142 A Quarter in the Nose

She scrolled through her phone, probably checking out the message her father's assistant sent her. He was sort of happy that she wasn't interested in the slightest that she didn't even memorize the man's name.

"Jas Dickens," she said as she looked up at him.

Gael chortled. "Poor guy. He must have been bullied a lot when he was in school. Jas like ass and DICKens."

Angela tried not to laugh. Really. She wasn't one to laugh at people's names—not really. But seeing him grin, she couldn't help but let out a chuckle. 

She turned to face front again, and her mind brought her back to this morning while they had a light breakfast in the kitchen. Gael was already aware of her weekend schedules, where she meets men arranged by her father. And when he offered—no, when he insisted that he drive her today, she declined. It didn't feel right that he would do it. Eventually, she could only agree, but now that he was actually driving her already, she felt uneasy.

It wasn't because she felt unsafe around him. It was quite the opposite, actually. Despite the strange situation they were in, she came to trust Gael somehow. But she also knew...and felt that he liked her. Why else would he waste his time with her? This was such a complicated situation where 'this is right' or 'this is wrong' was not that simple.

'One day at a time, Anj,' she convinced herself.

"We're here," Gael announced as he pulled up to the curb, snapping Angela out of her daze.

"Thank you. I'm sure you're also busy. You really don't have to come pick me up in an hour. I can take a cab and meet Nina later."

"I'm not busy. I finished what I needed to do before we left the house. I'm your driver for today—executive bodyguard, even."

Angela laughed, the small dimple next to her lips peeking. "Bodyguard?"

"Speaking of which. Since I'm your bodyguard, I'm allowed to be near you the whole time. Why don't I occupy the next table?" He was dead serious, already considering arranging it with the restaurant so that he could be within earshot of Angela's table.

"I appreciate that, Mr. De Luca. But that won't be necessary." She stepped out of the car before he could get out and open the door for her.

Gael's eyes swept from her head to toe. "I don't think I've said this earlier, but...you look nice. Beautiful."

"Thank you." She smiled.

'I wish you were dressing up for me, though,' he thought.

"It's cold today. Keep your coat on." He had a serious look on his face, but deep inside, he just wanted her to cover up.

Angela looked at him suspiciously, but she seemed amused. "I'm sure the temperature's fine inside."

"Still. You'll catch a cold if you aren't careful."

They turned their heads and found a brown-haired guy with broad shoulders, wearing a white shirt underneath a black suit. His eyes were trained on Angela's the whole time.

"Yes. Hi. Jas?" Angela smiled and received the man's handshake—or so she thought until he took her hand and brought it to his lips.

The Dick kissed her hand. It took Gael everything not to connect his fist to this guy's mouth.

She retracted her hand soon enough, and only then did Dick notice Gael standing there. "Your brother?" he asked.

Gael's jaw ticked at the question, but he didn't say anything and only kept his sharp gaze directed to the other.

Sensing the tension coming from Gael, Angela introduced the two. "This is Gael."

Not bothering to shake the man's hand, Gael nodded and muttered almost inaudibly, "Ass."

"What?" Jas Dickens's brows shot up.

"Jas, right? That's your name?" 

"Yeah." Jas's expression softened, and then he turned to Angela as if he was waiting for her to answer his initial question.

She pressed her lips into a thin line, trying to contain the laughter from escaping. Then she cleared her throat to shake it off. "Gael's my… um…" She met Gael's eyes, unsure of what to call him, and then she settled with something that he labeled himself with earlier, a smile slowly forming on her lips. "He's my executive bodyguard."

'Damn it,' Gael cursed in his thoughts. He shot himself in the foot once again. But then he warned, "I'll be watching."

"Whatever, Man." Jas nodded and turned to Angela. "Shall we go inside?"

"Yeah, sure." She glanced at Gael and gave him a small smile before heading towards the restaurant.

"You look beautiful. Has anyone ever told you that?" The Dick told Angela as he placed a hand on her back and walked her to the restaurant.

Gael could no longer hear her response as the two disappeared inside. Letting out a heavy sigh, he got in his car and drove it towards the nearest parking lot on the other side of the street. He never planned to leave anyway. If Angela decided to end the lunch date early, then he would be right there.

He took out his phone and called Rick who answered on the first ring. "Any news?"

"No updates yet, Boss. But I've already asked someone to report to us as soon as there's any movement."

"All right. What about Angela's apartment?"

"They've already started tearing down the walls. Everything's good here."

"Good. Keep me posted." 

Gael ended the call and checked the time. It had only been ten minutes since Angela entered the restaurant with that ass. Now he was bored.

His fingers drummed the steering wheel as he mulled over whether he should sit at the table next to theirs or just patiently wait for it to be over.

He wasn't always patient.

But then again, he wanted to stay on Angela's good side. So despite the torturous urge to barge in there, he glued his ass down to the seat, slid it all the way back, and tilted it backwards so he could lie down.

Then he googled "Jas Dickens".

Pictures of Angela's date showed up on the search. Plenty of them was from his games, with women on his sides, endorsements, and close-up shots.

Gael scoffed upon seeing the general bio posted online. The guy was six foot—two inches shorter than him. He then opened one close-up shot. Dick looked like a...well, a dick.

Since he was already bored, and he just couldn't resist himself, he opened up his messaging app and started typing. Then he sent the text to Angela.

[ Gael: Dick's nostrils are enormous. You could hide a quarter in there. I hope those holes don't vacuum your food. ]

A couple of minutes later, she replied.

[ Angel: OMG. LOL. Now that you said it, I can't stop staring at his nose. ]

[ Gael: Don't look. The more you stare at it, the bigger it gets. ]

When Angela didn't respond, he sent another text.

[ Gael: Are you laughing? ]

[ Angel: I was. I had to excuse myself to the restroom because I was drinking water when I read your text, and it almost came out of my nose. Now my throat hurts. Stop texting. I'll see you later. :) ]

Gael chuckled at her response. And the little smiley face at the end put a smile on his face.