Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Kendall leaned her back against the car's hood while waiting outside the restaurant where Grayson and Abigail were having dinner. Her stomach kept grumbling in hunger, but all she could do was watch people and cars pass before her. There were many restaurants around where she could eat, but she was worried Grayson might come out looking for her if she left.

Sure enough, the latter yelled from the side, causing Kendall to look in his direction. He was standing in the doorway of the restaurant, signaling her to go inside.

"Hailey, don't just stand there and join us!" he invited.

Right then, Kendall's face brimmed in delight. She didn't even think twice and hurriedly came over. However, just when she was only a few steps away from the doorway, she paused and looked at Grayson in bafflement.

The latter had been on countless dates and night-outs since the first day she agreed to be his slave, but this was the first time he invited her over. Thus, Kendall couldn't help but feel a little strange about Grayson's unusual kindness.

"Wait, what came to your mind that you suddenly invited me inside?" she asked.

"Well, I just thought you might be hungry too," he casually replied.

Still, Kendall couldn't tame the sense of suspicion floating in her heart. Doubtful, she stared into Grayson's eyes and asked, "Is it your treat then?"

"Why? Do you have money to pay for your own bill?" he provocatively asked back. Hearing no response from Kendall, he spoke again and said, "See? As if I have a choice but to pay for your meal."

"I just want to make sure because I know what kind of man you are, Grayson. I'm aware that you have a lot of schemes hidden in your sleeves that you can't wait to use to tease me. Who knows if you only wanted to invite me inside and make me wait there so it'll be more torturous?" Kendall voiced.

"Well then, think whatever you want," Grayson sneered. "Stay here if you don't want to come inside and work on your trust issues."

After that, he stormed inside.

Kendall, on the other hand, still followed behind despite her suspicions.

"Wait, I'll come with you! I was just testing if your thoughtfulness and kindness are genuine. I'm hungry too!" she said.

As soon as they entered, Abigail waved at Kendall and greeted the latter, "Hi, Hailey!"

"Hey!" Kendall greeted back.

Grayson sat down next to his girlfriend while Kendall sat at the empty table next to them. Because of that, the former looked at the latter with his eyebrows furrowed. He asked, "Hailey, why are you sitting there?"

Confused, Kendall looked around and wondered, "Where should I sit then?" After saying that, she stood up and added, "Should I sit farther?"

"Just sit with us. There's plenty of room for you," Grayson offered as he pushed one vacant seat across him.

Stunned, Kendall narrowed her eyes as she looked at the man. "What did you say?" she asked in disbelief. "Did you just invite me to sit with you guys? Don't make fun of me, Grayson. I believe people easily whenever I am hungry."

Seeing her refusal, Abigail smiled and softly interjected, "Grayson's right, Hailey. Just come and join us!"

"You don't have to worry about me, Abigail. I'm okay with sitting alone. Besides, you guys are on a date, so I don't want to be a killjoy. Just enjoy each other's company and don't mind me," Kendall thoughtfully said.

Hearing that, Grayson stubbornly said, "If you don't want to join our table, then simply wait for us outside until we finish."

Kendall knew Grayson wasn't joking just by listening to his tone. So, she immediately sat in a chair in front of him, smiled, and said, "But on second thought, eating with you two is better than eating alone."

Not long after, the waiter approached their table and gave each of them a menu.

Wanting to be sure, Kendall raised her gaze at Grayson again and said, "You said you're going to treat me, so you can't go back on your word now. Don't leave me here because I didn't bring money with me."

"I get it, okay? Just shut up and order what you want," Grayson said in annoyance.

After scanning the menu, Abigail was the first to call the waiter's attention. She ordered baby back ribs and four-season juice for Grayson.

Then, Kendall recited her orders next.

"I'd like to order Ribeye steak, cheesy bacon fries, chicken salad, seafood pasta, raspberry cheesecake, and mango shake."

Grayson's eyes widened.

"Hailey, do you have a monster in your stomach? Have you not eaten for days? I mean, how are you going to eat all that?! Do you have a baby you need to feed?" he successively asked.

