บท 14: The Governor's gala (2)
Morgan was chatting with the Prime Minister with such an easy tone as if he was talking to a grandpa and not the leader of the country. His face was relaxed, his words smooth.
«Are you preparing to take over the family business?» Leonard Thorne asked.
«One day,» Morgan said. He continued his talk, following his boss's plan and letting Chris stand next to May.
«Miss Thorne, are you feeling all right?» the senator whispered. «You look distracted.»
«I always am,» May replied in the same, low tone. «Distracted, I mean.»
The discussion around them became louder, but they weren't paying any attention.
«What a delightful dress,» he continued. «But don't you feel cold?»
«I'm perfectly fine.»
«You certainly look more than fine. You look gorgeous.»
May moved her eyes away, reaching out to the tray a waiter was carrying. She took a glass of wine and sipped to hide her blushing face. What a shameless man! He had the face to flirt with her in front of her grandfather!
She didn't find any appropriate answer, so she kept silent. She sipped again, afraid someone could notice her expression and blush. Her cheeks were burning, but she hoped it wasn't as evident.
From her side, Chris noticed her red ears. It made him smirk, and he thought about something else to say to reproduce that same reaction. However, he couldn't because his thoughts were interrupted.
«Isn't that right, Senator Lindt?» someone asked.
He had to move his attention back to the group of men, which was frustrating. But he hid it well, just like usual. What's more, he had no idea what everyone was talking about.
«I think we all know,» he said, all the same. He accompanied the reply with a smirk, and no one even thought he was pretending to know what the matter was.
He couldn't glance at May again with all those eyes on him, not if he didn't want someone to notice.
«I've seen someone I need to talk to,» he said to Morgan. «Let's go. Gentlemen! It's been a pleasure.»
He was accompanied by their gazes, turning cold as soon as he left. They looked after him with such enmity that one wouldn't guess they were talking amicably just a minute before.
Chris Lindt didn't need to turn to see them. He knew them well enough.
Either way, he had reached his goal: exchange a couple of words with May. If he wanted to know her better, he had to take advantage of the events they both attended. Even if it sounded foolish, he had to come up with such plans just to create contact. Then, at some point, he would have made a move.
«Good job, Morgan,» he declared.
«Was I enough of a distraction?»
«More than enough. You deserved a raise,» he chuckled.
Meanwhile, May stood next to her grandfather with an even more absent-minded expression. She continued thinking about Chris Lindt's words. He hadn't said anything too extreme, all in all. Just that she was looking good in that dress - which could only be a lie. That dress was so plain and uninteresting that there was no way she could look good in it.
A young woman, a year younger than May, approached the Prime Minister. Her body was wrapped in an elegant black dress, showing her shapes in the right places.
«Sorry, grandpa, I was late,» she said, hanging on the Prime Minister's arm. «It took us a while to cross the city with this traffic. Then, dad was stopped by many people who wanted to talk with him.»
«Where is he?»
«Still at the entrance. He'll be here soon.»
The man on the right of Leonard Thorne chuckled.
«It's no surprise everyone wants to talk with our Governor,» he said. «Your second granddaughter is grown up as well.»
«I'm almost twenty-one, Magistrate Smith. I am no child anymore.»
Leonard Thorne smiled again, just like with May. However, his eyes were filled with warmth. He liked that side of his second granddaughter, Lorelei. She would remember names and faces, and she would chat with everyone as if she cared. Quite the opposite of May, who would ignore most of the people around her.
«Lorelei, dear, the youth is near the pool. You should meet your friends instead of listening to the talk of us, old men. It'd be boring for you.»
«You are never boring, grandpa. But if you want me to, I'll go.»
«Take May with you.»
«Sure!»
Lorelei let go of her grandfather and held May's arm.
«Let's go, sister!» she said with the same smile as before. She dragged May, who followed without a word. The girl was too focused on a certain Senator to notice anything else.
«This dress is so plain,» she heard Lorelei say. «But the fabric is so thin. Does it have a second layer?»
May didn't reply, but she noticed something was wrong with her cousin. She was planning one of her jokes, wasn't she?
While they were passing by the pool, May got distracted by a glimpse of Chris on the other side. He wasn't looking in her direction, luckily. She wasn't sure she would have been able to hide her reaction from Lorelei, and her cousin finding out was the worst possible outcome.
Her worries had shifted to Chris Lindt, so she couldn't put any resistance when Lorelei pushed her to the side.
May fell into the pool, sinking in the cold water and wondering - still - if Chris had seen such an embarrassing moment. She had lowered her guard when she shouldn't have. Yet, the water was way more comfortable than all those people up there.
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