21st Century Knight

Chapter 12 Dinners and Dates

"Nice ambience. I’m surprised you found a quaint little place like this." Gabriella said as they entered the restaurant. Brandon was craning his neck from left to right, as though looking for someone.

"Brandon?" he turned to her upon hearing her voice.

"Oh, right. You want a private booth or table in the middle?" he asked.

"I prefer a booth. You?"

"Definitely a booth." He seemed distracted and Gabriella didn't miss it.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"What? Oh, no. Nothing's wrong. Just… making sure no one around here recognizes me. I would like a nice quiet evening with my girlfriend, without unwanted interruptions." She smiled at him, understanding. Brandon could be so sweet with his guileless honesty at times. Gabriella handed him the menu.

"What are you feeling like having?" she asked him.

"Hmm… I need some chicken wings. I’m craving them."

"I’ll start with a soup." The waiter took their order and left. Brandon got up and sat next to her since the booth was rounded like a semi-circle.

"Selfie time." He pulled out his phone.

"Really? Isn’t that what the kids do?" Gabriella asked him skeptically. He pointed to the other tables.

"Take a look." Nearly half the tables had couples and all were busy taking couple pictures. Gabriella giggled and gave in.

"Alright, if social convention demands it. But technically it’s called an us-ie, not a selfie. Although personally, I prefer the term CC."

"CC?"

"Couple-capture." Brandon approved of that.

"Nice. Smile." He held his phone at arm’s length and snapped a picture with his arm around her. The second one he took while kissing her cheek. She laughed while he took it. Before they could take the third, there was an interruption outside their booth.

"Well, look what I found. If it isn’t my ex-sweetheart." Leaning casually against the booth, with a smile smoother than butter, was none other than Archer Steele.

"Archer? What are you doing here?" Gabriella asked in surprise.

"Same as you, I take it. Having dinner." Archer replied curtly. He didn't look pleased at all to see Gabriella wrapped so snuggly under Brandon's arm. Gabriella herself had forgotten her aversion to physical proximity and found it quite comfortable being this close to him.

"This place is generally reserved for couples," Brandon said, giving him a demure stare.

"Oh, don’t worry, I’m not here alone," Archer replied curtly. With that, he pulled the arm of a pretty brunette girl from behind the booth so that she came into view. Gabriella recognized her immediately as one of her old classmates.

"Cheyenne? Oh my gosh, Cheyenne, I haven’t seen you in ages!" Gabriella got up and hugged the girl.

"You look great, Gabriella. I love what you've done with your hair. You used to have waves back then," Cheyenne said with a smile. Gabriella patted her hair shyly.

"Thank you. Oh! Brandon, this is Cheyenne Tate, an old friend from school. Cheyenne, this is Brandon Whiteley." Gabriella introduced her friend to Brandon.

"Nice to meet you," Brandon said with a polite nod. Cheyenne's eyes widened on seeing Brandon.

"I’ve seen you before! In a magazine somewhere! Aren’t you the guy who dated Valerie Haven?"

"That was a long time ago. Right now, Gabriella is my girlfriend." Brandon said assuredly. Cheyenne smiled at Gabriella.

"It’s nice to know you're dating again, Gabriella. Does that mean you’ll be coming to the wedding together?"

"Wedding?" Gabriella asked questioningly.

"Yes, Meredith Mills’ wedding. It’s in two weeks."

"I don’t think I got an invitation," Gabriella said awkwardly.

"Ah, that reminds me," Archer piped up, pulling an envelope out of his jacket, "Meredith met up with me last week and asked me to give you this." He handed it to Gabriella.

"It’s an invitation," Gabriella said, taking it in her hand. "She asked you to give me this?"

"Yes, I told her I knew where you lived so I could bring it to you. In fact, I was going to bring it over tomorrow. Coincidentally, I happen to meet you here," Archer said, a note of jealousy seeping into his voice as his eyes flickered again to Brandon.

"Coincidentally," Brandon repeated amicably.

