While Lilia was talking to Rachel, the cafe door opened. A male figure walked in. The man was wearing a plaid shirt and casual looking jeans. His brown hair was neatly combed back, giving him the impression of a neat and tidy man. The black edged glasses he wore reinforced that impression.
The man stood for a moment near the door looking around. Finally, the man's gaze fell on Vivi who was sitting alone. He took out his cell phone and compared the woman to the photo he got from Vivi's co-worker. After he was completely sure, then the man approached Vivi's table.
"Hello, are you Miss Vivi Tara?" The man asked politely. A warm smile crossed his face.
Vivi turned and had an eye on the man. She smiled back as she got up from her chair, "Yes, I'm Vivi. You must be Mr. Nicholas." Vivi said.
"Nicholas Sandra. Nice to meet you, Miss Vivi!" Nicholas shook hands with Vivi.
As they sat down, Nicholas handed Vivi a small gift box, "I didn't know what you like, so I bought you a box of chocolates. I hope you like it." Nicholas said in a careful voice.
Not far from there, Lilia and Rachel were nodding their heads when they saw the situation. The two of them secretly gave a thumbs-up mark to Vivi from behind Nicholas. That meant they agreed with this man.
Nicholas was polite and humble since he first appeared. He was also considerate enough to bring gifts at their first meeting. Plus, he treated Vivi very well.
Vivi glanced at her two friends with a big smile. She herself was also satisfied with the man.
As Vivi and Nicholas started chatting, Lilia continued to observe them while resting on her chin. If she was asked to rate Nicholas, she would give him a 7 out of 10. Overall, the man looked nice and polite. However, Lilia felt that the man was not manly enough. In fact, Nicholas seemed like a soft man. That impression was amplified by his voice which was soft as the spring breeze.
Lilia started frowning. Could this gentle man handle the tough and passionate Vivi?
Rachel noticed the frown on Lilia's forehead and followed her gaze. When she didn't find anything wrong, Rachel nudged the woman, "Lilia, you look weird. What's wrong?"
Lilia hesitated for a moment, then she shook her head, "No, it's just… that guy feels different." Lilia replied.
Rachel raised an eyebrow, "Oh? I just found out that you are the expert on boys now." She teased, "Should I tell Mr. Jean about this?"
Lilia snorted, "Don't talk nonsense. I mean, he gave a different impression from when he first appeared."
"Is it true?" Rachel tilted her head, "I don't feel that way… could it be that you just thought like that after comparing him to Jean?"
"Ugh… I can't argue with that." Lilia sighed.
Meanwhile, the conversation between Vivi and Nicholas went very smoothly. Vivi's laughter could be heard from time to time. Lilia and Rachel continued to observe this situation in silence.
Outside the cafe, a man was walking slowly. The man in the flower-patterned shirt was on the phone looking around. Coincidentally, his gaze fell on Vivi's figure clearly visible from the cafe window.
The man's lips curved into a wicked smile. He said a few more things before hanging up on the call. Then he walked into the cafe.
Tom Wibowo rubbed his hands with a cruel expression. He had been wanting to take revenge on Vivi for humiliating him at the hotpot restaurant any day. Even though they had met at the Lakeside Villa a few days ago, Tom didn't dare to mess around at Jean's house. Therefore, he wouldn't waste this opportunity for revenge!
Tom had forgotten his original intention to buy gifts at this mall. In fact, he came to Central Mall looking for a present for Sasha's 28th birthday next week. However, his meeting with Vivi distracted the man.
As Tom walked over to Vivi's desk, he heard Nicholas ask, "How much is your current monthly salary?"
Tom's smile grew even more evil. So it turned out that Vivi was on a blind date with this guy!
"Her salary is about 6 million a month. She doesn't own a car or a house of her own. What do you like about this woman, my friend?" Tom casually interrupted their conversation.
The man patted Nicholas on the shoulder when he said 'my friend'. Tom's expression was sympathetic, almost sorry for the man.
After saying that, Tom sat down on the empty chair with smooth movements. He crossed his legs and smiled broadly, as if his presence here was normal.
Nicholas and Vivi both looked at Tom in surprise. Then Nicholas turned to the woman.
