Days With Zion Dawsey

27. Table Companions

"Excuse me?" Bonnie glared up at Zion.

"What are you doing here?" Zion asked her with a glare.
"I was invited." She said, standing up.

"No, I mean what are you doing at this table?" He asked, even though Zion knew the answer already. He waited for Bonnie to realize and bit back a growl when her eyes finally widened. She turned around to look at all the little cards on the table and saw Zion's name, Sheryl's name and-

"Oh, you've found the table." Another voice jumped in and it was no other than Lord Asher that appeared next to a still scowling Zion. He stepped closer and outstretched his hand towards a still seated Cirus, whose eyes widened and he almost stumbled over his own legs and tipped the chair over as he stood up abruptly to shake the Lord's hand.

"You must be Cirus Kent. I must admit I have not heard a lot about you yet, but I'm sure by the end of this evening I will know more about you than anybody." Maddox Asher joked and watched the man with short salt and pepper hair nod uncomfortably.

"I feel very honoured to be here, Sir. I cannot express how much it means to me to meet you." Cirus said, making Lord Asher nod before he turned towards Bonnie with a big smile and opened arms. She smiled back and hugged the old man.

"How have you been? I haven't seen you in a while. I hope you're okay with the table schedule?" He asked her as they pulled away. Bonnie found it hard to say the truth, so she simply nodded.

"Bonnie! There you are, dear." Sheryl Dawsey arrived as well and pulled Bonnie into a hug.
"I'm so glad you're here. We're seated at the same table, did you see?" Sheryl smiled as she let go of her friend.
"Yes, I did." Bonnie awkwardly glanced at Zion whose attention wasn't at all focused on her. He was looking at her companion.

"Uh- Sheryl, that's my friend Cirus Kent." She said, laying a hand on his upper arm. Sheryl smiled warmly at the very nervous looking young man. He shook her hand with a smile and soon the five sat down on their seats. Of course Zion and Bonnie had to be seated next to each other. It was convenient for Zion, he realized as he leaned towards her.

"What is he doing here?" He asked her in a low voice, making sure only she could hear.
"Who?" She asked, not exactly sure why Cirus would irk him.
"Your friend." Zion growled as he glanced at her face.
"He's my friend, he can be here. He's my plus one." She shrugged, not really sure what to tell him. Cirus did kind of invite himself, which was fine for her. But she knew Zion wouldn't be so fine with it.

Zion didn't answer and just leaned back in his seat. He wondered where his son was, now that both his mother and Bonnie were here. And he wasn't the only one that did.
"Where's River?" Sheryl asked, not too sure whether she should call him her grandson with the stranger at their table.

"He's with Carly, an employee of mine who loves him." Bonnie assured Sheryl and indirectly Zion.
"It's nice of her to look after him." Sheryl nodded with a kind smile.

"So." Lord Asher propped his elbows onto the table and looked at Cirus with his usual smirk.
"What did you say you did for a living?" He asked him.
"Uh, I'm the CEO of Kent Industries, sir." He said, making Maddox nod. He hasn't heard of that company for a long time.

"How is your old man?" Maddox knew about everybody in that town, he was the Lord after all. He knew that Hank Kent was a very hardworking man.
"Not so good." Kent said, clearly feeling uncomfortable. Maddox and everybody else noticed.

"Well, I wish him all the best, son." He said, receiving a 'thank you' from Cirus. Zion glared at the man, especially when his gaze fell onto him. Cirus' eyes widened slightly and he cleared his throat. But he soon relaxed and Zion wondered why. Once Kent exchanged a look with Bonnie, Zion realized.

They were holding hands under the table. His fist clenched and his jaw hurt from biting his teeth. He looked away, hoping the damn auction would start already. Normally, Maddox would talk through the awkwardness but that didn't take place. He simply started with the wrong questions and now everybody was afraid to sound insensitive when they casually changed the topic. But Zion never cared about that.

"So you sell fabrics, don't you?" He asked, making Cirus gulp before nodding.
"Yes, every single one under the sun." He answered.
"Who was your last client?" Zion asked. Kent blinked twice.
"It's not a habit of mine to talk about my clients and their business, mister Dawsey." He responded, sounding more confident now.

"Fair enough. But where is your business located again? I'd like to see for myself. Maybe I'll think about your proposal again." He said, making Bonnie look at Kent.
"Proposal?" She asked and Cirus didn't take his eyes off Zion when he answered her.
"Yeah, I went to propose a partnership with Dawsey Enterprise, but I never got to finish it." He said.

"What can I say? I'm a busy man. But you know that more than anybody, don't you?" Zion said with a calm face.
"Well, everybody knows that." Cirus suddenly looked nervous, afraid Zion would reveal his secrets. He turned towards Bonnie.
"I think I should better go and freshen up before the auction starts." He said, standing up and smiling at the rest of the people at his table.

Bonnie frowned at his retrieving form and then looked at Zion. She nudged him.
"What's wrong with you?" She asked. It wasn't hard to notice that Zion wanted to humiliate him. And it seemed like it worked.

"I need to empty my bladder." Zion announced, completely ignoring her as he stood up to follow Kent.