Chapter 156: A successful lunch
"Mr. Beckett! Ah, and other Mr. Beckett. Thank you so much for joining us. We have your room, and your food all ready for you." The hostess who greeted them at the door was nice, polite, and welcoming. It was clear from her response that this wasn’t the first time that the Beckett’s had been here, and Andrew should have known better.
Thomas was not going to take anyone to a place he hadn’t been to before. He wasn’t that kind of guy. He was of course going to go to a place where he could show off his connection to the people there. He was a big businessman.
Andrew should have known better.
The hostess was very friendly, and Andrew spoke to her a bit, asking her how long she’d been working here, how her day was going, you know, basic friendly things. He could tell that Maxwell was growing tense beside him, and he had no idea why until he saw the reflection of Maxwell’s face in a picture as they were walking down the hallway to their private room.
He was pouting. Maxwell was pouting because he was being friendly to someone else. Even though they were holding hands, publicly declaring that they were together. It was adorable and Andrew had to do his best to keep his composure.
Andrew paid attention to where they were going, letting Michael take over the conversation once he noticed Maxwell’s behaviour. The hostess had taken them to a second storey, where the rooms above had windows that could overlook the rest of the restaurant. It was actually a rather cool concept, and used up quite a big of the vaulted ceilings.
It felt warm, welcoming, and Andrew enjoyed hearing the voices of the people below chattering and the sound of the people who worked in the kitchen speaking to each other. He doubted that they would like to hear that, and he believed it was because his hearing had improved, so he didn’t plan to inform them.
Andrew did notice that the few people he ran into stared at him with wide, shocked eyes. He could understand why. He had been tall before, but now he was a damn tower. Maxwell was closer in height to the people who worked here, so he was sure they were wondering how they worked together. Andrew felt his face heat.
Damn it, he was uncontrollable. This was inappropriate, and they were having lunch with Maxwell’s Father, for christ sake, Andrew! Get your head out of the gutter!
The hostess opened a sliding door revealing a large table already set for four filled with steaming plates of food. Thomas looked pleased as punch that everything was ready before they arrived, and instructed everyone else to sit down while he went to thank the owner. Michael didn’t hesitate, going and finding a place to sit before placing his briefcase down and opening it.
He motioned to Andrew to either sit next to him, or across from him, and knowing Maxwell’s thoughts, Andrew sat across from him. Andrew scooted closer to him, waiting for Michael to pull out his usual equipment. He wasn’t surprised in the slightest when Michael pulled out a needle to draw his blood, and Andrew pulled off his layers of jackets before rolling up his sleeves and offering his normal arm up to Michael.