2

"Ah, but you're a lady," he continued, not bothering to cover up his teasing grin. She rolled her eyes and attempted to walk away to her car. They had 1h45 left for this linner before she knocked off and he was wasting it.

He turned on his heel, stepping beside her as she walked. He couldn't help but inhale her perfume as it swifted in the air around him. He could have groaned in pleasure at the scent but that was not going to be received well. In less than five minutes of their first encounter, he realized she was not going to be an easy woman to get along with. Much less please.

That's why he took hold of her arm and said, "Right this way."

Startled, she slapped his hand away and took a few steps from him, giving him a disgusted look. He paid no mind to it as he opened his passenger door and stood aside.

"I figured we could take my car since the other two went in one."

"I'm good, thanks," she refused, pressing the button on her keys and opening her door.

Just as she had one leg in the car, a question was raised from the idiot behind her. "Do you care about the environment?"

"What?" she asked, stepping out again and looking at the time on her wristwatch.

"The environment. Do you care about it?"

She was about to ask which fool didn't when he spoke again. "Because I'm sure you know fuel contributes to climate change and global warming. That in turn cause melting ice caps, rising sea levels and flooding lowlands. That's why people insist on the use of public transport to try and combat part of the crisis. But you don't look like you've taken a bus a day in your life," he said, making a point to look at her from head to toe.

Her mouth fell into an 'o' and she had to scoff as she registered that his tone was a bit insulting. And correct, very very correct. But she'd die before she admitted that he was right.

"You want us to take a bus?" she asked, appalled.

"No, not today. We'll take my car instead," he said cheekily, gesturing to his open door. With her tongue between her teeth to avoid saying something she'd regret, she slammed her car door and slid onto his leather sit, yelping when he reclined the seat forward.

Then he got in and they were on the road in no time. He switched the radio on and searched for a pop channel. He increased the volume and sung out of key at the top of his voice. She couldn't tell whether it was on purpose or if he really couldn't hear himself.

Feeling fed up with his horrible singing, she switched the radio off and looked out the window. She had to hold in a laugh when, through her peripheral vision, she saw his mouth fall as he gave her a nasty glare.

Soon, they were outside the restaurant and she got out of the car as soon as he parked. She straightened her suit and her hair and walked into the place, nodding to acknowledge the doorman.

She immediately spotted the other two in the far back, engrossed in a conversation about astrology. She took a seat at the table and busied herself with the menu, feeling her stomach softly rumble as she read the names of the dishes listed.

A wave of cologne flooded her nose when her off-key singing driver took the chair beside her. It was of rain and something she couldn't finger. But it made her want to exhale in pleasure. She shook her head and took that moment to look up and ask no one in particular.

"What are you guys having?"

"We ordered the steak slices with steamed mixed veggies and pasta sauced with cheese," Charles replied in his British accent.

"And then ham and mushroom pizza, velvet cake and blueberry ice cream for dessert," Ludwig added in a rather happy voice as he bounce in his chair. He looked like a kid. She wondered what that excitement felt like.

Their food came shortly after and they started discussing a few bullet points for the upcoming quarter of the year. At first she was a bit hesitant to eat with three men, two of whom she was comfortable with and valued as part of her team and another who kept looking at her from the rim of his wine glass whenever he took a sip.

His stare made her so uneasy she forgot how to cut pizza and instead, the knife fell on the table, close to the edge and slipped, hitting the carpet beneath their feet with a soft thud. She softly cursed, pushing her chair back to pick it up but Daniel's head duck under the table cloth quickly. She sat back and tried to listen to the conversation the two were having when she felt it.

Soft, feathery fingers brushed her foot and she jerked her leg forward in surprise, but a firm grip wrapped around her ankle. It sent warm tingles throughout her body and she picked up her glass wine as she tried to concentrate on the conversation while wriggling her foot out of the grasp.

Her hand was shaking and she had to bite the rim as she sipped to prevent the glass from clattering against her teeth. Gosh, she felt embarrassed.

His head resurfaced and it looked like the other two men hadn't realised what had happened. Did this only last five seconds but feel like hours to her?

He placed the knife on the table, sure that she wasn't going to use it because it fell. He used the napkin to wipe his knife clean before giving it to her. She instantly accepted, and then he wiped the one that fell and cut into his food, falling back into the conversation with ease.

She tried to keep up, but with him sitting next to her, she just wasn't comfortable. So it was no surprise that when Charles asked her what she thought about what they'd proposed they do, she mindlessly nodded.

She knew and trusted Charles and his ideas. But she couldn't be surprised at the raised, questioning eyebrow he gave her when she didn't ask any question or challenge his idea with an opposing one.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his eyes furrowed in surprise. She just hummed, looking at the patterns on the white and gold tablecloth as though they were the most riveting details ever.

"Are you okay? You look a bit... Flushed," Ludwig said, shifting uncomfortably. He was probably not used to her face a shade of red and it worried him. She tried to wave it off but the cause of it all spoke smoothly.

"I think she is just touched by too much processed sugar. You know what it can do to a person. But don't worry. I'll go over the minutes with her this evening and she'll give us a report, say, tomorrow afternoon?" he said, looking at her and tipping his head slightly. She got the hint and nodded her head, letting out a soft chuckle to sell the story.

"Ah, yes, my apologies," she said, laying a hand on her chest. "It's been a while since I've had sugars. I'm diabetic so it does things to me." The lie passed through her teeth so perfectly she almost believed it. She didn't have diabetes, but it was in the family so genetically, she had it too, right? Which then, technically, she didn't lie.

"I'm sorry, we would have ordered something else less sweet-" Ludwig started but she cut him off with a small smile.

"And miss out on how jolly you look eating cake and ice cream? No way," she smirked. He chuckled softly, adjusting his glasses. He was adorable in the wish-to-have-as-a-younger-brother kind of way.

She looked at and regarded Charles as the old brother who was in charge as soon as the parents left the house. Annoying at times, with especially how he ran his department, but an integral part of the reason why everything was a success.

She checked the time on her phone and it was quarter to three. She knocked off at five on regular days but after company lunches, she'd head home. However, today she wanted to return to the company and go over the meeting points with Daniel.

Something was weird in the air. And whatever it was, she damn sure caught it.