Chapter 10: Peace with Amusement

"So what do you want for dinner?" he asked as he maneuvered the car. 

"Peace," she replied rather spontaneously. 

"Ha-ha."

Cleo grimaced. "Can you stop?"

But the idiot continued laughing sarcastically, the guy was just interrupted when his phone rang. 

"Can you get it over for me?" He motioned the car's compartment with his mouth. Cleo frowned at Ace's sudden mockery. He copied her tone flawlessly.

"Can't you do that yourself?" Cleo protested, not wanting to move her hands from her crossed arms.

The ringing ended and he made a quick towards her. "No. I'm driving." 

If being angry with him was not enough, Cleo almost choked him to death after remembering what he did on their start here. He's eating a pear while driving for whoever's sake! 

The ringing has long been gone when he started to talked again in a convincing manner, "It's just a text message, Cleo." 

To stop the nonsense, she opted for the compartment angrily and got his phone. He got a new text message just like he said. 

"It's from Ainé," she read and the picture of his manager in the Drollery came to view as she swiped to opened his notification to read the whole text. 

"She said she'll just inform you on your next show on stage." 

She heard a low grunt from him and her vision flew over the side mirror of the car. They ended up loading the trunk of groceries to the point where Cleo lose all rationality and asked him why he doesn't just bought the whole supermarket instead of making her tag along on his grocery shopping.

"That's a good idea but Nah, too much hassle." 

Cleo stared at him and made a mental note that this guy wasn't much on the business side. 

"We could treat this as our last market day," he said, Cleo put his phone back on the compartment, she doesn't give him a reply, she focused her gaze instead on the car's side mirror. 

"Do you like to go to a café?" He asked turning his steering wheel before she could even compose a reply. 

Cleo raised a brow but didn't say anything, she watched him maneuver the car and drove passed a sharp curve before he drove at high speed as if he was running for his life, completely putting her in an invisibility mode. 

Then they stopped in front of a café where a few people were walking on the street but the big window in front showed that the café was the most famous in town. It was a small café along the busy corner of the city, on a building below of a printing shop but the cafe's popularity cannot be denied.

The waitresses smiled and greeted them when they got in and this guy shoots for the table on the far side corner of the counter not even bothering to spare them a glance. 

"What's your order, Miss?" A girl in a white ruffled apron and a high ponytail asked.

"We have your favorite cake in store, sir," she said, averting her gaze on her as if she just didn't ask for her order and as if he didn't just ignore them when he entered. 

"Really? Then I'll get two slices and coffee too, for her and mine," he smiled, motioning to Cleo. 

The girl bowed and said to wait while preparing their orders and Cleo silently groaned before simply looking around.

The café has a retro and vintage vibe, thick books were piled on a bookshelf on the corner near the entrance and a painting of the sunflower of Vincent Van Gogh was placed beside it and another that looked like a lonely girl who has tears in her eyes. 

There's a girl parallel on them sitting with books and coffee, a boy on the other table who has his book holder opened but was staring right at the girl.

Near the restroom of the café came a squad of boys and a girl on a white table, their gazes were on a single laptop, a boy who was on the side near the girl spilled his coffee on his shirt and excused herself to the bathroom while the other three didn't seem to care and continued watching and laughing on whatever there was on the laptop. 

There was another man on the stool near the counter, dressed in a long coat and black suit, he was wearing a mask that covered his nose and mouth, and even before his coffee was served, he doesn't look up or doesn't care to say the least.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" The guy catches her gaze with a flick of his finger. 

"Nothing in particular." 

He answered her with a smirk, "just so you know, this is my favorite coffee shop. I've been here since I was a kid with...."  

"With?" 

He didn't answer him instead face the waitress who served them their order and thank her. 

Before stepping out, the girl gave him a round mirror then go back to the counter. 

"What's that mirror for?" Cleo asked when he saw him looking at his reflection and made funny faces. 

Was he a narcissist? Since when? 

"I asked for it, for my face, I'd like to see my reflection today," he replied to which Isabela rolled her eyes.

Looking at him now, who wouldn't guess that he was looking at the guy sitting near the counter. She must have weirded out and asked a lot of questions but instead, she just shifted her position and let the guy do whatever he wants. 

She knows the struggle of someone on tail and vice versa. She perfected that job a few years ago, now the million-dollar question was who's the guy tailing him? 

This guy was quite a big fish for the organization and before anyone could kill him she must make sure that she's going to be that one. Not the guy on the back. 

"Hey, don't you think I need a botox?" He asked, looking at the mirror while touching his face.

What does this guy still want? He has white skin, round eyes, a chiseled jaw, a Roman nose, and pinkish lips that anyone wants. 

"No. You'll look like an alien," she replied flatly and got her fork on the side to taste the devil's cake in front of her. 

"Is that so? But I want to change my face," he mumbled those words but Cleo still heard him. 

"Why would you? I liked the way you look." She sipped her coffee after that.  

And before she could process what she said, she jolted and looked at him in shock as he looked intently in return. 

"I..I.. didn't know what I said." 

But it was too late. He smirked and opened a topic Cleo buried seven feet under the ground. 

"Ahhh,, Just like what you did, that's why you did that," he said in a coquettish manner, he rested both his arm on the table and put it under his chin, he stared at Cleo still not removing his invigorating smirk. 

Cleo cleared her throat, picked her coffee mug but didn't sip on it, instead she avoided his gaze and turn to the big window near them. Their reflection can be seen, both of them turned their gazes on the window, and another man in a big black coat also did.