Chapter 19: Planned Date.

“You are going to drink now?” James asked Laura, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table.

“Is that a problem?” Laura asked him with a raised eyebrow. James checked the time on his watch to make sure that he was not the strange one here.

“You think it’s too early?” Laura asked when she saw him to check the time.

“You don’t think it’s early?” James asked her back. It was a little past 1 pm. The only way he would be drinking at this time was as if he was taking a weekend off.

“Then I'll drink later in the evening,” Laura said with a smile that made James nervous rather than reassure him.

“You can do as you please,” James finally concluded, and Laura’s smile turned into a laugh.

“But you’ll have to accompany me later,” Laura said and became silent once the waiter returned with the wine she ordered.

“Okay,” James agreed. He didn’t have anything planned for the evening and since he just signed her, they might as well celebrate.

“Really? Hey, I won’t be drinking anymore,” Laura said to the waiter who just walked in with the wine she had asked for. The waiter calmly returned with it once he heard her.

“Where will you be going after this?” James asked her, planning to drop her off before returning to work.

“I guess I’ll go back to the hotel and get ready for tonight,” Laura said to him, and James smiled helplessly at her.

“Okay,” James agreed and took her to go out and pay the bill. He did not want to waste time waiting for the waiter since he was going to have a busy afternoon if he was going to be spending the evening with her.

Laura stood next to James as he paid for their lunch, ignoring all the attention they were drawing since both of them have become used to being stared at because of their jobs and their looks as well. Once he was done paying, he offered his arm to her and Laura obediently hung on to it as they left the restaurant.

“When they stepped out, James opened the car door for her and Laura got inside. She smiled to herself as she waited for James to come in through the other side and soon, the driver drove off.

“So, what time will you come to pick me up later?” Laura asked James while scooting over to sit closer to him.

“Be ready by 7 pm,” James said as he watched her snuggle up next to him. He lifted his arm and draped it over her shoulders so she could sit more comfortably with him.

“Then it’s a date,” Laura said, and James nodded in agreement with a small smile on his face. He knew that these are going to have to be frequent if they are going to be taking each other seriously, especially since they whimsically decided to get together without knowing anything about each other.

The two silently accompanied each other, with the driver peeking at them once in a while through the rearview mirror. He had seen on their company’s group chat people talking about the new woman that was seen with the CEO. It looked like things were not as simple as everyone thought.

It didn’t take long before the car stopped in front of the hotel, and with Laura being so reluctant to leave. The driver stepped out of the car to give the two people their privacy.

“Why are you making a fuss? I'll see you again in a couple of hours,” James said to Laura, who was currently clutching at his jacket.

“Make sure you don’t come late,” Laura said to him, and James nodded in agreement. But she still didn’t feel like such a simple response was enough. She looked at his face and, after some hesitation, left a peck on his lips before getting out of the car. James did not even get the chance to react before he saw her back disappearing into the hotel building.

Once getting over the surprise he felt, he touched his lips, which had been stained by her lipstick again, and smiled. He was feeling some anticipation, as he was curious about how their date was going to be later. With these thoughts in his head, he started thinking about where he was going to take her later.