"Well, it was nice meeting you again. I hope to see you at the wedding." Cheyenne said, bringing the conversation to an end.

"Wait, you're not staying for dinner?" Brandon asked, surprising Gabriella. In truth, he didn't really want Archer to join them; he simply wanted the satisfaction of seeing Archer's green face over the fact that Gabriella was his girlfriend, not Archer's, despite the latter coming in with a pretty brunette. Gabriella would have been most surprised at Brandon's thoughts if she had any idea about them. But she didn't.

"Oh we already ate," Archer replied. "I have a night shift starting at nine. I work at the nightclub, remember, Gabriella?" he winked at Gabriella. Gabriella didn't care to respond to that.

"Hmm. Too bad, you could have joined us for dinner otherwise." Brandon said, the mischievous tone not unheard to Gabriella's sharp ears.

"It is a shame. Well, goodbye." Archer said airily, waving them off, secretly irritated that he could not get the better of Brandon.

Cheyenne waved, "Bye Gabriella." Gabriella turned to look at Brandon with raised eyebrows.

"What?" he asked.

"I know something’s up, okay? So spill." He leaned his head back.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said sweetly, patting Gabriella's knee. She stopped him, clutching his hand firmly.

"Brandon, you don't expect me to believe you're not hiding something from me?" she asked. She could sense he was trying to pass himself off as nonchalant, but his usually honest nature wouldn't allow it. He sighed at her intuition, realizing the fact too.

"Sharp as a tack, huh? Okay, truth be told, I kind of expected him to show up."

"How come?"

"When I found this restaurant on the map, I thought it would be a nice place for dinner. But when we drove up, I noticed a nightclub a little further down. I knew it belonged to Archer and thought there was a chance he might show up."

"Wait, how could you know it belonged to Archer? I never told you that." Gabriella frowned. Brandon rubbed his neck.

"That… was something I found out." He sounded too coy. Gabriella frowned, waiting for him to go on.

"Ever since that day you tried to get out of that date with him, I hired a detective to do a background check on him. I felt suspicious and I was concerned about you, especially since you told him where you lived." She blinked in shock.

"I am appalled that you would resort to such measures," Gabriella said sternly before softening her tone, "and grateful that you would do that for me." Brandon took her hand, the corners of his mouth perking up.

"What can I say? Anything to protect you, Gabriella. And after all, as your knight in shining armor, it's my job."

"You mean 'knight in shining suit'," Gabriella giggled. "Because that suit makes you look too irresistible to be around. Who knighted you anyway?"

"You did, when you smushed my hotdog on me," Brandon said playfully, "although I appreciate the compliment." Gabriella broke out in laughter and Brandon joined in.

"Are you gonna open that?" He asked when they subsided, pointing at the envelope on the table. Gabriella picked it up.

"Might as well." She opened it and read it.

"Meredith Mills weds Ray Chalmers. You are cordially invited…" she mumbled the rest of the details under her breath.

"She's another of your friends?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah, sort of. She was the popular type, you know? I was just a classmate."

"Maybe she invited all her classmates."

"She would. She’s the type who likes to be surrounded by people, a lot of people."

"Will you be going? If you are, I can be your escort. That'll give me a chance to show you off instead." Brandon suggested cheekily. Gabriella patted his cheek in amusement.

"Brandon, I’m not a showpiece. But yeah, I would like to go just so people could see us together." She sighed quietly. "People used to tease me for not having a boyfriend before Archer… and that didn't turn out so great…" Brandon heard the note of disappointment in her voice and gently squeezed her hand.

"We are definitely going," he said firmly, "everyone's gonna see us and be jealous. Mostly of me because I'm the lucky one to have you on my arm," he winked, "and it'll make Archer sore." Gabriella gave him a patronizing look.

"I don’t think that’ll happen," she said, hoping he wouldn't take this rivalry too far, "he seems to have moved on. And with Cheyenne of all people."

"Don’t believe what you see. That was just a first date. I have a feeling she’s only doing him a favor." Brandon said seriously.

