16

16

Morgan's pov:

"May I join you?" Winston asked, his eyes sparkling with a smile.

"Sure" I replied.

He took the seat opposite mine and turned to the waitress. "I'll have the fettuccine pasta and a side of chicken."

"And I'll have the beef Wellington and some wine."

"Wine?" Winston asked and chuckled.

"I know it's the middle of the day but I need it." I said with a sigh. " You don't want to know why."

"Okay that will be all?" The waitress asked, her gaze travelling between us both.

"Yes thank you," I said. She walked away to get out orders ready.

"Actually, I do." Winston said, making me turn to him. "I want to know what happened."

I thought back at the conference room, seeing Dante sitting there so smug and so proud. And anger flared up inside me.

"I met someone I didn't want to ever see again."

Winston nodded solemnly. "That can be hard."

"Tell me about it. And the audacity he had! Urgh! "

"I'm so sorry you had to deal with such," He said, sincerity in his eyes.

"It's not your fault, so don't worry about it."

The waitress returned with our food. I realized how hungry I was and dug in. The beef Wellington had an amazing crispy crust and the meat loaf inside juicy. I drank some of the wine, it's sour taste refreshing on my tongue. Maybe I shouldn't be drinking in the daytime, I mean...I still have work to do.

But I don't care.

"What do you do when you're stressed?" Winston asked after a few minutes of eating in silence.

I looked up and met his eyes. "What, is this a date? One where we get to know each other better?" I asked with a coy smile.

He laughed and ducked his head. He had a lovely laugh, the one that made you want to laugh too. He raised his head up and met my eyes.

"No, not a date. Just a lunch with an acquaintance." He said. "If it were to be a date, then that would be me picking you up and taking you to dinner at an even better place."

I raised a brow. I won't deny it, I felt butterflies in my stomach. He had said it with no hesitation, no playfulness or anything. Like it was the most natural thing to do. I could tell he meant it too, straightforward and concise.

"That does sound lovely," I said and smiled. "But unfortunately that won't happen. I'm not interested in dinners. Or dating."

"Of course," He said. "I'll remain your primary care physician then."

"I don't normally need a physician, but that could work."

He seems like a good person. But then again it's only been so long since Dante smashed my heart to pieces and took Nova by his side. It hurts, and seeing him today opened those wounds again.

So unfortunately, this thing with Winston won't be past what it is now. Physician and patient.

"Morgan," I heard a voice above me.

My entire body bristled. Oh no, what was he doing here?!

I raised my head up and looked at Dante. "What do you want?" I snapped in anger.

He turned and looked at Winston. "Who is this?" He asked, as if I didn't ask. "Who are you? And why are you sitting with her?"

"I'm sorry what?" Winston asked. "What makes you think you can ask me such questions. Do I know you?"

"Dante," I said, controlling my anger as much as I could. "You are ruining my appetite." I hissed through grit teeth.

"Is that so?" Dante turned to me, his eyes narrowed. "You just blew me off, left me standing like I'm some sort of worker all to have lunch with this man?!"

"I told you already," I said, slamming down my fork. "I have no business with you. Get out."

Eyes were on us, and people were starting to mumble and whisper about us. I felt embarrassed, what the fuck is actually wrong with Dante now?!

I turned to Winston. "I'm really sorry, about this"

"It's fine," Winston said with a small smile. His eyes were focused on Dante. "Again, do I know you?"

Dante glared at him. "Don't fucking speak to me."

"Oh my goodness," I willed the ground to open up and swallow me.

I got to my feet, clearly my appetite had gone down the drain. I turned to Winston and smiled. "Thank you for your wonderful company, Winston. But I'll have to take my leave now."

"It's okay, I'll settle the bill."

"But I..."

"Forget it." Dante snapped. "I'll settle her bill, and you can take care of yours."

Winston raised a brow. "Now you're really asking for it."

"Dante," I seethed. "What's your fucking problem?"

Dante turned to me, his eyes sparking anger. "Let's go. Your father is worried about you."

I scoffed. "Yeah, and you're now his mouth piece? What, sucking up to him in hopes that I'll change my mind? Well you're fucking wrong."

Dante grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the restaurant.

"Let me go!" I yelled, hitting his arm. But his grip was tight and hard to pull out of. I dug my heels into the ground. "Dante, you're hurting me."

He paused in front of the door and turned to me. "Look, Morgan, I get it. You're angry at me." He said. "But really, that guy?"

I felt a flash of anger. "That guy?! That's fucking rich coming from you. You don't get to stand here and talk like you're some sort of fucking saint. We both know you're not. Okay?"

"Can we just talk about this outside? People are staring."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, of course all you care about is how you look to the public." I yanked my arm from his grip and stormed out of the restaurant.

"Morgan!" He called after me, his footsteps racing after me. "Slow down, okay?"

"Go away! Leave me alone, I'm fucking done with you!"

"Well I'm not." He grabbed my arm again and turned me to look at him. For a moment, I was stunned breathless. The way the sun hit his face lit up his dark eyes in pools of molten gold. My breath hitched in my throat and butterflies erupted in my stomach.

For two seconds all I could see were memories. The number of times we'd laid in bed, the sun hitting his face just right, and me admiring his eyes. He looks so handsome, so ethereal that I can't even think right now.

His lips were moving, but I couldn't make out the words he was saying. The pain came and it came hard.

"Morgan," I heard his voice, soft and gentle.

"That's enough for now," Winston spoke behind him. I blinked and the spell was broken. Winston grabbed Dante's arm and held tight. "Let her go, now."

"Get your filthy hands off me." Dante snapped at him. "I'm talking to Morgan and not you."

"And she doesn't want to speak to you."

"I don't want to speak to either of you." I said, my voice cracking. "Dante, release me. You and I have nothing left to talk about. I'm sure you can find another company to invest your millions into."

"Morgan," He said, his voice so soft I was almost fooled into thinking he was sincere.

I dragged my arm back and headed to my car. It felt like my chest was closing in on me and I couldn't breathe.