Dating Mr. Mogul (Book 2 of Mr. Mogul series)

Seven

"Are you okay?" I whispered in his direction.

Startled, William snapped out of it as he looked at me in surprise. "I'm fine. Just some business I need to deal with..." he replied with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

I wanted to press on the matter but held my tongue once I remembered that we have company across from us. In reply, I gave him a brief nod.

I turned back my attention at the siblings, feeling a little shy at the current situation. "Are you staying with us for lunch, Evan?" I asked, shifting the conversation.

There was no point being cold to him since he obviously read the atmosphere. From the way he kept on glancing between William and me, I knew he had connected the dots. I started to get worried at how the number of people that knew about our relationship was increasing rapidly.

"Ah... I don't know," he replied with a look of uncertainty as he made a quick glance at William, who was beside me distracted by the papers that Evan handed to him.

"You can stay and eat with us. We wouldn't mind," I said on William's behalf, which finally caught his attention.

William glanced away from his work and looked at Evan. "I think he could get by fine. He needs to get back to the office. He has some things to finish there," he stated with a tone of finality, which put a frown on Evan's face.

I glared at William, a little annoyed at his sudden change of attitude. "It's lunch for goodness sake, William. Let the man eat so that he can work proficiently," I grumbled on Evan's behalf.

William turned towards me seriously, his face unreadable. "He is my employee. It's not your business how I would treat the people who works for me," he pointed out without flinching, and turned towards Evan before I could argue back. "If you need a ride back, you can ask Mark to give you a quick lift back. He is outside," he instructed swiftly. "You may go now."

I glanced up on the opposite side of the table, feeling their lack of response. I watched the two siblings eye William in disbelief. Annoyance crossed Sydney's face while Evan nodded in reply to William's instruction and got up from his seat.

"Don't you dare get up from that chair, Evan," I threatened angrily before turning my anger towards William, who was back to reading the papers that Evan handed to him. "What is wrong with you?"

William remained indifferent for a second before he sighed heavily and looked at me. "Please don't interfere with my work, Andy. I respected your decision when you went and worked for that magazine company. I offered you a job and asked you to hear me out, but you didn't, and I respected your decision. I expect that you would do the same."

I gaped at him, taken aback by his statement. I knew it. It's eating him up inside that I rejected his offer. I could see it in his eyes whenever he picked me up at work. "This and that are two different things," I countered harshly. "It is lunch time, William. Give the man time to eat. If you don't want to pay for his meal, then allow me," I added sarcastically.

I looked away from him and turned towards Evan, who remained standing awkwardly in front of our table. "Sit down, Evan. I will buy you lunch," I instructed and gestured with my hand for him to sit down.

Evan looked surprised by my actions. Across from me, I heard Sydney's muffled chuckles. I made a quick glance at her direction and gave her a tight-lipped smile. I tried to suppress my amusement at her reaction.

"Fine, but he is taking an extra time tonight, and you aren't buying him lunch," William finally agreed in exasperation as he looked away from me.

"Whatever you say," I replied in a dead tone.

I felt Evan's eyes on me at that moment, making me look up towards him. He looked surprised, yet there was something else from the way his eyes bore into mine. Then his lips perked up into a grin. I smiled back in reply, but I quickly dropped it and took a cautionary glance at William's direction. I internally smiled that he didn't notice Evan and mine's exchange. It would only fuel his anger.