"How can you tell?"

"The detective found out that he was single up until yesterday."

"Okay, I appreciate the concern, but that’s starting to creep me out," Gabriella said with a nervous laugh.

"Sorry," Brandon said, just as the waiter brought their food. "Let's talk about something else." They ate while amiably conversing about whatever came to mind for a few minutes. Gabriella went over a question she wanted to ask in her head when a lapse of silence fell.

"So… you really want to go to the wedding?" she asked Brandon in a soft voice.

"Of course. Why not go?"

"Well…" She wondered if he'd forgotten that he'd invited her to meet his parents, or maybe he'd changed his mind…

"It's two weeks away; we can easily make it. It's actually a good thing it's not this weekend. My parents are expecting us as I told them we'd be coming."

"Oh, you remembered," Gabriella muttered in surprise. Brandon looked up at her quickly.

"Course I did. Why would you think I wouldn't?"

"You hadn't mentioned it since the party, so I thought—"

"Let me stop you right there," Brandon took her hand as he spoke, "Gabriella, I invited you to meet my parents because I want them to meet you. It's not something I'd forget like that."

"Okay," Gabriella said, her doubts dissipating and her expression clearing. She had been worried that Brandon might have changed his mind about such an important meeting the more time he spent with her – she thought maybe he'd been too hasty in asking her to meet his parents and might not have been ready for it – or even regretted it. She felt she wasn't the kind of girl a millionaire would bring home to meet the folks. But looking at his open carefree expression now, she quelled such thoughts. Brandon was not a snob, despite his extravagant shopping habits.

Her mood lightened up and she made up her mind not to let such thoughts bother her anymore.

"So Brandon, what exactly does your company do? I mean, I read online that Whiteley Enterprises does landscaping?"

"That’s only part of what we do. We also build parks, do outdoor architecture, and home lawns."

"I see."

"Our company’s motto is ‘making nature more beautiful.’ But interior design is the latest department in our field of work."

"And what do you do? What's your job?" Gabriella asked. Brandon shook his head.

"You don’t want to know. It would make you dizzy. Makes me just thinking about it," he said with a shudder.

"Come on, tell me." Gabriella persuaded him.

"Well… Imagine having a few hundred departments, all making reports and getting directions, and pooling all the financial and marketing data. My job is to sift through all that, analyze it and return a summary of everything." Brandon spread out his hands in emphasis. Gabriella looked impressed.

"That's a lot of work for one man. You must be really good at your job."

"I just deal with the big stuff after it’s been filtered through the directors, executives, and department managers. But most of the department heads prefer coming to me because they feel comfortable talking to me rather than the board and that adds up on my to-do list."

"Hmm, I wonder why," Gabriella said, though she had a feeling she knew. Brandon's easygoing personality would make any staff working for him feel at ease.

"Whatever you're thinking, it's not that," Brandon said, seeing her demure face. "I'm the youngest president my father's company has ever seen. And none of the execs are below fifty – bald-headed grizzlies may seem intimidating to the underlings." Gabriella laughed at his joke.

"So you're the youngest?"

"More or less. We do have about a thousand junior staff in my age group, give or take a few years, but I'm the only boss that's not married, graying, or pudgy around the middle. Those execs sure love their glazed donuts." Gabriella laughed again – Brandon certainly had a sense of humor. She sampled a breadstick as she thought about his company.

"I don’t get it. With all that work, how do you manage to get off at four?"

"My dad made a strict rule that no one works longer than ten hours a day. If people start at seven or eight, they get off at five or six. That way they can spend time with their families, get enough rest, and not get consumed by their work and miss out on life. My dad didn’t want his employees to get overworked. Surprisingly, statistics showed an increase in productivity by twenty percent."

"That’s very considerate of him. But you get off at four."

"Being the president has its perks," he said and added with a playful smile, "and I can make time for my girlfriend." He threaded his fingers with hers.