However, Kendall only smiled at the confused waiter, confirming that he heard her orders right. After timidly returning the menu, she faced Grayson and said, "I told you I'm hungry. I'll eat everything I have ordered, so you don't have to worry that your money will be wasted. Honestly, I wanted to order more, but I restrained myself from ordering too much since you're paying."

"You call that restraining, huh?" Grayson sneered. "Hailey, what you are doing is a sin already. That's gluttony!"

"Can you stop picking on me, Grayson?" Kendall complained. "I'm not a picky eater like you, nor was I a model like Abigail who has to look after her body. I'm your slave, Grayson, and let me remind you that my job requires me to be at your beck and call anytime. Also, I did four hundred sit-ups and two hundred push-ups this morning, so I need to replenish my energy."

Grayson hissed at Kendall's lengthy speech. He shook his head and said, "You don't have to make up an excuse, Hailey. Just admit that you're just greedy when it comes to food."

Abigail, who was just silently listening to the two's exchange of words, suddenly looked at Kendall with eyes full of admiration. "Did I hear you right, Hailey? Can you really do that much cycle of push-ups and sit-ups? Jeez! You're a tough one!"

"I told you she's not a human being," Grayson whispered coldly.

When their orders arrived, Kendall took the initiative to put all her orders near her.

Seeing what she did, Grayson raised one of his brows and said, "You don't have to do that, Hailey. We won't snatch your food from you. You're most likely the one who would snatch ours."

"I'm not doing this because I'm afraid you might take them away from me. I just want to put a boundary!" Kendall reasoned and drew an imaginary line in the center of the table using her fingers.

"There! I'll stay quiet on my side, so just pretend that I am not here. Continue talking and enjoy yourselves," she added.

After that, Kendall began eating as if she was the only one at the table. Even though her mouth was full of food, she kept eating more.

Abigail, on the other hand, couldn't help but be amazed at Kendall's eating pace. Her lips parted slightly, utterly astonished.

"Eat slowly, Hailey. The food isn't going anywhere," Grayson impatiently reminded.

Hearing him nag, Kendall pointed to the imaginary line she drew earlier and said, "Mind your own business, Grayson. Imagine that there's a wall here."

With that, Grayson surrendered and didn't bother Kendall anymore. However, he would still glance at her from time to time and smile secretly. The truth was, Grayson enjoyed watching her eat comfortably. He found it fascinating that she was not like other girls, who would act pretentiously in front of anyone. In fact, looking at her eat eagerly made him enjoy his food too.

After a seemingly long time, Grayson's gaze fell from her face down to her lips. He then remembered what she admitted to him in the car about her first kiss.

"Hailey..." he softly called.

Hearing that, Kendall raised her head to look at him and asked, "Why?"

"Why are you so careless when you eat? You have sauce on your mouth," Grayson announced, his eyes fixed on her lips.

Kendall didn't panic at all. Instead, she gave Grayson a questioning look and asked, "Where?"

"Is it here?" she asked as she pointed to one side of her mouth. She didn't even wait for Grayson to answer and directly circled her tongue around the corner of her lips.

It was just a simple gesture, yet it sent an indescribable feeling to Grayson's body. His cheeks warmed as he watched her casually using her tongue to search for the sauce in her mouth. When he felt that his throat had slightly gone dry, he immediately gulped on a glass of water without taking his eyes off Kendall's lips.

"There! Do I still have sauce on my lips?" the latter innocently asked.

"Nothing," Grayson replied as he wiped his forehead with a tissue.

Kendall nodded and was about to eat again when her cellphone rang. She initially thought of excusing herself before answering her phone when she remembered the imaginary line she drew. Thus, she pointed to it again as if she wanted to tell Grayson and Abigail not to mind her.

"Hello, Inspector Whitlock..." Noah greeted on the other end of the line.

A bit preoccupied, Kendall almost greeted him the same way, but her eyes caught a glimpse of Grayson, so she faked a cough and said, "Noah! Why did you call? Is there anything wrong?"

Grayson's expression, on the other hand, immediately changed upon hearing Kendall mention Noah's name.

"I'm guessing you're with Grayson right now. Otherwise, you wouldn't address me by my first name," Noah concluded.

With that, Kendall turned to the side slightly, not wanting Grayson to overhear them. "You're right, so... what's the purpose of this call?" she casually asked.

