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Chapter Eighteen : First kind gesture

Frederick was sitting at the luxurious roof of the Royal company with the other eleven investers, businessman, and part of the King's empire. The afternoon was enjoyable as the mildly warm sun of autumn lit their heads and made the crystal cups sparkle. Five minutes to start the meeting and Elliot wasn't there. It was odd. Ever since his dad had passed away, Elliot hadn't missed one meeting, and much less arrived late. So Fred excused himself and went into the transparent elevator, from where he could see if his friend was coming. He looked down at the road past the crystals, inhabited by people coming in and out of the building. Tourists wouldn't miss to visit the company of the most delicious and famous wine in the country, maybe in the entire world. But then, something paid his attention. Last time he had seen a double bicycle was when he was five years old and his parents were riding it. There was a couple coming from the north side, but it looked more as if the girl in the front was the only one pedaling, while the boy behind seemed to be gripping tightly to the handlebars, absolutely terrified. Both were young. Both...

"Elliot?!" He exclaimed with disbelief. "Elliot's on a bike!? And who...? That... That girl... that's the barmaid! The barmaid we saved the other day..."

And thanks for kicking that man's balls, I know it wasn't for me, but thanks anyways.

As he reached the first floor, he was able to see them better. The girl stopped with the breaks of the bike and had to wait until Elliot went down the vehicle before she could even move from her place. His friend looked pale and about to throw up. Fred ran outside and saw the barmaid trying to push the heavy bike by herself. Her face was red, shiny and her eyes looked exhausted.

"Fred!" Elliot exclaimed with relief. Fred held his friend's arm to keep him on his feet. "Get me away from her!"

"Sit down there, Elliot, before the journalists see you're here." Fred glanced inside to check they hadn't. There was always a small group, like a squad, waiting for the King heir to walk inside and shoot pictures of him to turn him into a scandalous celebrity. A groan made him turn to the girl. Against his will, he grabbed the handle bar, pushed the bike himself against a pillar, and tied it up there. The barmaid exhaled heavily.

"Thanks." She said with an exhausted smile that shocked him. She was indeed pretty, even when she looked like that. Then, she stood up before Elliot and kicked his knee.

"OW! What're you doing!?"

"You made me pedal all the way long on my own, piece of crap! What's your weight? Seven hundred?!" She roared with an angry gaze. Fred couldn't help but to chuckle at the contrast of her attitudes with his previous thought. "What're you waiting for?! Get up!" She pulled his arm, he got rid of her hands and walked alone, grumpily. Fred couldn't avoid to feel a small surprise for the way she was trying to tame him. It was like a circus tamer and Elliot was the lion. She was his employee, wasn't she?

"Take him up to that meeting, make sure he doesn't eat anything or he's gonna throw up." The barmaid told Fred with a permanent frown. "I'm going inside."

"You..." Fred stopped her. "You know... who Elliot King is, don't you?"

"I wish I didn't, honestly." She shrugged and walked inside. Fred didn't particularly like her, but just that once, he smiled.

No. She has no idea of who Elliot King is.

Robin just sat down at one of the waiting seats of the reception of the company, didn't even care about who was coming and going in front of her. Just when she was closing her eyes, a voice called her.

"Clarie! You came back!"

"Huh? I'm Robin." She replied annoyed and saw Charlotte coming from the kitchen with a wide smile. She had stains of coffee in her white uniform. Without warning, Charlotte pulled her from the arm to the kitchen.