A wedding night Love Affair With The Billionaire novel Chapter 41

A phone call woke Eliza.

Fogged, she answered the phone.

"Hello." She had a sense of laziness to her voice, half asleep.

Hearing the contents, she sprang straight up.

"I'm hired?" As she was surprised, she squealed unknowingly.

"That's right; you can start tomorrow. Work starts at eight, don't be late."

Eliza was thrilled, but she still pretended to be calm, so the person on the other end of the line couldn't tell.

"Okay, I understand. Thank you!"

After hanging up the phone, Eliza didn't know what to do with her body, excited as a child.

This was probably the only good news that came out of these past few days.

As she calmed down a little, Nicholas came to her mind.

He couldn't have possibly opened a backdoor for her with how she passed the interview, could he…

If so, then she'd have to give him a proper thanks even more.

Eliza checked the time; it was four sharp in the afternoon.

It was still early, so she'd have enough time to invite him for a meal.

Fishing out the business card he gave her the other day, she called the number on it after some hesitation.

"Hello." A gentle voice came from the other end of the line.

"Hi, it's Eliza Stone. Do you remember me?"

He stopped spinning his pen momentarily. Eliza Stone, he remembered the name.

"What's up?"

Hearing his voice, Eliza thought it was better if she could talk to him about the matter in person.

"Well, I said I wanted to thank you for helping me out. I was wondering… if I can treat you to a meal? Will you be available this evening?"

He had a meeting in the evening, which he didn't have to attend, but his grandfather insisted that he join.

Compared to the meeting, he was more interested in the young lady on the phone.

It seemed that he had an excuse for missing the meeting now.

"I get off work at five."

"So… where should we meet?"

Eliza's life was monotonous. The only crazy thing she had ever done was when she went to the most popular bar in the city on a whim with Gracelynn, where they met Gracelynn's cheating husband.

With that bad experience, she was even more reluctant to leave the house.

So, she wasn't very familiar with the best restaurants in San Francisco.

"How about this?" Nicholas suggested, "There's a nice restaurant with reasonable pricing next to my company. Let's meet at six?"

"Okay, that sounds good."

"Alright, see you then."

"Bye."

After hanging up the phone, Eliza thought she should make an effort to dress up.

It would be ridiculous to wear an evening dress to such an occasion but too casual if casual clothing. After some thought, she picked out a white floral dress, elegant and decent.

Even though it was not a formal dress, it wasn't too casual either.

After putting on makeup and telling Aunt Bell she wouldn't be back for dinner, she headed out at around five.

She didn't ask the Deleon family's chauffeur to drive her as she was to thank him, a luxury car would change everything.

Anyhow it was a sunny day anyway. The sun was beginning to set at five, and the sky was painted a warm amber.

Though Eliza wasn't tall, she was well-proportioned. With the rays of the sunset shining on her, she looked slender walking on the streets.

Coupled with her good looks, she became a sight to behold.

She finally saw a cab after walking for about 20 minutes. Getting in, she told him her destination.

However, as it was the evening rush hours, she was naturally late…

It was close to six-thirty by the time she reached.

She really thought it was unacceptable for her to be late when she was the one who invited him to dinner! Regretful, she thought she should've just asked the chauffeur to drive her. Worst case scenario, she'd get off at the earlier intersection; she wouldn't be late at the very least!

Nicholas was already waiting at the company's entrance when the cab pulled over. A few young ladies have gathered around, peeking at him.

Nicholas looked like he could be on the cover of 'Sexiest Man Alive' magazine, Greek nose, rosy lips, pearly white teeth, coupled with a pair of bright eyes that gave off a half-smile. His face wasn't as chiseled as Tanner's, fleshy, making him look friendlier.

His hands were stuffed into his pockets, leaning slightly against the wall. Though in a suit, he looked easy-going and sunny.

Unlike Tanner, who would have people wanting to stay miles away from him when he turned grim…

Eliza chewed her lip, surprised that she thought of Tanner again! She forced that aloof man out of her mind, shaking her head.

She pulled an embarrassing smile as she got out of the cab. "So sorry for being late… I must've kept you waiting."

Watching as she got out of the car, Nicholas thought her white dress matched her harmless temperament.

It was a breath of fresh air.

The light makeup added a hint of maturity to her youthful face.

As he was a painter and ran a clothing company, he'd naturally pay more attention to these aspects.

