Emma was so angry at herself for giving into the urge to look at Nathan. She called herself an idiot as she looked at her mostly eaten salad. The fact that the jerk was marrying another woman should have been enough motivation for her to keep her eyes to herself. And how could she forget that April was one of the nicest people on earth? The woman deserved all the happiness that came her way. No, she could never come between the two of them.
Emma heard someone clear their throat, looking up she found Nathan and another man looking at her. The other guy had a nervous smile on his face, whilst Nathan was the very definition of stoic.
"Ye...yes?" Emma looked from Nathan to his friend.
"Hello. I'm sorry to disturb but Nathan refered me to you," the man blurted out. "He says that you're one of the best bakers in the city."
"I...I...I am flattered, thank you, Sir." Emma glanced at Nathan before focusing on the stranger again. She was glad for her dark complexion because she was burning underneath those green orbs.
"No, don't call me that. My name is Stefan Malherbe. Just call me Stefan, okay?"
Emma nodded her head. "Okay, Sir...I mean Stefan. My name is Emmerentia. How can I be of assistance?"
"Well, I want to hire you for my wedding proposal and if all goes well, my engagement and if that goes well, my wedding," Stefan rushed.
Emma was happy, but she hoped that he'd still be that optimistic when he saw the pricelist.
"I don't care how expensive it is. The budget is almost unlimited," he answered her unspoken question. "You can be as creative as you like."
Emma glanced at Nathan who still had that blank expression. "I work at a café not far from here. Give me your contact details and I'll call you on Monday to make an appointment. If that's okay with you?"
"That's perfect," Stefan smiled, and took out his business card. "Here, call me on Monday morning. My shift will start in the afternoon. I should go, I've already taken up too much of your time. Hope to see you soon, Emmerentia."
"I'll be in touch," Emma smiled.
The two men returned to their table and Emma couldn't stop smiling. She called up Ruth immediately. Such good news had to be shared.
She had barely disconnected the call when Alexei sat down opposite her.
Alexei noticed the toothy grin on Emma's face. "I see working for me has you all excited."
"No, it's something better. We might get another big contract at Extravaganza Desserts."
"Congratulations," Alexei muttered. "Though you certainly have a way to crush a man's ego."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Popov," Emma looked down. "I'm also looking forward to looking after your mansion. Promise."
Alexei waved his hand dismissively. "I'm glad about your new contract, I was just teasing you."
Nokubonga walked by smiling at her. Emma just glared at her glad that Alexei was back checking his phone. She could just imagine the rumours going around between the employees.
When a yawn escaped escaped her mouth Emma found the courage to speak up. "Can we leave?"
"Not until we've had this champagne," Alexei replied. "Will you share it with me?"
"What are we sharing, Mr. Popov?"
He looked at Emma for a few seconds before answering, "New beginnings."
"That's sounds great. Erm...Mr. Popov, I had no idea you liked non-alcoholic beverages. Once I had an alcoholic wine by accident and it tasted horrible. Argh!"
It looked like Emma was right back in that moment from the way her face was contorted. Alexei could not help himself, he broke out into a fit of laughter.
"It's not funny! I have no idea why people drink that stuff," Emma scolded him.
"It's an acquired taste," Alexei smiled. "No, I don't normally drink non-alcoholic beverages, but I didn't want to give you alcohol and I don't drink at work, still I felt like celebrating. I hope you haven't changed your mind about the house..."
"No, Mr. Popov. I'd be crazy to say no to such a cool job."
Alexei opened the champagne and poured it. He almost laughed again watching as Emma grimaced.
"How does it taste?" He asked.
"Okay, bit still sour."
"I don't like it much either, but only because I'm not used to fake stuff."
Nathan could not stop the surge of emotions flooding him as he watched Emma interacting with her ex-boss. He could not believe that she was out in the open flirting with the guy. Did she not have any respect for relationships anymore? Or was the man harassing her? Was she so desperate for her job that she was willing to go to any length to get it back? His head felt like bursting with all the questions.
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It was nearing lunch on Monday when Ruth called Emma. She took off her protective kit and walked out to the front of the café.
