'Don't let him notice, don't let him notice,' Sheila repeated in her mind while externally maintaining her calm.
Why didn't that waiter leave faster?
Was it that hard for him?
"Why did they give this place?" asked Blortus, frowning.
"She liked the place, sir," explained the waiter.
Objectively, the place where Sheila was sitting offered a great window that provided an impressive view of the city illuminated by night lights.
But from Blortus's point of view…
They had put Treit in a corner!
Yes, the view was acceptable, but Blortus frequented that restaurant a lot and very few people sat there.
The first time, the view might be nice, but the second, third, or fourth time…
It was monotonous.
On the upper floor, the view was notably superior, so just imagining that they had sent Sheila to such a place…
"Set up another larger table upstairs. We'll dine five people."
"Five? Do you have another with you?" Sheila asked with some curiosity, grateful that everyone was focusing on that and not on the wine.
Despite feeling somewhat full, Sheila didn't want to waste this reunion with Blortus and those who seemed to be his close friends.
"Well, I can ask Leo to eat separately at another table… or in another restaurant."
Leo, who was approaching the place where everyone was, was surprised to hear his boss's cold statements.
How ruthless!
"No, no, it's fine. Let him eat with us, it'll be fun," said Sheila with a smile.
For some reason, she now felt quite confident.
Too confident.
Benjamin let out a small laugh and said:
"Treit, I like you. Where did you meet Et… Blortus?"
Focusing her gaze on Blortus, he nodded, so without thinking twice, Sheila started to tell how they had met while they were changing tables.
One person who also listened better than anyone to this story was Lily.
"What? Really, you and Et… Blortus met today?" Benjamin asked amazed while everyone was sitting down.
"Yes," confirmed Sheila with a smile.
'They met today…,' thought Lily worried.
"Oh, and what's your name?" Sheila asked while looking at Leo.
Apparently, she had forgotten his name despite Blortus mentioning it minutes ago.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Treit. I'm Leo, Mr. Grey's assistant," said Leo with a smile.
"Grey?" Sheila asked, puzzled.
Leo felt Blortus's piercing gaze and cleverly tried to correct his mistake.
"Blortus! I meant Blortus. Sometimes, even though I work with him… I tend to confuse his name with someone else's surname."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, I have a bad memory," replied Leo, hiding his nerves.
"Guys! What do you want to eat? I love the meat in this place. Since we have a guest today, we can try…"
Benjamin began giving several suggestions from the bottom of his heart, and without realizing it, he had saved Leo by distracting Sheila.
Sheila was a food lover, so she let herself be carried away by Benjamin's words.
Leo, who was sitting next to Blortus, let out a sigh.
Right now, Sheila had Benjamin and Lily beside her, as they had been listening to her story earlier.
Blortus, on the other hand, was face-to-face with Sheila.
Lily was analyzing the situation.
'This girl is getting too close to Benjamin, damn it. First Ethan and now him.'
Sheila wasn't a rival to be taken lightly.
She was too dangerous.
Lily was lucky to have met Ethan in the past, all thanks to Benjamin's help, who now seemed delighted with Sheila.
All her plans with Ethan seemed to be shaking at any moment due to this unwelcome guest.
Initially, Lily had been confident, as Ethan and Benjamin usually ignored women because they spent most of their time playing board games, exercising, eating, and working.
Those two were almost addicts to games and work.
Ethan seemed more serious than usual, and if she wasn't careful, she could soon be discarded from that group.
She had to do something!
"Miss Treit…," said Lily in a low voice, but she was ignored by everyone.
Ethan was talking to Leo, and Benjamin was focused on Sheila.
It seemed as if Lily had disappeared from the world.
The waiter had taken care of cleaning the place where Sheila was before and sent some of his colleagues to attend to them.
With her appetite whetted, Sheila started ordering her food along with Benjamin, but before the waiter left with the large order they had made, Benjamin added:
"Oh, and please bring a new wine of the one your colleague took from her table," said Benjamin, pointing at Sheila.
'Damn,' Sheila thought the instant she heard those words.
"I'll have the dish of the day," said Lily, raising her voice a bit, irritated by this situation.
"Hey, Lily…"
"Shut up!"
Benjamin tried to say something to Lily, but she silenced him instantly.
"Okay. So that's all."
The waiter said goodbye, and everyone continued with their conversations.
It seemed they were going to leave Lily out again, but Sheila, who was talking to Benjamin, suddenly asked:
"Do you like cats?"
This sudden question surprised Lily.
"What?"
"I asked if you like cats, you know, the ones that go…"
Imitating the sound of a cat with quite confidence, Lily was left speechless at what Sheila had done.
Benjamin, on the other hand, burst out laughing.
"You're drunk!"
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are! Otherwise, why did you imitate the sound of a cat?"
"Because I wanted to."
This response made Benjamin laugh even harder.
"You're funny."
While Sheila and Benjamin continued their conversation, Blortus had heard the way Sheila had said those words… and found it cute.
"Mr. Grey?"
"Don't call me that," said Blortus in a serious tone.
"Sorry, it's just that you seemed to be in the clouds for a moment. Seriously… Is it the girl over there?" Leo whispered in a low voice.
"Shut up," Blortus replied quietly.
Soon, several waiters arrived with the food and drinks.
They served everything in order, and Sheila cursed herself for committing to eating more for a second.
It was too much food!
Lily was also impressed with the dishes on the table, but she still hadn't received her dish.
"Excuse me… And my food?"
"Don't worry, miss. Our colleague is bringing it."
Lily focused her gaze where the waiter was pointing, and to her surprise, they had brought an entire steel pot.
Everyone at the table fixed their eyes on that pot when it was placed on the table.
Then, the waiter placed a bowl of soup in front of Lily and started serving soup… which contained the head of a squid.
Lily for a moment focused her gaze on Benjamin, and he made a hand gesture as if to say… 'I told you so.'