"But don’t you have a lot of work?" Gabriella asked, unconsciously massaging her thumb over his.

"The dogpile of work gets sorted through in the morning. By evening, there’s a lull since everyone just prepares for the next day. I used to have a lot of spare time when I first entered the company. Then I decided to go and have fun. It was better than doing nothing in the evenings. Of course, my workload has increased since then, but there are days when there's practically nothing to do and days when there's just no time to breathe."

"What kind of fun do you have?" Gabriella asked curiously.

"Parties, golf, shopping, and so on."

"You must have gone all the way," Gabriella said, giving him a sideways glance.

"I did. My dad had to make me toe the line about a year after that. He pulled me into his country clubs and charities and since then I’ve been a saint. Well mostly." She raised her eyebrows. He chuckled.

"I'm still a bit of a shopaholic."

"I already knew that," Gabriella said slyly.

"But it’s different now. I used to buy a lot of things I didn’t need. Then I started buying stuff for my dates. Now I only spend money on charities and my girlfriend."

"Me? Heavens, Brandon, you don’t need to spend on me. Really," Gabriella said in alarm.

"Course I do. I always wanted to give gifts to my girlfriend. Since I never had anything more than a date, I didn’t have that luxury. But now…" he gave her a tender gaze.

"Brandon—" he put his finger on her lips.

"Shh. This is one argument where you're gonna have to give in," he whispered delicately. Gabriella sighed.

"You’re too generous, you know that?"

"You're one of the few who thinks so." Brandon laughed. As dinner progressed, Gabriella felt herself loosening up and enjoying Brandon's company. She couldn't help thinking how much more pleasant this date was compared to their first impromptu one. Maybe they did click well together after all, and the thought brought a little smile to Gabriella's lips.

Brandon dropped her off at her apartment after dinner. He looked like he wanted to spend another night with her as he stood outside her door, the signs of his puppy dog face coming on. Gabriella stood firm.

"Uh-uh. No Brandon, you have to go home. What will people in this building think if they keep seeing you? You’re lucky no one got wise yet." He stuck out his bottom lip in petulance. Gabriella promptly kissed it to pacify him. She knew she was getting a lot more comfortable in their relationship and knew how to respond to Brandon by now. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Wait here, I’ll get your shirt."

"No need. I already took it this morning with me."

"Oh okay, then." She looked inquiringly at him, waiting for him to make a move. He stepped closer to her, taking her by her elbows.

"Will you be okay tonight without me?" he asked meekly.

"Brandon, I've been living by myself since college. I’ll be fine." She replied, patting his chest. He leaned in for a kiss. His lips met hers urgently like he didn’t want it to end too soon. She felt his emotions bubbling beneath the surface and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer. He took her waist and lifted her off the ground, making her gasp for a second. But he recaptured her lips before she could protest. After a long minute of savoring her lips, he put her down with a sigh.

"Text me, alright?" He said, reluctant to leave. She nodded.

"Good night, Gabriella." He blew her another kiss as he backed away from her door.

"Night, Brandon." She said with a soft look in her eyes before shutting the door. Having a boyfriend was an experience Gabriella didn't think she'd get used to again, but Brandon made it so much more beautiful.

That night, as she got into bed, she pulled out her phone. She wondered whether to text him tonight or wait till tomorrow. Was it too soon? Knowing Brandon, he'd probably be waiting for it. But before she could make up her mind, she got a text from him first.

Are you asleep yet? He asked.

Not yet. I just got into bed.

I miss you already, he typed, with a cute little bear sticker that was spouting violent tears. She giggled and typed back a bear giving air kisses.

I wish I could really claim those kisses, he sent back.

Go to sleep, Brandon, I’ll see you tomorrow. I promise.

I’ll dream of you. Just like you dreamt of me. She bit her lip, as was her habit when she was nervous. He still remembered that. She got one more text from him. It was an ‘I love you’ bear sticker. She hesitated for a moment before sending back a bear sticker holding a large heart balloon that said 'I love you' too.