven left, we sat in silence, enjoying the cool breeze and the sound of the waves hitting the beach until I remembered our earlier conversation.

"You reserved this place for an hour ago? Why didn't you just call and tell me so I wouldn't keep everyone waiting?" I asked him to which he shrugged again, not replying. I huffed in frustration, turning my face towards the beach.

I watched the waves as it hit the shore, my mind running a mile a minute with lots of questions until I couldn't stand it anymore.

I turned to him and started barreling him with all of them.

"Why are you giving me this treat when you were upset with me this morning? And why did you bring me here of all the places? Steven said, you never brought anyone here except your family. And-"

"Ok. Ok. Just let me answer them one at a time, will you." He asked, lifting his hands, palms up in surrender. He took a deep breath, eyeing me in irritation before he continued. "I am giving you a treat because you didn't eat anything the whole day - I did keep track of what you did all day, alright." He said, interrupting me when I went to ask him how he knew, again. "I was worried about you after I was rude to you this morning." He answered, making me feel sad all over again.

He told me that it's not my place to worry about him, but then he goes around, basically spying on me because he was worried about me. I didn't eat because I was busy worrying about him, and he shut me off, not allowing me to rest my worries.

"And I brought you here to show you that my favorite place to eat is not

five star restaurants." He finished quietly, watching me closely as I lifted my head up to stare in his eyes, watching it flicker with several emotions.

My breath caught as I remembered listing that point as a difference between us, as why we can't ever consider being together.

So he brought me here as an effort to show me that we are not that different?

"Yes, I only come here with my family," he continued, "but that's because the circle of people around me mostly prefer five star restaurants. And this place is special to me. This is where my parents met. My mom used to be a waitress here. Steven's grandparents used to be the owners at the time. " He revealed, shocking me to the core. His mom used to be a waitress?

The food arrived just then, not allowing us to continue with our conversation. Mr. Carlton didn't seem to want to continue talking anyway, as he looked more eager for me to try my food.

So I took my knife and fork and cut up some meat, taking a small bite of it. My eyes couldn't help widening as the rich tastes blended in my mouth.

Mr. Carlton was watching me closely, and seeing my expression, he gave a self-satisfied nod and started eating himself.

After dinner we thanked Steven for the delicious food and he made me promise to come again soon.

After our goodbyes, we left, heading back in a more leisurely phase. The temperature had dropped considerably as the night grew, and I couldn't help shivering as a cool breeze hit my bare arms and legs. It's not a good night to be wearing a sleeveless knit top and a knee-length skirt.

I hugged myself, trying to warm up but jolted as Mr. Carlton moved closer, wrapping his arm around me.

With a sigh, he asked, "Do you want to catch a cold or fever?"

"N-no." I replied, clenching my teeth to stop it from chattering.

"Then stop being stubborn and let my heat warm you." He still sounded very annoyed with me, and I couldn't help the hurt in my eyes as I looked up at him. What did I do that was so wrong?

Seeing the look in my eyes, he let out another sigh, pulling me closer and giving me a squeeze in reassurance. I wasn't that reassured, but his warmth did comfort me and helped me with the cold, so I snuggled deeper into his side, burying my frozen nose very subtly in his chest.

I heard him snicker before he rubbed my arms up and down, warming them as we walked back....

________________________________________

Hope you like it.

Please don't forget to vote and leave your comments 😊