"So, how are things, Angela?" Mr. Burke—the older one—asked in the middle of their meal.

"Everything's okay, thanks for asking Mr. Burke. How's your wife?" Angela responded.

"Oh, Adeline is doing great. She's in Milan with her friends. Women and their shopping." He chuckled.

She could only smile as a response and went back to minding her own business. The breakfast had gone smoothly, even with the occasional questions here and there, in which she had to answer politely—until Jason decided to get her attention.

"We'll be staying for a week or two. We'll have lots of time to catch up." The prick smiled at her.

He must have thought that he looked incredibly handsome when all she could see was nothing but a sleazy know-it-all.

"I'll be busy," she answered without looking up.

Jason let out a chortle as if she had said something funny. "I haven't even told you when we're meeting."

"When?" She lifted her head and asked with an unreadable expression on her face.

"This weekend. I'm thinking… we'll fly to The Hamptons. I've always wanted to go to the beaches there—"

"You don't mean The Hamptons, New York?"

"Yeah yeah… In Long Island, was it?"

'Is this guy an idiot, or what?' she thought. Did he think she'd openly go with him just anywhere? And in New York of all places?

'That is... if he was okay being strangled by one particular Italian-New Yorker for wanting to have a weekend with her in his hometown.'

Wait—why did she think about Gael?

Keeping her tone neutral, she responded, "Esmea is surrounded by beaches. So I'm not very thrilled about traveling just to see one. Besides, it's already winter,"

"Oh, this weather? This is nothing. It's much colder back in our place," Jason said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Then, I hope you enjoy your time there. I'm definitely going to be busy this weekend." Angela finished her meal—although there was still a lot to eat. She didn't have any appetite.

"Why? What are you up to this weekend, Darling?" Mr. Su wondered.

Angela wanted to scoff. "Jeez. I don't know, Dad. It must be because I have interviews to handle on weekends." She finished it off with a charming smile, but her father knew that she wasn't happy at all.

"Interviews?" Jason inquired, but no one paid attention to him.

Mr. Su softly laughed at her remark. "We can reschedule your appointments on the weekend. That won't be a problem."

"No!" Angela huffed. She really couldn't stand this touchy-feely sleaze. There was no way her father would make her go on a weekend getaway alone with Jason. Taking a deep breath, she raised her chin up. "I have other plans for the weekend. Even if you cancel the appointments you made, Dad, I still have mine. I'm… going out to meet someone."

"You're… going out?" Mr. Su looked at her curiously. "With who?"

"With… a friend." She was okay with lying, but all their eyes were on her now, and it was making her uncomfortable.

Thinking that she had to show respect to their guests somehow, she offered Jason a neutral smile. "Sorry. I can't make it. I'll hook you up with a great tourist agency, though. They'll be more than happy to take you around Long Island."

A huge smile cast on Jason's face. He raised his glass and tilted it towards her slightly as he said, "Don't worry. I understand. I'll just make sure to coordinate a schedule with you next time before coming here. Will that be alright, Angela?"

Angela flinched, and a small gasp escaped her lips when she suddenly felt his foot brushing against her left boot. She knew it was him, and she knew it was intentional. It was disgusting. She coughed and cleared her throat, wiping her mouth with a table napkin as she ground her teeth and slowly retracted her foot away from the sleazebag.

"You okay?" Oliver whispered to her.

She took a glance at her brother, and without saying anything, she swiftly hooked his ankle with her foot, placing his foot almost directly in front of her so that he could see—rather, feel for himself.

"Hmm?" Oliver cocked a brow at her, unsure why she just did that.

It only took a couple of seconds until his eyes widened, and he snapped his head at Jason who was trying to play footsies with him now. "Ya—"

Angela pursed her lips together, suppressing a burst of laughter as she held her brother's arm, stopping him from yelling. She was turning slightly red from stopping herself from laughing too hard.

Jason still had no idea that it was Oliver's foot he was trying to rub while Mr. Su and Mr. Burke were busy chatting about business. So when he saw that Angela was blushing, he thought she was loving what he was doing to 'her' leg.

Oliver stopped himself from yelling, but he was still pissed—it was pretty apparent in his seething expression. Who dared to be so nasty with his sister when he and his father were present at the table?

Without second thoughts, he kicked Jason's shin under the table using the heel of his expensive Italian leather shoes.

"Ah!!! Bloody—f—"

Mr. Su and Mr. Burke turned their heads towards Jason who looked like his head was about to burst from the painful kick on his shin.

"What happened?" Jason's father wondered.

They looked around the table, but Angela and Oliver only glanced at Jason before minding their own business.

"Nothing… I hit myself with… the table," Jason groaned. He didn't know who kicked him, but when he glanced up and met Oliver's deathly glare, he couldn't say anything.

"Is he always like that to you?" Oliver wondered, his voice was so low that only Angela heard.

Her upper lip twitched at the question. "Let's just say… the reason why I don't like him… is because he can't keep his hands to himself."

Oliver's brows furrowed. "Why have you never told me this?"

"You weren't always there. And I hadn't seen him for a really long time."

He exhaled a sigh. "Sorry."

"Mm. I need to leave. I don't want to be here," she whispered.

"Go. I'll take care of Dad."

Angela didn't wait for another second. She excused herself and left the room in a hurry. It was only nearly nine in the morning, and she already felt that today was exhausting.

Waiting for a taxi to arrive, she checked her phone and saw a message from Gael an hour ago.

[ Gael: Good morning. I hope you had a nice breakfast with your family. ]

"Tch. Nice, my butt," she muttered to herself as she typed her reply.

[ Angela: It sucked. Going home to eat properly. ]

Not a minute later, she received his response while she was flagging down a taxi.

[ Gael: Where are you? I haven't eaten anything yet. Care to join me? ]

Angela swallowed. His invitation sounded so tempting. Why? Why was her heart kicking her ribcage when it's nothing but a simple invitation for breakfast? She chewed her bottom lip and glanced at the yellow car that just stopped in front of her, waiting for her to get inside.

"Miss, are you getting in or what?" yelled the driver.

Another text message came in.

[ Gael: Come on… I'll pick you up wherever you are. I know the perfect breakfast place. ]

Just then, her stomach growled.