Shattered Love

Chapter 24: The Dinner

"He's okay but getting rid of his love towards whiskey and scotch would be a hard thing to do. However, he does take more precaution steps nowadays." He answered.

Patricia cut in, "Brent, you know Nikolei Machiavelli, the client I always tell you about. We go way back when he first started running his hotels worldwide."

"I do, apparently." Brent looked down and chewed his salad. "Mr. Machiavelli, you look much more... well kept than the last time we met."

"We didn't know both of you are acquainted with each other." Jerry spoke, looking at both Brent and Nikolei repeatedly.

"Mr. Thompson is-" Nikolei gulped invisibly, "my late wife's lawyer."

Silence filled the room as the feeling of awkward engulfed everyone in the room. Jerry cleared his throat while Patricia made an 'oh' sound as she stared at Nikolei for a few seconds before looking back down onto her plate. The deafening silence was excruciating, so Alexandra quickly rose from her seat to save the day.

"Okay!" She exclaimed cheerfully. "It's time for my famous grilled steak with black pepper sauce."

"I'll go and help." Grant joined in.

The dinner went smooth after that. Everyone was having conversation normally except for Nikolei who would only answered once or twice to the questions directed at him once in a while. He rather listened to others talking while swirling the fluid in his glass slowly. His eyes would stop at Alexandra for a few seconds too many times but looked away after that to avoid getting caught.

Patricia would also questioned him about his business some other time, promising herself and him to collaborate more in future with the new designs she had coming for his newly built hotel in South East Asia. Alexandra on the other hand would approached him and offer some more wine to him, which he gladly accepted by extending the glass in his hand towards her. Everytime he did so, the corner of his eyes would caught the glimpse of Brent silently staring and glaring at him from the other side of the room.

He let out a sigh, standing up from his seat as he excused himself from the crowd. Nikolei advanced towards the sliding door just by the huge glass window that was covered by the curtains, situated right behind the sofas that were facing the television. He slid the door carefully and squeezed himself through the opening of the door.

Leaning his torso onto the railing, Nikolei sipped his Merlot while enjoying the view of London as the night approached. The wind caressed his face, softly grazing his skin as his hair swayed to the movement of the lightly blown wind.

"Breathtaking, isn't it?" Grant said as he appeared from behind. He too, leaned against the railing while squinting his eyes as the chilly wind blew a bit stronger than before.

Nikolei nodded his head and remained silent. Grant who was hoping for Nikolei to talk continued the conversation, "I heard that you keep Alexandra company while I was away."

Nikolei tensed as the words left Grant's mouth. Millions of thoughts ambushed his mind that moment as the silence engulfed the both of them. No one spoke a word, it was like Grant was daring him to speak. He thought the tension became more harrowing by each seconds, but he was proven wrong when Grant chuckled lightly and grinned at him.

"Inthank you for that. I was worried at first that she would be bored to death while I was away. Plus, we hardly spent time together these past few weeks due to my work as a surgeon." He said in an honest voice.