Emma hid her surprise when she walked out to see Nathan with Ruth waiting for her at a nearby table.
Ruth smiled, "Emma, Mr. Adams wants to talk to you. I'll be in the back."
Emma drifted to the seat opposite Nathan as Ruth got up and gave her a worried look. She barely noticed him getting up and waiting for her to sit down before doing so himself. She herself was worried, but hopefully Nathan was not about to change his mind.
When she looked up at his face she noticed that he ran a hand through those silky strands of his. Why was he nervous? He'd better not disappoint her, she thought.
"Can..can," he cleared his throat. "Can we go out for lunch, Emmerentia?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"I want to discuss something personal with you. We can have lunch in the Gardens. You can bring your own lunch or I can buy something for the two of us. Whatever you like..."
Emma couldn't understand why Nathan needed to discuss something over a lunch date. "We can talk here."
"It's not very private here," Nathan stated looking around at the almost empty place.
Ruth appeared out of nowhere. "Emma, it's almost lunch time, five minutes won't make much of a difference."
"Okay, Doctor, I'll grab my lunch and than we'll talk outside."
Several minutes later and the two of them were seated on a bench in the Company Gardens watching squirrels compete for food. The awkward silence was getting to both of them.
Emma finally opened her lunchbox and offered half a sandwich to him. "Here, I don't mind sharing."
Nathan eyed the bread, the avocado, tomato and ham, whole-wheat sandwich looked very appetizing, but he did not want to eat her food. He could buy his own. She needed the food more.
Emma shrugged, "As you wish. I guess that my bread is not good enough for you anymore."
"No, I don't want you to be hungry later on," Nathan replied.
Emma turned to look at him and he returned the glance. Life was a funny thing, she had been dreaming of sitting in the sun with Nathan for years and when it finally happened they couldn't be further apart. She felt a pang in her heart causing her to look away.
"Emma, I should probably get to the point."
"Yes...erm I don't want to stay away from work too long."
"The place was not very full."
"We have a big order for tonight, so I can't take a full lunch. If you called me here to warn me about telling your bride about our former friendship, don't," Emma looked him in the eyes again. "As far as I'm concerned we're just two strangers who attended the same school. There's nothing more than that."
Nathan realised that he was about to step on Emma's toes. He had no idea how to continue.
"Doctor, why are you so quiet?"
"Emma.."
"It's Emmerentia to strangers," Emma warned.
"Emmerentia, I wanted to talk about the other night."
"The other night?"
"Yes, at the pub."
"Oh yes," Emma murmered. "Thank you for referring your friend to Extravaganza Desserts. Dr. Malherbe was here this morning after we called him and he agreed to work with us. We appreciate it immensely."
Nathan was mementarily lost for words watching the shadow of a smile form on Emma's lips. He knew that he was about to ruin it. But, he had to say what was on his mind.
"I'm waiting for you," Emma whispered.
"Excuse me?" Nathan replied.
Emma rolled her eyes. "Yes, or have you forgotten that you called me out here. Speak."
"I wanted to talk about your relationship with your employer."
Emma frowned. "Ruth and I have a wonderful relationship."
"Not Ruth, the man from the pub."
"Okay...I don't work there anymore."
"I heard that, but...why are the two of you flirting in front of everyone?"
"Excuse me?" Emma jumped to her feet, so did he. "Who are you to comment on my life?"
"Emma, I don't know what's going on between the two of you, but just remember that society will always look at the woman and give her bad names, saying that she should have known better. They will say that he is just a man. You are very talented, don't let an affair ruin your life."
Emma took a deep breath, but she didn't think it would help.
"I didn't mean to offend you, Emma."
"You can not do that anyway! You'd have to mean something to me to for me to be offended and you mean absolutely nothing to me, Doctor Nathan." Emma spat. " Who are you anyway to show up out of the blue and give me life lessons, huh? I will do whatever I want to do with whomever! Do you understand? For your information, stick to business from now on or I might just quit this job altogether. Extravaganza Desserts has other employees who can do a good job too."
Nathan watched as Emma practically ran away from him. He punched his fist onto the bench. That had gone even worse than he had anticipated.