The International.
Soon the food arrived, and Alexander made a disgusted face at his broccoli soup. Ria giggled softly at his expression. That's when he noticed her plate.
"Ria, what's that?"
"Oh, it's my favourite lunch, vegetable pulao."
Alex repeated the word slowly, like he'd heard it before.
"It's not our native dish. It's from India," she added.
Alex nodded as the memory clicked. "Yeah, I remember. My mom is from India."
"Really? That's great! I love Indian food. My mamma actually learned to cook it just for me,"
Ria said, excitement bubbling in her voice.
Alex smiled. She took a small morsel with her hand and popped it into her mouth, letting out a soft moan of delight.
Alexander swallowed hard. That sound… his smirk reappeared, uninvited.
"It's not fair," he muttered, snapping her attention back to him.
Ria blinked. "What isn't?"
"You're having a sumptuous meal, and here I am… stuck with this stupid salad."
She stared at him, amused, discovering yet another new, unexpectedly boyish side of him. She giggled.
"You want to taste this?" she asked, pointing at the pulao.
He nodded immediately.
She scooped a small portion in her hand and fed him. Exactly what he wanted. His heart felt ridiculously light at the simple gesture.
"How is it?" she asked eagerly.
He nodded with a smile. "It's great."
Ria beamed with contentment.
"First finish your salad and soup. Then I'll order something else for you," she declared.
Alex chuckled at her innocent bossiness.
"Will you feed me like this?" he whispered.
"Pardon?" she asked, not having heard him.
"Uh, nothing. You're really into veggies, huh?"
She smiled. "I'm a vegan."
"Oh," he nodded, mentally calculating their future food combinations with her preferences.
They finished their meals, and Alex insisted on paying and of course, he won.
"How are you going back?" Ria asked as they stood.
"My assistant will be here soon."
She nodded, and the two walked out of the hotel together. Alex quickly messaged Rick to come pick him up and shared the location.
Rick arrived quickly and honked, hoping to catch Alex's attention.
"Looks like my ride is here," Alex muttered.
He spotted the Bugatti and walked out with Ria supporting him. Rick stepped out of the car and leaned against the door, only for his eyes to widen like saucers at the sight in front of him.
A pretty little girl was helping his bull-like friend walk.
What the hell…?
He had seen Alex fight while bleeding all over and still standing tall, yet here he was acting like his legs barely worked. It was clearly acting, and Rick's jaw almost dropped.
He could hear them now.
"Ugh!" Alex winced dramatically.
"Careful, Xander," Ria murmured, holding his waist to support him.
Rick marched toward them like a robot, still processing the absurdity. He hadn't yet seen Ria's face since she was partially behind Alex.
"What happened to you, buddy?" he asked, genuinely shocked.
"You're his assistant, and you don't know?" came a voice from behind Alex.
Ria stepped into view and Rick's eyes widened again. Double shock in a single day.
First shock: Alex acting like a weak, helpless man.
Second shock: That weak act was clearly for Ria.
Ria, the sister of their other friend, Rian.
Rick blinked twice, almost comically.
Alex immediately stepped between them with a frown, noticing how Rick was openly staring at his pretty doctor.
"He doesn't know, Ria," Alex clarified quickly. "He's my assistant as in the assistant of the COO of Gonzales Corp. Not General Gonzales."
Ria made an "ohhh" sound of understanding and gave Rick a polite smile.
She wasn't familiar with him, but Rick knew her well enough. He'd seen her many times with Rian, and Rian had introduced her before. Like Alex, Rick had also assumed Rian's sister was a spoiled rich brat because the last time he saw her during childhood, she was one.
But after meeting her again two years ago, all those misconceptions disappeared. He'd seen a kind, genuinely innocent doctor standing where that spoiled kid once was.
A knowing smirk slowly spread across Rick's face.