The car rolled to a stop and Arnold stepped out first to open the back door for his boss to step out as well. Landon was dressed in a similar casual outfit to the one he had earlier when he had stopped by the estate to visit his mother; a dark sweater over a white tee shirt and brown pants.
He walks into the restaurant as soon as he steps out of the car and instructs Arnold to wait outside.
Inside the restaurant, was a host who led him into the nicely decorated area which was filled with empty tables, there were no other people around because of how late it was.
The only other person in the restaurant was a blonde woman, dressed in a navy blue formal dress. She sat close to the window and has been watching him since he arrived.
Now he could stare back at her, neither of them breaking eye contact as he approached her table. She looked beautiful even though she was worn out from a long day.
An half-drank glass of red wine sat on her table alongside a bowl of hot soup.
"Landon Archer." She was the first to break the silence as he stood tall before her. She had a default expression on her face and he couldn't read her.
When he called her personal number earlier to ask if he could meet with her, he didn't get the chance to assess how tense this was going to be as she was too busy to talk for more than a minute. She did agree to meet with him and even invited him to this restaurant, so that ought to be a good sign.
"Gisele Thomas, or is it Mayor Thomas for me as well?" He asked her teasingly.
"Yes it is. But with the elections coming up, I might not be for much longer." She answered modestly.
"They'd be fools not to vote for you." His flattery reminded her of a time when nothing in this world excited her quite like his words and mannerisms, but that time had long since passed.
She beckoned him to sit opposite her by a sway of her hand and he swiftly complied.
"Doesn't this restaurant close by 10PM?" He had been curious about this since he walked in almost an hour past that time.
"The chef's an old friend, he allows me stay a little while longer. I enjoy the quiet and of course the famous soup, you should try it, the best by far in the city." She suggested and took a spoonful to her mouth, letting out a soft moan at the taste.
"Maybe another time, I don't have much of an appetite right now." He turned her down politely. "I need your knowledge pertaining to a personal problem of mine."
"I see we're done with the small talk. So what is it exactly that got you to call me after all this time? Especially since you're the reason why my husband has been in the worst mood since last night." She reached for the wine glass with his eyes never peeling away from her gaze.
"So he mentioned that?" A soft smile crept up on his face.
"Mentioned? That's really all he's talked about since and I'm sure he's not done substituting your name with profanities yet." She informed him, and he was pleased his actions had produced the desired effect.
"I didn't think you'd mind what happens between us boys, in fact I'm sure you find it somewhat entertaining." He replied nonchalantly, putting no real importance on how her husband felt about him.
She laughed at his words. "It was a closed door meeting filled with entitled pricks after all, I'm sure I didn't lose any real voters."
"You should pick your words more carefully madam mayor, you accidentally called me an entitled prick." He pointed out even though he knows she did it intentionally.
"It was no accident, you're an entitled prick who thinks he can get whatever he wants and do away with it when he gets bored." Her voice was cool and relaxed but stern at the same time.
"Don't tell me you're still sore over that?" He asked intentionally to annoy her if she wasn't already.
"You're such a jerk." She laughed again and he let out one too. Their cheerful voices lit up the place and it felt good to be in each other's company. The tension Landon was worried about threading past was now nonexistent.
"So how can I be of help?" She was finally willing to comply after trying to make him sweat a bit.
"I'm looking for a vintage watch, one of a kind. I need to know if any of the local fences had come across something of that description." His request was not out of the ordinary as she had a unique passion for luxury jewellery but his description made her curious.
"You're looking for your father's watch aren't you?" The look in her eyes softened as she asked. She knew how much the watch meant to him and what it stood for.
He simply nodded. "Yes, and don't ask how it went missing."
"Knowing you, it was probably a woman." Her guess was correct and she didn't even need him to confirm it for her. "I'll ask around if anyone's seem it."
"Then I guess I owe you one." He said gratefully and she carried on with her meal. They talked for a little while longer before she decided it was time to go and called for her bodyguards outside.
"We should do this again sometime." She suggested as she picked up her coat from the front desk and said her goodbyes to the chef.
"I'd take you up on that as soon as you have anything for me." He decided to give her some incentive to do what he needed her to do.
She pulled in closer for a hug and he was slightly taller than her even with heels on. He kissed both her cheeks and they both stepped out of the restaurant.
