“I’m glad that you agree with me.” He was a bit surprised at the way she was acting.
He was expecting a bit of a fight from her, but it would seem that she was more amicable tonight. He just hoped that this continued throughout the dinner and the rest of the date. In truth, he would like to get to know her more without her guard in full alert.
They drove to his apartment located at the heart of Manhattan. Only the wealthy of the wealthiest can afford a place on this building. She would know since this condominium belonged to her father. She began to wonder who was this man beside her.
Aside from the few businesses Alex had acquired in the last few years, there was nothing else about his personal life that she could remember about him. She could not recall reading anything about his family at all.
“This is a nice place.” She admired the way his apartment was designed as she stepped inside the room.
She was expecting it to be some form of a bachelor’s pad, but instead, it had a homey feel to it than she initially thought. As an alternative to a black leather couch, she found on the center of the room a beige fabric textured sofa with some warm earthy-themed throw pillows on top of it.
It looked so relaxing to seat in. It appeared more inviting and comfortable compared to the one she had in her home.
The inside was brightly lit, while there was a nice view of the city outside his window. Overall, his apartment looked like a place that he actually lived in. “Was the design of this place your idea, or the designer?” She asked, curious if this represented his style.
“The concept came from me, but the designer was able to capture what I pictured it on my mind.” He explained as he assisted her further inside the room. “Care for a wine while I finish our dinner.”
He walked to the mini-bar just on the corner of the room to pour himself a glass of scotch, while he waited for her answer.
“I’ll have what you’re having.” She felt she needed something to ease her nerves. Despite how calm she would seem on the outside, she could still feel a bit of uneasiness to be in his apartment. She did not like where her mind was going every time, she would look at him.
He poured them two glasses and handed her one. “Feel free to roam around the place. I’ll just be in the kitchen.” Pointing to the other side of the room.
“Sure. I’ll follow you in a minute.” She said as she took a sip of the brown liquor in her hand as she continued to seat on his sofa just admiring the view outside.
In a normal situation, she would have offered to help him in the kitchen, but she felt she could use some moment to recompose herself and reevaluate what she had to do in this situation.
She was not expecting that he would take her to his apartment. She thought that they would just dine out and talked about their history and basic things that they might need to know about one another.
Being in his home was a different story. This was more personal, more intimate. Although he was right, she should know more about him, even the intimate ones, if they would pass up to be his girlfriend.
“Can you point me in your bathroom?” She might as well check herself before they start dinner.
She decided to check out the rooms on the first floor on her way back to the living room. She found a guest room, she assumed since it barely had anything on it besides the basic stuff. Another room was locked. Probably his office where he kept important matters.
She opened another room, discovering a small gym where he probably worked out every day. She quickly closed the door not wanting her mind to conjure images of him inside that room.
She decided that she had enough. She was not about to go to the second floor to check on his bedroom. She walked back in the direction of the kitchen and checked if the meal was ready.
“Hungry?” He looked at her from the skillet in his hand. “This will just take a minute longer. Why don’t you sit down over there?” Indicating on the table that was already set for two.
“Well, the smell certainly is appetizing. Who taught you how to cook?” She decided that it would be a good start for a conversation. Besides, the whole point of this dinner was to know more about each other. That probably included mundane things about themselves.
Ethan noticed that the parents of Alexander still had no clue of their son’s association with their daughter, basing on the expression on the other man’s face. Even his wife seemed to be caught unaware.
“What my husband is trying to say is that your son, Alexander, is currently dating our daughter, Daniella.” It was Laura who finally clarified the situation to the other couple who was seating across from them.
Laura did not favor his husband’s plan of meddling with their daughter’s affair. When she found out that he was planning to visit the father of Alexander, she tried to stop him. But his husband was a stubborn man, so when she could not stop him, she decided to join him.
Although Ethan promised that this was not a business meeting, but just two families, wanting to get to know each other. She would still stick her nose into his business making sure that her daughter’s interest would be their priority.
“You have to forgive my son if he had not yet introduced your daughter to us.” This time, Katherine answered for their side, defending his son’s actions. “Maybe he was still waiting for his birthday.”
Katherine was a bit surprised that Alexander had not mentioned that he was dating anyone. Although she knew that his husband was forcing him to find a wife because of their tradition, she was expecting that Alex would at least tell her about the girl he had chosen to marry.
Their discussion was interrupted by the head butler, informing them that the dinner was already served in the main dining room. The host couple invited them to follow them into another part of the house where they could continue their conversation during the meal.
“If you must know, Alexander is celebrating his birthday this coming weekend. And in our tradition, he is supposed to present us a fianc? that he has to marry within six months.” Fred told their visitor who he assumed had no idea of their customs.
“What are you saying?” This time, it was Ethan who was not made aware of this latest development. This was not included in the report he got from his investigators.
He could not believe that such a tradition still existed in this day and age. Although he was quite aware of marriage because of mergers and business tactics, still he did not condone using her daughter in such a manner.
Although he tried to find her a suitable suitor, he always left it to her to choose who she would fall in love with. He wanted her to find the fairy tale romance that he found with her mother, Laura.
The only mistake he made was to trust Nick completely, leaving her daughter vulnerable and hurt in the end.
“You said that he is currently dating your daughter, then it is more than likely that she is the one that he will be introducing to us as his fianc?.” Fred surmised what he believed to be the only logical explanation to their children’s relationship.
He looked at her wife, questioning her in his stare if she had any knowledge of this. But when she seemed to be dumbfounded by the news herself, then he knew that his daughter was keeping from both of them her plans.
He could not just sit here and let his daughter marry someone that he was not sure he could trust not to hurt his daughter. He had to think of something and fast.
“I think if they felt that they are ready to commit to each other, then we should not meddle to their affairs.” Laura finally voiced out her opinion on the matter.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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