Tanaga was on the phone when Ashley arrived. When Tanaga saw her, he quickly handed her the phone, "Here! Grandma Hanada wants to talk to you." Tanaga said at the same time giving Ashley"s cellphone.
"h.e.l.lo" grandmother! How are you? Everything is fine, oh" I"m sorry if I didn"t get back with you right away. Yes! It"s okay! All right!" She didn"t talk to grandmother Hanada for a long time. She intentionally made the conversation short and quickly hung up and gave the phone back to her husband.
"What did grandma say?" Tanaga asked as he accepted the phone back to Ashley and laid it down on the table.
"Nothing, she was just worried because I didn"t come back. She came to your office, and She heard that we were happy, so she decided to go back home. She has a casino session later and needed to rest for a while.
She also told me she"s not coming home later because she has a friend that she would meet afterward." Replies, Ashley, like it"s nothing. She then reached for the cup to take a sip of the cold tea that had been cooling for a while already.
"Did grandma tell you all that during your conversation? Wow! Granma suddenly becomes a speedy talker." Tanaga exclaims sarcastically. That didn"t bode well with Ashley and her brows raised. "Why does it sounds like he didn"t believe me that grandmother Hanada said all that?
While Ashley"s eyebrows raised, she looked down at Tanaga. She was ticked off and was about to respond to Tanaga"s remarks, but ... Fortunately, their food arrived just in time. The whole situation changed. Otherwise, who knows what else Ashley might say that was not good.
When they started eating, Ashley was surprised at how attentive he was. He was serving her, and from the look of it, the wind is blowing in the right direction. So Ashley was encouraged to eat, and Ashley"s healthy appet.i.te overjoyed Tanaga with her small body.
Tanaga decided to play with her and jokingly said. "Love, slow down... you might choke in return. Hahaha! You"re not going to run out of food, there"s only the two of us, and I"m a light eater."
Ashley was embarra.s.sed by Tanaga"s joke and suddenly lost her appet.i.te. She lowered the spoon and fork she then picked up the gla.s.s of water and drank the. She slowly got up before, "Excuse me!" Was all she said with a straight face and void of any emotion. She didn"t even wait for Tanaga"s response. Once she"s up, she turned left without a word.
Tanaga didn"t even notice what was happening. All he thought was that Ashley was alright and just had to go to the ladies" room. So Tanaga kept eating and enjoying himself. However, after Thirty-minutes had pa.s.sed and Ashley had not yet returned, Tanaga worried and decided to look for her in the ladies" room.
He was almost right at the ladies" room when he ran-in to Alden, who had just come down from his private room upstairs and was on the way to the Maitre d "to let him know that he was ready to meet with the very-very special guest.
"h.e.l.lo!" Alden greeted Tanaga when he remembers who he was. The same person that he b.u.mped into each other at the mall.
Tanaga, with a serious look on his face, stared at the person who greeted him. He also remembered Alden, he turned his face and smiled slightly.
"h.e.l.lo!" He greeted him back. "You were that guy at the mall. Right?" Said Tanaga first.
"Yes! Nice to meet you again!" Alden said as his hand was ready to shake hands. Tanaga took his hand, and the two shook hands.
"By the way, my family owns this restaurant. I hope you and your friend enjoyed your food?" Alden asked while it was visible that he"s in a hurry and wanted to leave.
"Is that so? Nice to know that! Yes, you have a wonderful place here. Your food is delicious, and you should be proud. That"s why my company has a private pavilion here, so if we have a client to entertain, we bring them here." Tanaga replied gently.
Alden smiled and was pleased to hear. He knew Tanaga"s company was great because when he returned home the day they b.u.mped into each other, he remembered Tanaga"s business card and had looked into it to see if he could be a potential investor in the future.
So does Tanaga. He gave Koji his card to check if Aldin"s company had any potential. Little did he know that his family-owned his favorite restaurant.
"If you have the time, I would like to request an appointment for a business collaboration that our company intends to do," Alden told Tanaga that he was obviously in a hurry and wanted to end their conversation.
Tanaga also plans to contact Alden"s company because he has a business proposal here. Is fortunate that he had asked first for an appointment. "Sure! Call my office, and my a.s.sistant would make you an appointment." Says Tanaga at the same time, "I need to go and check on my companion, she"s been in the ladies for a while now, and I"m afraid..."
"Oh! We better check! If you don"t mind, I"ll stick around you might need my help." Alden"s offered. He was worried that something might have happened, and in case he needed to call a doctor.
"All right! Let me check first." He quickly turned around and went towards the ladies" room.
When they arrived at the door of the ladies" room, Tanaga stepped forward and knocked ... "Love, are you in there? Ashley ... !!!" Tanaga called again his voice a little louder this time.
When Alden hears the name, Tanaga calls ... He was suddenly afraid that the person he calls love is none other than the same person he"s been looking for. So his heart began beating fast. And it"s getting stronger and faster by the second. * Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud! *
No one opened the door, and no one answers as well. Tanaga"s call grew louder as he slowly opened the door to the ladies" room. "Love, are you here?" Tanaga called and asked again as he opened the door directly.
Alden was rooted to the ground and could hardly breathe because of who Tanaga had just called love ... While he was standing holding his breath, he was in deep thought and praying...
"Oh, my G.o.d! I hope it"s not the same Ashley that he"s calling love, I don"t think I could handle it if it turns out that it"s her... I had waited for so long, only to find out that she"s already taken..."