Chapter 41 - 41: Allergy

An airplane flies across the sky, leaving faint white wisps of clouds behind. Under the blue sky and above the city, the restaurant is silent. If Robert wasn't awkwardly holding the glass container, the scene would look like a beautiful painting.

In the painting, a handsome man holds a beautiful woman in his arms and the presses a flirtatious finger to his lips. Both of them are still, gazing at each other. A long-time passes, but Evan's lips remain closed.

"You're not willing to do it?" Avery asks indifferently.

Evan frowns. Avery tries to take her finger off his lips, but suddenly Evan darts his tender tongue forward and licks the tip of her finger, before drawing it into his mouth.

Robert takes a deep breath. He can't believe what he's seeing. Michelle widens her eyes in shock. Everyone always said that Mr. Howel has spent the last three and a half years avoiding Avery as if she's the plague. People keep saying they're going to divorce, but now he does this.

"It's impossible! How can it be?" Michelle and Robert wonder.

Avery freezes and her mind wanders. Her whole body feels as stiff as stone. He gives Avery a seductive look and sucks her finger harder. He's supposedly just helping her disinfect, but her body suddenly feels hot. Her face feels like it's been burned. Finally, he releases her finger.

"Are you nervous?" he asks, chuckling.

"No," Avery says.

"What were you thinking about?"

Avery makes a small, indistinct sound in the back of her throat.

"Want me to do it again?" Evan Howel asks, gripping her waist harder.

"No, that's enough," she turns away from him and pulled her hand into her lap.

"Why do I feel so ashamed?" she thinks, " I wanted to frustrate and embarrass Evan, but somehow he's turned the tables on me."

Evan grabs her jaw and turns her face to him. Seeing her worried expression, he gives her a soft kiss.

Her head is still spinning, and she feels like a mess.

"What kinds of food do you want to eat?" he asks her casually.

"I haven't seen the menu yet," she answers.

"Never mind," he replies, "I'll order a variety of dishes."

Evan looks at her thoughtfully, before continuing, "I'll let you choose what we eat."

Several waiters bring the dishes, and Robert asks Michelle to place them on the table. Evan has ordered so much food, the waiters form a sort of line, passing plates from the kitchen, through the restaurant, and to the table. Every type of dish and cuisine appears before them.

Michelle alone presents the plates, and she's busy rushing back and forth. The dishes fill the table and spread to other surrounding tables. By the time all of the dishes have arrived, Michelle is sweating. As she works, Michelle stares at Avery, wondering if she's ordered all the dishes so she can try them as the new owner.

Avery feels overwhelmed. She didn't expect there to be so many, and just looking at them all makes her feel full. She has to admit, she's enjoying watching Michelle rush back and forth.

"I can't reach everything because there are so many dishes," Avery says, "Michelle, you'll have to help serve me."

Michelle grits her teeth with hatred. She and Avery were classmates before, but now, the difference between them couldn't be more obvious. Michelle is furious that Avery has asked her to serve—the woman continues to humiliate her.

"Well, hurry up," Avery says, threatening her with a look.

Avery can't believe that Michelle is the same arrogant woman who taunted her in the bathroom and bullied her in school. Michelle bites her lower lip and tries to smile, if Avery is the new owner, she'll just have to find a way to endure.

After struggling to arrange her expression, a flattering smile appears on Michelle's face, "Mrs. Howel, what do you want to eat?"

"Please introduce these dishes one by one," Avery orders.

Michelle's smile stiffens. She introduces the first dish which is far away from Avery, "This is a creamy potato salad with bacon. This is a hot dog. This is—"

"I want to know what ingredients they contain and how to make them," Avery says.

Michelle nods with a forced smile. There are dozens of dishes. If she introduces all of them, the dishes will cool and lose their flavor and her throat will hurt.

"Don't tell me you don't know what they are," Avery says, "I never thought that the staff of Zuri Hotel would be so uninformed and unprofessional."

"Creamy potato salad with bacon: the traditional American dish," Michelle says in a dull voice, "Crunchy bacon bits add a smoky twist to this herby and tangy down-home potato salad."

Michelle twists her hands and continues to introduce new dishes. She's introduced over twenty dishes already, but Avery still hasn't told her what she wants to eat.

"What was that first dish called again?" Avery asks mischievously.

Michelle digs her fingernails into her palm, "It's creamy potato salad with bacon."

Avery looks at Evan. He's resting his chin or her shoulder, and she finds it rather uncomfortable.

"What do you want to eat?" she asks, shrugging her shoulders to move his chin.

"I'll eat whatever you want to eat," Evan says putting his chin back on her shoulder.

If he's being honest with himself, he's been too distracted by her body to notice the food. He smells the fragrance from her body and wants to lick her throat.

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"I want the first one, and the third one, and that one over there," she said pointing.

She remembers that all of these dishes contain some form of mustard. Although Michelle is reluctant to help, she's keeping the polite smile on her face. Quickly she takes the plates and serves the food onto Avery and Evan's plates.

Avery takes a silver fork and tastes the food, then tries to feed Evan. He raises his eyebrows and looks at her as if he knows everything about her. He refuses food.

"What's wrong? Don't you like it? I can get you something else," Avery says.

"I'm allergic to mustard," he says.

"Really? Is there mustard in this?" Avery pretends to be surprised.

She knows that Evan will get hives and even have difficulty breathing if he eats even a little bit of mustard.

"Please, every single dish you picked has some form of mustard," Evan says, "You did a very good job. Don't pretend it's just a coincidence."

"It is indeed a coincidence," Avery says, "If you don't want to eat this, I'll ask the waiters to bring back the other dishes."

"Do you want me to be sick?"

"Of course not!" Avery says, "If you really can't eat it, don't eat it. If you think I made some sort of trap for you, I have nothing to say. I honestly didn't know," Avery says angrily.

Everyone in the restaurant is scared to see Evan's response.

"What will he do to this woman who dared to yell at him?" they wonder.

Michelle struggles to contain her excitement.

"Men dislike being yelled in public," Michelle thinks, "Avery is stupid. She's not as smart as the Summers sisters. Sooner or later, she'll be replaced."

Evan squints his eyes. Instead of getting angry, he affectionately pinches Avery's face.

"Take away all of the dishes that contain mustard," he tells Michelle.

"I'm not going to get angry before I have the results of the examination," he whispers to her, "Now you can serve me some food."

He kisses the lobe of her ear. Avery thought he would be furious. She thought he was ignoring Michelle, so she made careful mental notes of all the dishes containing mustard. She had no idea he was paying attention to the ingredients. The whole time he pretended to be distracted by her neck and her hair, but he saw right through her.