Chapter 55 - A Love Rival

Claude was taken aback to hear Marcellus calling out to him in a panic.

That's when he turned to look back at what they've been looking at. There, he found why he began making a fuss all of the sudden. The sight that greeted him was not at all that shocking, though. He is not sure if his boss is only overreacting or there really is something here that he is supposed to be making a big deal about. 

Apparently, Winter and August had a chance encounter with one of their business partners, Violet.

She seemed to be the one who spotted them first. And with that, she went ahead and greeted them. She appeared to be more than thrilled to be seeing her dear friend there - it shows through her beaming smile and grinning eyes. 

"Well, since it's Ms. Miller... I'm guessing you're in a panic because she's also connected to you and she might tell Mr. Agreste about your relationship with Ms. Agreste without intending to?" Claude speculated, though not at all bothered.

"No! It's not that! Take a closer look...!" Marcellus bolted out and pointed at someone beside Violet.

"Isn't that Ace Miller? Her younger step brother who also happened to be Ms. Agreste's classmate?"

"Oh, he's there too? I didn't notice. What about it, though?"

"I know that Ace Miller isn't really what he seems. I can tell that he has feelings for Ms. Agreste. Ever since the time he went with me to retrieve her from Mr. Ratri, I can't get that out of my head. The fact that he went through all the trouble of searching for her was enough evidence."

"Oh, come on, Sir. They're highschoolers. Crushes are common among these youngsters."

Claude really wished he could take a picture of how Marcellus looked at that moment.

He keeps pouting and grumbling - and with his arms crossed and his brows furrowed like that, he looked extremely vexed. It's not everyday that he sees him so jealous that he might storm out of the car and barge in the restaurant at any given minute. Though it would be amusing to see more of this, he knew that he would definitely do something once he put his mind into it.

"President, Mr. Miller and Ms. Agreste are classmates, aren't they? Then, what's the problem with them seeing each other like this when they've been attending the same class this whole time?" Claude continued, unable to make sense of his reaction.

"What are you saying? Can't you see them right now, Claude...?" Marcellus ranted and huffed.

"Going to school is one thing, but seeing each other with their families is another! It shows how close they are! Ms. Agreste doesn't even allow me to meet his brother. Isn't this unfair?"

"No. No, it's not, Sir. I believe it'll only cause more problems to her if you are to meet her brother-" 

"That's what I'm talking about! I'm nothing but a burden for her to carry!"

"Oh, boy."

Claude could not help but sigh for what seemed like the thousandth time that day while Marcellus carried on with his ranting.

---

"What a pleasant surprise! I'm so happy to see you here, Winter!"

When Violet appeared out of nowhere, Winter tried her hardest not to panic.

She never expected that she would see her in this place. This is but a local family diner, after all - not some five-star restaurant that someone as rich as her will probably frequent. But then, she recalls that this certain heiress is unlike most others. With how down to earth she is, she will not really mind to visit this kind of restaurant every once in a while.

"Who's this, Winter?" her brother asked in surprise and confusion.

"Oh,  ummmm... She is... Ms. Violet."

Winter could introduce Violet without getting to the main details - she really had no choice but to do so, anyway.

August doesn't seem to be that wary of her unlike how he is when it comes to Marcellus, though. If anything, he appears to be interested to know an acquaintance of hers, which rarely ever happened before since she used to have no social life or whatsoever. As long as he wouldn't know that she's also connected to the man he's suspecting as her sugar daddy, this meeting wouldn't be much of a problem.

"Good day to you. My name is Violet. It's a pleasure to meet you..." Violet greeted and introduced herself, catching August off guard for a bit with how courteous and graceful she was.

"May I ask if you're Winter's father?"

"No. I'm too young for that. I'm his brother."

"O-Oh, I see. My bad."

"It's fine."

Winter can't help but cringe a little at how awkwardly silent they've gotten after that.

August hasn't even introduced himself like what Violet did - the nerve of her brother. While he may be some hot stuff to the ladies, he can be as bad as her when it comes to socializing. That said, it's actually no surprise that he hasn't engaged in a conversation with her again. That's how he usually is whenever someone tries to talk with him.

Still, she really can't help but cringe - after all, this is the heiress of Miller Holdings, and with her ever clueless brother acting like she's no longer there, she has to be embarrassed for his indifference in his stead.

"Hey there, Winter..." someone called from the side out of nowhere, stealing her attention.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Winter was surprised to find Ace smiling and waving at her from behind Violet.

With how focused she was on their adult companions, she failed to notice him there. She tried to make up for that by greeting him back with a smile - a gesture that earned a small blush from him. 

"Hi, Ace. I didn't expect that you'd be here with Ms. Violet. Did you have your dinner here?" Winter started - and only then did she notice that the two of them had been standing beside their table for a while now.

"Well, actually, we're just about to have our dinner..." Ace answered a little sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck.       

"I thought about what you told me the other day. So, when my sister invited me to eat outside, I decided to go for once." 

"That's nice. I'm happy that you took my advice."

"Yeah, well... Thank you for that."

"Oh, I know! If you want, you guys can join me and my brother here at our table. Let's have dinner together."

While Ace and Violet brightened up in delight, August flinched and paled in dismay - this isn't part of what he planned for their evening.

He wanted to spend this time with her and her alone. It wasn't called 'bonding between siblings' for nothing, after all. But then, he had to understand as well. This was the first time he's meeting a friend of hers in a long while. And seeing how happy she appears to be in having them there, he can't possibly continue being childish and selfish.

He can't get in the way. 

'Still, why does it have to be a boy...?' August complained in silence while glaring at Ace in secret.

'Can't it be a girl? Ms. Violet here would've been enough even though she's a little older than Winter.'

On the other hand, there's Marcellus who's feeling the same thing.

When he saw Ace and Violet joining them at their table, he wanted to go in there and decide their seating arrangement at the very least. There is really nothing wrong with them continuing their unplanned get-together like this, but it becomes everything wrong when they sit across each other - from his point of view, they started to look like they're on a date or something.

It just happened that Ace sat right in front of Winter. And with both of them taking the seats beside the window, they're blocking August and Violet from his view - that what made it look like they're on a date.   

"You know, we really shouldn't have gone and done this, President..." Claude said and let out another sigh, already getting why his mood was getting darker in each passing moment. 

"I fear that you'll do the unthinkable."

"Well, if they do yet another unthinkable too, I'll really try something like that," Marcellus muttered in aggravation.

"Mind to give an example? I might need to prepare myself for it."

"Going in there and changing their seating arrangement, perhaps-"

"And making Ms. Agreste angry at you?"

"What?! I'm the one who's nothing but angry now! Since when did those two get that close? They even look like they're gonna sip from one straw later on! That boy might also try to put his hand on top of hers and say that it's an accident or something!"

"Ughhhhh.... You sure have a wild imagination, Sir."

For the first time in his whole years of serving the ever reputable head of Lexington Empire, Claude felt like saying that he's not getting paid enough for this.