"Miss Vivi, is this man your friend?" Nicholas asked hesitantly.
"Friends? I suppose you could say that!" Tom replied in an ambiguous tone. The answer implied that their relationship was more than just friends.
The man stole a glance at Vivi. Tom's shoulders shook against laughter when he saw her face turn bright red. Who told her to embarrass him before? He was not the type to forget grudges easily!
Vivi held back her anger with great difficulty. She wanted to erase that triumphant smile on Tom's face.
Nicholas frowned at Tom's reply. He glanced at Vivi for a moment before turning back to focus on Tom. "Um… then, what's the relationship like between the two of you?"
"Our relationship?" Tom smiled secretly and shrugged his shoulders, "What do you think?"
The man seemed to really enjoy Nicholas's innocent reaction. But his excited expression suddenly turned to pain when Vivi kicked Tom's leg from under the table.
"Mr. Tom, please control yourself!" Vivi huffed.
Tom stared back at Vivi irritably, "What? Are you mad because I tried to tell him about our relationship?"
Vivi pounded the table angrily, "Tom Wibowo, are you crazy?! I don't even know who you are!"
Vivi's gaze fell on her coffee cup. Without thinking, she grabbed it and threw it at Tom. The coffee soaked Tom's face and also his floral print shirt. Luckily, the coffee was not hot.
"Ah! Damn it!" Tom rubbed his drenched face.
He glared at Vivi with burning anger. As the only son of the Wibowo Group, he had never been treated like this!
"How dare you…!" Tom raised his hand and threw a punch in Vivi's face.
However, his movements stopped in midair. Someone held his arm from behind.
"Who would dare… ?!" Tom waved his arm hard to escape.
"Ah!"
At the same time as that shout, someone had fallen to the floor.
"Hm? Why does that voice sound familiar?" Tom thought as he turned around.
When he met Lilia who fell on her back, Tom's legs suddenly felt limp.
"Oh no, I'm so dead." Tom felt like crying. Why was it that every time he caused trouble, Lilia always appeared around him? In addition, she accidentally pushed the woman down this time.
"Lilia!" Vivi immediately ran to her friend's side.
"Are you alright?!" Rachel also came running over from her desk.
Nicholas also rose from his chair, but the man took a few steps back as if he didn't want to get into trouble.
Lilia rubbed her back which hit the floor, "I'm fine, really. I'm just shocked." She said.
Lilia didn't say that the hand she used to stop Tom's arm had gone numb. The man really didn't hold back when he was about to hit Vivi. She didn't want to imagine what would happen if she didn't stop Tom.
"S-Sicily Lilia, are you hurt?" Tom asked with a stiff smile. He was observing Lilia carefully while praying with all his heart that the woman was alright.
Lilia got up from the floor, helped by her two friends. After shaking the dust off her body, Lilia nodded, "No, I'm fine. But I think we need to talk about this, Tom." She said while smiling broadly.
Tom shuddered his neck when he saw that smile. His instincts told him that he couldn't escape from Lilia.
"O-Of course." Tom nodded obediently. He hoped he could convince Lilia not to mention this to Jean.
Meanwhile, Nicholas stood still while observing this situation. He hated violence so much that he automatically distanced himself from them. But now his gaze was fixated on Lilia who suddenly appeared. The man felt as if Vivi lost all of her charm while standing next to Lilia.
"Mr. Nicholas."
Vivi's voice made Nicholas wake up from his reverie.
"Y-Yes?" Nicholas turned to the woman.
"I'm really sorry about this." Vivi bowed deeply, "I'll finish this, so you can go first if you want." She said.
Vivi hoped that Nicholas would show his manliness by staying here until they finished dealing with Tom, but the man betrayed her expectations.
"Then, I'll go on ahead. Excuse me." Nicholas just nodded before hurriedly leaving the place.
Vivi sighed while watching the man move away. All her positive feelings for Nicholas vanished immediately. This was why she didn't like blind dates. The result was unpredictable!
Vivi turned towards Tom and poured out her anger on the man, "Tom Wibowo! What's your problem with me, huh?!" She shouted, irritated.