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“Looks like Pops already knows,” she says to Andries as she stares again at her screen. “He wants me to call him.”
“Shit.” Bubbly Andries has now switched to worried Andries. “Well, yeah, call him, then…” He sounds vague, and a bit lost as if he’s still assessing his next move. “Elise!”
“Yeah?”
“If we have an engagement party, would you talk to our parents and try to get them to attend?”
Our eyes widen in shock at the same time and we look at each other, both left totally speechless and flabbergasted. After a few seconds of silence, Elise speaks again, “Um, not going to lie, I don’t know.”
“Please, I’m pretty sure they are super mad at me right now.”
While I’m always trying to be a supportive friend, I can’t help but picture the reaction of Sebastian and Julia as they find out their nineteen-year-old son is engaged to a former prostitute. Jeez! I nod, agreeing with him.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Elise replies, her tone even. “Talk later.”
After biding farewell, she hangs up and exhales louder than usual.
Before one of us can open our mouth though, her iPhone’s ringtone is already blasting through the room. She freezes as she looks at the screen, so I lean just enough to peer over and it’s nonetheless than Sebastian himself calling. Poor girl, she’s gonna have to handle his anger like she’s some sort of therapist. Elise heaves a long sigh, as if mentally preparing herself before answering.
“Hello?”
For a split second, I feel tempted to ask her to put the call on speaker but I’m pretty sure she’ll tell me to fuck off if I do so.
“Yes, it’s true, we just spoke to him,” Elise answers. Her features deepen as she continues to listen quietly on her chair. “Now?” She sounds surprised and her gaze goes up to me. “Um, okay, I should be there in a few minutes.” She rolls her eyes, most likely in return to what her dad’s saying. “I get it. See you soon.” A gush of air rolls off her lips as she hangs up, and looking up at me, she then says, “Dad wants to talk to me in his office, like right now.”
How typical of Sebastian—when he’s furious with something, everyone around him has got to stop what they are doing to go and meet him. I can’t blame Andries not wanting anything to do with his dad’s legacy.
“Do you want a ride?” I ask, given how stressed and anxious she already seems to be.
“Yeah, if you don’t mind. I took an Uber here.”
“Sure.” I gesture the check to the waiter, and just a few minutes later, we are ready to go.
As we walk out of the tea room, I can’t help but sneak a peek at the worry on her face. “Are you okay?”
“He didn’t seem happy at all,” she confesses, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m just… I’m just wondering what kind of favor he’s gonna ask me for this time.”
Seeing the dread on her lovely features, an idea starts forming in my head causing me to ask, “What if I wait for you until you are done?” She slows down her pace, her interest piqued. “Then we can always go and get wasted somewhere so you can rant about your dad.”
Her lips twist into a smile and her eyes glow in excitement. “Sounds like a great idea.”
Despite knowing Andries for so many years, I had never been to the headquarters of his family’s business before. The lobby area of the skyscraper is spacious and minimalist, and my eyes keep darting around as I take in its immensity. We head to the elevator, and once inside, Elise taps her keycard and then presses the button that grants us access to the executive floor.
Background music fills the space between us as we stand beside each other in silence, waiting to arrive. Her anxiety is clearly palpable even though she tries her best to conceal it by keeping her posture straight and her shoulders wide. The elevator finally reaches the top floor and once the doors open, I gesture her to go first. In the foyer, we are welcomed by a receptionist who immediately takes her desk phone to announce our arrival. She invites us to take a seat on the beige leather loveseat at the end of the room as we wait for Sebastian to come over.
Sitting beside Elise, I grab aTIMEmagazine which is lying on the low table in front of us and get myself busy flickering mindlessly through the pages. Meanwhile, I can’t help but notice how Elise starts tapping her fingers nervously on her lap.
“Hey,” I whisper. “It’s gonna be alright. Relax, okay?” My tone is barely audible, but she replies with a quick smile in understanding.
“Oh, Dan, how are you doing?”
My gaze follows the joyous baritone voice from the other side of the foyer and it’s none other than Sebastian himself, striding in our direction.
Both Elise and I stand immediately, and I waste no time in reaching out a hand to shake his.
“Doing great, Mr. Van Den Bosch,” I reply politely as we shake hands and exchange a pleasant smile. “Just came here to drop Elise off.”
“Oh, thank you, that’s very kind of you.” His attention goes to her and I take it as my cue to leave.
