The Billionaire’s Secret Quartet (Thalassa and Elowen) novel Chapter 1434

Dr. Funke paused, a smile creeping onto his face as he set down his water glass on the tabletop. "Alaric, if I were solely looking for a businessman to partner with, you wouldn't stand a chance of having dinner with me."

"I get it, Dr. Funke. You're after a businessman with a bit of flair," Alaric replied, his furrowed brows relaxing into a light, teasing grin. He reached for the pitcher beside him and topped up Dr. Funke's glass with a little more water.

Assured that Dr. Funke bore no ill will, Alaric relaxed. Before long, the server brought over their dishes, and Alaric swapped out Dr. Funke's glass for a clean one, uncorked a bottle of wine and poured him a drink.

"Dr. Funke, in light of our serendipitous meeting, we simply must toast to it today," he insisted.

Dr. Funke seemed like an ordinary-looking man in his fifties, speaking with humor and wit, yet there was a sincerity to him. He quickly put up his hand to stop Alaric from pouring the wine for him. "I can't drink, I still have to drive later."

"I’ll call a cab to take you home later. It's not every day we hit it off like this. We can't do without a drink," Alaric said, resolutely pouring Dr. Funke a glass nonetheless.

Then, he poured one for himself.

Dr. Funke chuckled. "It seems Mr. Falconer is quite the charmer. You must have quite a following of ladies."

Alaric hesitated, then asked with curiosity, "How can you tell I'm a ladies' man?"

Dr. Funke just smiled.

"Have some food, please." Alaric said, using the serving utensils to dish out food for Dr. Funke.