Racking His Brain

"The food was a delight," Alexander said stiffly. It was hard for him to acknowledge how pleasant it tasted.

Apart from appetizers, Evelyn did not mess with any other food. Alexander had a pleasant dinner. Being a fussy eater, he really ate well. He even wanted to eat it again just to relive the taste.

"Thanks," Evelyn smiled while rubbing her hands on each other. 

The temperature usually dropped at night, causing a cold wave to circulate around.

Alexander and Evelyn were walking in the garden to digest their food and to run from their parent's persistent chivy. 

Clara was sitting on a chair, eating her chocolate messily. According to her, there was no age for chocolate and no proper way of eating it. Occasionally her eyes moved towards the figures at a distance but then resumed her eating.

Evelyn glanced at Clara before twisting her back at the person walking along with her. She cheerfully added on, "Clara seems to cherish you a lot."

"Yes, we have been together since our childhood." Alexander saw Clara with adoring eyes. "She is my younger sister, who I wish to protect."

Evelyn believed Clara was very fortunate. Apart from having a loving family, she also has a person to take care of her. Only if Clara would not love a person like...

"I should have thanked you sooner," her thoughts were interrupted by a low husky voice. "You helped Clara that day, Y-you know, with Kyle's situation and all."

Alexander was grateful, he was not very confident about Evelyn, but he felt then she might be a good influence on Clara.

"It was for my own benefit through" Evelyn was bewildered by his sudden words. Her eyes flashed with happiness.

Alexander was known for his arrogance and confidence in the business world. A word of gratitude from someone like him was in itself extremely rare.

"Still, it positively affected her." 

"Hmm.." Evelyn did not react a lot. Her mind started working in another direction.

This Alexander was rare to come by, but Evelyn thought if Clara was like his sister, then what about the one who does not leave with them? Why was he so different for both of them?

Evelyn's sight lingered on Alexander's face to catch up something, anything that would help her understand. Seeing an expressionless face, Evelyn sighted inside.

"You seem to have a prejudice against me," Alexander spoke after observing Evelyn. She had a strict personality, she could see mean if you don't know her, but once Evelyn is comfortable with you, she would open herself.

Just as a kitten.

Alexander was able to see her true self when she talked with Clara, but she was practically a stone with him. 

'Maybe they both clicked' Alexander's hand clenched. He was envious of his own thoughts.

"How so?" Evelyn asked innocently. Was she so obvious?

"You don't like me" Alexander cleared his voice to subdue his emotions before saying, "Your eyes are judgemental." 

'Even though they are beautiful.' Alexander wanted to add but restrained himself. 

"In my line of work, It is called observing," Evelyn responded in annoyance, "And you are the one talking about it."

"What does that mean" Alexander's head snapped towards Evelyn. The last sentence was small, but he still heard it clearly.

"You are the most judgemental person,  or so I have heard." Evelyn's voice shook towards the end. The air encircling them was becoming awkward.

"From whom?" Alexander asked. 

Alexander's eyes narrowed while his brain was making plans to kill whoever that person was.

Judgemental and him? How? He would just destroy the person but still won't judge them. It was too time-consuming.

" None of your concerns," 

Evelyn closed her eyes to control her feelings, she said something she should not have. 

"Maybe your way of thinking will change once you get to know me better." Alexander chuckled, making Evelyn look at him in awe.

His voice was very smooth, almost making her heart skip a beat.

"It's just our second meeting. Don't get too flirty, Mr. Alexander." Evelyn said in a small voice. Why was she so nervous?

 "Though I am an investor in your company, I will still need to think about our further collaborations."

"You have a bad impression of me," Alexander simply smiled, "That's why I said.."

"I would like to observe it on my own, thank you." Evelyn cut him mid-sentence. All of this talk was making her confused.

"I know it's late to ask, but why are you here?" Evelyn asked abruptly, shifting the topic.

"What do you mean by why? I was invited." Alexander tried to avoid the question.

"No, the invitation sent was only for Mr. and Mrs. Knight." Evelyn eyed him.

Alexander swallowed his saliva. Only he knows his own feelings when he saw the invitation without his name. What irritated him more was that Clara was invited. He could not sit in a place and let his mind wander around, so he just took his coat and came here.

"Ohh, Maybe the person who wrote the invite forgot to specify" It was obviously a bluff. 

Alexander knew that the invitation would not be written by the mistress. Usually, the assistant or secretary writes it. Even though He has only seen Evelyn thrice, he was sure she had one. 

He praised himself for coming up with such a rational explanation.

"I wrote it personally." Evelyn's voice made Alexander curse under his breath,  "And the last time I checked, my memory was fine."

Evelyn could tell Alexander was racking his brain to find something to say. This made a smile search for a place on her face. 

Looking at Evelyn, Alexander thought he was in a fairy tale. The only problem was. If Evelyn did not like you in it, she would just poison you with a smile over some breakfast. While the other one would be so mesmerised that he would eat the poison without any regret.

Alexander's lips curved, imagining the scenario in his mind. He found someone as scary as him. The competitive feeling to win her over was too overpowering.