"Elijah." said a deep voice from behind. We turned around and I saw a very handsome but much older man walking towards us.

"Father." Eli replied.

'Father? FATHER?!' I could faint.

"I thought you weren't going to make it." said Eli.

"People wanted your presence here since you are the heir to a multimillion dollar firm and I won't be here forever. But I knew you wouldn't just come on that reason alone."

"So you lied," Eli claimed.

"Call it what you will."

"I call it lying. Where's my mother?"

They're pretty direct towards each other.

"She couldn't make it, she's ill."

"What do you mean she's ill?"

"Relax, boy. It's a common cold."

I felt Eli tense up when his dad said his mother was sick.

"You'd expect her husband to take it more seriously seeing as she's been sick four times this month."

"I think you're being a bit of a mama's boy if you ask me. Your mother is fine."

He did a double take and looked at me. I think I'm shaking.

"Elijah, were you not going to introduce me to your friend?"

"We're supposed to be taking our seats." Eli claimed and we walked off.

'What was that about? Does he not want me meeting his dad? Well, I guess it is pretty soon. What if he's embarrassed? No, if he was embarrassed he wouldn't have brought me here to begin with. So then why?' I was in my own head again.

Eli brought us to a table that had cards with his name and his plus one. Then I noticed his father's name was across.

He pulled the chair out for me and I sat as he pushed it in.

"Are you okay?" I asked as he sat down.

"I'm fine." he replied but I felt like he was lying.

After only a few minutes, his father came and sat in his reserved seat.

"Is there a problem, son?" Mr. Matthews asked but he looked at the menu for tonight rather than his son.

"Not at all." Eli answered.

"Are you going to introduce your friend or would you like to throw another tantrum?" he asked and put the menu back down.

Eli took a deep breath through his nostrils like he was trying to stop himself from doing something wrong.

"Leyla, my father. Father, Leyla." he introduced.

"It's nice to meet you, Leyla." Eli's father said and reached his hand across the table.

I shook it.

"You as well." I replied.

"So Leyla, who's your father?" he asked. I didn't know how to answer that question.

"James Williams?"

"I've never heard of him. What does he own?"

"Um..."

"Leave it alone, old man." Eli demanded.

"So nothing then?" his father asked.

"No?"

"I see. Is this one going to last or will you get bored after a week like usual, Elijah?" his dad asked and I felt like I'd been stabbed in the chest.

"Well, seeing how everyone else was chosen by you based off of wealth and this one was my decision, I think we'll do just fine," Eli said passive aggressively.

"Speaking of wealth, Candice is here." his father stated.

"Well, good on me for not having run into the self entitled brat." Eli stated.

"Watch your tone, boy. That's your future."

Eli chuckled. "No, it isn't."

I feel like I shouldn't be here for this conversation.

"Um, I think I'm going to go find the ladies' room." I said as I got out from my seat.

I walked as quickly as possible to get away from them and find the restroom.

I walked through and saw four other women in there fixing their makeup, I ignored it and leaned over the counter.

'This is...awkward.' I thought to myself. I didn't expect the relationship between Eli and his father to be so harsh. Also the constant picking of women who are rich...

'I have absolutely ZERO chance for that man to like me. I mean we aren't lower class but we aren't one of the richest families in the world either...'

If I keep thinking about this I'm gonna hyperventilate.

I quickly straightened out my dress and made sure my face wasn't smudged then headed back outside.

When I got back in the dining area, I could see our table and I also saw some woman standing there speaking to Eli and his father. I watched as Eli's dad gestured for the woman to take a seat. I nervously walked back over there.

"Welcome back," Eli greeted as I sat back down. I'd noticed that they'd also brought out our food.

"Thank you."

"What was it that you were saying, Candice?" Eli's father asked and I looked up at the woman across from me.

She was so pretty.

Her skin was smooth, her cheekbones could cut diamonds, her lips were the perfect shape, she had big eyes, and even the dress she wore was perfect.

"Oh, right. Well, daddy's thinking about getting a new country club and he would like for you two to be members." she said.

She was pretty but her voice was fucking annoying.

Eli leaned in to my ear and whispered, "I can tell from your face that you think her voice is annoying. Trust me, you're not the only one."

The sentence made me snicker.

"Is there a joke you'd like to share, Elijah?" His dad asked.

"No sir. I'd never laugh in a serious situation such as this one. Jokes are for children." he responded.

I looked down into my lap and snickered some more but tried my hardest to keep it down.

"Your guest seems to think something is funny," Mr. Matthews argued.

I straightened my face and picked it up to look at him.

"No, sir. I have an illness that makes me prone to snickering. It's nonstop. I'd appreciate it if you didn't take my disease so lightly." I lied and saw Eli turn his head to the side to contain himself.

"That must be so hard for you," Candice said.

"It is. I can never get a full night's rest because every hour, on the hour, I wake up, and I snicker." I lied some more and Eli was to keep a straight face.

She was nodding as if she could understand my "pain".

I looked at his dad and noticed he was not amused so I stopped talking.

"So, Eli," Candice started. "How has everything been for you? You know, work and everything." She began tracing a finger on his hand and he slowly pulled it away from her.

"It's fine, Candice."

"Elijah, you should take Candice on a tour of the head office building one day." Mr. Matthews insisted.

"Why would I do that?" Eli asked after taking a bite of his steak.

"Because it would be the polite thing to do," his father claimed.

"Well if that's the case," he turned to look at me. "Leyla, would you like to go on a tour of the head office building?" Eli asked.

"Excuse me." his father interrupted.

"What now?" Eli asked and looked at his father irritatedly. "You said it would be the polite thing to do, would it not? So I'll bring Leyla as well. As a matter of fact, why don't I invite the entire goddamn building? Maybe Sharon wants to go. You know Sharon, right, dad?"

I'm pretty sure I just learned information I wasn't supposed to learn.

"Leave it alone, Elijah." his dad demanded through gritted teeth.

"No, I think I'd like to talk about it." Eli stated and loosened his tie then leaned back in his chair.

"I'm not doing this with you." Mr. Matthews stated.

"I think I'll go. I'll tell daddy you both said hello." said Candice as she left the table.

"Come on." I whispered to Eli and grabbed his hand. "No, don't pussy out on me, old man. Why should I let it go? You don't have anything to add? You don't have any new lies to sell? Boy, is that shocking." Eli was beginning to make a scene and I grabbed his face and turned it to me.

"Hey! Let's go." I said and we both got up and walked off to a free hallway.

"What is wrong?" I asked as he paced back and forth.

"That prick's not supposed to be here," he stated.

"Well, he is here. So I need you to get used to it. You're making a scene."

"Aren't you angry?" he asked.

"Why would I be angry?"

"He's acting like you aren't fucking there. Like you're beneath him or somethin'."

"I mean...compared to him, I am."

"No, you're not."

"You believe your truth and I'll believe mine, but for now you need to relax so we can sit back down."

"I am relaxed."

"You look stiff. Get it together." I said and smacked his face gently then began to walk away.

Although I couldn't get far because he grabbed my hand and yanked me back into him. He then put an arm around my waist. "I haven't kissed you all day. You owe me."