My Soul Will Find Yours : The Fulfillment of the Promise

A Bit Uncomfortable And Ashamed

Charles raised a brow at me before turning his attention to the man making his way towards us. Subconsciously, I grabbed his arm. I felt Charles' hand cover one of mine and give it a gentle squeeze.

"Hi, Hinata," were the first words Brandon said to me. "I never expected to see you here. How have you been?"

"I've been well," I replied, a polite smile on my lips. "Thank you for asking."

"You work for B&M International as well?" he asked with a gentle smile. "You never struck me as the lawyer type."

"Nat isn't a lawyer," Charles butted in, making his presence known. "She's my date for the night."

"Oh," Brandon removed his gaze, a bit grudgingly I felt, and offered Charles his right hand. "I'm Brandon Lim. I was seatmates with your date weeks ago."

My brows twitched at Brandon's subtle goading. I sneakily glanced at Charles to see his reaction. He smirked and shook Brandon's hand.

"I'm Charles Arroyo. I'm one of the firm's senior partners."

"Atty. Arroyo?" Brandon said, unable to hide his surprise. "The pride of P University and the only Asian who's made it to Law Magazine's Thirty Under Thirty Most Successful Lawyers four years ago?"

"Yeah, that's me," my date replied uncaringly, obviously used to the look of awe and wonder people always have whenever he gets recognized.

"Wow, I know you work at B&M but I never thought I'd meet you tonight! I'm the Art Director of The Wanderer magazine and our company's Chief Creative Officer at the same time. Mr. Arroyo, how would you like to appear on the cover of one our company's publications next year? Years ago, many of our female readers wanted us to feature you but you declined all our invitations."

"Like last time, I'm still not interested in that. You see, I like keeping my personal life private."

"But a little attention won't hurt, it might even boost your already booming career."

Charles chuckled. "A little? Did you now, that small feature at Law was the biggest exposure I've ever had! It brought tons of Facebook friend requests, Instagram private messages and follow requests, as well as unwanted LinkedIn attention. Not only that, it attracted the interest of the media. I don't want to be dubbed at 'The Prince Charming Lawyer' again. Thanks for the offer though."

I wasn't able to stifle my giggle when Charles mentioned being labeled as prince charming as it brought the memory of the time when we were having a casual dinner with our friends. He was on his way back from the men's room when a pretty but a bit cuckoo fan girl suddenly proposed to him. When he politely rejected her, the woman flung herself on the floor and started screaming and crying. It was a complete disaster at the time but thinking about it now, it was quite funny.

"I know what you're thinking," he said with narrowed eyes before giving my cheek a gentle squeeze.

"Hey!" I slapped his hand away petulantly. "Is this how you treat your date?"

He just laughed at my annoyance. Brandon cleared his throat, reminding us both that he was still around.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Lim. Thanks for the offer but being featured in any periodical just isn't my thing," Charles apologized sincerely.

Brandon was about to say something back when a haggard-looking female in a fuchsia pink cocktail dress and champagne-colored strappy heels suddenly came rushing towards us. In her arms were several folders. Panting, she stood in front of us and looked a Charles with an aggrieved expression.

"Attorney, where were you!?" the woman asked, a bit out of breath. "The chief has been looking all over for you!"

"Karen!" Charles looked at the poor girl up and down, taking in her sorry state. "What happened to you?"

"Never mind me! The chief wants to speak to you pronto!" Karen reached out to grab his arm but he avoided her.

"Why is he looking for me?" Charles frowned. "I don't have a special participation in tonight's event."

"Stop asking questions and just come with me," she acted fast, grabbed his free hand, and pulled him away.

Charles gave me an apologetic look and made a gesture that he'll be back as soon as possible. I smiled and gave him the okay sign then turned my attention to the man in front of me.

"Would you like to look around?" Brandon offered.

"Sure," I said.

Charles' employer booked the biggest ballroom in the hotel. As Brandon and I looked around, I caught sight of various high profile individuals from celebrities to business tycoons to high-ranking local and foreign government officials. As it was almost eight and I haven't eaten a single thing, my stomach started to grumble embarrassingly. Luckily, a waiter was walking around with a tray of hors d'oeuvres. Brandon spotted and stopped him.

"According to the invite, dinner will officially start at eight. Have some appetizers for the meantime," he said and handed me a table napkin from the waiter.

I smiled at him gratefully and shamelessly took two crab and avocado toasts, bacon-wrapped peaches, as well as salami and egg canapés from the tray. As I was completely famished, each bite and chew felt like heaven. Each morsel was like the best food I've ever tasted. There was a table full of drinks nearby, Brandon thoughtfully got me a fruit punch and held it for me while I ate. After finishing both food and drink, I carefully wiped my lips with a napkin. We then continued to walk around. I realized he was quite popular as many guests recognized and chatted with him. I wouldn't have minded being ignored, but he introduced me to every person he spoke to as his "friend."

"I hope it was alright for me to introduce you that way," he said when we were alone again.

"It's okay," I said as I sat on the chair he pulled out for me.

He beamed at my response. "I'm really glad to see you again. After our chance encounter, I was practically praying every day that you'd call me."

"Oh," I looked down, a bit uncomfortable and ashamed because I never thought of contacting him once although his business card was still in my wallet.

"It's okay though. You don't know me that well. Besides, who knows? I just might have been making my story up."

I looked up, my brows furrowed. "Were you?"

"Of course not," he untied his hair and ran his fingers in them. "Everything I said to you that night is real. Actually, I think I can't make myself lie to you."