Fight for You

| Thirteen |

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. Ms Bennett, what do you say? Will you have dinner with me?"

I turned on the charm trying to hide that I was feeling out of my depth. "Yes, of course, it would be my pleasure. I have a few things to finish here-" Alex cut me off before I could finish.

"Nonsense! It can wait till Monday. Go and show Mr Harvey around the city. Enjoy yourself." he leant into my shoulder and whispered for only me to hear him say "You deserve it." and then he gave me a nudge before disappearing back to his office.

"Shall we?" Edward gestured to the elevator.

"I need to get a few things from my office first, you can wait here, I'll only be a few minutes."

"I'll follow you if you don't mind. I'm worried what Alice might do if we're left alone." he winked over to Alice and she nearly fainted.

"Come on then." I chuckled at his playful exchange.

Edward followed behind me the few metres to my office and he stopped in the doorway looking around my office. He came in and sat in a chair and stared up at the photo I had blown up and hung on the wall opposite him. It took up most of the wall.

"Is this yours too?" he gestured to the photo.

"Yeah, a lot of the work in the office is mine. Alex and his wife have some pieces in their home too. They help to feed my shoe addiction." most of the money from the sale of my work to Alex had been spent on shoes and jewellery. We both laughed at the thought.

"This one is different to the others though. It's the only one with people in it." He had a puzzled expression on his face.

"Nothing gets past you does it, Edward Harvey?" He cheekily shrugged his shoulders. "I chose this one myself. It's one of my favourite of everything I've taken." We were both staring at the picture.

"Why is that?" his eyes still on the picture burning a hole in the canvas.

"It's a long story."

"I'd like to hear it," he leant back in the chair ready to listen to my tale.

"Uh, this one is special. I took it during my lunch break one day. I was in the park when the elderly couple arrived." I leant against the side of my desk and kept looking at the picture. I could feel Edward turn his attention toward me instead of the picture. "I remember seeing the bright red cardigan that the woman was wearing and her lipstick that matched her cardigan perfectly. She stood out among the dark corporate suits and skirts in the small park. She was pushing the man in a wheelchair and I was intrigued by them and wondered why they were at the park in the middle of the city so I grabbed my camera out of my bag and watched them through my lens."

I could feel Edward still staring at me but I felt like I needed to finish the story. He seemed to be hanging on my every word. He wanted to hear the story as badly as I wanted to tell it.

"As luck would have it, while I had my lens trained on them the women placed her hand on the man's shoulder, he raised his opposite hand crossing it across his chest to place his hand on top of hers. The man's face lit up the instant his hand met hers. The happiness that radiated from him was infectious. I kept pressing the shutter button capturing every moment they shared. It was as if he had forgotten momentarily that she was behind him. The touch of her hand on his shoulder reassuring him that she was still there, still close. The feeling of her presence making him the happiest person in the park and possibly even the city."

I stood up straight and cleared my throat before continuing.

"I decided to put it up here in hope that one day someone might come in here and recognise them. I want so much to give them this moment that I have of them, frozen in time. But I've not found them yet."

"Good story. Shall we go?" I could sense his discomfort. I had been left alone with him for five minutes and I was already blowing it. I knew this dinner would be a disaster.

We exited the elevator in the basement and there was a large man standing next to what I assumed was Edward's car. The man reminded me of Chris Long from the Patriots, he could certainly be part of an American Football defensive line. He gave me a short smile as he opened the car door for Edward.

"Woah, what's with the muscle?" I nodded over to the muscle man.

"The muscle is Benjamin. He is my head of security and driver." It seemed so normal to Edward to have a layer of human protection following him around.

"Do you mind if I drop my car at home first?" I batted my eyelashes hoping they wouldn't mind. "I need to feed my cat too."

"I can't say I've ever been turned down for a cat before. First time for everything though right?" there was a slight smirk on his face and I didn't want to wait around for him to change his mind. I turned and nearly ran to my car.

"Follow me!"

The drive to my house took only ten minutes from the office and being a Friday, the traffic was even lighter than usual. I parked my car in the single garage and ran inside while Edward waited in the car with Benjamin. I did have to feed the cat but he could survive till I came home later. The real reason I wanted to come home was to grab a camera. I wanted to get some shots while we were out. Of the scenery and possibly the company too. I ran around and closed the curtains, turned on a few lights to guide me in when I got back later and grabbed the smaller Powershot camera. It would fit nicely in my bag and was light enough to carry around while we explored the city.

Edward saw me come through the front door and stepped out to get the car door for me. What a gentleman.

"So, where are we heading?" I asked Edward and Benjamin.

"The chef at Origin is a good friend of the family and I've informed him we will be in at seven. The restaurant is highly recommended."

"The food there is amazing. Let me show you some of my favourite parts of the city first and then we can head up there." Origin was one of the top restaurants in the country, not just the city. I swallowed hard and tried my best to hide the nervous feeling rising in my stomach. 

After writing this chapter, an image was submitted to the NZ Cannon Media Awards and when I saw it, my heart soared and it reminded me very much of the moment I had written about in this chapter. 

I can't link the image into the chapter so I'll post the link below and cross my fingers that it works for you to check out. Or I'll add it in the comments for anyone interested.

Edit: link in comments 😊