Chapter 5

She placed cherry in the garden for some time, took a shower,scrolled through I*******m, had coffee, dressed and left for work. As always, it was another hectic day at the Peterson's.

 She spent most of her day with Brian, going through several photos,and videos, and she couldn't wait to see the end product, she already knew that they would be great. Brian was also attending the dinner at her place, and she forgot to tell him that their boss would be there. She knew that if she did, he would bombard her with questions she didn't have the strength to answer at the moment.. Everyone knew the boss was a quiet one, and he kept to himself.  

 She wasn't sure what her feelings were,but she needed time to figure it out. She didn't want to make a big deal out of it yet when there was a possibility that it may turn out to be one of those mild attractions that went nowhere. They were so different from each other that the likelihood of it leading somewhere seemed slim. The would probably end up just driving each other insane, although she didn't know him enough to be sure of that.

  When she got home, she found Siddharth tossing salad in the kitchen,and banana bread already in the oven. He had also made some appetizers, she tasted one of the  when she entered the kitchen. He was wearing Bruce Capri pants, silver Indian sandal and was bare chested. Most of her guests were used to seeing Siddharth sauntering around shirtless, although she warned him about moving around with no shirt on.

 "No shirt? Isn't that a bit too casual?" She asked him, as she reached for another appetizer, they were great.

 "It is too hot to put on anything miss," he said, as he opened the oven to check the banana bread. She glanced at the clock, she had just forty-five minutes to get dressed.

 "Well, you are doing great Siddharth," she smiled," I love the sandals though, where did you get them?" She felt like she had seen them before, she just couldn't remember where.

 He laughed. "They are yours ma'am. I found them at the back of your closet in the guestroom. You never wear them, so I decided to borrow them just for tonight. Do you mind?" He looked so innocent as he asked.

 She smiled. "It is fine Siddharth, keep them if you like them."

 "Thank you," he replied, as he turned to the stove and she hurried upstairs.

  Half an hour later, she was downstairs, wearing black silk pants and thin Gil's shirt, with huge hoop silver earrings,high heeled  silver sandals, and her hair cascading down her back in thick braids. Siddharth had placed napkins, plates and cutleries on the tables in the garden, and there were candles and flowers everywhere... It looked beautiful. She tossed some pillows on the floor, in case some people would like to sit on the floor instead. And just as she put on the music, the first guest came through the door.

  As Emma looked around at the nearly  3 dozen of people in her garden, she suddenly saw Drake walk into her living room in pressed blue jeans and a red shirt. He looked handsome as he did in a suit, and he didn't have a hair out of place, as usual. He looked manly, sexy and perfectly put together, and she found all of it  extremely attractive. And when he leaned in to kiss her cheek, she liked the cologne he wore too, just like he did hers. It was the same scent he had worn for ten years. He had it made  in London, personally for him. Everyone that knew Drake Peterson recognized it. His wife used to call it  'Dede special' and his friends too.

 Brian was present too, and he watched her when Drake walked in. He was shocked that Drake was at the dinner party. Everyone knew that the boss never accepts invitation to any dinner, except it's work related.

 She led Drake,and they exchanged pleasantries as Siddharth offered them some red wine. She told Drake that Brian was one of the best employee that Peterson's ever had.

 "She flatters me, instead of putting in words so that I can get a raise," he teased, taking Drake in. And like Emma, he liked the man's style, and it was obvious that she liked it too. She was standing close to him as she  greeted others.

 "A lot of people you have here," he commented quietly in a moments lull, after Brian moved away to talk with an acquaintance.

 "It is a little crowded I know, but its fun. I host more serious dinners during winter. In summer, it's fun, but a little crazy." He nodded. Although he hated crowd, he couldn't deny the fact that her home looked beautiful and homily. She noticed that he seemed to be searching for something, and then he turned to her.

"Where is the mini generator?"

"What mini generator?" She asked, confused.

 "The man that was snoring in your bed last night."

 "Oh you mean cherry? He's upstairs, in my room. He hates guests, feels like they are trespassing his house. Would you like to meet him?"

 "Will he be mad?" He asked, concerned. He wasn't ready to meet a crazy angry dog.

 "Nope, he will be pleased." She saw it as a good excuse to show him the rest of the house. The living room, kitchen, and dining room were on the main floor. And there was a library, and two spare bedrooms next to it, her bedroom and a tiny office that she used when she worked at home on were on the first floor. When she moved in, she had turned the second guestroom into a closet, it was the perfect house for her.

 When Drake was halfway up the stairs, he heard the loud snoring, and as they walked into her bedroom which was designed in grey silk, he saw the dog on the bed. Cherry was sleeping soundly, and never stirred. Emma reached out and gently patted him , and he slowly picked his head up, stared at them for few seconds, laid back, closed his eyes, and went back to sleep.

 "He looks like an old gentleman. And he does not seem to be worried that a strange man is in your room," he chuckled with amusement, he was a really old dog. It wasn't long before he started snoring again as they stood there. He had his head on her pillow, and his favorite toy next to him.

 "Well, he knows that he is the master, and that I'm his humble servant."

 "Lucky guy," he smiled at her, and glanced around the room. There were a few gold framed photographs, with celebrities and important figures and the one she said was her favorite, a picture of herself and his father on her first day at creative director. Her room was simple and feminine, extremely neat and clean.

 "I really like your house Emma. It's cozy,elegant ,informal and yet stylish just like you. It suits you."

 "Thank you, i fell in love with it the moment I set my eyes on it. It felt like it was built just for me." She said as they left her bedroom and went downstairs, back to the guests. She didn't forget to show him her little office. It had blue lacquer walls and jaekon LH chairs in zebra skin. There was a pretty zebra rug on the floor, and a small portrait of her, hanging on the wall.

 As they walked downstairs, smiling at each other, Brian stood watching them and smiled.

 "Did she give you a tour?" He asked, smiling knowingly at her.

 She nodded. "I introduced him to my very own cherry," she grinned as she explained to him.   Siddharth announced dinner with a little gong, cutting Brian interrogation short. Drake came to realize in just a few days that Emma was in fact the most exciting woman he had ever met in his life... Everyone who knew her would agree that she was pretty stylish and fun.

 "So, what did he think?" Brian asked. Drake listened to the exchange with amusement. He liked her best friend as well. He looked like someone that had a creative mind,and very eccentric too. But he could tell that the man was really intelligent and interesting too.

 "He thought he was adorable of course," Emma answered with a smile.

 "Not Drake of course, he would say he thinks that the dog was adorable. You didn't expect him to tell you that he thinks cherry is a spoiled, smelly old dog did you? I was asking about cherry, what did he think, did he approve?"

 "I don't think he did," Drake replied with a grin, shaking his head. "He snored throughout, very loudly in fact."

 "Well that's a good sign I think," Brian said with a smile. After a moment, he excused himself to go get some food.