Feeling a slight prickling in her back, Liz turned around but didn't notice anything untoward.
She was already having a hard time handling the dress, as the bottom part dragged on the floor if she didn't carefully lift it up from time to time.
After entering the doors, she had first been dazzled by the old world decor.
With pleasant lighting, the restaurant was filled with statues placed artistically around the room. On the walls, there were multiple Renaissance-era paintings and the pillars were European in style.
After taking everything in and taking a deep breath, Liz told herself that she was someplace where she couldn't embarrass herself no matter what regardless of what the CEO did. Unlike the other locations like his office where her actions were only seen by him, this was a public place where the top people of the city were all present.
Looking around, she tried to look for the CEO but had no luck.
"Yes, Miss? Can I help you?"
Seeing a waiter approach her on noticing her confusion, Liz answered, "Yes, I'm looking for Mr. William Bradshaw?"
"You must be Miss. Elizabeth! Please follow me. Mr. William has reserved the private booth for you."
A private booth? So the CEO was even a level above these people?
Looking through the crowd, she had spotted many influential people like the Mayor of the City, 4 actresses, 3 actors and even the CEO of an architecture firm which was the top in the city.
Nodding and following behind the waiter who was dressed in an immaculate black waistcoat, Liz was led to a door which surprisingly opened into a yesteryear elevator with doors that had to be pulled to the side.
"This is Miss. Elizabeth. Take her to Private Booth 1. Please go on, Miss."
After saying these words, the waiter left.
The man whom he had spoken to was manning the elevator.
Smiling at Liz, he pressed a button on the panel beside him.
After the escalator ascended a floor, the man pulled open the doors where there was another waiter in attendance.
As he told him the same message, Liz was finally led to a small door labeled "Private Booth 1."
The corridor had been similarly filled with paintings, but what was strange was that doors were only present on one side.
As the door to the booth opened after the man knocked and heard the message "Come in", Liz understood why.
The "booth" was actually a small balcony, with a table set in the middle.
From here, she could clearly see the entire floor below where regular diners were seated.
The large room was circular, so there were multiple booths present all around. Indeed, the corridor she had walked had been sloping upwards.
The booth they were in was definitely in the highest position, and from here, she could observe everyone in the room.
"Welcome. You look…good. Please take a seat."
As her gaze drifted to the place where this voice had come from, the shock that hadn't come when she saw the incredible sight before assaulted her now.
Dressed in a dark blue suit with a bowtie, the CEO had a small smile of appreciation on his face.
This small smile itself threw her resolve to stay cold out of the window.
Without even realizing it, a smile bloomed on her face before she tried to fight and wipe it off.
Indeed, she did look good. She was wearing minimal makeup, and this served to highlight her natural beauty. Going for a 'less is more' look, she was wearing a set of earrings with a necklace that had a single pendant, all decked with seazeds that glittered in the light.
The dress also made her perfect figure stand out, all resulting in a sight that wouldn't let any man resist from having a second look.
"No, Liz! He scolded you! He doesn't deserve smiles! Even now, his eyes are cold! Notice that, woman!"
As this inner voice sounded in her mind, she really did see that his smile didn't spread to his eyes.
Yet, the moment when she had seen him, she could swear that even his eyes had lit up for the briefest of moments.
Unable to understand which one was the truth, Liz settled on the former and managed to change her smile to a more minimal one before saying "You do, too, Mr. Will." and taking a seat.
"Good save!"
Ignoring the sarcasm that her inner voice contained now, Liz took a sip of the water that was already poured in the glass in front of her.
What followed was a silence, during which both of them went through the menu card. Liz constantly kept peeking at the CEO, while he didn't raise his head once.
Finally, after 3 minutes or so, the silence was finally broken, but the words which the CEO used to do so almost made Liz choke on the water she had drunk.
"Do you eat maggot cheese?"