The laws of love, lust, and lies

CHAPTER EIGHT

ALICE

I keep checking my phone every few minutes , George still hasn't answered the text message I sent him earlier letting him know that I was going to leave work a little later , and I feel like my anxiety grows with every second that passes by , I know that Dominic is realizing my change of attitude because I can notice his gaze on me on the way to the restaurant , but I just can't help it, I would really hate for George to get mad about this and even though I know he wouldn't cause any scene or anything like that in my new job , I am afraid of what might happen once I get home , and I was hoping I could get there before him to hide the shopping bags , but now I don't think that is possible and I am racking my brain trying to think of some way to get in all that pile of shopping bags to my room without him noticing.

A few minutes later , Dominic turns left and we enter a gravel path flanked side and side by small street lamps that give it an air of an enchanted garden , which climbs a small hill which is crowned by a construction of one store , quite modern and bright , and as soon as we reach the entrance , a valet boy comes to open the door for us , but noticing how elegant the place is and how horribly dressed I am , I signal him not to open the door , and Dominic gives me a questioning look , so I explain:

" I would rather not go in with these shoes , I am a bit embarrassed , so I thought about wearing one of the new ones we bought today, " I tell him as I lean into the back seat and rummage through the bags until I find a pair of pointy shoes , which are black and have a heel not too high to look like Bambie learning how to walk , but not so short as to make me look bad , plus it is clear that they are designer shoes so they will surely save me from more disdainful looks today.

Dominic nods approvingly once I have my shoes on , and we both get out of the car to head towards the entrance of the restaurant , the valet boy who tried to open the door for me before looks me from head to toe , but is interrupted by Dominic who hands him the keys to his car to park it and warns him not to scratch it with a slightly sharper tone than usual; and once we get to the entrance , the hostess jumps out of her seat as soon as she sees us and using her best smile , she says enthusiastically:

" Mr. Pemberton , welcome back , would you like the same table as usual? " she adds the question when she sees me standing behind him and I frown slightly.

Why did she say that? Is this the place where he brings all his dates? But I am not his date , he shouldn't have brought me here because people are going to get the wrong idea.

Dominic seems a bit uncomfortable with the comment made by the hostess , but he nods tensely and then starts walking behind her who seems to be leading us to the back of the restaurant towards a booth that is in the corner on the right , as we walk I realize that the people who come to this place seem to have a lot of money and are fancy - dressed , so I am glad I changed my shoes , although now that I look around I wish I had changed my outfit too.

Once we are inside the booth , which is a small room illuminated with dim light and a table located in the center with two chairs that are arranged on each side of the table facing each other , on the wall opposite the door there is a painting that does not seem to make a lot of sense to me , but it looks quite expensive , and on the left side , instead of a wall , there is a large window that goes from floor to ceiling and has a direct view of a beautiful garden that has a fountain and little lights hanging from the trees , It seems like a romantic setting , and I think Dominic notices it at the same time as I do because he seems quite uncomfortable all of a sudden.

As soon as we sit down at the table , a blonde waitress with long legs and full lips , in a small and delicate face , enters swaying her hips in a movement that seems forced and basically gives me a brief glance before deciding that she is not going to waste her time with me but with my companion , so , completely ignoring me , she turns to Dominic and with a big coquettish smile introduces herself as "Tiffany" and then proceeds to ask him what he wants to drink.

" What would you like to drink? " He heads straight for me without paying much attention to the waitress , and I am totally surprised by that , so I don't know exactly what to say.

" Anything is fine, " is all I can say , and he just purses his lips in discontent before pondering it for a second and ordered two glasses of a wine that has a complicated name , the waitress enthusiastically nods and leaves the booth again moving her hips in an almost exaggerated way , but Dominic doesn't look at her once.

" Could you put your phone aside for at least five minutes? " he tells me with an exasperated tone when I pick up my phone for the hundredth time this night , so I quickly put it aside and noticing his raised eyebrow , I decide to put it in my bag.

" I am sorry, " I mutter under my breath.

" Is your boyfriend causing you trouble for getting off work late? " he asks me , and I am so surprised by the question that all I can say is: " What? "

" You should warn him that this job involves leaving very late sometimes or arriving very early , also leaving unexpectedly on a trip , I am sure Kim told you all of this when you got to the office this morning, " he tells me , and I shake my head vigorously.

" Didn't she tell you? " he asks me incredulously.

" No , I mean , she did tell me , what I mean is that I don't have a boyfriend, " is all I can answer and he just nods , but I notice a smile dancing on his lips for a brief second before the waitress enters again with the drinks and his expression turns cold again , making me believe that maybe it was a trick of my mind.