"Have you arrived?" he called.
"Yes, I'm at the entrance of the restaurant," she hurriedly replied.
"Have the waiter lead you in, Table 22. Sorry, I forgot to send you the table number this morning. Just wait a moment, I'll be there soon," he said.
"No problem! Take care," she habitually expressed concern, causing Henry to feel warm.
The server led her to the right place, and Olivia sat facing the door, taking off her down coat. She sat there curiously looking around.
The restaurant's decor was primarily dark brown, showing no signs of luxury, but exuding a hint of mystery in its clean appearance.
Henry had reserved a window seat. The winter night arrived early, and outside was already a scene of bright lights. Olivia sat in her seat, deeply admiring the restaurant's delicate furnishing style, unaware that he had already arrived.
Henry walked slowly towards the seat and could see Olivia's lovely expression from a distance.
She was wearing a light pink sweater, her golden curled hair draped over her shoulders, looking slightly more quiet than before.
"You've been waiting a long time, haven't you?" he walked over and sat across from her, pulling her back from her thoughts.
Upon hearing his voice, she quickly turned her head to look at him, only to meet his smiling eyes, causing her face to blush involuntarily.
He didn't mind her awkwardness, smiled, and said, "The traffic was bad, sorry!"
She shook her head.
"Let's order first, the food is a bit slow. We'll have to wait a while," he said, signaling to the waiter to take their order.
The waiter in black approached, placing two menus in front of them.
Olivia opened hers and found the words inside completely unrecognizable, not in English, unsure of what language it was, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"What would you like to eat?" he asked.
She looked at him blankly, and from her expression, he already knew she might be confused about the menu. "If you don't mind, I'll go ahead and order," he said.
Olivia nodded quickly.
The restaurant was filled with soft music and fragrance, but there was hardly any sound of people talking, quite different from the places she usually frequented.
As he placed the order, Olivia realized that the tables in this restaurant were spaced far apart. Perhaps that was why she couldn't hear others speaking from her seat!
After ordering, he listed the dishes he had just ordered for her: fresh scallop seafood salad, cream-steamed sea bass, roasted lamb chops, and an Italian spaghetti combo.
"How about some red wine?" he asked when he saw she had no objections to his choice.
"I can't handle alcohol," she said.
"No worries, the red wine has a low alcohol content, you won't get drunk, and besides, it's good for your health," he reassured her before turning to the waiter, "Bring me that bottle of wine last time."
Watching him interact with the waiter, Olivia guessed that he must be a regular at this place.
Observing Henry's decisive and gentle demeanor, Olivia gradually felt a sense of security, as if she was protected by her father.
When they were left alone, he smiled awkwardly at her and said, "Thank you for last night. I must have been completely wasted."
She wanted to tell him the truth, but felt it might seem like she was showing off, so she shook her head and replied, "You're welcome. Mr Williams asked me to help you."
Upon hearing this, Henry felt an indescribable emotion stirring within him, maybe a bit of a buzzkill. Just as he was about to say something, his phone rang. Olivia watched him answer the call but didn't try to listen to his conversation content.
After ending the call, Henry surprisingly forgot what he wanted to say earlier.
"Did you start working here last year?" he casually started a conversation.
"Yeah, last year," she responded with a seriousness as if a pupil answering a teacher's question, which made him chuckle.
"Don't be so formal, I'm not Mr Williams," he said with a smile.
She lowered her head slightly, staring at the white tablecloth adorned with gold-trimmed white tableware, thinking that Mr Davis was even more prestigious than any customer.
For a moment, they two fell into a strange silence.
At that moment, the dishes they had ordered began to arrive one by one. Olivia couldn't help but be surprised. Was this considered slow?
A manager approached them, standing next to Henry with a smile and bending down, saying, "Mr. Davis, it's been a while since your last visit."
"I haven't been here, and your business is still doing well, right?" Henry replied with a smile.
The manager chuckled and said, "We just air-freighted a batch of Beluga caviar from France this morning. Shall we serve you two portions?"
Henry looked at Olivia across the table and said, "Since it's fresh, let's have two portions."
The manager quickly went to get them.
Facing the dishes on the table, Olivia was truly shocked. She looked at the dishes and then at him, considering how much this meal would cost?