He had to admit her outfit was really a hit, neither formal nor too casual, perfect.

"To wait for a lady on a date is mandatory for a gentleman." Nicholas solemnly said as he stood straight and smoothed his clothes.

He wasn't smiling, but she could tell he was teasing from his gaze.

"A date..." Eliza looked discomfit. That wasn't her intention…

Seeing so, he smiled. "I'm just kidding. It's the evening rush hour. I'm not surprised you'll be late."

Pausing, he pulled a straight face, laced with frivolity.

"I wonder if I have the pleasure to invite such a beautiful lady as you to dinner?”

His smile was like a warm spring breeze, rendering the other young ladies around them infatuated.

With his playful act, Eliza's guilt of being late and nervousness vanished.

Now relaxed, her lips curved into a smile before she knew it.

"You're finally smiling. Who would've thought it'd be this difficult."

He was teasing her.

He had once again successfully changed her impression of him.

The first time they met, she had thought he looked aloof despite his kindheartedness when he walked out of the crowd with a deadpan face to help her out.

Later, she thought he wasn't the friendly type as he only gave a polite but distant smile when she chased after him to thank him.

She had asked him out to thank him, and his humor and smile had her thinking…

She didn't know how to judge him anymore. She seemed to have met another man whom she could not quite understand.

She followed him into the alley next to the company. Since she rarely came out for meals, she naturally wouldn't have been to the area.

Who would've thought there were a lot of Mom-and-Pop shops in such a place.

Eliza looked left and right as though she had discovered a whole new world. The alley was narrow, and the sky was getting dark, but it was lively; the restaurants were crowded with customers.

"It is dinnertime, so there's a crowd. The restaurant's up ahead.”

Nicholas led the way, and Eliza followed obediently.

And it didn't take them long to reach the said restaurant. The food here must really be amazing as it was packed.

Eliza was surprised, looking at him. She thought he'd have brought her to a decent-looking restaurant at the very least. Who would've thought he'd chosen a Mom-and-Pop restaurant.

But there didn't seem to be any tables available. Just as she wanted to ask if they were heading elsewhere, Nicholas had entered.

The owner was in her sixties and in good spirits, all smiles when she saw him.

"It's been a while, Nicholas. This must be your girlfriend. She is so beautiful!"

Hearing that out of the blue as she followed him inside, Eliza only subconsciously smiled, not having the chance to process her words.

Nicholas also merely smiled, saying nothing.

"What a beautiful young lady. Nicholas, you have good taste!"

"Look at the time, ma'am. We're a little hungry for food.”

Nicholas patted his belly as he spoke, sounding a little pouty for some reason.

"Alright, go on then, head upstairs. The private rooms are still open. I'll make them once you've ordered.”

Eliza wasn't very comfortable being in a crowd, probably traumatized by her childhood, being scolded for constantly messing things up in gatherings.

And over time, she didn't like being in crowded spaces.

It wasn't until she followed him up the stairs and it had quieted down that she could finally think straight.

She still hadn't realized she had been mistaken as Nicholas's girlfriend.

She looked around. The so-called 'private rooms' were merely tables spread wider apart with curtains as dividers.

It wasn't spacious, only a small square table with simple decorations.

"Have a seat. The food here is pretty much home cooking. Take a look and see if there's anything you'd like.”

Nicholas handed her the menu, which she had no clue where he got from. Looking through it, she was surprised by the variety.

She didn't know what to get.

"I'm not picky, nor am I allergic to anything. Why don't you recommend?"

After looking through it a while, Eliza pushed the menu back to him.

Growing up in the Stone family, she was often punished for making mistakes and was not allowed to eat, so she was never picky. And every time she was punished, her sister would secretly give her some snacks.

Nicholas didn't decline either, ordering some of the specialties of this restaurant.

He explained to her as he ordered.

"I've never brought girls to this place before, so she'd mistaken. I hope you don't take it to heart.”

Knowing what he meant, Eliza smiled sheepishly and said, "I… It didn't quite hit me back there.”

"But..." Something suddenly came to her. “You two seem to be very close.”

"I have been eating here since I was a child. So we became close naturally. I've left to study abroad a couple of years back and hadn't come since.”

Ah, so that was it. Eliza nodded.

"How are you with spicy food?" Nicholas asked.

"I'm okay with it."

Just then, Eliza's phone beeped.

It was a message from her sister.

Reading it, blood drained from her face.