False Engagements

Chapter 2

True to his word, James only stuck to messaging her about the cat she'd come to name Rusty, and cooed over every picture she sent him. She had the next two days off, so all she did was play with Rusty and send over endless pictures and videos. It almost felt like James was the other cat parent, she thought, amused. If he lived in the area, she thought he very well might be.

As it was, they'd talked about adjusting their flights while they were discussing holiday options, so Lila was fairly certain they weren't local at least.

It was a little bit heartbreaking to have to go back to work and leave Rusty all alone, but she got her work-from-home neighbor to promise to come in and check on Rusty some time during the day. She had to be satisfied with that.

Back at work, she couldn't stop thinking about Rusty. As if right on cue, James came in a short while after lunch rush had ended, seemingly for his own lunch. He perked up when he spotted Lila, and waved at her jauntily.

"Hey it's you!" he said, folding himself down into a booth near the door. "I had lunch here the day before, it was really good! But I didn't see you then."

"I was off," Lila replied, fishing up her notepad. "Or you wouldn't have gotten all those adorable pictures of Rusty from morning to evening. What would you like?"

"More Rusty videos?" he grinned, and moved to dodge Lila's amused swat. "Alright, fine, ummm. I'd like rose milk tea please, and that lemon lobster roll."

Lila scribbled the order down, then looked around. "Blake's not here with you today?"

"He had to meet another client," James said dismissively. "Workaholic. I'm glad you suggested staying just to relax actually, he rarely even thinks about resting. Even when we've flown out to the most famous resort island this side of the ocean."

Lila wouldn't have thought that the words of a stranger would actually influence them to do anything, but it clearly seemed like an idea neither of them had considered. Maybe Blake wasn't the only workaholic around. She chose not to mention that aloud though.

"So when does your work end and the fun begin?"

"Today actually! I just wrapped up everything on my list. Well, for me anyway, Blake has stuff scheduled till tomorrow since we extended our flight dates to the weekend." He shook his head. "Do you wanna come along with us? I know you have work, but it'd be fun to have a tour guide when you're free! Plus you can tell us exactly where to go and what to eat so we can maximize our experience."

Yup, definitely a golden retriever in the form of a human. Lila couldn't help smiling.

"I have a full shift today but I'm on half tomorrow. We can go around."

"Awesome! What time do you end work then?"

--

While Lila had said she'd be happy to play tour guide to her other cat parent, she really did not expect James to turn up promptly the moment her shift ended at six. Even less expected than that was the invitation to join him and Blake at the nearby Michelin-starred restaurant for dinner.

That was way out of her budget.

James noticed her hesitation though, and waved it off.

"You're our tour guide for these few days right?" he reasoned. "I can't ask you to pay for dinner! We'll handle food and tickets, and you can guide us around!"

Well, if he was going to put it that way... Lila was pretty sure a single meal at Le Atelier d'Antier would easily cost her a week's salary, so that was a pretty good deal. Plus the island was generally expensive. She shrugged. If these rich businessmen didn't think anything about the cost, then who was she to reject?

She definitely wasn't eating there by herself anytime soon.

Blake was absorbed in his phone when they arrived, barely looking up even when James threw himself into a chair next to him.

"Blake," he called, and when his friend didn't respond, dragged his name out into a whine. "Blaaaaaake. Duuuude."

Blake's gaze flicked up another second. He simply rolled his eyes and held up a finger to request another minute.

James sighed theatrically and pushed a menu to Lila. "Ugh whatever, he's not going to talk until he's actually done. Come on, let's just order."

Lila had never been in a restaurant that didn't have prices listed on the menu. So that meant she couldn't feel guilty if she happened to order something ludicrously expensive right? Still, she hesitated, reading through the various dishes, the recommendations of wine to go with each course, and the flowery descriptions of all the flavors that each dish was supposed to invoke.

She did not remember ever having been this indecisive about food. Eventually she settled on a relatively innocent looking chicken entree, with an appetizer of spring greens to go with it. Blake seemed to have ended whatever intense conversation he had about the same time, sighing and putting his phone away.

"I apologize," he said quietly. "The investor was... very naggy."

Lila shrugged. "Hey, work is work."

"Ugh, don't encourage him," James laughed, poking Blake in the side, making the latter scowl and inch away. "He'll assume being rude is fine and go back to work."

"I do put away my phone sometimes. Like now. For food."

James raised an eyebrow, and declined to say anything else in reply. He did turn back to Lila with a paper bag however, that he seemed to have pulled out of nowhere. (Probably just from under the table where Blake had brought it to begin with.)

"By the way, I got Rusty some cat stuff! Some toys, a small scratching post, some food! Not to worry, we can leave it here or at the hotel until you're ready to go home."

