Chapter 982 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“What?”

“Do you want me to fix you something to eat? I doubt you’ve had anything to eat all day,” Jeff said, and Mia shook her head.

“I’m fine. Thanks,” she said, feeling guilty for going off on him a while ago. He had done nothing to deserve that. She had transferred her aggression to him when he wasn’t the one she should be saying those words to.

She should have stood up to her family and her husband that way instead of being a coward. Maybe she was yet to heal and move past all that had happened because she was hiding instead of confronting it.

“Do you want to talk or you want me to leave you alone?” He asked, and she nodded.

“I want to be left alone,” she said, and Jeff gave her a nod as he rose to retire to his bedroom.

“I don’t know what the problem is, but whatever it is, I hope you’re fine by morning,” Jeff said as turned to leave.

“Jeff?” Mia called, and he turned to look at her.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry I yelled at you. And thank you,” she said, and he gave her a nod before walking away.

Right from the first time they started working together he had noticed that she both dressed and acted strangely but now that they were living together under the same roof he was beginning to realize that she was quite a complicated lady, Jeff mused.

After freshening up, Benne and Celsie went downstairs for dinner, and they exchanged a look when they noticed that no one else was at the dining.

“Are Bryan and Sonia not having dinner?” Benne asked Samantha who had come out to meet them after she was informed they were ready for dinner.

“I’m not sure. I will send someone over to inform them you are having dinner now,” she said, but Benne shook his head.

“That’s not necessary. I’m sure they will come down themselves when they are ready,” Benne said as he held out Celsie’s seat for her to sit down before taking his seat next to her.

“Without everyone else here the table looks too large and empty,” Celsie observed after they were seated and Samantha had excused them.

“Get used to it since it would be just the both of us here most of the time,” Benne said and Celsie looked at him with interest.

“How did you ever dine here alone?” She asked and he shrugged.

“I usually ate in my bedroom when I was alone, and Harry had dinner with me sometimes,” he explained.

“It must have been lonely,” Celsie said and Benne smiled wistfully.

He had always imagined that in a couple of years he would get to share the dining with his wife and kids, but that didn’t seem feasible anymore.

“It’s a good thing I have you now to share my dinner with me almost every night, isn’t it?” He asked and she nodded.

“Why almost every night, though?” She asked, interested in his choice of words.

“Because we will most likely not have dinner together every night. Either of us might have other engagements that would make us unavailable to eat together. There are business trips, and stuff like that,” Benne said reasonably and she smiled.

“We could make it a habit of eating together every night as long as we are both in Serenopolis together. And when either of us is away we could have dinner together through video calls unless we are having dinner with other people,” Celsie said, and Benne smiled.

“I will like that.”

“Maybe we can replace this large dinning set with something smaller?” Celsie suggested thoughtfully, and Benne looked at her with interest.

It was her first time talking about making any changes in his home. Was he reading too much meaning into all her words and actions lately?

“What happens when everyone comes visiting?” He asked casually, and she sighed.

“You have a point,” she said and smiled when two maids came to serve them.

“Thanks,” Celsie said after they were done serving them and they gave her a polite smile before walking away.

“If you want to replace the dining set you can do that,” Benne said, and Celsie looked at him with a slightly confused expression before she recalled they had just been talking about changing the dining set.

“Oh, I don’t think that is necessary. The two of us can use this very large table but the whole family can’t use a smaller table. The last thing we want is to have to move the dining furniture every time the rest of the family is around,” Celsie said as they both began to eat.

“That’s fine then. I would have really hated to let go of this set. I still have fond memories of it,” Benne said with a grin and Celsie giggled, knowing he was referring to the time they had made love there.

“Do you ever entertain guests at home?” Celsie asked curiously.

“I’ve never really had to because I was keeping my identity hidden. But now that I’ve made a public appearance I guess I might invite some persons over from time to time. Why? Don’t tell me you are dying to play the perfect hostess again?” Benne teased and she grinned.

“I’m not thinking of doing that anytime soon. But last night at the engagement party I just kept thinking it wouldn’t be a bad idea to host balls and cocktail parties here,” she said with a shrug.

What she had actually thought about was what she could do as his partner to support him and his business.

Benne wasn’t just the usual or average boyfriend. He was a very successful businessman and things like these were expected from time to time if he was going to establish his place in the prominent society. This was something she believed he needed to start doing now.

“Aren’t ball parties old-fashioned?” Benne asked, amused by Celsie’s unexpected show of extroversion.

Celsie shrugged, “We would host a modern themed ball party then. It will be unique and strictly by invitation for only the top 0.1% with a couple of celebrities in attendance. No media people will be present. The pictures those celebrities would post on their social media pages will enough to tell the tale of the party. Naturally people would want to know more about you and your businesses. You’d get more investors especially for that mountain resort project you are working towards,” Celsie said and Benne looked at her in amazement.

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