"Does anyone have anything else to add?" Elias asked as the meeting came to a close.
No one dared to speak or even make eye contact with him as he glanced around the room.
"Very well. Jack, make sure the meeting notes are sent to everyone by Wednesday morning. That will be all for today. Thank you everyone for your hard work." Elias declared before getting up to leave.
Jack caught up to him as he was about to leave the meeting room.
"What's next on my schedule?" Elias asked as he readjusted his cuff links.
"Reginald Pierce called to cancel the dinner appointment you were supposed to have. So your schedule is free for the rest of the day."
"Cancel?" It was highly unusual but Elias paid it no mind.
Now that his evening was free for the first time in weeks, he could not wait to return to his penthouse to unwind.
"Yes, he apologized for the last-minute cancellation. It was a family emergency," Jack explained.
"Very well, send my regards to him."
"Will do, Sir."
Elias took his private lift up to his penthouse. The moment he entered the apartment, he was greeted by the aromatic fragrance of truffles in the air. But how was that possible? As far as he knew he hadn't sent for anyone to cook for him. Yet he was also smelling the faint scent of fire and cooked food.
Walking further in, he noticed that the kitchen was clean. The used pots and pans were washed and left to dry on the rack. Someone had indeed been cooking.
There was only one possibility of who it might be. But Maddison wasn't in the kitchen.
He soon found her in the living room, seated on the couch. As he walked closer to her, he realized she had fallen asleep with an empty bowl on her lap. It was clear that she had fallen asleep after eating.
He tapped her gently on the shoulder, arousing her from her sleep.
"Oh, sorry, I must have fallen asleep," She let out a yawn as she opened her eyes.
"Where did you get the truffles from?" Elias asked.
"From the fridge," She replied without hesitation as she got up from her seat.
Elias furrowed his brows. He did not recall ever having truffles in the fridge, how was that possible?
"From the fridge? That's impossible," He said without hesitation as he followed her to the kitchen, "You're lying."
Maddison stopped in her tracks. At first, she was still a little sleepy but hearing Elias's words flipped a switch in her. It brought back memories she had buried deep within her memory bank. It reminded her of a time when someone consistently accused her of lying.
Her expression changed as she put the bowl in the sink before snapping at Elias, "I'm not a liar. I'm telling you the truth. If you don't believe me, then don't ask me."
"I-" Maddison didn't give him any chances to explain himself.
She walked past him and headed towards her room.
"There's some pasta in the pot if you want. If you don't, just throw it away. Suit yourself," She said before closing the door behind her.
Elias stood there for a couple of seconds, baffled by what had just happened. Clearly, he had upset her, but he was simply speaking the truth. As far as he knew, there were no truffles in the fridge.
However, why would Maddison lie about something like this?
So, to find his answer, Elias opened the fridge. He looked at everything that was available.
"There aren't any truffles in-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as he spotted a bowl in the corner of his eye.
It was on the bottom rack of the fridge, in a spot that he usually overlooked. The bowl was semi-filled with black truffles. Seeing it in its spot made him realize Maddison was right. But why was it there?
Realizing it felt familiar but he could not quite recall the reason for it, Elias made a call to his butler.
"Greetings Master Elias, is there something you need?" the butler asked when the call went through.
"Yes, Conrad. Do you recall why there's a bowl of black truffles in the fridge?" He asked.
It was an odd question to ask, that much he knew. But he just had to know. There was an important puzzle piece he was missing.
"Black truffle? Why, that's because you requested it, Master Elias. You said they reminded you of your childhood friend. You hoped that when she came to your house, you would have her favorite food ready."
Elias bit his lip. Memories came back to him as he thanked his butler and dropped the call. Though he could barely recall her face, he remembered all the times they played together. He was as thick as thieves with this friend of his.
But as far as he knew, she was gone. When she turned eight, she vanished alongside her mother. They were declared dead a long time ago. Elias moved over to the pot on the stove. He opened the lid.
The aromatic fragrance of black truffle and cream sauce indulged his senses. Oddly, it smelt familiar. It felt like a homecooked meal, something he had not had in a long time. As his stomach began to growl, Elias gave in to his hunger.
He made himself a plate and ate it at the island top. The first bite blew his mind. Elias King was no stranger to fine dining and good food.
[How can something so simple taste so good?] He thought to himself as he ate bite after bite.
In a matter of seconds, his plate was empty. So he made himself another. Even the dishes of top chefs could not compare to the truffle pasta in his hands!
Elias knew Maddison was a chef by profession, but he'd never expected her to cook so well. Eating her food, Elias felt incredibly guilty for the way he had spoken to her.
"I need to apologize to her," He muttered to himself as he glanced over at her closed door.