LOVING EZEKIEL

CHAPTER FIVE

Once is an accident, twice is coincidence…or is it?

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It hasn’t been long since the two of them sat down the on the sole table with meals and drinks. But that time is more than enough to make her realize that she recklessly held a rich man’s hand, she spoke carelessly with a rich man, and she is about to dine with a man she just met—with those realizations weighing her down, she suddenly felt her mouth being stitched with embarrassment and anxiety.

For the first minutes, Georgia and Ezekiel sat in silence until two full songs were done. Next, Ezekiel took the initiative to open the wine and pour it down their glasses. Her, on the other hand, sat there in complete silence and just followed his lead.

So when he gave her a glass half-filled with wine, she gave him a smile but didn’t looked nor spoke. And when he said that they should eat, all she did was nod and pick up her fork and knife, but didn’t proceed to cut her steak.

For someone with an average status as Georgia, it wasn’t that usual nor that unusual for her to visit high end establishments like the venue Ezekiel chose for them to meet. However, the difference of dining with people, and dining in a reserved floor with a guest is an entirely different story—how did it came up to this?

Getting tired of staring at the meal worth her two days of clinic service, she glanced at the man who is elegantly cutting up his meal. He’s really born with a golden spoon, huh? His distinctive features that fit the description of the royal main character in a novel, his aura that excludes nothing but pure dominance and wealth, and his presence that screams power, all of them caught Georgia’s amusement and sense of bitterness at the same time.

Noticing her stare that she herself was unaware of due to her own thoughts floating around her, Ezekiel glanced at her untouched food with her utensils being held above it. Is she feeling awkward? No one stared at me for this long. Deciding to step in, he lifted up his plate and proceeded to switch their meals—now, she has the perfectly cut steak, and he have the perfectly untouched steak.

Surprised, Georgia snapped out of her thoughts and looked back and forth with the plates that was switched before she could even stop him. “I-I could’ve cut the steak myself.” She said, her orbs that reflects the warm light appears to be a rink of frozen honey, glimmering with embarrassment and pride as she locked gazes with the man whose eyes were a complete opposite of hers—under the warm light, it appears to be an icy lake that is being shone upon by the summer light.

Bold of her to try to preserve her ego even when her flushed face says otherwise. “Take it as my way of saying that you can be comfortable around me.” Dismissing that topic to at least help her in maintaining her composure, Ezekiel thought it’d be wise for him to indirectly calm her down—but for Georgia, it sounded like an insult.

Is he telling me to be thankful because he’s here with me? Internally scoffing with the way she processed things, she said nothing and just began eating with a heavy heart, despite her trying her best to not make a mess nor a loud sound while eating. If he just gave me Finn, I would’ve stormed out and let him eat quietly after taking Finn and bringing his shirt-

His shirt! Upon remembering that she failed to bring the freshly washed and ironed shirt with her, her eyes widened and stopped midway of eating her second slice of steak and stared at the man who is done with cutting the meat. Georgia, you fool! You just doubled your meeting time with him!

“Why are you-”

“I remembered that your shirt is still in my clinic.” Before he could even question her why is his clothes with her, the memory of reading the note she left made him stop and just slowly nod at her. “It’s alright. You can return it to me tomorrow night.” He replied.

Night again? Intrigued by his choice of time, she lowered her fork. “Why not in the morning?” questioning him, the man who is about to raise his glass of wine paused, but soon after, he took a sip before lowering it again to look at the woman who silently waiter for him to speak back.

“I have morning meetings to attend to.” He smiled, not breaking the eye contact to ensure that his confidence in his answer will reach her, hoping that she won’t question him further. Feeling the unknown chills that ran down her spine, she blinked and did the first thing she thought to avert her gaze—drink her wine in one go.

As the sweet, slightly alcoholic taste influenced her system, it felt like it quickly drowned her mind in dizziness. Stopping in the middle, she lowered her glass and heaved a deep breath, almost like a gasp of surprise as she stared at her glass that is almost finished in just another gulp.

I forgot. I didn’t eat lunch. Knowing how her alcohol tolerance is practically zero if she skipped any meal of the day, she placed her right elbow on the table and rested her temple on her fingertips, slightly massaging with her eyes closed. Please don’t make me sleep here.

“You can’t drink that much?” Noticing how she was deflated with just a half-filled glass that she didn’t even finished, Ezekiel asked her while she busied herself in sobering up. “Not really. Just when I skipped meals.” She answered in a small voice.

“Oh?” Feeling more drawn to the woman who dropped her defense completely, he moved her plate and glass to the side so she can rest comfortably. Doing the same to his plate and glass, he placed his crossed arms on the table and watched how she slid down and rested her head on her arms, her sleepy face is facing her right.

Chuckling at how naïve she appeared, Ezekiel stared at her who is cozying up in her seat. “What meal did you skipped?” having fun with talking with a drunk Georgia, his smile didn’t fade as he waited for her. “Lunch. Betty’s a handful.” She muttered with her eyes still closed.

“Betty? Who’s Betty?” he asked, stopping his laughter from escaping. “My puppy patient.” She answered, her nose slightly crunched as she continued speaking. “Cutely annoying pup.” She said, then her expression softened as she moved to find her proper sleeping spot.

