Homeless

Chapter 14

Emil's brows twitched up. He leaned back in his seat, returning Nathaniel's hard look with one of his own. Pale blue and dark brown clashed, neither of them willing to look away first.

I blinked. What had suddenly gotten into them? Brenda was frozen beside me, and Mr. Andersen whispered something to his wife with an amused smile.

"And why is that?" Emil asked, his tone seemingly polite.

"She's busy," Nathaniel replied curtly. "And she hasn't been in the city for a long time anyways. I could have Brenda show you around, if you'd like?"

"Of course, sir," Brenda nodded, jumping in to diffuse the suddenly tense air, her eyes wide.

Emil squinted slightly at Nathaniel. Mr. Andersen cleared his throat, breaking the two men's stare-off.

"Emil, I'm sure you'll find your way around. We only have a couple of more days in the city anyway," the silver-haired man said. His son took a deep breath and gave a nod. "Now, about that venture we were talking about in Asia..."

The conversation drifted back to business, and I breathed easier as tension left the room.

Soon enough, we were bidding the guests good night. I excused myself to the restroom. My bladder was screaming.

I was washing my hands in the sink when Brenda walked in.

"Hi," she smiled, turning on the water in the next sink.

"Hey," I turned off the faucet, and dried my hands.

"I'm really grateful for this evening, Daphne," she said, shaking water off her hands. "Mrs. Andersen would've probably been bored out of her mind if you weren't here."

I shrugged, throwing the paper towel in the trash bin. "You're welcome. It was a good time for me too, she's a nice lady."

She hummed, leaning her hip against the counter. "Although at the end there, I was kind of worried Mr. Maxwell and Mr. Andersen would start a duel of some sorts." She breathed out a laugh, snagging a paper towel to dry her hands. She wiggled her eyebrows at me. "Mr. Maxwell is really possessive isn't he?"

"Um.." I frowned. "I guess..?"

"He's a great boss, but he can be really scary sometimes," she blurted out, then looked at me with wide eyes. "Please don't tell him I said that."

I bit back a smile. "I won't."

"I thought I was seeing things when I first saw him with you back at the office. It's the first time I saw him so laid back.

"What?" I asked in incredulity, because Nathaniel was always easy going. His lips were almost always pulled into a smile. "That's odd."

Brenda just laughed, waving me off. "I guess it'd be odd for you. I mean, he's infatuated with you so it's normal he smiles so much around you."

My eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"What? I mean, you guys are going out, right?" she asked, digging through her purse until her hand emerged with lipstick.

"Uh...no. No, we're not," I replied matter of factly, my heart skittering. "We're just friends."

She applied a coat of lipstick and smiled at me through the mirror. "oh, I'm sure it's just a matter of time. I mean, he's clearly head over heels for you. I'm sure you've noticed. The way he looks at you is just..." she let out a dreamy sigh, looking absently at the mirror, when her phone rang.

"I have to go, my fiancé is picking me up," she said, quickly gathering her purse. "Thank you again, Daphne. Also, you and Mr. Maxwell look so good together."