"And you, sir?" the waiter asked, turning to Arvil. Recognition flashed in his eyes and Arvil smiled, a carefree one in contrast to the business-like one he'd been giving Daisy.
"I'll simply steal some from her," he answered with a grin. "But I do want some tea. Chamomile, please."
"Your food will be here shortly," the waiter said, took the menus and then walked away.
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Daisy turned back to Arvil when the waiter left and have the man a look. What in the world was that? Did he think he would really be taking food from her?
“I would tell you not to expect to get any of my food, but you’re paying for the meal so I suppose sharing would be considered nice,” she mused in a rather monotone voice.
Arvil's grin dissolved and he let out a quiet huff.
"I don't exactly want your salad," he replied with a smile. "I simply said it for the waiter. I'm not very hungry, so your food will not be touched."
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Daisy rolled her eyes, though the edges of her lips twitched up slightly. So he was putting on a show… Well, it was convincing, that was for sure.
“All right, then,” she murmured with a small, amused shake of her head.
Arvil blinked at her, but he didn't say anything. Silence surrounded them as they waited for their food (well, Daisy's food. Arvil just had his tea).
When it finally came, he sipped on his tea.
"You really have no idea who I am, do you?" he broke the silence by asking, looking at her with an eyebrow raised.
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Daisy had a forkful of food halfway to her mouth when Arvil spoke up. She peered up at him from beneath her lashes before tilting her head back up as well.
“I feel like I should, now, but no. I don’t know who you are,” she confirmed with a shake of her head.
Arvil smiled at her.
"Then you should google my name when we leave," he said, even though he wanted to see her reaction. Oh, well. He'd find amusement by just thinking about it.
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Daisy raised her eyebrows. “Why not just tell me yourself…?” she questioned, leaning forward curiously.
"Where's the fun in that?" Arvil hummed as he took a sip of his tea. "Are you a coffee person or a tea person? Or are you both?"
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Daisy huffed a partial laugh and leaned back in her seat. “I like both, depending on how they’re made. You like tea, I assume?”
"I like both, but I prefer tea," he answered, taking another sip. "As you can already see."
He looked at his wristwatch to check the time, then breathed through his nose.
"I need to leave in five," he said to her. "So eat quickly."
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Daisy hummed, rolling her eyes. “Sure,” she muttered before finally starting on eating her food.
After they were done, Arvil paid the bill and then they were walking out. Arvil looked at her and nodded slowly.
"Tuesday, then," he said, addressing their meeting with her suitor. "Remember to google me, Daisy. I'll see you later."
With a small wave, the CEO of Cyber walked away, slipping out his car keys and unlocking it.
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“See you Tuesday,” Daisy agreed, nodding back. She watched him walk off and sighed to herself. He was certainly interesting… At least she had her cover story now.
[TIME SKIP: TUESDAY]
If he was being honest, Arvil totally forgot about the meeting he had set up with Daisy to trick her suitor. It wasn't his fault, though; he already had his schedule full, and there was a sudden shareholders' meeting that ended just five minutes ago. All he wanted to do was relax a bit, maybe have his assistant order them food.
Ironically enough, he was also five minutes late to the date. The only reason he remembered was because he saw a flower and it had clicked.
So the only thing he did was remove his tie and his coat, fix his hair a bit, and then left.
Lord hoped his vice president Jordan didn't run anything down while he was gone. He also hoped he hadn't screwed up anything with Daisy.
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Daisy paced back and forth outside the restaurant where Silas had decided they should meet. Arvil was late. Five minutes late, so far, and going on longer. He hadn’t been late to their “date” the other day, but maybe that had been a fluke. Maybe he was always late. Maybe he’d stood her up. Stars, she hoped he hadn’t stood her up. That would be awful…
When Arvil finally parked his car in the lot and locked it, he walked inside the restaurant. He and Daisy had decided to meet outside the restaurant a few minutes before they'd given Silas the time, but he'd long past it. She was probably already inside.
He was late ten minutes.
His eyes swept over the people in the hall, eating and chatting until his eyes landed on the woman he was looking for. She had his back turned to him, but he was observant enough to find her after one day of meeting her.
As he stepped closer, he heard Silas speak.
"Your boyfriend is late," he said, and Arvil couldn't help but want to snort. No, he was invisible. Of course he was late. Didn't take a genius to find that out.
But he pulled on an apologetic face, set his hands on Daisy's shoulders, and spoke.
"Sorry I'm late, beautiful," he said, putting in the right amount of guilt in his words. "There was a last minute meeting I had to take care of, and you know how long they can go."
