As I remained silent, Keith replied dumbfoundedly, “I’m telling you to choose your menu.”
“Mine?”
“Yes, yours.” This time, Keith was definitely being sarcastic when he said, “You’re telling me that I’m a shameless b*stard who would drag you all the way here, make you sit there while you starve, and gobble up the menu you chose right before your eyes like I’m boasting? I see how you’ve been thinking of me all this time. Thank you.”
It was rare for him to dump out words like that. I was stumped and couldn’t formulate a reply. “That’s not it,” I muttered, scrambling for something to say. I could only continue after a few more seconds of silence. “But since you didn’t explain anything to me… I just assumed that you brought me here for work.”
Keith gritted his teeth. “Work or not, you should eat lunch. You do everything else just fine on your own. I don’t get why you keep spouting nonsense about this matter.”
My face became flushed red at his insult-riddled criticism. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that I didn’t think that he would bother caring about my meals. If I told him that, he would definitely get angry. Left with no other choice, I lowered my head and apologized squeakily.
However, Keith’s mood had already reached the point of no return. When he loudly flipped through the menu as if to attract my attention, I flinched. I nervously tried to read the room, but all he did was glare at the paper. I frantically flipped through the pages and picked out something random.
“Um… I’ll take the salmon, then,” I said gingerly.
With his eyes still glued onto the menu, Keith asked, “Appetizer?”
“Oh.”
I once again flipped through the menu. When I glanced at Keith, it seemed like his expression had softened a little. Slightly relieved, I opened the page where I had found my course meal.
A moment later, a waiter came and asked us for our order. I pointed at the open page and answered, “I’ll take this one… with lobster soup, and salmon as my main.”
“Understood. What would you like for your drink?”
I ordered a glass of sparkling water. “Could you also give me some lemons on the side?”
“Oh, of course.”
The waiter put on his customer service smile and took the menu from me. After writing down Keith’s order as well, he disappeared. Not long after, the lawyer hurriedly walked up to our table.
“I’m so sorry. The traffic was terrible today,” she apologized to Keith before turning toward me. “Hello, Yeonwoo. How have you been? It’s been a while.”
“Great, thanks to you. Have you been well?”
She bent forward and lightly hugged my shoulders. After sharing a courtesy hug, the lawyer sat down and picked up the menu. “Thank you. What did you two order? I heard that the salmon here is very good.”
Keith didn’t say anything. His attitude was not at all different from usual, but it was enough to make me uncomfortable. I replied to the lawyer, “I also ordered the lunch course menu with salmon. I didn’t know that it was popular.”
“It’s the recommended menu of the month from Cosmopolitan. I’ll take the same.” When she lightly waved her hand, the waiter came right away and took her orders. The lawyer also ordered a bottle of champagne and asked Keith, “Just one small glass is okay, right?” This time, she looked at me as if she never even expected Keith to reply. “Salmon and champagne are the best. What do you say? You should join me, Yeonwoo.”
“Oh, I’m in the middle of work, so—”
“I’m also in the middle of work,” she laughed and swiftly ignored me. Since I wasn’t the one driving, one glass shouldn’t hurt. Keith didn’t particularly stop me either, and more importantly, the lawyer had chosen a bottle of vintage champagne. It was very tempting. It must be delightful.
However, she had her own business morals and I had my own. Drinking during work hours was a no-no. I suppressed the temptation and politely and formally refused. “I’m sorry, I must decline.”
A moment later, the waiter returned and placed a glass in front of each of us. Just as I was about to turn it down—
“Drink.” This single word brought me to a halt. Keith was gazing at me from across the table. Was he talking to me? While I hesitated, the waiter poured me some champagne.
The lawyer smiled and held up her glass. “Just one glass is fine.”
When I stole a glance at Keith, I saw him drinking his champagne without saying anything in particular.
‘Alcohol is bad for his wound,’ I thought to myself, concerned, but it wasn’t like I could stop Keith from drinking. I hesitated a little before taking the glass to my lips.
‘Ah…’ The refreshing fruit scent that burst inside my mouth lifted up my heart. Before I could even catch myself, the corners of my mouth softened.
“How is it? Fantastic, isn’t it?” asked the lawyer.
I smiled and nodded. It was an outstanding choice. Before I knew it, I had finished the whole glass. To be honest, I wanted to drink more, but I managed to hold myself back in case I missed anything by getting drunk. Moreover, if Keith happened to get drunk, I would have to take care of it.
However, I already knew that Extreme Alphas hardly got drunk even if they were to add drugs to their alcohol.
It couldn’t be helped since this was my job. As I politely refused the next glass, I felt so disappointed inside that I accidentally let my grief show.
The lunch went by uneventfully. Whenever any work talk surfaced, I made sure to diligently leave a simple record on my phone so that I wouldn’t forget later. Once we started talking about it in detail later, I could compare the notes to what I would be recording down on my tablet and make my report.