Sunless World (JaDine AU)

ϛ part 2

AN: long chapter compared to my previous ones (doble). no dianne x nathan interaction here if anyone's looking for that. lol. also, there would be another AN in the middle of the chapter.

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Dianne left the bathroom first and then Nadine followed. That was one more thing convenient about Dianne being her bodyguard, she can easily blend in with the crowd and no one would immediately think she was her security.

When she had returned to her table, as Dianne said, Carlos was already gone. She looked for James and he indeed was beside his father again. He was talking to an old man who seemed rather amused and was looking at him fondly. He was quite familiar but Nadine couldn't put her finger on it.

"See something interesting?" Someone said from her back and for the second time that night, she felt as if her heart jumped. She turned around to see Tristan smiling at her and then pointing at James.

Nadine felt panicked inside. Dianne saw what had happened. Was Tristan watching, too? Who else saw?

She schooled her face into an expressionless one and just shrugged at Tristan as an answer. His smile really unnerved her.

"You've met before right? During the wedding reception." Tristan continued inquiring.

"Y-Yeah." Nadine hesitantly said.

"Dennis has probably already told you about him. Our little brother, James." He said next. "He's actually dad's favorite. As you can see." He said casually.

Nadine couldn't help but take a glance at James once more.

"It's probably one of the reasons Dennis doesn't like him." Tristan continued saying. "I can imagine he'd have told you things about me and James."

Nadine looked at him, sizing him up. What was he up to? Did he know something? Why was he talking to her about James?

Nadine decided to just play innocent to be safe.

"Yeah. I get that Dennis doesn't like him. You?" She asked.

"Oh, I really like James." Tristan said with a big smile--Nadine still couldn't say if it was genuine. "He's actually a nice kid, whatever Dennis told you. And he's quite smart and resourceful. If he was legitimate, dad would probably have chosen him as successor instead of Dennis. I would, too, to be honest."

This surprised Nadine and also confused her.

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously.

"James just has a way, I guess. He's creative and has superb analytical skills." Tristan shared. "You know when he was still in high school, dad actually had him manage the Tagaytay branch of the Empyrean." That was the name of their hotel chain. "He exceeded expectations. He probably will ace the game if he was given the chance to play. Probably why Dennis would never give him that chance."

Nadine was about to reply when Zenaida came.

"Where's your date, doll?" She asked Nadine.

Nadine suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She hated it when her mom calls her that.

"I don't have a date." Nadine said patiently. "If you're asking about your guest though, I was told he already went home."

Zenaida frowned but then realized that Nadine was talking to Tristan.

"Oh I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something?" She asked.

"Nah." Tristan said. "Just having a chat with your doll here." He said with a grin. Nadine still wasn't quite sure, but she thinks he was being sarcastic now.