Rachael didn’t even bother to smile at me, and I could tell that this dinner wasn’t going to be an easy one. Despite all that, I was still willing to try my best. Not for my own sake but for Reiner’s sake and his peace of mind.
“What have you been up to lately?” Reiner asked Rachael casually.
“The usual. My mother has been feeling better so I’m taking time off to spend more time with her. I’m banned from taking on any work right now until I cool my head…or so my team leader says,” Rachael replied, sounding slightly annoyed.
“You can spend your time training. I can find you a good trainer if you let me know what you want to work on,” Reiner suggested.
“No, thanks. I know that you’re married now so you’re busy…” Rachael replied bluntly.
Well, marriage life can definitely be busy. She’s not wrong about that.
“When are you going to get a real boyfriend, Rachael?” Reiner asked seriously.
I glanced over at Reiner in disbelief. When we discussed that it would be best for Rachael to move on, I never intended for him to ask her questions like this one. How insensitive can he be?
Oh wow…I’m completely amazed…
“What?” Rachael managed to say after she had recovered from her initial shock at Reiner’s question.
“I’m married now so you can’t stay in love with me anymore. You need to move on too, you know? What about I introduce you to someone? Although, I’m not so sure if there’s a decent guy that I know that you don’t already know…” Reiner said thoughtfully.
Oh my…this is getting out of hand very quickly. Rachael looked visibly upset and Reiner either didn’t care or hasn’t realized it yet.
Damage control! What can I do to limit the damage right now?
“Knight is just worried about you. He’s been telling me a lot about how he really wants to help you out. He really means well and always wishes for the best for you,” I quickly said before Reiner could say anything else.
“Well, there’s no need for you to be worried about me. I’m fine. Is that all?” Rachael said and I had to admire how dignified she sounded.
“You should find a reliable boyfriend so that your mother won’t need to worry too much about you,” Reiner advised sternly.
He’s still going at it. Read the room please, mister!
“Thanks for your concern but I’m not in a rush to do that right now. Plus, this has nothing to do with you,” Rachael replied curtly.
“It has a lot to do with me. I’m like your older brother and our mothers are close. If she worries about you, my mother and my family will naturally get involved. You don’t want King matching you up with random men, right? Your mother is getting older, and her health isn’t at its best too. I know that she’s very worried about you,” Reiner said, and his voice was mellow and kind.
For a moment, he really did sound like he was her elder brother. Rachael seemed to feel that as well because she stared at Reiner for a while before she sighed softly. I didn’t think that there was anything wrong with a woman not getting married and Rachael was still young. She must be around my age, if I had to guess.
“Thank you for worrying about me, Knight. I’ll be fine so please let’s not talk about this anymore, ok?” Rachael said before she forced a smile at us.
I reached for Reiner’s hand under the table and gave it a tight squeeze. He glanced over at me, and I shook my head a little to tell him to stop pressing her any further. Reiner closed his mouth and did not press the issue again during the entire duration of that dinner.
“What work do you do? You’re an agent, right?” I asked brightly as I tried to steer the conversation in another direction.
“Yes, I am. I’ve been working in the field for many years now although my mother has been begging me to quit and move to more of a support role so that I don’t have to go to the frontline in the field,” Rachael replied casually.
“Since I can’t work in the field, I can only work in the back office. Maybe we’ll get to work together in the future,” I said before smiling at her.
“Maybe…” she replied vaguely but she did seem less tense than before.
The dinner came to a peaceful end and by the time that I had managed to get Rachael to converse quite naturally with me on many random topics. It wasn’t a bad outcome compared to how the dinner started and what I had expected. We were far from being friends but at least it was a lot less hostile between us. Hopefully, one day she would find the man for her too.
“Perhaps, I should introduce Rachael to Charles. What do you think?” I suggested suddenly when the thought suddenly occurred to me.
Reiner turned to give me a look of pure surprise before he shifted his attention back to driving. We were heading back to the mansion after our dinner with Rachael and I had been spending the quiet time during the ride thinking of a solution for her. Charles’ is a great guy. He is supportive, kind, honest and very hot as well. He’s perfect for her…or any girl for that matter…
“Stop it. Don’t let your imagination run any further than it already has,” Reiner warned sternly.
“Why? What do you have against Charles?” I asked accusingly.
“I don’t have anything against him,” Reiner responded immediately.
“Then… what’s the problem? I’ll just introduce them and nothing more, ok?” I said hopefully.
“It won’t work,” Reiner stated with certainty.
Why was he so sure and why did he have to be so pessimistic about this?
“Why? Don’t you think you’re acting too much like an overprotective brother?” I teased before I smirked over at him.
“It won’t work. Charles is her ex-boss,” Reiner replied before he shot me a sharp look.
Oh…he’s…what?
“Her ex-boss? I asked, shocked.
Just how small and round is the world?
“Yup. When Rachael just started working as an agent, he was her team leader. I wouldn’t say that he taught her everything that she knows because I definitely taught her a lot of skills too,” Reiner said matter-of-factly.
“I didn’t know that…at all,” I mumbled, still finding it hard to believe.
“So, as I just said, stop trying to pair them up,” Reiner said to completely kill my idea.
Maybe I should convince Queen to convince her mother to ship her out to find her soulmate somewhere in the outside world beyond the boarders of this island.
–To be continued…