Chapter 282 - Single Diner
[C: Come out.] Two words.
She smiled at the text, shaking her head with a smile. Cage had been slightly jealous.
"I'll have to rush out," she informed Ian and Laurence. "I'll have dinner alone and then get some rest for tomorrow." She quickly walked out without much greeting and went to find the love of her life.
Katherine made her way out of the auditorium and was stopped twice by autograph seekers. She blinked in confusion, wondering why more people wanted to see her. As she entered the parking lot, she surreptitiously checked around her to see if anyone was looking.
Cage had been right. The paparazzi had not followed him. When she saw his car, she sprinted to it. The driver's side opened and Cage slid out, opening his arms and waiting for her. Katherine didn't have any qualms launching herself into his arms, forgetting all about his curious parents, and placing a sound kiss on his lips.
"Congratulations!" Cage commented, squeezing her waist before letting her down.
As her feet touched the ground, she snickered. "Thank you. I still have another day to go, but let's see how well I do. I also had to listen to Sabrina talk about you nonstop."
Cage chuckled. "Yes, I saw her looking around the auditorium."
"If I had to listen to her for another minute, I would have smacked her mouth." In reality, she probably wouldn't have.
"Is that so? I love when you get all violent. So s.e.xy." He crinkled his nose as he laughed. Katherine had the inevitable urge to 'boop' his nose, but didn't feel it was appropriate in front of his parents.
"You are slandering me. I am not violent." She glanced quickly towards Anna and Henrick, who pretended not to be eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Well, I am the only one who can get away with it," he appeased her sweetly before guiding her in. As she settled in, he moved inside to buckle her seatbelt before closing the door and jogging over to the driver's side.
"I'm cool with having a cozy dinner in the suite," Katherine commented, looking at Cage sweetly.
"Absolutely not!" Henrick interjected. Katherine jumped, never having imagined that this man could protest. "You're not spending such a wonderful day eating room service in a suite, hiding out with Cage. If that is the case, he can stay indoors," Henrick announced.
Her face looked horrified as she turned to look back. She shook her head vehemently, refusing to entertain such an idea.
"Well, then we'll go out. Who asked him to be so noteworthy," Henrick huffed, albeit jokingly.
"Thank you for your genes," Cage retorted with a sly smile.
"People will see you," Katherine grumbled. This time, Anna replied.
"They already have. It's not about being seen... as long as they don't see you with us. You don't need to be harrassed because of us."
"I don't mind that." Katherine frowned. But the others did.
"I want to celebrate with you, Katherine. We book a private room, so no one will enter. Don't worry." Cage pressed his hand to the steering wheel as he watched the conflict on her face. She looked positively guilty about the situation. After a couple of minutes, she turned to look at him, resolute.
"If you're sure," she smiled.
"I'm sure." With luck, nobody would take a picture of her walking with them. Cage gritted his teeth as he thought. They could take as many pictures of him as they wanted, but they better keep her out of them. If they could do that, all would be well. They could obviously pretend that they had bumped into one another and been invited to have dinner together.
"This will be our first time in public," Katherine said, smiling.
"Well, even though it's not a date..." They simply forgot about the other two in the car. "Let's have some dinner," Cage grinned.
"There are other people here!" Anna commented, sounding delighted.
Cage huffed as he brought the engine to life. With that, they were off.
It was Henrick who created the elaborate plan. As per Cage's previous words, he was the one who enjoyed setting up parties. So, Katherine was not surprised.
"Are there any seats available for a single diner?" she asked, having left the elevator before Cage and his parents. They trailed behind as she asked. As the server was about to answer, Katherine heard Henrick's voice from behind her.
"Katherine, is that you?" his voice was loud and clear, carrying across to some of the other employees.
Katherine tensed up but turned to face the group, doing as she was asked to do. She pretended to look bewildered for a moment before turning to Cage with an incredulous look. She bowed to greet.
"Fancy meeting you here. We watched your performance today. I must say, I am a fan," he declared, moving forward to grab her hand in a handshake. It was safe to say that there was pin drop silence near them.
"Thank you so much for your praise. I didn't know that..." she trailed off, feeling too embarrassed to keep acting. Cage was smirking on the side, not saying a word.
"We heard that this is the best restaurant in town, so we decided to come here." Anna too greeted Katherine as if it was her first time meeting her.
"Well, enjoy your dinner," she told them. She was about to turn back to the employee when Henrick called her back.
"Don't rush off," Henrick demanded. "We have a table booked here. I'm your fan, why don't you join us?" he asked. He waited with anticipation.
Katherine looked at Cage for mercy and he nodded. "Miss Austen, please join us. Seeing that my father likes you so much, it would be a shame if we let this opportunity go. You're dining alone?" he asked. Among the four of them, he was obviously the best actor.
It was Anna's turn to move towards the employee and greet her. "She'll be dining with us," she informed politely.
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