Finding myself (18+)

Chapter 41

The sound of my heels hitting the ground echo throughout the restaurant. Andrew has his hand around mine, guiding me between the tables. We can barely hear the hum of the people around us and their clinking cutlery.

The restaurant he chose for his business meeting is fancy and well-decorated. I stare, mesmerized by the chandelier suspended in the middle of the room and every detail adorning the place. I let his hand guide me, not looking where I'm going, too distracted by the restaurant's beauty.

Andrew walks fast, leading us to a private room. I suddenly tense up, but he doesn't notice. He maintains his large, confident steps towards the sole table in the room. My pace slows when I see who is there waiting for us.

A shiver runs through me as if the temperature has dropped in the room; somehow, it seems colder here than in the rest of the restaurant. Andrew's hand leaves mine, and I wrap my arms around myself to warm up.

Andrew goes to greet Alicia, who is at the table playing with the tablecloth, pursing her lips and deliberately avoiding eye contact with us until he appears right in front of her.

"Thanks for coming earlier," he tells her. He then pulls out a chair for me and sits between us. We nod to each other, not a hint of a smile on our faces, just recognition of each other's existence. I honestly don't know how to act in her presence, and I don't think I ever will.

I haven't seen her since the party, and if I had the choice, I wouldn't see her again. After hearing about her profound love for my boyfriend, she kind of dropped off the end of my list of favorite people.

Not that she could ever rise to the top, let alone be on it.

So, here we are, stiff and uncomfortable, all while Andrew asks her about the shareholders coming tonight and how to approach them to gain their support.

Alicia describes each investor while Andrew's hand is on my thigh. His fingers lazily making small circles over my blue dress to comfort me while hearing about the business details. I relax a little, appreciating his attentiveness.

This is something new to me. Sure, I have worked with him, but only on engineering and renewables. I have yet to learn about strategy, how to sell a proposal to investors, or how to grow a company.

He has been working hard on his plans to grow the company; I've barely seen him in the last couple of weeks. He woke up so early and arrived home so late that it didn't seem like he slept at all. I rarely felt him on the bed next to me.

And right now, I enjoy having this bit of him.

I place my hand on his, caressing his hand with my thumb, welcoming the heat radiating from him against my cold skin.

Andrew looks confident and relaxed in his dark blue suit. I admire how good he is at hiding his troubles. I could never pretend like him and hold it together so well under the circumstances. He has been so anxious about the meeting as if tonight would decide the future of his company, but looking at him, you wouldn't even know how he truly feels.

His hand suddenly stops moving. I raise my head and turn my attention to his face, he's tense.

Alicia stands up, smiling at an older couple wandering over to our table. Andrew's chair scrapes along the ground as he follows her movements.

His smile is fake; it doesn't reach his eyes. The man coming over must be one of those who are making his life difficult. I get up, standing at his side, to welcome the couple.

"Evening," the man nods. We shake hands before they take their places at the table.

The other shareholders arrived shortly after with their wives. Judging by their cold greetings and fake smiles, this situation is as troublesome for them as it is for us.