"Nick, why are you here?" Sheryl asked in surprise as she walked up to Nick.
A tinge of clear awkwardness flashed across his face. Putting on a smile, he answered, "I had something going on and just happened to pass by here. I saw you near the school so I thought I'd stop and say hi."
Heaving a sigh of relief in his heart, he felt lucky he prepared an explanation before he arrived—he wanted to make sure that when Sheryl asked, he would sound natural enough.
It would seem that he succeeded as Sheryl didn't even give it a second thought. After all, she had no reason to think that Nick was doing anything wrong.
"How's the company been? How are you? You're not overworking yourself, are you? Remember, you should take care of your health first."
As if on instinct, her care for Nick started surfacing.
Her concern for him was rather touching. "There has been some progress with regard to the project. Sher, you don't have to worry about my health. How about you? You seem a bit tired. Did you get enough sleep last night?"
Upon hearing his words, Sheryl fell into sudden silence. Dolefulness crept onto her face. Her lips mildly parted, but eventually, she didn't say her true feelings out. Suppressing her sorrow, she answered, "I'm fine. I just had a late night. Oh, right, you said you had something going on, didn't you? You should get back to that. I have to go home now." Not wanting to talk about what really happened, she quickly switched the topic.
Still, Nick could sense that she was hiding something. Although he had no intention of prying anything out of her, he wanted to keep her company. "Sher, it's been a long time since we last saw each other. Shall we get some breakfast together? I haven't had any yet. I think I'm feeling a little light with my empty stomach now, so I should grab a bite."
With exaggeration, he furrowed his eyebrows to feign a stomachache.
That was enough for Sheryl—when it came to his health, she was always a worrier. With a nod, she agreed to go with him and let her driver know where she was going before hopping into Nick's car.
Before long, the car stopped at a restaurant.
It was a popular breakfast spot so they arrived at a busy time. The place was full of people eating and chatting away.
Even though it was an ideal atmosphere for breakfast, Nick found it rather unfortunate. What he really wanted was a quiet place where he could have a nice, intimate chat with Sheryl about what she was going through. As it turned out, the restaurant wasn't the best choice for that.
Unsatisfied about the place, he turned to Sheryl and asked, "There are too many people here. There doesn't seem to be a vacancy. Shall we move to another place?"
Wanting a less crowded place herself, she nodded.
It didn't take them very long to find a smaller, less busy restaurant. Even with less variety on the menu, it was a comfortable place for a good chat.
Finally contented, Nick led Sheryl inside and ordered her dishes he knew she loved.
After graciously filling her cup with tea, he casually asked, "Sher, are you okay?"
After a moment of feeling dazed, she put on a rather unnatural smile. "Of course. Why do you ask? Have you heard anything?" After he invited her to a meal, she had a feeling that Nick had already heard something about her situation—it was likely the reason he went to the kindergarten to find her.
With her question, Nick realized that it was a poor idea to pretend that he had just happened to pass by her at the school. After a sigh, he confessed, "Actually, I did hear something recently. You…"
Before continuing his sentence, he felt the need to pause and mentally grasp for the proper words to say. Somehow, he couldn't seem to phrase things to lessen his embarrassment.
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