Closing her eyes, Shirley took a few deep breaths. The last thing she wanted was to be affected by this man. She was the first to go. downstairs, and the servants had prepared five different dishes and a soup tonight. Even though it was his birthday, there didn’t seem to be anything different from usual.
Is Tony coming back? she wondered. However, it was already late, and he wasn’t back yet, so she reckoned that he wasn’t coming back tonight. Am I the only one spending his birthday with him? Having never spent a man’s birthday alone with him, she started to feel nervous, and the situation was a little ambiguous and awkward for her.
Just then, sounds of footsteps came from the staircase. Upon lifting her head, she saw a freshly showered man who had changed into a black knitted sweater paired with a pair of casual gray trousers.
Beaming with an aristocratic-like laid-back aura, he seemed a few years younger, and even his hair was falling on his forehead casually.
“Sir, the food is ready, a servant informed, stepping forward.
“Thank you. You’re done for the day,” he said.
Tacitly, she nodded. “Okay.”
The moment she was gone, the room fell into pin-drop silence. “Are you sure you’re not going to invite your family over to celebrate your birthday with you?” Shirley asked, curious about the situation. He raised his head and smiled. “To me, it’s enough just to have you.”
“I’m only your bodyguard,” Shirley answered helplessly.
“Tonight, don’t be my bodyguard. Be my friend instead,” he said and pulled out a chair for her. “Take a seat.”
She was rooted to the spot, but the man cast her a determined stare, demanding her to go over. Only then did she strode toward him and plopped into the chair that he had pulled out. Then, the man sat next to her. “Let’s eat. Once we’re done with dinner, we’ll share the cake together,” he said.
“Would you like to wait for Tony?” she asked.
“He’s not coming back,” he replied.
She blinked blankly. “Did you ask him already?”
“Yeah. His answer sounded confident because he had told his nephew not to return tonight.
There was nothing else Shirley could say, and they began eating in silence. While eating, Zacharias added food to her plate, and she looked at him. Returning the favor, she, too, placed more food on his plate. A smirk tinged the edge of his lips. “Why are you so ceremonious?”
She returned his smile. “I have to. After all, you’re Mr. Vice President.”
“I said that we’re friends tonight. I’m Zacharias, and you’re Shirley. There’s no Vice President in this room,” he reiterated, raising a brow.
Shirley nodded in agreement. “Okay, then I’ll spend your birthday with you as a friend tonight,” she said and pointed at the bag on the couch. “Look, I even prepared a birthday gift for you.”
“I can’t wait to find out what it is,” he said, smiling.
“You’ll find out for yourself later,” she said. The element of surprise would be gone if she had revealed what the gift was.
Zacharias nodded. “Okay, but no matter what you’re giving me, I’ll treasure it.” Her eyes turned into crescents as she smiled. “As long as you don’t mind it.”
“I won’t. It’s a present from you, and I’m more than happy to receive it.”
His deep eyes looked at her, and she lowered her head to avoid looking into them before saying, “You should have told me earlier. I’ve bought such a huge cake, and it’s going to waste.”
“We can give it to Roy later and let them have it,” he suggested.
She nodded. “That works out because the cake is big enough.”
After dinner, Shirley cleared the table and even did the dishes. In the meantime, Zacharias was watching the news on TV. As it was still early, he wasn’t in a rush to have the cake. However, a few times, his gaze drifted to the bag, and he wondered what she had prepared as a gift for him.
Around 8.30PM, Shirley came into the room. “Would you like to blow the candle and make a wish first?”
“Sure,” he answered with a nod. So, she brought the cake to the coffee table and took out the candles in the shape of the number twenty-nine. At the sight of that, Zacharias couldn’t stop himself from grinning. “How did you know that it’s my twenty-ninth birthday?”
