Down Under With Dad’s Best Friend by Flora Ferrari

Chapter Seven

Sean

“Alright, gentlemen,” I say, raising my glass. “A toast. To new opportunities.”

“To new opportunities,” the echo goes around the table. I smile as I take a drink, seeing that everyone is settled with their drinks and their starters.

I pick up my knife and fork and begin to eat. In spite of myself, I can’t help but glance across the room.

The waiter was more than bemused when I showed up with Candace, only to tell him that she needed her own table. I had to pull in a serious favor to get one for her at such short notice – and she’s not crammed into some shady corner, either. She’s right by the door, which means I was right with my choice of dress. The waiter knows just as I do that sitting a gorgeous woman in the window might drag in some curious diners, only for them to be told there are no tables available. That’s all part of the game. It drives up the appeal of the place, makes them book out even further in advance.

It also means I can see her from where I sit at my business dinner, and there’s nothing in the room more appealing to look at. Certainly not the businessmen sitting around on either side of me or opposite, who are all in at least their fifties and either greying, fat, or balding.

“When do you think we’ll be able to get the paperwork underway?” one of them asks me, forking a bit of lettuce into his mouth.

“Oh, my lawyer is drawing everything up for us as we speak,” I say, my eyes not straying from Candace. She’s just being served with her own starter, a small plate topped with a dainty display of food. She looks up at the waiter and smiles, and I don’t miss the fact that he smiles back.

Part of me feels almost proud. The fact that she can charm anyone so easily. I’m already thinking of her as my woman, and what my woman does also reflects well on me.

The other part of me has my hands tightening on my cutlery, wanting to clench into fists. That young waiter better not get any ideas about what he might get up to with my woman.

“I can’t thank you enough for bringing us this deal,” one of the others, a senior partner in his firm, says. “This is a great opportunity for both of our companies. I’m sure it’s the start of a wonderful journey together.”

“I completely agree,” I say, looking away from Candace just for a moment to smile and nod at him. I take another bite of my food, trying to concentrate. The others are starting to talk amongst themselves a little more, and I need to keep up. This is part of my job. Entertaining, being the life of the party. Making them feel special because they’re getting the special treatment from our firm.

But I can’t. I can’t stop looking at her. Even sitting on her own, she lights up the room.

That doesn’t mean that I miss how she seems to be almost trying to shrink in on herself. Like she doesn’t want anyone to notice her. And why would she? She’s probably embarrassed at the fact that she’s sitting there all alone. It’s not fair for me to leave her there like that.

I should do something, but I can’t. I have to stay. It’s my job.

Even though there’s nothing in the world I want to do more than go over and sit with her.

“Fogarty, are you with us?” the senior partner asks, making me look up and meet his gaze. “You seem a little out of it.”

I hesitate. This is my chance. If I can play this right…

“Gentlemen,” I say, lowering my voice and leaning over the table conspiratorially. “To tell you the truth, I haven’t been able to take my eyes off that woman over there.”

It’s safe for me to say it like this, to pretend I don’t know who she is because we were the first to arrive. None of them know that we know each other. And none of them need to know if I can do this right.

The right way involves me keeping their business because they don’t feel as though I’ve disrespected them. The wrong way would be to just walk off. But if I can’t make the right way work… I might just end up having to try the wrong way, anyway.

Most of the men at the table subtly turn and look in the direction I indicated, chuckling amongst themselves.

“She’s a right looker, and no mistake,” one of them says. “Must be worth a bit, too, if she’s here on her own in a dress like that.”

I have to hide a smile. I know exactly why she’s here alone in a dress like that, and it isn’t because she could actually afford either one of them. But they don’t need to know that.

“Do you mind if I go over and try my luck?” I ask, trying for a cheeky grin.

“If you don’t, I will,” the senior partner jokes. I clench my jaw at that, but nod quickly and smile as if this is all part of the fun. If he even looks in her direction again, I’m going to pull his eyeballs out of their sockets.

I get up, permission having been granted, and take one of the several bottles of wine on the table. It’s an excuse to go over there, even though I don’t need one. I wander across the floor of the restaurant casually, even though everything in me wants to rush over there as fast as possible.

I need to try and get to her before she sees me coming – because otherwise, she might end up giving the whole game away.

Thankfully, she’s absorbed in her food, and, I think, in trying not to catch anyone’s eye. She does seem to be feeling awkward about being alone. I’m right at the table before she looks up and sees me, her eyes lighting up immediately.

“Don’t say anything,” I warn her, right away. “We have to pretend we don’t know each other. The men at the table I just came from think I’m coming over to flirt with you. That’s the only reason I managed to get away.”