Chapter 78 I thought we were friends?
"You are right." He nodded, passing my phone back. "I thought little about the venue when I picked it. Being in the city centre was the first choice because of the distance between the hotel and the company. I didn't consider the impact on the theme. This is the right choice. How did you come up with such an outstanding place?" He sounded proud, his eyes sparkling as he smiled at me. "You are a damned genius, Nova. The best in the entire world."
"I didn't do that." I forced a smile. "That was all Benita. Though I noticed how flashy the hotel you chose would be, I wasn't the one who suggested the hotel in the countryside. She did."
I have never been comfortable taking praise meant for another person. Letting him know it was Benita who brought the idea was the least I could do for my friend.
"Oh, Benita." He had a bite of his fries, his face in a thought frown. "Why didn't she present it to me when she noticed it? Why go through you?" He looked confused, his face morphing further as he spoke.
"Because she was afraid of you." I picked a fry from my plate, dipping it in the sauce, and I took a bite. "Not everyone wants to approach you because of your look." I lifted my shoulders in a shrug when he gave me a perplexed expression.
"I see," he muttered at last, taking another bite of his fry. "My father said being friendly with your employees brings problems to a company, which is why I try to be as stern as I can with them. I don't want anyone to act all close to me and cause gossip."
I lifted a brow at that. I'd heard most people say this, but I have never experienced it. Back in the States, I was close to my workers when I realized how good it was to be familiar with them.
Had Dashiell not been a stern boss, Benita would have gone straight to him with her ideas, and the others wouldn't have blindly nodded to his suggestions, despite knowing how bad they were. They would have given their opinions even though they might not have been picked.
"Don't you think that's extreme? Your father didn't expect you to be enemies with them, right? They are your workers. You need an ally, not rivals," I advised, surprising myself further. Who would have thought someone like me would be interested in giving him bits of advice?
"I'm friendly with my secretary and Benita. That counts as something, right? My relationship with my manager and ad director isn't that bad," he listed, looking up at me with a shy smile, waiting for me to commend him on the friends he made.
"Benita?" I frowned, having caught the name. "You are close to Benita? How? When did it start? Why haven't I heard about it?" Benita never mentioned that. Knowing who she was, she would have screamed at me the moment it happened. Knowing she kept something like this from me made me suspect it might not be as easy as I think it is.
"Yeah." Nodding, he took a sip of his orange juice. "You can say we bonded in an..." He trailed off, searching for the right words. "An unconventional way."
"Unconventional?" My eyes narrowed further. "What do you mean by that?" The hard edge in my tone surprised me as I glared at him. I had to take a sip of my water to swallow the fries lodged in my
throat.
"It was an incidental meeting. I don't know how to explain it, but we clicked after that. Sharing the same feelings and all that. That's why I was shocked when I heard she brought up the idea. Why didn't she present it to me? I thought we were friends?" His face clouded in a frown as he watched me. "Could it be that she doesn't take me as a friend?"
I couldn't tell why I felt angry at his words. The emotion wasn't flitting. It clung to me even after I gulped the entire content of the drink. Watching him talk about Benita made me want to reach out and strangle him until his face turned ashen white. Even at that, I didn't intend to let him go.
"You can ask her that." I checked the time on my wristwatch as I got to my feet. "My kids have a half day at school today. I promised to pick them up since Brion will be busy. I need to go," I explained, grabbing my handbag. "Help me pay for my meal." I dropped a hundred euros on the table before I turned to leave.
"Can I go with you?"
I stopped at his question. "Not at all. You have exhausted your visiting days for this month. I can't have you see them."
Without turning to face him, I left the office cafeteria and hurried to the exit. I waved at Simone, the new security guy before I hastened out to my car. My kids undeniably had a half day in school. However, I still had an hour before it was time to pick them up.
Groaning at how childish it seemed to run from Dashiell without finishing my meal, I decided to drive over to my favourite restaurant to have lunch while waiting for a call from my kids' schoolmistress. I placed a call to the restaurant, asking them to reserve my favourite spot. It was funny how the spot was always empty each time I called as they left it specifically for me. I was one of their frequent customers, and always tipped the servers each time I ate there. I believe some of them pulled some strings, which was why my spot was regularly empty.
I drove over to the restaurant and headed straight to my favourite table. The place was packed, another thing that made my stance on why they always kept my seat unoccupied. Placing an order for their meal of the day, I leaned back to wait for my food, impatiently tapping my right foot on the ground while waiting for my meal.