Chapter 7- Buying gifts

A few days later, Lisa received a call from Carl Black, and she agreed to have dinner with his family. She decided to buy some gifts for them.

"Mom, Mr. Black has invited me for dinner tomorrow. I am going to buy some gifts for them."

"OK, come back soon."

She was waiting for a cab outside her apartment. No taxi was stopping for a long time. At last, she started walking towards the bus stop not to waste any more time. 

Just then, a car began to honk behind her. She turned back to look and saw Daniel Brooke's sports car.

He parked the car and came out. He walked towards her, "Where are you going?"

"Why are you here?"

"This is not the answer I want. What?... You don't feel happy to see me." Daniel raised his eyebrows.

Lisa sighed in dismay, "It's not like that. I was not expecting to see you here."

"So you are trying to say that you are surprised to see me. Now tell me, where are you going?" He smiled at her.

"To the gift shop."

"Come on, I'll drop you."

Lisa’s eyes went wide, dumbstruck. 

How could she go to buy gifts for Carl Black's family with him? 

She denied instantly, "No need, I'll go by bus. You busy yourself."

Daniel Brooke chuckled and said, "You are my girlfriend. You are not allowed to go by bus."

He almost dragged Lisa without waiting for her to react, shoved her inside the car, and drove away. 

Nearly an hour later, his car halted in front of an expensive gift shop. 

Lisa's jaw dropped in shock when she saw the shop and asked helplessly, "Why did you bring me here? It will be quite expensive. I can't afford it."

"This is the best gift shop in our city, so I brought you here."

"Daniel, I am serious."

"Me too."

Daniel Brooke dragged her inside the shop. Lisa was pretty unhappy with him. She was helpless as well. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. But Daniel Brooke was not ready to give up. He was strolling the store from one side to another, pulling her along with him and showing her varieties of gift items. 

All the gift items were costly. Lisa was feeling so uncomfortable that her head started spinning. She was looking around disdainfully. 

Meanwhile, a set of 'coffee mugs for brothers' attracted her sight. She went to take a good look at the coffee mugs. It was cute, and she decided to buy that. When she turned around her gaze landed on a handcrafted flower vase which was also pretty and ethnic. The flower vase was quite costly but still, she decided to buy it. She called an attendant and asked to make a bill for the coffee mugs and the flower vase.

Daniel Brooke came to her side and said, "Are you done selecting gifts?"

"Yes."

"Go outside and wait for me. I'll come after the payment."

Lisa was stunned to hear this and denied it instantly, "No, you don’t need to pay. These are the gifts that I'll give to someone. How can you pay for these?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

She went to pay the bills to the counter. She almost fainted to see the amount. It was more than her monthly salary. She shook her head in distress and murmured, "Daniel, you bastard. I'll kill you." She shrugged and pouted, "Next month I'll not buy anything."

When she turned around to leave after finishing the payment, she saw Carl Black staring at her. Lisa froze and her gaze fixed at him in shock. Her breathing also stopped. She was standing statically with her mouth slightly open as if she was struck by lightning.

Carl Black's sexy cold voice broke her trance, "You..... come here to buy gifts."

Lisa only nodded in response as if she lost her voice, without retracting her gaze from him. 

In the meantime, Daniel Brooke came to her, placed his hand across her shoulder, and followed her gaze, only to meet Carl Black's cold deep black eyes.

A sly smile appeared in the corner of his lips and looked back at her, "What are you staring at?"

Carl Black's gaze landed on Daniel Brooke's hand which was placed on Lisa's shoulder, and he frowned slightly. His fists tightened gradually inside his pocket. He felt agitated. He wished if he could cut off that hand, but he concealed his uneasiness with his cold and calm demeanor.

A shiver ran through Lisa's spine when she saw both men together. She brushed off Daniel Brooke's hand and stepped back to keep a safe distance. Her eyes wandered between them.

Daniel Brooke glanced at Carl Black, then turned his head to look at Lisa, "Do you know him? Are you not going to introduce me?"

Daniel Brooke acted as if he didn't know Carl Black.

Lisa was dumbfounded and gawked at Daniel Brooke like an idiot. Her mind was totally blank. Seeing Lisa's expression, Daniel Brooke let out a chuckle. He shifted his gaze to Carl Black and extended his hand towards him, "Hi, I am Daniel Brooke. I am Lisa's...."

Lisa regained her sense and said hurriedly, "Friend. He is my friend."

Daniel Brooke retracted his hand and looked at her, stunned. His lips curled up slyly. Then he turned his gaze at Carl Black and said, "A very good friend. In fact, you can say one and only boyfriend, isn't it Lisa?" He winked at Lisa and smiled meaningfully.

After a moment of pause, Carl Black stretched his hand to him, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Brooke. I am Carl Black, Lisa's fiance."

Daniel Brooke shook hands with Carl Black and grinned, "Fiance, huh?... Nice to meet you, Mr. Black."

He gazed at Lisa and said, "Let's go, I'll drop you."

Carl Black interrupted him in his nonchalant tone, "Mr. Brooke, don't worry. I'll drop her."

Daniel Brooke smirked, "What do you say, Lisa? Will you go with me or....?"

He didn't complete the sentence knowingly. He rubbed his neck and looked at her as if he was testing her.

Lisa pursed her lips into a thin line and said slowly, "You go first, Daniel. I'll go with Mr. Black."

Daniel Brooke laughed loudly, "Enjoy the company of your fiance."

He winked mischievously at Lisa and walked out. However, his expression turned ugly the moment he stepped out of the shop. He clenched his fists tightly and turned back to look at them.

Lisa trembled to hear his loud laughter. An unknown fear spread within her, causing her hair to stand from head to toe. She was so scared that she almost forgot to breathe. She kept staring in the direction from where Daniel Brooke had left.

"Shall we go now?"

She came to her senses when she heard Carl Black and responded shortly, "Y-Yes."

The drive was quiet. Carl Black was not even glancing at her. His concentration was fully on driving. From his expression, no one could say what he was thinking. 

Lisa was feeling very uncomfortable. She was glancing at him from time to time.

After a long time, she couldn’t stay silent any longer and asked, "Mr. Black, are you mad at me?"

Carl Black frowned and glanced at her. "Why should I be angry with you?"

"Mr. Black, Daniel is... I mean we are...."

"You don’t have to explain. I trust you." He didn’t allow her to finish speaking. 

"You trust me?"

"If I don't trust you, I am not eligible to start my life with you."

Lisa skipped a beat and placed her hand on her chest instinctively, completely baffled.

'I trust you, I trust you, I trust you.....' 

Carl Black’s words kept resonating in her mind. She leaned back on the seat and closed her eyes. She had no mood to talk anymore.

Carl Black's every word and his actions were causing emotional storms in her mind. Nowadays, she was thinking more and more about him. Slowly, she started enjoying his company, but she was not aware of it.

After a long silence, Carl Black said, "Tomorrow I'll come to pick you up."

"Alright." She responded in a trance.

After one hour of driving, they reached her apartment. He drove away after confirming that she reached her room safely. This had become a common habit of Carl Black. For him, this was another way to show his love for his beloved woman.