Chapter 5 Dinner and Drinks

• At the dinner table, the tension between Clara and Sebastian was so high, it was as if Max could see the sparks flying in the air. After a round of pleasant conversation, Sebastian tried to fish for more information about Clara’s relationship status.
• ‘So tell me, are you dating anybody right now?’ Sebastian stared straight into her eyes.
• ‘I don’t divulge personal information to business partners,’ she said.
• ‘So if I cancel your project,’ he smiled sheepishly, ‘You’ll give me the answer?’
• Max and Jeremy laughed out loud. ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake, no need to cancel anything. She’s single right now, no boyfriend or dates recently either. She loves calla lilies, although she says she doesn’t like flowers,’ enumerated Max.
• ‘Traitors!’ Clara said as she coughed into her hand. She stared daggers at them and kicked Max under the table.
• ‘Oww…. She enjoys going out for bike rides near the lake around our office. She has this dope-ass road bike. You’ll have to see it. It’s her pride and joy. I’ll give you more information about her interests and hobbies later,’ Max offered playfully.
• ‘Excuse me, are you done?’ Clara glares at him, but he just smiles and winks back at her.
• ‘I’m sorry, but I am not interested in dating anyone,’ she tells Sebastian.
• ‘It’s true! She hates men,’ Max volunteered, “Doesn’t she? She definitely hates us,” he slaps Jeremy on the arm as he laughs out loud.
• Jeremy shakes his head. He does not mind that Max overshadows him every time. He would rather stand in the shadows, and when Max gets this obnoxious, there is no stopping him.
• Sebastian started talking about himself. ‘I want you guys to know that I’m not seeing anyone at the moment, either. I would like to date this special woman I met recently. She is exceptional, smart, and brave. I saw her take this guy down earlier, with no hesitation. I hope one of these days she will go out with me and give me a chance.’
• Max almost choked on his drink. ‘What the… Romeo is making me sick with all this flirting. Let me take charge.’
• ‘I think she would if you give her time, right, Jere?’ Max volunteers as Clara gives him another kick under the table. He just laughs it off.
• -=-
• After dinner, Max suggested they have a few drinks and check out the bar downstairs since they were already out for the night. His plan to get laid needed to be in action. Otherwise, the night would have been wasted.
• They were joking around at the bar when he saw her sitting between her friends at another table. She was laughing, and that caught his eye. ‘It’s her, that woman from Navio.’
• He couldn’t stop staring at her, willing her to look back. It took a while, but when she noticed him staring, she stared right back. It was like she was issuing a challenge.
• Max smiled. ‘Ahh, there you are. You’re really pretty, aren’t you? And you’re staring back. I like that. I hope I can get your number before I leave. C’mon, smile for me... you can do it.”
• Clara notices Max had been staring at someone from one of the tables for a while. ‘She looks like a pretty girl. Aren’t you going to say hi?’ she said, encouraging her younger brother.
• Max couldn’t take his eyes off his mystery girl. All that staring was getting him hot. ‘Nah! I’ll wait for her to go to the restroom. She has way too many friends around her. It’s like swimming with the sharks if I jump in there right now,’ he said.
• Half an hour later, he sees her walk away from her table. ‘Here we go,’ he tells himself. He downs what’s left of his drink, removes his tie, and places it safely in his pocket, bracing himself for potential failure. Stealing another glance as she passed by, he couldn’t believe that she was staring right back and smiling at him. If that wasn’t an invitation, then he didn’t know what it was.
• Before Max could follow, Clara held onto his coat and whispered, ‘Please don’t defile her in the bathroom. She looks like a nice girl. Bring her over so we can talk to her.’
• Max turned away and followed his mystery girl, laughing at Clara’s choice of words. He never defiles women. It has always been consensual, the kissing, groping, or sex. Otherwise, he wouldn't even think of doing it.
• -=-
• Celine Jacobs noticed him the minute she walked in. How could she not? He was standing by the bar, looking very handsome in his dark blue suit. ‘I wonder if he came from a meeting, or maybe he’s here to meet with someone, a date? I hope not,’ she thought and then caught herself. ‘I don’t even know this guy. Why do I care so much?’
• She thought he was alone, but now she could see that he came together with that group standing around the bar. They were talking very seriously with each other. Probably a business meeting, she speculated. ‘I wonder who the woman beside him is? I hope she's not a girlfriend. She’s okay, but I think I’m prettier and younger. I would be better suited for him,’ she caught herself again, thinking thoughts that were a little possessive for someone she didn’t know.
• She stared at him for a while. ‘Well, he keeps on whispering to that girl beside him, and it looks like maybe they are together.' she shrugged.
• 'Oh well, I guess I better move on then,’ she felt disappointed. She tried to look for someone else to stare at, but her gaze kept falling back to him. That’s all she did here anyway, stare at handsome guys and never talk to them.
• Suddenly, she felt it. That niggling feeling that someone was staring at her. It was him. The guy in the dark suit, so she stared back. ‘So you finally notice me, huh? What cute piercing eyes you have. The better to see you, my dear, said the wolf.’ she thought and almost giggled. People would think it was brave of her to stare back, but that was not what she felt. She just can't tear her gaze away. It was as if she was getting mesmerized. Then he smiled and rubbed his bottom lip, and she lost it. Why did it feel like he was rubbing her lip right now?