A waiter approached with a bottle of red wine, poured a little into Henry's and Olivia's glasses, then stood a meter away.
"Cheers," Henry raised his glass, gesturing to her.
As their glasses lightly touched, Olivia watched the red liquid sway in the glass, a faint smile appearing on her cheeks unknowingly. The color seemed to make her intoxicated just by looking at it.
Henry chuckled and took a sip of wine, but she finished hers in one go.
"You can hold liquor pretty well?" he asked with a smile.
Perhaps the alcohol had started to take effect on her brain, as she suddenly felt much more relaxed after that. She grinned and said, "This wine is just so delicious."
He paused for a moment, looking at the dimples on her cheeks, his heart skipped a beat, but quickly composed himself, and then said to her, "As good as it is, don't drink too much!"
She nodded with a smile but couldn't resist finishing the wine the waiter had poured for her. Only then did she notice the eyes watching her intently, so she quickly lowered her head, picked up her knife and fork, and began to eat.
Henry watched her and seemed to be in a better mood.
In his position, dining had completely become a way of socializing. It didn't matter what dishes were on the table. What mattered was the person sitting across from him and the conversation.
However, tonight, watching the girl in front of him eat with such gusto. His appetite had also improved.
After all, it was the first time dining alone with Mr Davis, and in such a fancy place. Olivia's curiosity about Henry filled her heart, so she stole glances at him during the meal.
Though she stole glances at him, she dared not stare at his eyes, only able to focus on his hands.
His fingers were so long! If she didn't already know his identity, she would definitely mistake him for a pianist!
Henry had no idea how much imagination his hands sparked in her, which gave a touch of a mysterious artist aura in her eyes.
The caviar arrived, and Olivia stared at the dark, almost golden-hued pearls in front of her, completely unsure how to handle them. Meanwhile, the manager was talking to Henry across the table.
"You should really give it a try, see how you feel, and then provide feedback after you finish!" Henry interrupted the manager abruptly when he saw Olivia hesitating.
She looked puzzled, feeling somewhat embarrassed as she gazed at him.
The manager quickly continued the conversation, saying to Olivia, "Of course, the customer is always right, and we always need your feedback."
"No…" She wanted to say she had never tried this kind of food before, but Henry cut in.
"This caviar salad is a specialty dish of this restaurant. It attracted a lot of diners. Just try it." Henry remarked, gesturing to the manager to leave as he spoke.
Olivia watched as Henry picked up the mother-of-pearl spoon in front of him and scooped some from the crystal dish, saying to her, "Go on, give it a try, don't be afraid.
Caviar is believed to have beauty-enhancing properties, and can also uplift people's mood."
"Really, it's almost black. Will eating something this dark make my skin darker?" She blurted out her inner thoughts unintentionally. After realizing what she said, her face turned red immediately..
Henry chuckled silently and said, "Just try it and see how it is."
She nodded slightly, imitating his actions, and picked up the spoon to scoop a spoonful of small black grains.
Immediately, her face lit up with an expression of incredible delight. Henry looked at her and said, "If you like it, have some more!"
Olivia seemed to forget the identity of the person in front of her, nodded in response, but she didn't notice that he only scooped once before setting down the spoon, quietly sitting there swaying his wine glass, watching her eating.
After savoring the delicious food, Olivia found herself at a loss for words to describe the feeling that the food brought her.
It seems that just as a book cannot be judged solely by appearances, food cannot be judged solely by appearances either!
When she almost finished eating the caviar, Henry got up and left the seat, then put another serving of caviar in front of her, which surprised Olivia.
"I see you really enjoy it, so I packed an extra serving for you. Don't worry, this won't make you gain weight!" he said with a faint smile.
She did not know how to respond, so she could only force a smile to express thanks and accept it.
So, during the meal, the two of them spoke very little, and time passed by quickly. In the end, he paid the bill, and although she didn't know how much the meal cost, she was sure it was quite expensive.
"Let me drive you home!" he said to her on the way to the restaurant entrance. Olivia didn't refuse and followed him to his car.
Because of the alcohol, Olivia felt less steady walking than usual. She wasn't sure if he had noticed, otherwise, it would be quite embarrassing.
However, just as she was secretly relieved, her body suddenly shook, and she looked in surprise at Mr Davis beside her, only to find that he had embraced her!