Harlow

Earth

Present Day

"Eddy, come on or we are going to be late," I yell at my brother as I slip on my blue pumps, and grab the light grey jacket I was going to be wearing this evening. Since I left Kanese Group, I haven't had a chance to even digest the fact that Nikolai asked me on a date. Or that I was going on a date with him and my brother as the third wheel.

"Holt your horse sister, I am actually looking forward to the evening. What did he say when you told him you were going to meet him there an hour later than intended?"

"He said he looks forward to the evening and time is time. Which we are currently running out of, so let's go...chop chop."

"Ah, remind me again why I love you?" My brother asks and winks at me as he slides his hand in the pocket of his suit pants.

"Because I am the greatest thing to ever come into existence?" I say and he laughs at my words. A reminder of what he said to me one night when he got drunk. I remember the day WHEN HE SAID THOSE WORDS, I laughed because it was the funniest thing to say.

"Yes, well, there is some truth to it, but don't get your head all swollen now. Let's go meet my future brother-in-law."

We forgo the car and take a cab to the station, then we take the train, downtown. We jump off the train and I feel the rush of cold air, and it sends a shiver up my spine. I get this feeling in my stomach, and I look at my brother to see him frowning as he stares at something from the distance.

"What is it? Is it the cold?" I question him.

"You can feel it?" He asks, but his question comes out more perplexed like he didn't think I could.

"Of course I can, I felt the same chill earlier on today when I was at work."

Eddy smiles, but the worried frown doesn't dissipate from his face as we head up the stairs. We walk in quiet but I don't miss the way Eddy keeps looking behind us and to the sides, like a robber is going to jump out a jack us at any time.

"Can you please just stop. We are fine, since when did cold signal paranoia?"

"I'm sorry I'm just been a bit dramatic. When I dropped you off this morning I was stuck in traffic and I had a sudden coldness creep up my bones, it was strange, but ..."

"Familiar?" I question when he doesn't complete his train of thought.

"Yes, familiar."

"I had the same thing when Mr. Wang entered the room today. But I didn't recognize him like I did Nikolai."

"We both need to get laid," Eddy says as we get to the restaurant. I think of the warning my granny told me but like a misty fog, I leave its confines not wanting to face facts, there was something strange going on around me, and the more I PUSHED AT IT, something in me pushed back, not wanting me to remember. not wanting me to know something. And it was comforting to know that Eddy had the same thing happening to him. It wasn't just me.

"For once I agree with you fully," I wink at him as I go into the restaurant. I spot Nikolai already seated, with a glass of wine in his left hand. The restaurant, has red ribbon on the the roof, knitted to form a type of dragon symbol. I knew the place was known for it's mixed, Asian, mixed European vibe. The family who owned it was believed to have connections in the TRIAD.

We head into the restaurant, and I inform the concierge that we were with Nikolai. We walk toward him and he spots my brother and I. My nerves are all over the place, as I barely manage a proper smile when he places his hands on my waist and kisses my cheek.

"I am glad to see you have finally arrived."

"We decided to take the train."

"Sounds like fun, maybe I would do the same the next time around," Nikolai says making me less anxious and my brother laugh.

My brother shakes Nikolai's hand and we take the other two chairs around the circular table.

"Eddy, your sister speaks highly of you. How is the firm doing? I am aware of the noble work you do for the common folk, the DA must be delighted to finally be getting you on their side. The Mask Killer's case was your best work." Nikolai says and earns him a impressive stare from my brother.

"It's going well, but the DA is going to have to wait a bit longer before I agree to be on their side. I am afraid to say but the last time I sided with them, they let a killer on the loose and 4 children's lives were lost."

"Sometimes sacrifices for a greater world needs to be made."

"And sometimes the price is high." My brother has a tough time dealing with the December 2021 deaths that happened when the world experienced it's world changing Epidemic. It was many years ago, and now we thrived.

"Hello, Mr Blackwyll, can we take your order sir?" The male waiter says, interrupting any continuous talk.

"Yes, I shall have another bottle of Syrah for now." Nikolai orders his wine and my brother and I order whiskey, and apetisers. The three of us get into a comfortable flow of conversation about the Kanese Group, and how it started up. Nikolai also informs us that he has a twin sister, Jullie, and seven other siblings from his mothers side.

I find his life fascinating as he talks so openly about his life growing up, and his brother, who raised his sister and him into adults. I listen to the octave of his voice, the expression on his face, and by the ned of the evening, we are laughing like we have known each other since we were kids.

"Oh Nikolai, my sister was right, you are one fantastic male specimen," Eddy says as we head to the door of the restaurant.

"Glad you approve." Nikolai says his goodbyes and by the 11pm we are in a cab on our way home. We are almost home, and I can't for the life of me remember if he flirted once, or if he said anything that hinted of his interest in me.

"Why are you frowning?" Eddy queries.

"I'm trying to think if Nikolai flirted with me." My brother purses his lips.

"He did not, in fact he hardly paid any attention to you at all, it was like he deliberately stayed engaged in conversation with the both of us about his life, and ours.

"Is that a good thing?"

"It's a 'I have all the time in the world' thing."