Chapter 16: Mismatch (2)
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“How about we go shopping after work?” Elizabeth suggested. ‘There’s a huge chance that prick Billy will end up following me to the restaurant... He shouldn’t see Gabriel dressed in his normal clothes...’ She thought to herself as she picked out the dress she wanted.
“I can’t really afford anything at the moment so-” Gabriel was trying to reject the woman’s offer but she was much quicker to respond than he was.
“No, it’s fine I’ll pay for it. After all I’m the one inviting you out!” Elizabeth said with a smile on her face and a happy voice. ‘After all what’s a few hundread bucks compared to seeing Billy’s surprised expression.’
“That’s not nessessary-” Gabriel tried to argue but the woman was more insistent.
“I’ll come pick you up from work and I’ll tell you what’s up.” Elizabeth said as she ended the call, not waiting for the other’s response.
“Tha-” Gabriel couldn’t even get another word in before the woman ended the call on him. This was certainly the strangest conversation he’s had with a woman before. ‘She... invites me out... and wants to buy me a suit... I guess I really am just so embarrassing...’ He thought to himself as he looked at his reflection at a car that was parked out. Somehow he couldn’t clearly make out his face, not because the car window wasn’t a good reflective surface but rather because he really felt like he was as plain a man as has ever existed...
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Several hours later Elizabeth picks the man up in her car, most of the cafe staff was in fact surprised to see this but none of them said anything due to the respect they held for their employer...
“So... where are we headed?” Gabriel asked with a concerned voice, he somehow found all of this too out there for him. It was not only sudden but he also couldn’t comprehend what was going on inside the woman’s head at that moment, yet she looked determined like a person with a clear goal in mind.
“I don’t know... I was thinking... Armani or maybe Gucci would be better... The suit has to be of exquisite quality...” Elizabeth thought out loud as she drove to MM distinct, it was the higher district of V city, a place with various brand named products all brought in from various parts of the world.
“Why? I mean... we’re only having dinner aren’t we?” Gabriel asked as he looked at the woman’s side profile. ‘She’s acting off again... but somehow she also seems happy... I wonder if something good happened...’ He thought to himself. ‘She couldn’t be excited about our date... now could she?’
“We are, of course we are but... an old... ex of mine is probably going to be there.” Elizabeth admitted, with the voice she used at that moment it was obvious she wasn’t a fan of the idea.
“Probably?” Gabriel questioned, ‘Did she invite him there with us or something?’ He wondered to himself.
“He’s a major stalker...” Elizabeth confessed as she made a sharp turn and entered into the parking lot. There were surprisingly a lot of cars already parked there so she needed to look for a place.
“R-right...” Gabriel nodded his head, still thinking the situation was too weird. ‘Shouldn’t she be contacting the police about this? I mean... the Hell?’ He wondered but then the woman answered him before he could even question her.
“And I can’t really file a retraining order against him either, he’s got far too much power and influence for that...” Elizabeth said as she drove through the parking lot. “Damn there really are no spaces left are there...” She muttered to herself quietly as she spotted one.
“Sounds like a dangerous guy... but why am I there again?” Gabriel asked as he wanted the woman’s focused expression. ‘Is she... in danger or not? I can’t really tell given how calmly she’s speaking about this dude...’ He wondered to himself.
“I want to make him mad.” Elizabeth said as she smiled. “He thinks he has the upper hand on me just because we slept with each other a few times... so today I messed with him and told him I had a boyfriend who’s much better than him, rich, handsome, humble and-”
“How will I be of any help with that?” Gabriel questioned. He didn’t find himself to fit in any of these categories.
“Ah... I forgot to ask you, didn’t I?” Elizabeth said as she parked the car in the parking lot of the huge building. It was a space a bit far away from the entrance but it was better than still looking around. “Could you pretend to be my boyfriend for a while?” She asked with a cute voice and an even cuter expression. It definitely wasn’t her usual coldhearted self speaking.
“I...” Gabriel felt like his voice was lost at that moment. “Sure...” He agreed not really understanding the entire situation. ‘Why did I just agree?!’ He wondered to himself but what was said was said.
“Thank you! He’s going to be so mad after he sees you.” Elizabeth took off her seatbelt and hugged Gabriel while they were still in the car.
‘T-thank God, I agreed...’ Gabriel thought to himself as he felt his heart skip a beat after the woman hugged him. It was the first time he’s experienced something like that from a woman he actually really liked to begin with. Of course he’s been with plenty of women before but none seemed quite as kind as the one that hugged him just now, and none seemed quite as beautiful to him either... Maybe it was because he was biased, maybe it was because he had been idolizing Elizabeth for a while before they even began talking to each other... but in any case he was happy he agreed to this silly deal of theirs...