Christopher woke up earlier than usual, feeling much more rested. Bark was still cuddled to his legs, his grey-brown head resting on Christopher's hand.
Lazily, Christopher got up, starting his day by going for a walk with Bark Twain, taking plenty of snacks this time and not letting the dog off the leash anywhere outside of the manor's grounds. It went much better this time round.
Once back home, he fed the dog and gave him some fresh water.
By the time Bernadette came back, he already made himself coffee and breakfast.
Perhaps it was the walk and the exercise the evening before that made him feel so much more energised.
"Is everything alright, sir?" Bernadette asked as she noticed Christopher frowning at his cup of coffee.
"Yes. Albeit, Emilia makes a much better coffee than I do."
"Emilia does seem to have some magic in her fingers." Bernadette agreed.
Christopher nodded, not as eager to sit down to the breakfast that seemed subpar to what Emilia made him days earlier.
Bernadette went to the kitchen leaving Christopher alone with the pooch between his legs.
"Good morning, sir." Patrick's voice echoed as he walked into the dining room.
"Good morning."
"I hope you had a good night."
"Yes." Christopher's short answer wasn't out of character for him, nor was it that he paid more attention to his boiled egg that Patrick.
Patrick didn't notice anything abnormal as he started reading the plan for the day. "Take out the exercise for today. I will do it after work." Christopher decided. Patrick nodded without a question. "Where is Emilia?" Christopher inquired without looking up.
"She's abroad, attending a few events, sir." Patrick answered honestly, his face turning pale.
"Where abroad?" Christopher continued as he offered Bark a bit of egg dipped toast.
"San Francisco, sir."
"How long for?"
"Yet to be decided, sir."
"What does it depend on?" Christopher looked up at Patrick at last, his gaze stern and challenging.
"It depends on what events are yet to come up."
"I see." Christopher didn't like the vagueness of the answer nor did he feel it was necessary for Emilia to be away due to some stupid events. It was much more important to him to have her near. "How is Emilia dealing with her university work?" His concern didn't show on his face which remained unchanged.
"She seems to be doing well."
"I meant, whilst she's abroad."
"Ah, she's catching up on the content using the recorded lectures."
"Hmm…" Christopher felt uneasy at that as he wondered if she chose to do so or if she felt obliged to prioritise trivial event over her studies. "Remind me again about the meeting with Hugh." Christopher changed the topic whilst devising a plan. For some inexplicable reason, his gut was telling him that he should resolve it himself rather than trust Patrick to do it. And his gut never lied.
During his planned exercise break he went ahead and started rearranging his schedule. It was a huge surprise for many to receive a call from the CEO of Crimson Tech himself.
But he still run out of time to resolve everything.
"Make sure that the jet is ready tomorrow morning." Christopher told Patrick without looking up from his work.
"Sir?" Patrick was confused.
"I am flying out to San Francisco. Mr Brown seems pleased to have both me and Emilia there for his gala dinner."
"Sir, you have number of meetings scheduled tomorrow."
"I have dealt with it already."
Patrick's mouth dropped open. It was the last thing he expected.
"Sir?"
"A plane. Tomorrow. At 9:00 in the morning." Christopher almost spelled it out.
"Of course, sir."
Christopher was particularly watchful of Patrick's body language, his instincts firing up. There wasn't anything obviously wrong with how Patrick behaved but something in his tone of voice seemed to hint at Patrick being anxious. There was very little reason for him to be that way. The workload and type of work has remained consistent for a long while. It was a mention of Emilia that seemed to make Patrick's right hand shake in a barely noticeable manner.
In the evening, Christopher walked Bark again with much more success as he knew what to expect. He asked Bernadette and the groundskeeper to look after Bark until he was going to return.
He carefully packed his suitcase with his perfectly tailored black suits, with black shirts and ties. His wardrobe remained pitch black for the past half of a year and he wasn't certain whether he was ready to change it.
Perhaps not yet.
His excitement grew as he laid down in bed, Bark finding himself beside him. He was going to see Emilia again. And that thought made him fall asleep with a smile on his face.