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[Hearts got involved]
GENRE: Office Romance
Written by; Racheal A.
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Chapter 16
“Gr… Gratitude?”Kiara asked, stuttering, wanting to be sure she heard him clearly.
“Yeah”Erik nodded “For helping me with reviewing the reports last night, I’ll let you name my rabbit”
Kiara sighed, resisting the urge to tap her forehead in frustration.
“That’s…your way of saying thank you?”She asked quietly.
He nodded.
‘if you want my help in naming your rabbit, just say so’ Kiara muttered in her head.
“You were so eager to name my rabbit that night so I’m giving you an opportunity to name him”
“That’s…not a way if expressing gratitude. Doing that only means I’m helping you”
“No,it doesn’t”He said
“Yes. It does”Kiara said.
‘What kind of a person doesn’t know what expressing gratitude means’She muttered in her head.
“I’m giving you a chance to name my pet. It’s more than a thank you”He said “Wait,”He snickered and she looked at him”Were you expecting me to say thanks,get you a gift, take you out or something?”
“That’s how most normal…”She said the word ‘normal’ quietly so he wouldn’t hear her “People express gratitude”She completed.
Erik heard her say the word normal and he scoffed.
Was she trying to call him an abnormal person? Is that what she thought of him?
He shouldn’t be bothered about it but he found himself being bothered about it.
“Fine”He said
“What?”
“I’ll take you out for dinner”
“Sir?”
“You heard me”He said,unsmiling
“Uh…You really don’t have to do that,I…”
“I insist” He said.
Kiara kept mute and stared at him for a while.
“Okay,um…Do I get to choose the place?”
“You think I’d let you do that after what happened last time?”He asked
“Well, you’re treating me to dinner and as your guest,i should be comfortable, right?”She asked, hoping he would allow her choose where he would take her for dinner.
He was probably going to choose a fancy restaurant if the decision was up to him and she didn’t want to have dinner with him in such quiet and enclosed space. It would make her feel awkward and uncomfortable since it wasn’t a date. Aside from that, eating with him alone was
uncomfortable,his personality and attitude being the cause of that.
“Fine”He agreed “I’ll let you choose. Afterall,I am expressing my gratitude like a normal person would”He said.
“He heard me”Kiara muttered, biting her lip “Um, let’s go”She said.
••••
Erik found himself standing beside Kiara in front of a stall, watching corn dogs being coated in some sort of sauce which he couldn’t figure out what was combined to make it.
They were other stalls lined on the same path as the one he and Kiara were standing in front of.
The other stalls were making street foods also.
Erik looked around him.
The streets were lit up,giving colour and light to the night. There were several other people standing in front of the other stalls also, buying from the sellers and then taking their foods to a place not too far from the stalls which was occupied by chairs and tables to eat.
Kiara turned to look at Erik and saw him looking around like he had never been outside before.
“He’s done”She said and he turned to face her.
Erik paid the man
“You’re…Not getting one for yourself”
“No”He answered.
“Okay…”She carried the packed food and walked to a table.
Erik followed her.
She sat on a chair and placed the food on the table before opening it while he sat, facing her.
“This is what you call a restaurant?”He asked her
“I didn’t say we were coming to a restaurant”She said.
He scoffed.
“Besides,this place is way better than a restaurant. It has a great view…”
“You come here a lot”He said.
She nodded.
“Of course”He said and looked down at the food she was eating.
“You eat corn dogs for dinner?”He asked with a smirk.
“Not all the time”She said, knowing he might make fun of her.
He watched her eat for a while before speaking again.
“You still think I’m not a normal person?”He asked “I’m thanking you with a dinner”He said “I’m a normal person,one look and you can see that”He emphasized.
When she indirectly referred to him as an abnormal person earlier,he couldn’t help but remember what Dr Lawrence said about him seeing a therapist.
He didn’t want Kiara thinking he wasn’t a normal person. Again,he shouldn’t be bothered about what she thought of him but he was and he badly wanted to change her mindset.
