"My, my! What a surprise! Haha! Who would have thought that my dearest friend would ever invite for lunch?"
Conrad's face nearly scrunched at the loud voice of the approaching Maynard as if they were the only people in the restaurant. Maynard approached their table with arms wide open while Conrad's gaze slid onto the young man walking behind Maynard.
Asher.
"What a treat! Well, I guess, since we're growing old, you're having a soft spot for ," humored Maynard, taking a chair across from Conrad.
"It's good to see you again, Mister Blac. I hope you've been well." Unlike the shaless Maynard, his son bowed and politely greeted Conrad before taking a seat.
Observing Asher's mien and Maynard left a huge question in Conrad's head. How could this young man be so exceptional and smart while Maynard just never grew older? But then again, having such a childish father, it wouldn't be surprising if the child had to mature early.
"It's a good thing your son didn't take after his father," said Conrad to Maynard, making the latter frown.
"Hey! What the hell?" Maynard gasped in disbelief. "Did you just invite for lunch just to insult right in front of my son?"
"I am complinting your son," Conrad argued with a plain voice.
Maynard's frown grew deeper, realizing it seed he would never win against Conrad with a battle of words. "How can you always twist my words, eh? Is that a talent?"
Like usual, Conrad and Maynard bantered with the latter doing most of the talking. It was as if they just continued where they left off the last ti they t since they just kept pressing each other's nerves. anwhile, Asher, who was also at the sa table as them, remained silent.
It wasn't Conrad's intention to touch a matter that Asher was very sensitive to right now, and Asher was aware of that. However, his hand under the table still trembled. Asher clasped his fist to stop it from shaking, maintaining a ek countenance while his father and Conrad bantered.
"Son, what are you having?" Asher's brows rose when Maynard shifted his attention to him, asking what he wanted for lunch. "Pick whatever you like and make sure it's expensive. It's his treat."
'Since when did you beco an opportunist?' was what Asher wanted to ask his father, but bit his tongue to stop himself. If this was before, those would have flown out of his mouth, but Asher felt like standing on thin ice.
At any mont, he could lose everything. The life he had, the family he grew up with, and everything. That thought alone that ca along with the truth never let him sleep peacefully at night. Even at this second, Asher had felt restless.
"I'll have whatever you're having." Asher sported a short smile.
"Okay. Then, we'll have this and this and this…" Maynard shalessly ordered almost everything on the nu; so were for takeout, shalessly telling Conrad it was for his people.
Conrad didn't mind, though. He was a little used to Maynard's antics. With that being said, they had lunch together, catching up over lunch. They mostly talked about business matters and the status of their company, the change in the economy, and possible future business ventures. From ti to ti, Conrad and Maynard would talk about anything random.
Listening to his father and Conrad's conversation, Asher couldn't help but notice. He had already noticed it before, but he was still amazed at their relationship. Maynard and Conrad might be different in many things, but whenever they were talking, it was obvious why they got along.
It might not be obvious on the surface level, but Maynard and Conrad get along well. And how they got along was because of their differences in personality and business outlook.
When the lunch ca to an end, Asher excused himself politely.
"Take your ti, son." Maynard flashed his son a wide smile, watching Asher nod without saying a word. As he watched Asher walk away with a smile, his brows rose when Conrad suddenly brought up a topic he didn't see coming.
"Are you looking for Stella?" asked Conrad without beating around the bush, making Maynard look back at him with shock written all over his face. "Maynard, it's been almost two decades since you broke up. You now have a family of your own, two wonderful sons, and a successful career. Why are you still holding on to soone in the past?"
There was a mont of silence that fell on their shoulder after Conrad's remarks, staring at each other quietly.
"How did you know?" was the first thing that ca out of Maynard's mouth. "Are you spying on ?"
"No. Soone just told ."
"Soone?" Maynard cocked his head to the side. "Who?"
"Doesn't matter."
"It does matter, since this is a private matter, and knowing soone knows what's up is a huge deal for ."
"And causing problems for your son is not?" Conrad returned with the sa cold tone. "I do not want to disclose how, but it was an unintentional incident. After all, I have a security agency and people et people."
Conrad tapped his index on the table. "I brought this up because I am concerned about you… no, not you, but I'm concerned about your son. Luke is Cosette's dear friend, and that boy had been amazingly striving. Nothing good will co if you dig up the past and bring it to the present."
"Let the past stay where they were and where they belong," he added solemnly. "Let the things stay where they were and move on. That's what I'm saying… and advice I could give as a friend."
Maynard just stared at Conrad for a while before he lowered his eyes, letting out a short laugh.
"Move on?" he lifted his eyes and shook his head. "How can I move on from sothing that, until now, haunts ? Stella… I didn't even have a proper talk with her —"
"Because you sent Rocco to prison for a cri he didn't do." Conrad cut him off mid-sentence. "Attempted murder. You put your friend behind bars just because he released his anger for ruining his life."
"He killed my wife."
Conrad kept a stern expression while staring Maynard straight in the eye. "You… don't even believe that, Maynard. I will not go through this matter since it already happened and I don't think it's sothing I should ddle with, but you should stop blaming soone for sothing you did. And just stop. Focus on your sons and the Quinn Holdings. That's the best for everyone."
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