Naib facepalmed as Norton awkwardly placed that order. Clearly the man had never set foot in these normal restaurants. Thankfully the waitress checked with the kitchen - they had it.
Norton sighed as the waitress walked away. He picked up the small wooden flower pot on the side of the table, observing it. He put it down after a moment, still looking around. Naib feared the man may as well just get up and start walking around the restaurant, picking up things and looking everywhere. Thankfully, he stopped and took out his phone. The waitress stopped by again and served their drinks. Naib stared at the glass of alcohol the executive ordered, curious as to how it tastes.
"Oh and by the way-"
"Yes, sir?"
"Do you guys water these plants every day?"
"No, sir. They're um...They're fake."
"Oh okay..."
Naib facepalmed once again. Having him treat lunch was a good and bad idea. The waitress left and Norton took a sip from his glass. Soon enough their food arrived, and the two ate in silence. The rain outside and the soft piano music inside made a nice pair. The grilled chicken with mushroom sauce tasted quite nice and tender. He picked at the salad on the side, which didn't go unnoticed by Naib.
"You don't eat the salad?"
"Not really, I prefer them cooked. Like, cooked vegetables. Cold vegetables tastes a little bit weird."
"I see... Give it here."
Naib scooped the salad from Norton's plate and swallowed it in one go. He went back to tearing at the chicken as Norton picked at his plate. He had been taught from a young age to save as much as he could due to his parents being constantly in debt to pay off his school fees. He vowed one day to be able to set them free from all this debt, and he worked hard for it. But soon after that, he started getting used to having all the money that he could ever need, and he got used to spending loads on what Naib would call unnecessary luxuries.
But now that he thought about it, were all these expenses really that necessary?
---------------------------------------------------
It took a while for Aesop to realise that Eli had slumped on the floor, He went over to check on the male, only to find that he had fallen asleep once again. A full night awake had definitely done a lot of harm to his energy and focus, but yet he still pushed on. Aesop smiled gently, prising the files from his closed fingers and placing them on the desk. He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a short number.
"Is this Ms Galatea?"
"Yes, sir. How may I help you?"
"Is it alright if you could come up here to help sort out some files? I'm a little busy right now."
"Oh, of course! The elevator is a little crowded though, so I may take a while."
"That's alright, take your time. If there's anything just ring my number. And lock the door when you are on your way out."
"Sure. Anything else, sir?"
"That should be all. Oh and, help yourself to the small jar of candies I have in my desk if you want, I may have bought too many."
He put down the receiver and bent down to pick up Eli. He didn't shift, lying limp in Aesop's arms. His owl, which had been on top of the cabinet, swooped down and perched on Aesop's head, much to the male's surprise.
"Well if you don't mind, could you get my coat?"
The owl hooted in response and swooped over to the couch, picking up Aesop's coat and dragging it back. The bird seemed to know what Aesop was thinking and draped the coat over Eli' s body. He gently kicked open the office door and stepped out, careful not to get any parts of Eli's head or foot clamped between him and the walls.
It was a bit of a hassle to get him all the way to his car, but he managed to do it. He was glad he cleared out the passenger seat the other day from all the trash boxes clattered there. He propped up the still asleep secretary and buckled him in before getting into the driver's seat. The owl had flown off into a nearby park, where Aesop assumed it normally went to after Eli got off from work. Aesop silently hoped Eli would wake up halfway through - he didn't want to have to leave or forcefully wake him up just to ask where the secretary lived, or have to find his wallet containing his ID card just to see if his address is on it.
Come on Eli...Wake up...
The lights turned red and Aesop turned over to check on him. Still as sound asleep as ever. He tried reaching over and shaking Eli, but the male's eyelids remain firmly shut. The lights flashed green again and Aesop drove on. Half-way down the route he was supposed to take he took another turn into an empty street. He parked the car there for a short moment, leaning over.
"Eli, I understand you're very tired, but I need you to wake up and tell me where you live."
Still no response. Aesop lightly slapped Eli's cheeks and sighed when the male's eyes finally opened slightly. He looked around blearily and jolted when he saw Aesop's face so close to his. He looked around before leaning back in the chair. A few seconds of silence passed by before Eli's eyes flew open again and he slowly turned to look at Aesop.
"When did I get here and how did I get here..?"
