Midnight Secrets

Chapter 21

A whisper of a smile curved across my mouth. There was suddenly a lift of the heaviness suffocating me. The sharp edge of the knife that was teasing my ribcage disappeared and I could feel myself calming down slightly

"Hi, Shar." I replied, looking above my shoulder to him. There were times Shar got right on my nerves, but times like now showed exactly why he was my best friend.

Having that back up was so needed right now. His dark eyes twinkled down at me as he plastered a bright, smile across his tanned face. "You look good." He commented, dipping his head down and placing a chaste kiss on my cheek. I anticipated the move and met his touch halfway.

"Thank you, you dress up well yourself." I said, making a show of looking up and down his outfit. Shar was a beautiful man. His whole body was sculpted to perfection, and he knew how to correctly style himself. Right now, he wore a dark blue stripped suit, and a white shirt with a few undone buttons. He wore a silver necklace of a ring, something he always wore and always told me meant nothing.

His open chest exposed a light dusty of hair and it was always so delicious to see. Any female would be swooning at his feet.

But for me, he was simply my best friend. I felt a sense of comfort and security that had been missing during my earlier conversation with Nate. His presence had a way of making everything feel more manageable, and I was grateful for his company.

WE both turned to the other parties and my father watched the exchange with no expression on his face. He knew of our friendship, and I believe a part of him always expected there to be more of it soon enough. We never dabbled with the idea before but we both found it humorous that my father went that angle. Heck, I have set up Sha with numerous of girls before... some he brought to dinners and I was rooting for them silently.

Although they never went past the first date.

My eyes turned to Nate, and I masked my surprise within seconds. He seemed to be reeling with something and I quickly darted my eyes to my father.

"Shar, you have been good?" My father, always starting with polite conversation. If he even cared, that would have been great.

"All good, Sir. I have been working with Ellie a bit with some data handling."

"Data handling?"

I had to pinch my palm to stop myself from laughing. And this is why he was my best friend. He spewed lies to my dad all the time to make it seem he was busy doing all sorts of things. Half the time, it was complete bullshit. I don't even do anything related to data handling. I pass that stuff on to the right people in the company.

"Just something I asked him to do for me," I butted in, enjoying that I showed no bump in my comment.

"Useful?" MY father asked, looking a bit sceptical but not pressing for more detail. WE would e screwed if he did. Unless Shar carried on with the nonsense...

"Very." I nodded enthusiastically and felt Shar's hand on my waist squeeze me close to him.

I flicked my eyes to Nate and saw him glaring at the hand placed on my side.

"You seem to be getting along well," Nate said, eyeing Shar with a hint of suspicion.

I could feel Shar tense up beside me, but he kept his expression neutral. "Yeah, we've known each other for a while now," he said, his voice even.

Nate's eyes narrowed slightly, and I could tell that he was sizing Shar up. "Interesting," he said, his tone betraying his discomfort.

I could feel my own frustration starting to bubble up, but I knew that I needed to keep my cool. "What's interesting about it?" I asked, trying to keep my tone neutral. Nate shrugged nonchalantly, but I could see the annoyance burning in his eyes. "Nothing, I guess," he said, but his tone told a different story.