[Twenty minutes earlier]
Adrian had finished smoking an entire packet of cigarettes, but still, the uneasiness in his heart didn't calm down.
Standing on the balcony of his private room, he puffed the last strip before extinguishing it and decomposing it into the bin and was about to leave when his eyes caught the sight of Clara and Austin.
They were currently on the first floor of building C, which had a common pathway that was interconnected to the main building. Even with the glass windows along the corridor, he was able to catch sight of her but what surprised him more was the man she walked with. He was none other than Austin.
His eyes darkened when he saw her smiling at Austin's stupid jokes. He was waiting for her to show up, convincing him to have his lunch but she chose to ignore him.
Clutching his palm into a fist he turned and stepped out of his private room heading straight to the canteen area.
Ignoring the surprised faces, Adrian reached the canteen's doorstep and scanned the entire hall when his eyes landed on Austin and Clara who took the corner table with Clara's back facing everyone.
Before he could reach them his face crumpled watching Austin drooling over Clara catching everyone's attention towards them. He could guess by the looks of the surprised eyes what they must be thinking about them and before their chain of thoughts turned into another rumor he cut it.
[Present]
Clara looked at Adrian fiercely. She didn't expect him to be this rude with his way of speaking. He had become even more ruder and arrogant in the past four years.
Hiding her displeasure, Clara forced a smile and said," No boss. Who wouldn't like your presence? It's an honor for mere workers like us to have lunch with you" her words came out politely but her eyes forgot to hide the true meaning behind it.
Adrian's lips twitched watching her smile at him. But he very well knew she wasn't expecting him here and was just mocking him for thinking so highly of him.
Clara smirked finding Adrian getting annoyed by her words. She wasn't going to let him insult her the way he liked. He had to learn to respect a woman before judging them.
Adrian was about to answer back when Austin's voice stopped him," Boss here is your food. Please enjoy it" he smiled politely and pulled one chair for him joining the two.
Austin was very happy to see his boss finally volunteering into things that could clear a few rumors about him.
Adrian hated socializing as he found it a waste of time. But keeping a good relationship with his employees would only lead him to become a good boss.
His aloofness was the first thing that would make him look unapproachable. But now he was glad that his boss was finally trying to bring changes in his behavior.
Looking at the food in front of him Adrian frowned. Then he shifted his gaze to Clara's plate and then to Austin. They were having the same food so why was he served only salad and not the other dishes on the menu?
Just when Clara and Austin thought they would be able to fill their stomach Adrian's words again blew their mind.
"I want that?" he said pointing at the spicy grilled steak on Clara's plate.
Cough! Cough!
Austin choked once again and shot his head in Adrian's direction. His heart was still fragile to accept another shock twice in ten minutes.
"Boss that's spicy, you won't be able to handle it" Austin exclaimed.
He had been taking care of Adrian's diet and he knew his boss couldn't handle spicy food, which was why he brought him salad skipping the other dishes.
Adrian glared at Austin, sending lightning through his piercing gaze the man lowered his head and was ready to get up when he heard Clara say,
"Boss, this steak is too spicy for your taste. If you want you can try this pasta dish. It isn't that spicy" she said passing her plate toward him.
Clara didn't think twice before giving her food to Adrian. He hadn't had anything since the morning. It was obvious he was hungry and she didn't want to delay his meal.
Being the one responsible for taking care of his meal, she did what she felt was right.
Without wasting a second Adrian dug in and finished the entire food without complaining and even cleared the salad Austin got for him.
Austin who was again saved from his boss's deadly glare gave a thump up to Clara and they both too started eating the food.
Once they were done with the lunch, the trio headed back to their respective cabin.
As soon as Clara stepped in, Austin bowed down to her in a dramatic way.
"You surely are an angel in disguise Clara. I didn't know what kind of punishment I would've got if you hadn't stepped in" Austin was genuinely thankful for Clara's quick move or else he would have evaporated by now.
Clara let out a chuckle and walked to her table and took the seat. She liked how Austin was funny at times and she was glad that she came to his rescue. She couldn't let this poor man suffer because of Adrian's mood swings. She owes him this.
Austin smiled when he saw Clara smiling at his remark. The incident that happened inside the canteen made him feel that Clara would end up judging him but he was wrong. She had been the same all this time kind and sweet.
Austin returned to his seat, feeling lighthearted, and began working when his phone rang. Looking at the caller, he quickly received the call and got up from his seat before walking out of the cabin.
*****
"Grandpa Felix, how can I help you," Austin politely asked the ex-chairman of Skylar, none other than Adrian's grandfather Felix Emerson, the founder of Skylar Corps.
"Why isn't Adrian answering my calls?" the husky old voice complained on the other end.
Austin who just returned from having lunch with his boss had no clue the call he had been rejecting all this while was from Grandpa Felix.
"Ahem... Grandpa, I am sorry to inform you but the boss is still in the meeting room" he lied, crossing his fingers behind his back hoping the old man wouldn't interrogate him further.
"Hmm.. is that so, then forward my message to him," Grandpa Felix said and dictated the message he wanted Austin to give Adrian on his behalf.
The second call ended, and Austin rushed to his boss's cabin without wasting a single second.
Adrian was busy reviewing a document when Austin stumbled in, panting heavily. He creased when he entered without knocking and asked," Austin, did you forget your manners"
Adrian passed a sharp glare at Austin, but the latter ignored it and instead dashed to his table," Boss.. t-there's an emergency. Grandpa... grandpa Felix" he tried to catch his breath as he spoke.
"What happened to Grandpa Felix" Adrian cleared his frown and averted his eyes from the file again confusing Austin.
He ran from his cabin to his as quickly as he could just so he could save his boss but before he could complete his words the door to his cabin flung open and Felix stepped in.
"Is on his way to meet you" Austin's words died when he saw Felix glare at him angrily.