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Daisy caught herself before she jumped. She hadn’t been expecting Arvil to be there, much less for him to put his hands on her shoulders. The not-quite intimate touch was startling, especially since it had been a while since she’d had a boyfriend.
“Sorry I'm late, beautiful. There was a last minute meeting I had to take care of, and you know how long they can go,” the man behind her said, and she forced herself to relax under his touch.
Daisy twisted around to smile at him, hoping it looked more realistic than forced. “There you are. I was beginning to get worried.” In other words, where the heck of you been? “Silas, this is my boyfriend, Arvil. Arvil, Silas Adams.”
When she had gone home after their little “date” thing, she’d done what he’d said and looked him up. Arvil Davis was the CEO of the company Cyber. Somehow, even with working at the paper for as long as she had, she’d failed to recognize him, which made her feel stupid. How could she not recognize one of he most influential men in business? Even if that business was mostly gaming. She was shocked.
Arvil squeezed her shoulders and smiled down at her. That smile wasn't entirely affectionate. No, it was more of a 'Your smile looks like you've had to swallow lemons.' In short, it was forced.
Finally, he turned to Silas, who looked surprised to see him. Arvil reached out his hand for him to take.
"We've met," he said to Daisy. "At a program a few months ago."
"I never would have imagined Arvil Davis dating," the man said, shaking his hand before both of them pulled away. Arvil took his seat next to Daisy. "Much less Daisy."
Arvil rubbed the back of his neck, feigning slight embarrassment. "The media is wild. I wanted to keep the spotlight away from Daisy as much as possible."
Then he looked back at her and smiled adoringly.
"But I suppose her beauty managed to bring it on her, anyway," he joked, running a hand through his hair.
Silas fell silent for a while before he finally spoke again. "How did you both meet, exactly?"
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The blush that rose to Daisy’s cheeks at the compliment and smile didn’t need to be faked. Did he really think she was beautiful? Not that she really cared… She hardly knew the man. She did have to admit, though, that he was rather attractive himself.
“There was a function I was covering for the paper a couple of months ago. We met there,” she explained, casting a quick, blushy smile in her fake boyfriend’s direction. I guess those years of high school theater are going to come in handy. I’ll definitely be needing them for this.
"It was a Fundraiser Program. A friend of ours introduced us," Arvil elaborated, resting his chin on his knuckles. "Though I suppose we don't really have to explain ourselves to you… now do we?"
Silas released a breath through his nose. "It was surprising to learn that the woman I sought is already taken," he replied. "You surely can't blame me for wanting proof."
"Well, you have your proof," Arvil simply shrugged. "Daisy and I are dating."
"So it seems," the way Silas was looking at them made Arvil uncomfortable, but he didn't show it.
"Did you already decide what to eat?" he asked, steering the subject away.
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Daisy has leaned back into Arvil slightly as the men spoke. Her gaze had flitted between Silas and the table or whatever else nearby caught her attention. Anything to keep from looking him in the eye.
“I was just going to get the turkey sandwich,” she said once Arvil had (thankfully) changed the subject.
"I'd decided on the lobster," Silas replied, folding his hands on the table.
Arvil hummed in reply. "So I take it we're ready to order. Don't worry about payment. It's on me."
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“Aren’t you getting something?” Daisy asked, turning to him and furrowing her brows. Even if she didn’t know him that well, she knew he should eat something if he hadn’t already.
"I am, don't worry," he said in the best assuring voice he could muster. "I haven't had lunch, so I will."
Meanwhile, Silas watched the pair quietly, trying to take in the information. He didn't know what to say, but if she did have a boyfriend, then he was not going to break them up. That went against his honor. However, if they were lying…
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Daisy nodded once Arvil had assured her that he would be eating. “Then I’m ready, yes. And thank you for paying, Arvil.”
Arvil smiled at her, but said nothing. Instead, he flagged the waiter over and ordered their meal.
One lobster, a turkey sandwich, and BBQ spaghetti. He also ordered drinks, two cokes and one strawberry milkshake, having heard from Jordan that Daisy wasn't too fond of sodas.
While they waited for their food to arrive, the two men began to talk, mostly about business, but making sure to include Daisy in their conversations.
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Daisy mostly listened and nodded along to what the men talked about. Mentally, she was taking notes of things they said, thinking that she might be able to use them later for the paper. Since they were talking business, she really didn’t have much to add, but she chimed in here and there.
Their food finally arrived, so for that small minute, they pulled their respective dishes in front of them.
After eating, Arvil asked for the bill, which Silas insisted they pay together. He ended up agreeing. Finally, it was time to leave.
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Daisy stood after Arvil and nodded toward Silas. “I hope you believe me, now. I think the evidence is rather present.”
