Chapter 23: Dinner Invitation

Gwen decided to end the conversation with Finn. She had nothing else to say to him, so she simply left the documents on his table and left the room, feeling awful. And he didn’t try to stop her.
A massive headache made Gwen feel even worse, and when it was time for the lunch break, she almost cried of relief. She could leave at least for an hour and get some fresh air.
While waiting for the elevator, Gwen started to analyze the conversation with Finn again. Why did he have to say all those things to her? Why did it still matter so much to him? Could it be that he was still in love with her?
But Gwen shook her head right after thinking that. It was an absurd. The door to the elevator opened and she entered without paying attention. And with that, she bumped into someone. Again.
“I'm so sorry,” she said, looking at the stranger’s face. And then, she realized that the person standing in front of her was the man from the bar from the previous day.
“I know you!” he said, widening his smile and showing some perfect white teeth. That almost made Gwen lose her breath.
“Hi,” she replied, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden. “I’m so sorry, I was distracted.”
But the man waved his hand, rejecting all that formality.
“You don’t need to apologize. Although, I do feel like you still owe me a drink,” he said, winking at her.
He was charming. Gwen could see that he was handsome at the bar, but now, it was even more obvious. A dark hair, tanned skin, perfect beard and brown eyes. Very attractive indeed. So far, she was fascinated by him.
“I'm sorry for that, I… My son had a stomachache and I had to rush home. Perks of being a single mother,” she said, feeling her cheeks blush fiercely. That normally was enough to scare every guy who ever felt attracted to her.
For years, Gwen struggled with that. Every man lost interest in her as soon as they heard that she was a single mother. But this guy only smiled back at her statement.
“That’s okay. I’m sure we can fix that with a dinner,” he replied, with the softest voice. “I’m Clyde, by the way. Clyde Bonne,” he extended his long hand to her.
She squeezed it and introduced herself as well.
“Nice to meet you, Clyde. I’m Gwen Miller.”
“The pleasure is mine. So, afraid of being refused, I’d like to ask you, what do you think about having dinner on… Thursday night?” he suggested, and Gwen felt nervous. His sweet talk and kind eyes were very persuasive, and she felt tempted to say yes.
On the previous night, she had decided to accept that Finn was in her past, so she should be open to new experiences. Clyde looked like a well-mannered and very polite man. He also seemed to be someone important, but Gwen didn’t want to enter that department yet.
“Okay, I’ll see if someone can watch my son for me, and I’ll let you know, alright?”
She was finally settling in her new apartment that week, so her life was a bit chaotic, but she would probably be living in her own house by Thursday, so moving wouldn’t be a problem.
Clyde nodded and offered her a business card with his private number on it. When she looked at it, she realized that her suspicions were right. He was someone important. He was a CEO, from a very big company in the country. She had heard of his business, but never saw the guy before. She gulped, trying not to look so surprised by the fact that another CEO showed interest in her.
They finally said goodbye to each other, and Gwen left for lunch, very grateful that she still had time to eat and rest before having to come back to work.
But what she didn’t know was that Finn’s assistant, Melanie, saw everything. And she rushed to tell Mr. Lane about that encounter. However, when she saw Finn’s bad mood, she decided not to tell him immediately. Maybe by the end of the day, if he was feeling calmer.
It was already dark outside when Finn finally left his office. Melanie was still on her desk, thinking of a way to tell him the news without making him even angrier. But nothing came to her mind.
“You can leave now, Melanie. I’m going home,” he said, passing by her.
“Mr. Lane, wait,” she said louder than she expected. But she couldn’t go home with that information, it was eating her alive.
“What is it?” he asked with his brows raised.
“Er… Sir, I don’t know how to tell you this, I…”
“Just say it, Melanie. You don’t need to beat around the bush with me,” Finn said with a soft smile.
“Okay then… I saw Clyde Bonne here in the company this afternoon,” she said, feeling really nervous.
Finn’s expression changed immediately.
“What was he doing here?” he asked, mad.
“I don’t know. Maybe he came to talk to someone from the board before the meeting?” she explained. “I didn’t have time to ask though.”
“And why not?” he questioned again, his voice sounding very impatient now.
Melanie gulped. That was a good question. She knew she would have to face the monster as soon as she told him the truth. But she couldn’t escape now. She had to do it for the sake of the company. She was very loyal to Finn, so whatever happened inside that building, especially if it was something important, she should be the one telling him.
And she knew by now that Miss Miller was Finn’s weak spot. If she told him that the woman had accepted an invitation to have dinner with Clyde Bonne, he would go insane.
“Melanie?” Finn was still waiting for an answer, with his arms crossed and a very imposing posture.
She looked at him, gathering courage to say the words out loud, uncertain how he would react to the news.
“I didn’t have the chance to talk to him, because he was talking to Miss Miller and… And invited her for dinner.”