Chapter 4

My eyes blink once.

Shaw&Partner.

Shaw.

I stared at his face with a stupid look for a few seconds. "So ... what's your name?" "Nicholas. I didn't know we were hiring an auditor." He answered as he took his wine glass and drank the rest. Waiter Giorgio returned with my Chamomile, filled his glass with wine, then disappeared again. My brain is still trying to process the information it just received. He is not a banker but a lawyer. Nicholas Shaw.

God, I'm having lunch with my client's boss.

"... that means you'll only be in Manhattan for a while?"

I half did not listen to his question. "A week. After my audit here is over I'll be back in San Francisco." I answered hastily.

I stared at the corners of his mouth which were pulled down. Is he really gay?

Christine's words a few days ago replayed in my head.

'A week." he repeated to himself. Suddenly the atmosphere became more awkward as he fell silent. Giorgio returned to our table with my salad and a steak for Mr. Shaw.

I stared at the plate of salad with an interesting mix of colors in front of me. Expensive looking salad plate. ugh.

Actually, the salary as an accountant like me is quite a lot, not to mention the added bonuses. But I still have to pay off my college tuition payments by next year, so I have to save money until all my debts are paid off. And the first debt I have to pay is the debt for Lana's shoes. I know this man must be very rich, but I still can't take it for granted.

We ate in silence, he seemed as busy with his thoughts as I was. In this awkward silence I can barely taste the salad I'm eating. I guess I'll get another bagel after this, salmon and cream cheese, I can eat it at the office for later.

"Desserts, Eleanor?" He had finished his meal. I nodded automatically, then finished my salad. A few minutes after my salad was finished, a glass of cold chocolate mousse replaced my salad plate. On top of the mousse, edible gold flakes are beautifully arranged.

My eyes fixated on my dessert. I've never eaten gold before.

"Have you lived in San Francisco long?" he asked without touching his dessert, he continued to drink his wine earlier.

"Since college. Before that I lived in Georgia." I scooped up my mousse with the gold flakes and put them in my mouth. I couldn't taste the gold, but the cold dark chocolate melted in my mouth, lighter in texture than cheesecake. I sighed after the first scoop, I wouldn't mind eating a gallon of this mousse on my own.

"I've lived in San Francisco before. Do your parents live in Georgia?" His eyes follow the movement of the spoon that I put in my mouth. The blue color of his eyes turned darker, maybe because of the light effect?

I shook my head, "I don't have parents." I don't even know if they're still alive. I spent my entire childhood in orphanages and foster families.

He just nodded slightly and did not continue the question any further. I finished my mousse and looked at my watch, there's still 20 minutes left. This lunch wasn't what I expected, once I learned the name everything turned even more awkward.

"Are you In a hurry?" he asked while calling the waiter again.

"Not really ... " My sentence was cut off by Giorgio who came back to our table, he brought our bill without being asked, I think Mr. Shaw often came to this place until they memorized his habits. He handed Giorgio his credit card without looking at the bill, then his attention returned to me.

"Ah! You helped me yesterday, I haven't thanked you in person. At least let me pay…"

"No need. I was just in the right place at the right time." He replied with a faint smile.

I'm starting to think maybe his faint smile is his real smile, his face always looks so serious. His dark blue eyes were looking at me with an intensity that made me slightly uncomfortable.

"Well, I still have to thank you."

"Tonight I have to attend a charity gala dinner. How about thanking me by accompanying me?"

A small part of my brain cheered because he still wanted to meet me, then I remembered my overtime schedule that couldn't be postponed. I sighed before answering, "I have to finish my work tonight ... " And another night, and another, and another.

"You can continue your work in the morning, Eleanor."

"I have to finish it tonight if I want to finish it in a week."

He was silent for a moment,compared to yesterday. He seemed to keep his distance a little today. Except for his two intense blue eyes, his calm and serious demeanor almost makes him ... robotic. My hands itched for a moment to ruffle his immaculate dark brown hair.

"What if I replace it with lunch?" I added before I could think.

"Tomorrow I have to go to court."

