Chapter 10

Mitchell remained silent. How could she have known he was the boss? The founder. The chairman of Zezame Incorp. Along with chains of other companies. Though he looked the part, in age, he appeared too young to be the chairman. She had always had in mind a picture of an old man probably in his seventies as the owner of Zezame Groups and not some ruggedly sinfully handsome young man who probably was still in his early thirties. Michael noticing her long silence assumed she was lost in thoughts. He cleared his throat to bring her back to the present. Before he said to her... "That can easily be remedied. Considering what happened at the lobby a while ago, you and I know who is most likely to suffer for that". He glanced towards Daniel briefly before returning his attention to her. And because you strike me as a very intelligent woman, I m sure you won t deny me the honor of being a close friend with you," he added derisively. Mitchell knew she was trapped, and the man was intentionally goading her with his continuous use of the word "close" as much as she disliked his gut. She had to consider Daniel who just looked on, unsure of what was going on. "Fine Mr. Smith. I am honored you found me worthy of being your friend" She replied in a tone matching his tone of derision. "Close friend" He corrected "Close friend" She repeated non-committal "And you can call me Michael," he said before turning to Daniel. "Happy birthday, Daniel" He greeted, extending his hand for a shake. "Thank you, sir" Daniel answered taking the hand extended to him "You are welcome." Michael picked a glass of wine and made a toast to Daniel. Then he turned to her, after a few seconds of wine glass clanging. They settled down to drinking and eating. While Michael and Daniel discussed work, Mitchell busied herself with her cake and wine. The cake tasted as sweet as it was beautiful and she was soon lost in the ecstasy of its sweetness, cutting another big chunk for herself. After a moment she noticed Michael was back to looking at her, it made her feel uncomfortable and she was just about to tell him that when Daniel suddenly cleared his throat which made her look his way. "Don t" his eyes communicated "Sir," Daniel started, "I wasn t aware you would be dropping in at the company today" "I didn t plan to," He replied laconically. Then added after a brief pause. But I m glad I did. This part he directed to Mitchell. "Is Mitchell here your girlfriend?" "My best friend sir" "I must say, Daniel... You found yourself a very interesting best friend." "Thank you, sir," Daniel said, not sure if it was meant as a compliment or not. "But Daniel, does she go around settling people straight as she did me today?" Daniel looked at her, unsure how to answer the question. Mitchell just looked back at him, giving him a brazen smile. She knew it wasn t the time to smile but she was just tired all of a sudden. All she wanted was to celebrate with her bestie but this man was making sure to spoil the day for her. As for Daniel, he continued to pretend to be affected by the tense atmosphere, though she was sure he was enjoying whatever was going on between his boss and her. Just as Daniel was about to offer an apology on her behalf, Mitchell spoke up. "Yes, I do. And since we are going to be close friends, I d like to set the record straight with you. Michael just looked on waiting for her to continue. "I do not like an arrogant or narcissistic friend. They put me off" "One." He said, raising a finger in the air. "I do not like a self-centered egotistical friend. They also put me off "Two". He counted adding another finger to the already raised one. "I don t like friends who intimidate weaker people or treat them with less respect." "Three," he said. Then he continued, "I see you have quite a lot of dislikes but how about you tell me what you like?" "You do not seem to possess any." She replied succinctly For a moment, Michael looked like he was going to say something. His eyes darkened with anger and just as quickly, almost as if the anger hadn t been there, his face brightened up smiling at her, leaving her to wonder if she had imagined the anger- fire in his eyes. He turned to Daniel. "I m aware that there is going to be a meeting tomorrow," he said "Yes sir," Daniel answered. "Okay. He stood up. See you tomorrow. And once again happy birthday Mr. Spenser." he added. "Thank you, sir," Daniel said, also standing up. And with a brief nod of his head towards Mitchell, Michael went out without a backward glance. Mitchell let out a slow sigh of relief immediately she heard the door close behind him.