"Aww, that's so sweet." Lila reached eagerly for the package. "Wow you really went all out, Rusty's going to love scratching all these up."

"Hey, what are fellow cat parents for?"

Blake leaned over as James and Lila pored over the toys. She tilted her head upwards, a curious look on her face. Blake seemed... hesitant, about something.

"Are you really alright with showing us around?" he asked. "James can be a bit overwhelming. You don't really have to spend time with two strangers you know. We're adults, we can find our way around." At the last part, he shot James a look, as if to chastise him silently.

Lila softened. Despite his initial roughness, Blake had shown nothing but quiet consideration all throughout the short time she had known him. It was... somewhat reassuring.

"It's cool, I promise." If James had asked the first evening, she would have hesitated. As it was, two days of cat pictures and bonding over Rusty had done a fair amount to endear James, and by extension, a bit of Blake, to her.

Treating her to dinner definitely helped, she was not going to lie. Lila was a deeply food-motivated person, okay?

Blake seemed uncertain still even when she gave her answer. He nodded however, accepting her words at face value, and slid back against his seat.

"You mentioned there was a natural history museum?"

"Oh right, we probably should start with that! Blake is a big nerd-"

"Bold of you to say that, space-geek."

"Excuse me, I just happen to be interested in where technology is bringing mankind--"

--

"You're pushing Lila onto me. Don't think I haven't noticed."

James looked up from where he was browsing the drink menu, only his eyes visible above the top of the paper.

Alright, Blake wasn't going to deny it. The last few days had been fun. Lila had been great company, and she'd been an amazing tour guide not only to the island but to the country the island was connected to. All the same, James's maneuvering to give them some alone time was far too obvious. And if you asked Blake, far too awkward.

"Who, me?" James asked, blinking innocently. Blake wasn't fooled. He hadn't known and been part of James's scrapes and trouble-making for over twenty years for nothing. It wasn't that his best friend was a scheming mastermind, nothing of the sort. It was just that James had a tendency to be overly concerned when it came to Blake. And so Blake stared back, unimpressed with James's show of innocence, until the latter sighed and gave up the pretense.

"Alright, fine. Maybe a little bit. You've been so stressed about the whole thing with Annette, I figure maybe you should get to know someone outside of our circle! A new romance could help."

Blake still looked extremely unimpressed. "And so you've cornered this girl, pretty much a total stranger, unwittingly into my problems? That's f****d up, James."

Judging from James's stricken look though, he clearly hadn't thought of it from that angle, and Blake resisted the urge to smack a hand to his face.

"James. Jamie. Will you ever stop and think before you run headlong into another dumb plan?" He sank into his seat, glaring at his coffee cup. "I appreciate your help and concern, I truly do. But not everything has a clear solution. And whatever the solution to this, I'm pretty sure it doesn't involve stringing a girl along when I have no intention of a serious relationship."

James frowned. "Well, I mean, I get that you don't want to rush into anything with anyone, but why not just get to know more people? Maybe Lila isn't the right one for you. She could have a friend who's the true love of your life! My point is, you need to know more people other than the small circle of people we've spent our childhoods with."

Neither of them gave voice to the thought at the back of their heads: which was that, their circles of friends and acquaintances were deeply curated by their parents since they had been babies. Old money was like that. What were they going to do to change it?

Blake decided to move away from that line of conversation.

"Well, anyway, stop it. She's been really nice to us, and this was just a chance meeting. Tomorrow we're flying back, you'll keep in contact with her for a month or two just for that cat, and then you'll forget this whole trip ever happened. And I'll deal with my mother and Annette somehow."

--

It was almost midnight. The last three days had been fun, Lila reflected, as she dangled a toy for Rusty to swipe at. She'd had to swap out one of her full day shifts- a swap that had definitely been worth it, because that was the day she got to try out the famous Chinese imperial cuisine restaurant at the southernmost point of the island.

So, so super worth it.

Idly, she wondered if she'd been spoiled beyond her means, because now she was going to think of those prawn dumplings every time she had Chinese takeaway. Ah well, maybe she could save just to go there again for her birthday. Treat yourself, and all that right?

She almost missed her phone buzzing on her dresser, and she frowned, wondering who was trying to contact her, this late at night. Her parents had just called her earlier that evening, so it was unlikely to be them. Her friends tended to text her, not call her.

An unfamiliar number. Maybe the person had dialed something wrong.

As Lila picked the call up though, the voice that came through it was definitely familiar to her.

"Hello? Lila?"

Her confusion increased. "Blake? Did something happen?"

A short silence, then, "Yes. Sort of. Can I talk to you in person, tomorrow morning?"