In the Billionaire's Lair

Chapter Seven

ANNA

I WAS ASKED to pick the restaurant where I wanted us to eat, which was fine because I really didn’t mind if he didn’t like whichever I pick. I was getting more and more uncomfortable the more I was with him. Listening to him talk like he was having a good time though I reply as guardedly as I could manage made me feel like the starting blob of a b***h.

The frustrating thing about it was he would catch me repeatedly making a mistake and telling him more than I planned to say. No, he didn’t dislike my choice of our eating place. He liked it. He loved the food and gobbled them up like he hadn’t eaten for a week, and managing to not look like a slob. He managed eating happily without a spill or leftover. Like a CEO.

Which was kind of what he was. But that wasn’t what I meant. He was the kind of person who would manage this even if he happened to be a gangster, I think. Even in casual clothes, he seemed extraordinary. Was he for real?

What shocked me was what happened when we were about to leave.

He called the owner who happened to be the cook by name.

I never heard him order any more than what we already ate. But when we were about to stand up, a hovering waiter came to us and brought down on the table a take-out of their delicious Braised Beef.

At first, Lanz looked surprised.

“Oh, he’s here? Caloy’s here?”

There. I knew Caloy. He was the cook and the owner of the restaurant.

“He isn’t, Sir. But he called to check on something and we told him you’re here for dinner. He told us to do this and that you know what it means.”

“I certainly do. Thank him for me. I haven’t talked to him for a long time but I’ll call him later tonight or tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, and thank you, Ma’am.” The waiter turned to me and bowed a little. “We really hope you enjoyed your dinner!”

We were walking on the sidewalk towards where he parked his car in a parking space in a turn towards this road where small dining places thrive. That was how many cars were parked that they lined the sidewalks as far as the end of the road. Caloy’s usually got the biggest crowd. We were lucky we didn’t have to wait long to get a table when we arrived.

I was suspicious now about how he knew the owner. Was there an arrangement before we even got here? But he didn’t even know this was where I wanted to go until we were on the road. I didn’t remember him calling anyone when I mentioned the place any time during the ride until that very moment.

I couldn’t contain my curiosity anymore. I never encountered him anywhere near here before, and I couldn’t imagine him coming here to eat when there would be more eating places that was more his style.

On the other hand, hadn’t he been in our café every day for days now? How did he even find our place? It’s not a spot people like him frequented.

“How did you know Caloy?” I finally asked. I knew he was just waiting for it and I was frustrated with myself.

He seemed to be in a contemplative mood. I was waiting for him to smile knowingly or do something that would tell me he was playing with me, but he didn’t. His face remained calm, the soft smile on his lips telling me he was thinking of another place in another time. “Caloy?” he repeated as if distracted. “I’ve known him for about… seven years now? I used to go this hotel where he used to cook. I enjoyed this Braised Beef the first time I ever tasted it. I swear, up to now, it’s still the best one out there.” And he raised the paper bag with the resto’s logo on it and the take out, which gave me an idea what’s inside, then. “It was there where I first tasted it, and when I asked for who cooked it, the Chef came out and took the credit.”

“That’s Caloy’s recipe,” I protested.

He laughed a little, the sound deep and throaty and sexy. I remembered again how helpless I could be against him if he ever amps his seduction more than his present dosage.

Dosage. Whatever was I thinking? He wasn’t a drug I could get addicted to.

Are you sure?

“It was later when I did find out it was Caloy’s cooking,” he continued, oblivious to my thoughts. He was looking down the path as we continued to stroll without a rush. “I was told that he was transferred to another hotel because the Chef said so.”

It was suddenly dawning on me… that I knew this story. I heard this before. My mouth flew open as I realized I did know. I turned my face towards him. He was still oblivious, still on his telling of the story.

“So, for about a month, I would either go to this other hotel where he got transferred even though it was farther from my office and I would rather have lunch there or, sometimes, when it was impossible for me to leave work or I was somewhere else, I would have them send any of his cooking to wherever we would eat. I’ll also send my driver for food when we needed to stay until late hours to finish work due on important meetings with investors the next day. Well, eventually, Caloy resigned. I was told he was planning to open a small restaurant. I asked for a meeting with him and offered investment. I knew a few personal stuff about him since we’ve met by then and I knew his wife just gave birth to their first child. I was glad he accepted at least half the amount I offered. I worked hard to convince him it wasn’t help but an investment because I just knew his business was going to do good—”

“You made sure it will,” I butted in under my breath.

He swung his head towards me, surprised.

“Caloy’s wife, Christine, was my roommate’s older sister in college. I’ve heard this from her. They were ecstatic not just for the investment but for your other help in matters concerning putting up and setting up his first restaurant.”

“They were?” he asked, but he was smiling again, evidently happy to hear the news. “Oh wow. So you’re telling me if I had been a bit more lucky I could have found you earlier?”

I rolled my eyes at this and he laughed. I tried to make an effort not to look at him. The sound of his laughter was doing something to my stomach. And it was always an experience watching his face whenever he did.

“It was really good investment. You might also know he has about three of those small dine-in places now that he operates with his other brothers.”

I was thinking of Kim, Christine’s sister and my friend. I hadn’t talked to her in weeks. I could call her when I get home. I was excited about talking to her about this man who…

Nooo.

Kim would be ecstatic when she finds out how I ended up in Caloy’s restaurant with an investor I remembered now to be a major crush in college. I didn’t want my friend to have hopes about me and this man. I still couldn’t believe I was out here right now on a date with him.

But Kim would be hearing church bells and the Wedding March as soon as she finds this out, and she would be insisting to fly over the weekend to see me and probably talk about color motifs in trend these days in wedding events.

My friend was a wedding organizer.

No.

Really bad idea to call her.