Do You Want To Talk About This?

Elena took the measure of the young man. 'Hmm, he is indeed very attractive in reality. It's no surprise that he is actively taking advantage of it,' she smirked and defiantly turned away from Daniel.

The man's eyes widened in surprise. He encountered such a reaction for the first time in his life. 'Hmmm, this may be even more interesting than I thought,' Daniel took a step forward, stood in front of Elena and extended his hand for a handshake, "My name is Daniel Anderson, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Elena looked at the man's hand but only crossed her arms over her chest in response, making it clear that she did not intend to greet him in this way.

"I know perfectly well who you are. And I'm sure you know who I am as well. We don't need these formalities," she answered coldly.

Daniel smiled and removed his hand, "Miss Lee, you really are a girl with an attitude. No wonder my brother is so fascinated by you. I myself would like to know you better, if you let me," the man's voice suddenly became half a tone lower. His insinuating timbre seemed to be penetrating right into the head of the one who heard it, making the listener focus on it completely.

Elena felt strange sensations inside herself; she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I won't let you, it's not interesting at all," the girl replied clearly, refusing the man's offer.

"Are you sure? Your demonstrative harshness in relation to me says only one thing. You obviously heard not the best things about me. You do not seem to me a person who evaluates others, based on someone else's opinion. Wouldn't you mind joining me for a cup of coffee and spending time in a pleasant conversation?" Daniel smiled sweetly, trying to demonstrate his sincerity and lack of malicious intent.

"You know what, Mr. Anderson..."

"I prefer 'Daniel'."

"Whatever. You have already had a cup of tea with my best friend, and she was extremely dissatisfied with talking to you. Maybe you can explain to me what kind of interest you suddenly had to her?"

"You know what, Elena..."

"I prefer 'Miss Lee'," the girl interrupted him.

In the eyes of a man, playful lights began to sparkle. He had never met such an opponent, her behavior and the way the girl was talking to him aroused even more interest.

"You know what, E-le-na," he deliberately did not correct himself and made an even greater emphasis on the girl's name, "I am already at that age when I need to think about starting a family. Miss Williams is a very charming person; she seemed to me a respectful lady. I am sure that if she gets to know me better, she will be crazy about me," Daniel replied with an air of importance.

'Hmm, modesty is clearly missing from his list of character traits,' Elena said to herself.

"Daniel, I'm not interested in how many girls were crazy about you. But when it comes to Corey, everything is unambiguous. A man who intends to become her life partner should be only crazy about her. You, as I understand it, are not the kind of person who has consistency when it comes to talking about women."

"Do you want to talk about this?" The man narrowed his eyes slyly, stepped closer to the girl and leaned on the wall behind Elena with one hand.

"How about meeting and discussing everything in detail? You will tell me about your best friend and share a more detailed picture of how I should act with her in order to gain her confidence. I, in turn, will share with you some juicy details of David's life. We are brothers, and I know a lot of interesting things about him. So, what do you say?"

The man's offer awakened a sense of curiosity in Elena. The temptation to learn more about David and his life began to take over the rational reasons for refusing his offer.

Daniel noticed that she was thinking. This was a good sign for him. He leaned closer to her and whispered practically into her ear, "Who knows, maybe you can offer me something that will force me to change my proposal for marriage."

. . .