76 Was It The Salmon?

Reuben was looking around to see his surroundings when he noticed a familiar figure emerging from the elevator.

'Insolent girl?' Reuben's eyes followed her every move.

She exited from the elevator and looked around as if she was searching for something.

She was wearing a short black dress today and looked like a little princess with a crown over her head made with her hair.

'If only what was on the outside would match how she was on the inside. Hmph!' He thought of how she had called him a creep before she left last night. 

'Why do I keep meeting her everywhere? Is she following me?' Reuben frowned at this thought and saw her walking to the reception but that lady was nowhere to be found.

'Is she waiting for Stacy?' Reuben only knew that she was Stacy's friend and so he was expecting her to be waiting for Stacy.

She saw someone walking in through the door and she smiled elatedly.

'Stacy must have arrived.' He too glanced at the door but it was not Stacy who had come in.

It was a man wearing a dark blue business suit walking towards her with a smile.

He saw how the man moved forward towards insolent girl and Reuben frowned.

'Oh, so he just patted her on the head. He must be her big brother!' He let out the breath that he had been holding and loosened his grip on the cutlery.

They spoke a few words and she pointed upstairs to the private rooms and they started moving to the elevator.

'Whatever. My pasta's getting cold.' He was about to look away from them but his eyes widened when he saw a greasy old man coming from the other direction suddenly move towards her and they were about to crash into each other.

'That guy did it on purpose!' He watched as the man beside her pulled her into his arms and glared at the man who almost stumbled into her.

Reuben could read their lips and he knew that the guy asked her if she was okay and she replied that she was.

He turned as he saw them entering the elevator.

'That guy still had his hand on her back! He saved her already; there's no need for him to keep holding onto her.' he was miffed by this sudden display of affection.

But his mental rant came to a halt when he heard the woman sitting before him, clearing her throat.

"Something more interesting?" Helen asked as she too looked in the same direction as he had earlier.

It was alright when he was seeing her near the reception but to keep watching them until they entered the elevator, he had to turn his head completely away from Helen.

She had already noticed his lack of concentration on her when that greasy old man bumped into the tall woman.

"Just someone I know." He vaguely answered.

Reuben was ashamed that he had disregarded a friend when she was talking and he was looking somewhere else.

"Oh, I did not know that you were familiar with Director Zhou." Helen excitedly said and Reuben looked confused.

"Huh?" He looked at her and she explained further.

"Director Ivan Zhou of Obsidia Designs. You were talking about him right?" She repeated and saw him pause and then nod.

'So he works at Obsidia, does that mean insolent girl works there as well?' He did not want to discuss the matter regarding insolent girl with Helen so he just nodded his head.

"How do you know about him?" Reuben questioned as a ruse to try and find more information from her.

"Who doesn't know him? He's Obsidia's PR Director and he is the one who holds all their press meets." She happily told him about Ivan.

'I did not know about him.' He secretly rolled his eyes.

"He's also one of the top ten bachelors in the city. I can't believe I saw him here today. Looks like he was on a date." She said as she held her cheeks in her palms and dreamily looked at the place where she had seen them.

'I'm also on that list, in fact, I am at the top of that list!' He proudly boasted and then looked at Helen with his brows furrowed.

"Why do you think that they are on a date?" He curiously asked and she looked at him as if he was an idiot.

"Well did you see what they were wearing? It was definitely a couple's costume and also how he protected her in an instant." She explained and saw him make an 'Oh' sound

'But that can even be a big brother protecting his sister and I've heard Wayne say that he and Wade always buy matching clothes with his cousins.' He argued in his mind.

"The biggest proof was how she blushed when he continued to hold her close as they disappeared." She smiled like she was enjoying a romantic movie at the theatres.

'When did she blush? I did not see that.' He thought.

Of course, he could not see that because Helen's seat gave her the perfect view of what was happening.

"Forget about it. I am not that close to them anyway. What would you like for dessert?" Reuben did not want to talk about it any further and changed the topic of discussion.

