Fire And Flame

An old man shouted at the CEO of Maple Inc....

How lovely.

Laura was shocked seeing the old man walking towards them.

'What exactly did Brandon do?'

At the very moment, Brandon stood up and walked towards the man. He was walking fast as well, which looked that both men would clash at any point of time.

"I'm sorry, George..." Brandon gave the old man a nice, warm, tight hug.

The old man resisted and tried to push him away so that he could complete his scolding, but the tall man wouldn't budge. He finally gave up and hugged Brandon back.

"Never step into this restaurant ever again if you're planning to eat here after vanishing for two months." George patted Brandon's back and spoke softly.

"I missed you too, George..." Brandon's face broke into a warm smile as he looked down at the old man who was looking up at him.

He was just too tall for him.

Laura was surprised, shocked, amazed and happy at the same time looking at them.

Who imagined the CEO of Maple Inc. to be a down-to-earth person?

"I see a lovely lady there, is she your girlfriend?" George asked, his eyes sparkled in daylight, wanting to hear a 'yes'.

"No. She is my friend, the CEO of Hollen Consultancy Services, Laura Williams." Brandon introduced her to George.

"She is the one! The one I see in magazines and news channels. My poor memory, I'm starting to forget things so quickly. Being old is no fun, you know." George recognised her as her name was mentioned.

"But it is sad, she is just your friend." a flash of sadness reflected in his eyes as his only of Brandon getting a girlfriend shattered into a million pieces.

Laura was surprised again by what he had just said.

"Good afternoon, George. Nice to meet you," she smiled.

"Nice to meet you too, Laura. Can I call you Laura if you don't mind?" George felt conscious… his wife might not recognise this powerful lady, but he very well knew what examples Laura had set in front of the whole world being the most powerful woman CEO.

"Laura it is!" Laura smiled, showing off her clean white set of teeth.

"How lovely is your smile? Have you both ordered food yet?" he asked, gesturing them to return to their seats.

"Yes," Brandon said and Laura nodded her head.

"Okay then, let me help Mary make your favourite dish and Laura's ordered dish. Enjoy your time here." George walked towards the kitchen, leaving them alone at the table.

"They both love you," Laura said, her eyes fixed on the distancing figure of George. She then turned to look at Brandon who was staring at her.

"They do." he smiled.

"Before the food arrives, let us talk about business now, Mr.Reynolds… the reason why you invited me for lunch." Laura finally came to the topic.

Brandon's face became serious all of a sudden. After remaining silent for a minute, "I won't mess the whole conversation. I want your help. Can you help me?" his eyes pleaded but his face was void of emotion.

"The stocks of your company, right?" she knew what he had to discuss.

"Hmm..."

"It's either the reports updated are wrong or there's a third party involved." she tried not to twist her answers. She will speak what she figured out analysing all those charts displayed on the TV.

Brandon responded with no expressions or words, he simply stared deep into her eyes, as if reading her soul.

"Would you like to visit my office for a few days?" he finally spoke.

"Ah, okay." Laura accepted his request. There was no harm in helping him out. Both their companies completely different from the work aspect. Maple Inc. was an electronic and software based company whereas Hollen Consultancy Services was a finance company. She finally agreed to his request.

"I will come to your office at noon, is that fine?"

"Thank you," he smiled at her, showing her how grateful he was for her help.

"Food is ready!" Mary and George came in holding two bowls of noodles and soup.

"Here is your favourite dish, home style chicken noodles and tom yum soup." the bowls were placed on the table.

"Happy eating, let us know what else you both need. We are in the kitchen." the old couple didn't want to disturb them and left.

Laura inhaled a good amount of air, filling her lungs. It smelled so good. She opened her eyes and started with the soup. With the right amount of seasonings, the soup tasted so good. After finishing the soup, she started eating noodles. Not once did she even looked up at the man sitting in front of her. How much of a foodie she was.

The food was simple yet stomach filling. She was disappointed looking at the empty bowl which was full of chicken noodles just a few minutes ago. She wanted more as she stared at the bowl and finally looked up at Brandon.

He chuckled while looking at her face, she looked adorable while eating. Her eyes never left the bowl.

"I know, whenever you finish eating Mary's hand made food, it leaves you disappointed wanting for more. Is is tasty?" he asked.

How can he ask this question after he had given the answer of it just now? She wanted more. It was the taste of the food that attracted her to eat more but she was already full.

"It is very tasty, I must say. But, I'm full now." she sighed.

"Now that you know the address, you can visit the old lady anytime. George is always busy looking after his farm animals and not regularly visits the restaurant." Brandon smiled and looked into her eyes which were already staring back at him.

"I will," the more Laura looked at his face, the more he felt oddly familiar.