Chapter 133: Something Extraordinary
** Eli **
The past twelve hours had been almost unrealistically sublime ... until the sight of that suitcase guy walking next to Harper ruined it.
Eli never bothered to remember the guy’s name — Walrus? Walnuts? — or rather, he intentionally tried not to remember it, deciding that he’d simply use "the suitcase guy" forever. It was good enough of a label for someone who he saw as nothing but baggage to get rid of.
Damn Harper was right. He was jealous.
The realization had come slowly as an astounding self-discovery. Eli had never thought of himself as a jealous person. In fact, he had always looked down upon the word, believing firmly that such an emotion was outwardly stupid. If a woman he was seeing somehow took interest in another man, he would simply roll his eyes at her loss for missing out on a good package. But the past couple of days had slapped him in the face with that laughable attitude. Harper wasn’t even the slightest interested in this guy ... yet Eli was already writhing in enough anger that he wanted to take care of the nuisance with his own hands, man to man barbarian style.
He was wrestling darkly with that thought when the suitcase guy followed Harper’s gaze, meeting his scrutiny. The guy’s eyes widened instantly, and then he ... blanched. Without any further lingering looks toward Harper, he stepped aside and quickly headed toward the tables on the far end, disappearing behind the buffet station.
... Hmm? Eli wasn’t sure what that was about, but he found the guy’s reaction satisfying.
Harper, now left alone, picked up a plate of preassembled lunch platter and came toward Eli’s table. "Mind if I join you?" She addressed the whole table with a pretty smile.
"I was hoping you would." Eli’s scowl immediately vanished as he pulled the empty chair next to him further out. In Harper’s presence, his mood had swung back to full rainbows and sunshine in the blink of an eye. "Harper, you remember Malcolm Smith?" He gestured at the technical advisor, who he had purposefully chosen to sit across the empty seat from.
"Of course! I’m looking forward to our meeting tomorrow, as I’m sure you’ll have plenty of enlightening questions prepared for me." Harper’s delighted smile was genuine when she exchanged a handshake with Malcolm. Then she turned to a different direction of the table with a respectful nod. "Just like the ones this morning from Nataliya — again, it was such a great pleasure to hear all your valuable feedback."