"Oh." I tried to cover up the disappointment in my voice. Of course, he is a lawyer.

'Maybe next time-"

Giorgio cut me off again. He came back to return the credit card and thanked us with a big smile. A standard fine dining smile. Mr. Shaw glanced at his watch then stood up, "We'd better go back now." Then he helped me by pulling up my chair. We walked out of the restaurant and were greeted back by the cloudy Manhattan weather.

"Eleanor-"

"Nicholas." A feminine voice made us both turn towards the sound source. A blonde woman standing behind Mrs. Shaw. My eyes couldn't move from her, glued to her face. She is so beautiful. I can't explain what makes it interesting.

The woman was wearing a casual blue dress, her light blonde hair was styled loose. So far, maybe I've always been proud of my slightly rare amber eyes, but when compared to this woman, my eye color is nothing. She has very pretty eye color, an almost glassy mix of blue and gray. Her eyes, though slightly cold, were looking at Mr. Shaw.

For a few moments, I just stood staring at her beauty like a fool.

'Alice, what are you doing here?" Unlike me, Mrs. Shaw just glanced at him then her eyes returned to me.

I forced my eyes to move away from the beautiful woman in front of me and met her gaze, "Thanks for lunch, Mr. Shaw." I tried to smile at him, even though my face felt stiff. "See you again."

"I'll take you-"

"Nicholas. We have to talk." The beautiful woman this time looked at Mr. Shaw a little annoyed. "Now" she added when Mr. Shaw will answer it.

I bit my lip angrily to drive away the strange feeling in my heart. Of course he already has a partner, and he's not gay. I'm a little tempted to call Christine and tell her this information.

"I can get back on my own. Good bye, Mr. Shaw." I muttered while turning my body without waiting for his answer. My forehead wrinkled a little trying to guess what I'm feeling right now. After walking for almost a block I finally realized the feeling I was feeling.

"Damn it." I muttered while scolding myself. 'He's a nobody, Ella. Don't be stupid. You've only known him for a day."

I took my new cellphone out of my bag while walking, but five seconds later my screen went blank because it hadn't been charged. As I put it back in my bag, my hand touched a piece of paper in my bag. The check, I forgot to give it to him.

I tilted my head up, looking up at the cloudy sky. The sound of thunder was heard from afar.

Looks like today wasn't my good day.

***

It's been raining in Manhattan since this afternoon until now. All the employees working on this floor have returned since 4 hours ago, only I am left. My eyes feel tired after a day of staring at the laptop screen. I closed my eyes for a few seconds then opened them again, I still had half an hour left. Then at half past eleven I will return to the hotel.

Throughout this afternoon I have collected some transaction data between this company and the Bank of Rotterdam, as Mrs. Lynch. I yawned for the sixth time as I stared at the line of numbers on my laptop screen, "Just a little longer, Ella." I muttered while driving away sleepiness.

But when my eyes started to feel hot I gave up. I turned off my laptop then collected my things that were on the table and put them in my bag. I literally had to drag my body to get to the elevator. I realized my back to the lonely elevator while looking at the numbers twinkling from the 15th floor to the lobby.

Shaw&Partner's building may be one of the oldest buildings in Manhattan, from the outside this building looks ancient with its dark red brick color. But inside, the entire modern and elegant interior is a stark contrast to the exterior. The lobby floor alone uses black granite which is always shiny at all times, in the center of the lobby floor there is a quite large Shaw&Partner logo.

To renovate an old building like this would require a very large cost. When I first set foot on this place I thought Mr. Shaw is a man in his late 50s or 60s, with the charismatic face of a lawyer. But it didn't turn out the way I expected because she looks ... young.

Nicholas Shaw was not at all what I had imagined.

I looked back at my watch, it was still 10pm, I could still stop by briefly on my way home to buy dinner. My mind returns to the chocolate mousse I ate this afternoon, I can still remember the sweet and bitter taste of chocolate that united in the cold softness of the mousse. My stomach grumbled a second later. Well, how else, I just ate a plate of salad this afternoon.

The elevator door finally opened in the lobby breaking my thoughts, before I could look up from my watch a voice preceded me.