Chapter 27— Will You Be My Plus One?

Lena had thought she encountered almost all kinds of people the earth had in her but with the exception of the kind of Cleo. Somehow she liked Cleo after the conversation even though she didn't like most of the things she was saying, like the part about how she was going to be an amazing sister-in-law and that Henderson liked her. The funniest part of the conversation was that Cleo didn't let Lena speak whenever she knew Lena was going to counter her words. Cleo and Lena exchanged contacts before Cleo left after making Lena promise that they were going to keep in touch. "Mikayla is going to be my date for the business awards. I was going to ask Lena but since I don't want to go there with crippled legs I just had to ask Mikayla, " A frown smudged Brian's face, and he glared at Henderson before plopping on the couch. "You made a good decision. I'm not sure Lena would have agreed to go with you anyways?" Henderson shrugged a mocking smile filled his lips as she spoke. "Arrogant jerk, " Brian huffed. Henderson chuckled shaking his head. "Who is going to be your date for the business awards?" Brian inquired staring at Henderson. "No one, when have I ever attended with a date?" "No need to get sassy, dude. It was just a question, I still don't get why you are always like this. Why won't you attend with someone? So many ladies will be willing to go with you." Brian muttered. "And I don't want to go with them. I might not even attend the awards this year, " Henderson muttered nonchalantly and Brian's eyes went wide. "Are you kidding me? We both know, you'll be winning the Businessman of the Year award this year again and many more awards. And I'm not going to pick up any of those award for you, so you better attend the event yourself. I can't be a liar this year again, last year I had to lie that you were on a business trip when you were on a cruise with that girl what's her name, " Brian paused tapping on his nose as he tried to recall. "Venita and you broke up with her the next day." Brian huffed casting Henderson a dirty look after he remembered the name. "Everyone is looking forward to your presence this year, and it's going to be a good chance for your new brand, " Brian suggested. "Whatever, I'll think about it." "You are so proud, " Brian scoffed and Henderson laughed. "And just in case you agree to attend and have given bringing a date with you, you can ask Lena to be your date." Back at the office when Brian had visited Henderson and they had the conversation about the upcoming business awards which was in two weeks, Henderson had been thinking about asking Lena to be his date even before Brian brought it up but he kept waving the idea aside. He doubted if Lena was going to be willing to go with him considering the fact that she didn't appear to be the party type of person, and they were yet to have any conversation in regards to their stands with each other ever since Lena said she wanted an employer-employee kind of relationship. What even fuelled his doubt even more was Lena's attitude when Cleo visited, he decided to be a bit extra acting oblivious of Lena's presence and he felt happy seeing that she was affected by the whole thing but suddenly she appeared not to care and became even more friendly with Cleo. He told Cleo not to tell Lena that they were cousins, he had invited Cleo over even though she lived a city away from his just so he could spike some jealousy in Lena, it was kind of payback since he didn't like how friendly and cosy she was with Brian when he visited days back. He decided to attend the awards but was still contemplating asking Lena to go with him, he feared being turned down. He got a call from Cleo bringing an end to his thoughts. During their conversation on the phone, Cleo admitted to telling Lena that they were cousins. He was going to get mad at Cleo for telling Lena that but when she told him she had good news and she did it for him so he calmed down. She went further to say that Lena liked him but he didn't believe it and it didn't matter what Cleo said to convince him. He told Cleo that he was sceptical about asking Lena to be his date to the awards but she told him he had nothing to fear because Lena was going to agree if he asked. After giving it a lot of thought, he made up his mind to ask Lena and give Cleo the benefit of doubt but if Lena was to say no then Cleo was going to get an earful from him for misleading him. Now, he kind of regretted inviting Cleo over even after she told him that Lena was already aware that they were cousins. Even though it wasn't Cleo's fault that things had become too awkward between him and Lena, he blamed himself for complicating things between them. He was going to ask Lena this evening during dinner, just the thought of it made him feel like he was asking her to marry him since he kept thinking about how to ask her. He thought about buying her a gift but he kicked against it, he feared making her think that was trying to bribe her into saying yes. He thought about asking her when it was just the two of them but still kicked against it, casual was better. Moreover, it was going to be to his advantage if Trent and Itzel were going to be present when he asked her that way if she said no they were going to persuade her to agree. Later that evening.... The dining was quiet and void of noise except for the sound of cutlery whenever they chided against the plate. Trent and Itzel didn't say a word to each other, their full attention was all on the delicious meal they ate and they didn't notice the awkwardness between Lena and Henderson like they usually did. Henderson on the other hand was enjoying the food but he was thinking about how to ask Lena because he kept thinking about the possible replies she could give him like, why would you want your daughter's nanny to be your date to the awards? Or I'm sorry sir but I cannot go with you. "Shit, " Henderson groaned in frustration dropping his cutlery before the realisation hit him. He just used a swear word in front of the kids and acted really weird. When he averted his gaze from his food, Itzel, Lena and Trent's stares were all directed at him. They had stopped eating and were now looking at him keenly as though he had something he wanted to say to them. "Sorry, " he mumbled when his eyes held Lena's chiding gaze. One thing he knew Lena hated was swear words and that too he just used one in front of the kids. Her expression softened and Henderson could see the warmth in her eyes, unlike her earlier countenance. "Sir, are you ok?" Itzel and Trent didn't ask or say anything but from the look on their faces, he knew they had the same questions on their mind. "I'm fine." He mumbled trying to sound as assuring as possible. Lena nodded, Trent and Itzel said nothing. The three of them went back to eating afterwards but Henderson didn't, rather his gaze kept travelling around and finally settle on Lena. Lena could feel Henderson's eyes on her, intensity burned through her due to his sharp gaze. Her heart suddenly started to pound in her chest for some reason she couldn't decipher. And when she tilted her head to meet his gaze, her heartbeat accelerated when Henderson leaned closer, his sea-blue eyes boring into her hazel ones. "Lena there is an upcoming business award I have to attend, and I need a companion, I'll be glad if you agree to be my plus one. Please will you be my plus one?" Henderson felt as though a weight had been lifted off him, he was never the one to be this way when dealing with ladies. But he was well aware that Lena wasn't just any lady, she was the one lady who was immune to his charms. Seeing Lena's blank expression Henderson braced himself for a rejection, his lips were pressed together as he peered at Lena who was yet to say a word.