****
It had been three days since the incident occurred and invitations for the funeral procession was already being mailed out.
Camile had just received Katherine's as all of her important mail were redirected to Camile's penthouse where she's been staying.
Katherine who was overwhelmed with grief was slowly starting to feel like herself again. She still cried herself to sleep each night but at least she was eating now.
Her meeting with his parents yesterday was a huge step forward for her, they empathised with her as she not only shared their huge loss but she shouldered the trauma of being the one to discover him dead in her apartment.
Landon had managed to alter the story to she being fast sleep after the party ended and woke up to find her boyfriend had overdosed while she slept. The professional he brought in, manipulated the evidence to make sure the cops bought it and destroyed every trace of the blackmail he had on her.
The problem had gone away and now all that was left was for her to grieve and heal in peace, Camile didn't want the funeral invitation to upset her as she was in a lighter mood this morning.
Camile was making her breakfast and she sat across from her and watched as she gracefully worked the stove. She was really glad to have a friend like her, she saw her as part of her family, even though the rest of the family hated her.
She wished that could change but she knew how unlikely that would be. If only they saw her for the amazing person she sees and not the person who ruined their family.
"What are you thinking about?" Camile asked as she took out two plates from one of the cupboards. She fills each plate with eggs and bacon.
"How good that smells." She said simply and Camile smiled at her with a hint of worry in her eyes. Katherine was so important to her, a friend she never expected to have and never knew she needed.
They had become like sisters and she'd do anything to protect the younger, even if it meant going against her wishes and calling her brother for help.
Even though he despised every bit of her very existence, maybe even more than Lucia does. But Katherine needed both of them now and they'd have to work together whether they liked it or not, which meant a very uncomfortable conversation needed to be had.
"Have you spoken to Landon?" Camile asked while Katherine already had a forkful of food in her mouth and had her eyes shut to harness the pleasure as she chewed.
"Yeah, he called this morning..." She replied instantly, not caring to finish what she was chewing on first. "He wanted to know how I was holding up." She added, once she had swallowed all the food in her mouth.
"Please let him know he can come see you anytime he wants to check on you in person." Camile offered sweetly and Katherine nodded in agreement.
She admired Camile for how she always prioritised what was important and never let herself be controlled by her emotions, if only her mother did the same.
"How about I invite him over for dinner tonight?" Katherine suggested and Camile squinted her eyes in thought for a second.
"We have that gallery thing tonight, they wanna show some of your paintings and you promised me you'd go." Camile reminded her, seeing through her half baked attempt to skip the event altogether.
Camile reasoned that going out and seeing some of her works would not only take some things off her mind but also help get her confidence back.
"Do I have to though?" She asked with puppy dog eyes.
"Yes you promised." Camile returned her look with a stern one which led her to groan in defeat.
"Fine, then I'll invite him to the gallery instead." A smile reappeared on her face and she looked really excited about the idea. Too excited for Camile to say no.
She stayed silent nonetheless, to consider for a moment and not jump into decisions pertaining to intricate relationships on a whim.
"Think about it, it's a good idea. This way we kill two birds with one stone, three if it helps you two get past whatever issues you've had. If you hadn't notice, I'd really like my best friend and my brother to get along." Katherine spoke seriously, which told Camile how much this meant to her.
"You're right, you can invite him to the gallery. Tell him the exhibition begins at 7:00pm not 8:00pm so he doesn't intentionally arrive at 9:00." Camile suggested and Katherine wagged her finger at her in agreement.
"Thank you so much, I'll text him now." She beamed at Camile, and for the first time in a while she didn't seem like she was gonna self-destruct.
She instantly shot a text to Landon who was in Marcus's office at the club, drinking a glass of scotch as a way to cure his hangover after yet another late night.
Marcus was busy telling him something about some foreign women who he met last night but Landon wasn't paying much attention, thanks to the splitting headache he had.
He was concerned about his sister yesterday and called her as soon as he woke up. Now she texted him to meet her at some event later which he wasn't quite sure he'd be able to attend.
Just as he was about to text back to tell her about his busy schedule, a flurry of messages from an unknown number came in.
He opened them to see they were pictures and videos of Katherine. The very same he had gotten rid of or at least he thought he did.
Then another text came in and it read. "I hope you like games, cause I have something we could play."