“Of course”She nodded “I’m sure Mr Nathan thinks that”She added
“And you…?” He raised his brow
“I’m sure you’re the kind of person who doesn’t care what people think of you and my opinion doesn’t really matter so, I’m just going to keep quiet”
“You’re right,I don’t care what people think of me” He said “But it doesn’t mean I don’t like to hear what people think of me”He said again.
She raised her head to look at him.
“You think I’m not a normal person,why?”He asked
“No,I don’t think that”She shook her head
“You think I didn’t hear you earlier at my place?”He frowned at her. “Don’t play smart with me”
She cleared her throat.
“You indirectly referred to me as an abnormal person. That’s an offense but I won’t punish you, instead I’d like to know why you think of me that way”
“What way?”She asked,still feigning ignorance and he scoffed.
“Answer,now”He said in his usual cold and unfriendly tone.
“I wasn’t trying to refer you as an abnormal person. That statement had do with you trying to express your gratitude by letting me name your pet”
“And,you don’t think that’s normal?”He asked.
“Um…No”She muttered. “And,I thought you already named your pet”
“I have”He lied
“So, there’s no need for me to give him a name then” She said “Except you weren’t telling the truth when you told Mr Nathan you had already given him a name”She said.
“I was telling the truth”He said “I’m just curious to know what name you had in mind to give him”He said, folding his arms.
She was about to respond when her phone rang.
She checked the caller – Daphne.
She sighed and ignored it.
It kept ringing.
“You won’t pick your call?”Erik asked her
She shook her head.
“It’s not important?” He asked
She looked down at her phone which kept ringing persistently.
She picked her phone and stood, walking a few steps away before picking the call.
“You finally picked”Daphne exhaled
“What do you want”Kiara shrugged.
“Kiara I’m really sorry about what happened last time”She apologized.
Kiara sighed.
“It’s not an issue to be discussed on the phone so let’s meet”Daphne said “Please”She pleaded
Kiara rolled her eyes
“Fine”She said
“Great”Daphne said “Let’s meet at our usual spot. Tonight. I’ll be waiting”She said
“I’ll meet you there”Kiara muttered before disconnecting the call.
She went back to meet Erik.
“Done with your call?”He asked
“I have to leave sir”
“Why?”He asked.
“I… Can’t really say but I have to go”She said.
She carried her bag and made to leave but Erik held her hand
“Wait”He said
She turned to look at him.
“Before you go, Can you um…”He cleared his throat “Wait a few minutes” He said
“Why?”
“Just…Wait a few minutes”He said and picked his car keys before walking away.
Kiara slowly sat, wondering why he asked her to wait.
Erik returned a few minutes later with a gift bag.
He placed it on the table in front of her.
“Wh…” She mumbled, checking the contents of the bag.
It contained hairpins and some other hair accessories.
She blinked, looking up to face him.
“Thank you”He said and she stared at him looking confused and surprised at the same time.
“So,I took you out, got you a gift and also said thank you. I’ve expressed my gratitude like a normal person would,right?”He asked
She chuckled, understanding what he meant.
If she wasn’t mistaken,he was trying to make her take back her statement about saying it was abnormal of him to express his gratitude by making her name his pet.
Was he really bothered about her thinking of him that way? He didn’t seem like the type to be bothered about such.
“You didn’t have to do all three. Just the dinner was enough”She said.
“Just answer the question”He frowned.
She nodded with a smile.
Afterall,he did say thank you. Something she never expected to hear from him and was still finding it hard to believe he said it to her
He exhaled feeling relieved.
He stared at Kiara,she was smiling again.
The sparks in her eyes lit up just like they always did whenever she smiled.
She had an alluring smile and staring at her as she smiled suddenly made him realize how much he liked seeing her smile.
He unknowingly smiled,releasing a light chuckle.
“Thank you sir”She said “I had thought you didn’t care what people think of you but you actually do”She said.
“I don’t”He said “People opinions of me don’t matter but yours sort of do”He said again “I wonder why”He muttered, staring intently at her.
TBC…✍️