That action, on the other hand, made the guy in front of her nearly burst to laughter, but tried his hardest to hide it through a fake cough. “She made you skip lunch?” he asked, his smile never faded as he watched her slowly nod her head but still kept her eyes closed.

“Barked too much…She bit…me too.” And with that, she dozed off, leaving the man in front of her with inaudible laughter as he leaned back on his chair, now looking at her with amused eyes and wide grin. “Cute.” Commenting, he brushed his hair back and just stared at the sleeping woman, completely forgetting the fact that she isn’t in her comfort zone.

Squawk!

Surprised by the sudden sound from the parrot, he looked at him and placed his finger on his mouth, “Shh.” Signaling for the pet Finn to shush down, he looked at him and chuckled when the parrot bobbed his head up and down as if he understood him and nodded in agreement.

“Your Finn is just like you.” He looked back at Georgia whose face is now redder than before, totally influenced by the alcohol she drank despite it having just a few percent induced in the wine.

The silence that accompanied the calming music made him feel at ease. When was the last time I felt at home? As he remained fixated at the woman who appears to be naively trusting him because of her careless drinking, he cannot help but feel warm and unexpectedly comfortable. “Georgia.” Out of the blue, he found himself muttering her name.

“Georgia! Georgia!”

With Finn copying him, he quickly turned and shushed him before he wake his master up. “Hmm…Finn…” Georgia muttered in her sleep. “Eat later.” Whispering her next words, she then turned to bury her fac eon her arms, leaving Ezekiel with his heart that nearly jumped out because of the parrot’s sudden voice.

Blinking twice, his shoulders shook as he pursed his lips to stop himself from laughing, his hand is covering his eyes. This woman really.

***

Ezekiel waited for half an hour in case Georgia will wake up, and while he did, he drank the rest of the wine. But even with his promised time of waiting passed and she is still sleeping soundly, he decided to bring her in his room—again. After lowering his empty wine glass, he took his phone out of his pocket and called for his secretary, Drake Jones. “Yes sir?”

“Come to Walter’s Steakhouse. Pick up the caged parrot in the second floor and bring it to my room tomorrow at 7 in the morning.” He ordered. “Copy, sir. Should I leave it in the living room, sir?” When he asked that, Ezekiel looked at Georgia who is peacefully sleeping in front of her.

“No need. Stay for lunch.” You will watch over her. Deciding to cut his order short so Drake won’t question him, he figured that letting him see Georgia will be the best choice so he can’t escape nor flood him with questions. “Lunch?....Yes sir.” Receiving the answer he wanted, Ezekiel nodded.

“Good. Then see you tomorrow.” Ending the call, he then stood up and placed his phone back to his pocket. To think that I’ll see you defenseless twice. “Better stop drinking, woman.” Whispering that to himself, he walked over her side. And just as when he was supposed to pick her up, he caught a glance of his coat that he placed on a stool beside Finn’s cage.

Looking back and forth between the coat and her, he walked towards the coat and walked back towards her. “They might write articles about her if she’s seen.” Thinking that it is best to hide her, he gently moved her to put the coat on top of her, covering her body and stopped just before her closed eyes.

Once done, he proceeded to carefully carry her in his arms. Successfully carrying her like a bride, he slowly walked towards door, hoping to not disturb her in the process. Giving her one last look, he turned to the direction where the doors are located.

Just as careful as he walked, he slowly opened the door, taking the woman with him into consideration. Once they are outside, he heaved a small breath of relief. “I never thought you’ll make me care for you like this twice in a row, miss.” Even with his words sounding like a complaint, his small smile stated otherwise.

Marching towards the first floor, the silence of the floor he reserved made him feel like the walk was longer than before. Was it because he’s carrying someone? Or was it because he is walking slowly on purpose? The answer on those seemingly similar questions is still unknown even for Ezekiel himself.

Finally done with the hall and the stairs, he was greeted by the soft chatters, music, and voices of the people who are dining and serving in the first floor. Once the people saw them go down and walk pass the ‘RESERVED’ sign at the end of the stairs, some stare in awe, while some looked with annoyance.

When the employees saw them, a waiter and a waitress quickly ran toward them. “Should we call for a cab, sir?” the waiter asked. “Or should we call your driver instead, sir?” the waitress asked next.

“It’s all right. We will walk.” Ignoring their tries of pleasing their VIP, Ezekiel answered without looking to them as he continued walking towards the entrance Having that answer as a sign to be quiet and stop following them, they, along with some curious bystander, watched as the guard opened the door for them and walked away without sparing anyone a single glance.

“Isn’t he THAT Ezekiel Hendrix?”

“Yes. My husband works at one of their hotels.”

“But why is he carrying her?”

“Who is she?”

As they went farther than the crowd, the questions remained lingering in the minds of the witnesses: who is she to him?

Ezekiel Finn Hendrix is a man of a few words, an indirectly crowned king on top of the business hierarchy, and the enemy of all power-seeking personas. But at this moment, Ezekiel Finn Hendrix is just a man meant to carry her, Georgia Rose Allison, and he is just the owner of the hotel room that she, Georgia Rose Allison, will stay in for the second night.