Helen had noticed the change in his expressions when she told him that they were dating and she clenched her fists under the table.

'I hope Reuben is just talking about Ivan and not his partner.' Though she couldn't call him by his name out loud, she always called him Reuben in her heart.

She accepted his offer and ordered a hot chocolate with low-fat milk and no sugar.

'Might as well just drink water.' Reuben rolled his eyes and ordered a big slice of chocolate mud cake to soothe his irritated mood.

----

After their dinner, Helen insisted to pay and so Reuben just let her pay for their dinner. 

They had just left the restaurant and saw a number of couples who also exited along with them.

Though he did not want to meet her in a restaurant known for being a first date attraction, he was still taught perfect manners.

So he walked her to her car and waited for her to find her keys.

He leaned against her car while he waited and saw her finally look up at him.

The lights shone on her lenses and made it seem like they were sparkling.

'Insolent girl's eyes do that naturally.' He thought and immediately chided himself for thinking about her.

"I had a really good time today." She said as she fiddled with her bag and Reuben turned to face her.

He just nodded as he played with the file in his hand and saw her standing outside without making any movement of entering her car.

"I hope we can do this again some other time." She looked him in his eyes and said the words in a nervous way and then closed her eyes.

"I highly dou-" Reuben was just about to reject her idea when he saw her suddenly step towards him.

'Woah!'

His quick reflexes worked in a second and he swiftly took a step behind while pulling his head back.

Her lips which were aiming straight at Reuben's lips missed and planted themselves on the collar of his shirt.

He could have just taken a larger step away from her to avoid having any bodily contact with her but then she would have fallen face-first on the concrete ground because her eyes were closed.

Though he was pissed that she tried to take advantage of him, he did not want her to get hurt because she was a friend after all.

"What the hell, Helen? What were you trying to do?" He hurriedly pushed her away and wiped the bright red lipstick stain on his white collar.

She was happy that he called her Helen but winced when she heard his fierce tone.

"I was just trying to show you how I felt! Reuben, I've liked you since we were in college. I know that this is sudden but please think about it carefully, our minds are already so in sync and we have similar interests. We could be great together!" She excitedly declared her feelings to him.

But Reuben was already angry at her actions earlier and this confession just fanned the flames.

'Wayne told me that she had feelings for me but I always told him that he was mistaken. Guess I was the fool, huh?' He mocked his naiveté.

'I may not be as rich as he is but I'm confident that I am pretty and we always have such a great time when we are together.' She looked at his still face and wondered.

Helen couldn't think of any reason why he would reject her.

"Was it the salmon?" She mumbled and quickly checked her breath, she even went as far as using a spray mint just to be on the safe side.

Reuben saw her actions and hurriedly took a step away from her.

She looked up and saw his terrified eyes and clenched her fists.

"Why are you acting like this is your first kiss?" She cried out when she finally couldn't take his wary eyes.

Reuben's eyes grew dark and his nostrils flared when he thought of something.

"Shut up! I am already being lenient by not doing anything to you! I do not want to see a repeat of what happened today ever again!" He gravely warned her and resolutely walked away.

'Was trying to be proactive such a big sin? I just wanted to show him how I felt for him!' She looked at his straight back with tears swirling in her eyes that threatened to fall at any second.

She waited for him to turn back so that she might apologize for upsetting him but he never gave her a second glance.

There were couples who were walking her way and she did not want anyone to see her in this state. 

Having left with no other option, she sat in her car and drove away disheartened and depressed.

'At least I get to meet him again.' She smiled through her tears when she thought of their meeting to discuss the file she had handed over.

-----

On the other side of the car park, Reuben was about to punch his car's window in his fury but hesitated just as his fist was about to come in contact with the glass.

'Why should I hurt my hands when I wasn't the one at fault. Plus my precious car would be in the shop for many days if that happened.' He gently rubbed the window and canceled his plans.

He looked back at the restaurant and harrumphed before he got into his car.