"Nothing. I just called to tell you that I've already emailed the assignment you sent me last time," Noah informed.

"Really?" Kendall asked, her tone becoming livelier. "Alright, I'll check it later. Thanks! What would I do without you?"

Kendall wanted to express her gratitude to her colleague more, but she felt someone kicking her leg under the table. When she looked down, she found out that it was Grayson.

"Wait, give me a second, Noah," Kendall excused and covered the speaker of her phone before glaring at Grayson. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"We're eating, Hailey," Grayson blankly said.

Because of that, Kendall could only roll her eyes and get back to her phone. She smiled even though the other person couldn't see her and apologetically said, "I'm sorry, but I must hang up now, Noah. Maybe we could talk again next time. This spoiled brat is acting up again."

Of course, Noah could only nod as well. "No worries. I hope I can see you soon. I'm already missing your energy here at the headquarters," he said.

"I missed being there more! Well then, bye for now. Let's catch up soon!" Kendall replied and dropped the call.

A sweet smile remained plastered on her face until Grayson spoke and scolded, "Don't you have any manners, Hailey? We're in the middle of dinner, yet you are talking to someone as if you were alone in the living room."

Not wanting to argue with him, Kendall shrugged and pretended not to hear anything. She quietly resumed eating, not bothering to raise her gaze at Grayson.

However, the latter refused to let the matter go. "And what did you just describe me? A spoiled brat?!" he asked, raising his tone.

Kendall knew Grayson wouldn't stop unless she talked back. Thus, she matched his gaze and said, "You even heard that?"

"Of course! How do you expect me not to hear it when you were just in front of me when you said that?! And what about you telling him to meet you soon? Hailey, did you just decide to meet that person without asking for my permission?" Grayson replied and asked.

Kendall raised one of her brows and asked, "And why would I need to ask for your permission?"

She had no idea why Grayson was acting that way, but she could see that he was dead serious.

"Oh. So you're saying that you can meddle with my plans anytime, but I don't have the right to say something about yours?" Grayson snapped, feeling as though he was being mistreated.

"My appointments aren't as exciting as yours, Grayson, so why would I bother to tell you about them? Besides, you won't enjoy it even if you come along. You'll get bored to death!" Kendall calmly explained.

"I'm not like you who always want to tag along, and I couldn't care less about where you are going. But then, you should still ask for my permission first. What if I have planned to order you to do something that day, and you are away?" Grayson reasoned.

"Then I'll just set our meet-up on the day I am not scheduled to do errands for you." Kendall shrugged and continued eating.

"No! You can't see anyone this time unless I permit you to do so!" he dictated.

Abigail immediately sensed the tension between the two. Not wanting to let Grayson and Kendall's fight intensify, she sat properly and interjected, "Oh, I almost forgot! Alpha Sigma Rho Sorority is hosting a fashion show at UM theater the next day, and I will be one of the models. I hope you guys can come and watch!"

Grayson didn't get surprised upon hearing that his girlfriend was joining a fashion show because it wasn't the first time she did. What stunned him, however, was the name of the sorority that Abigail mentioned.

"Isn't that the sorority Cady belongs to, Grayson?" Kendall whispered.

Hearing that, Grayson secretly kicked her under the table again. When she saw the latter's expression, she realized she had said something wrong. Thus, she turned to Abigail and said, "I don't watch fashion shows often, but I'll save the date for you! I'll finally witness you dominate the runway. Don't worry, we'll be there! Right, Grayson?"

"Of course," Grayson replied. He looked lovingly at Abigail and said, "My girlfriend will be there, so I should also go there to support her."

Abigail smiled and was about to reply, but Kendall spoke again.

She said, "Own the runway, Abigail! Make Cady realize who she was trying to go against!"

Because of that, Grayson kicked Kendall's foot again under the table. However, this time, it was stronger.

"Ouch!" Kendall exclaimed in pain. "That should be the last one, Grayson. I'll fight back if you do it again!" she threatened.

Grayson then leaned closer to Kendall and gave her a deadly gaze. His jaw tightened as he whispered, "I will never ever make the mistake of inviting you to join any of my dinner dates again, Hailey."

With that, Kendall felt like she had been splashed by cold water. Part of her job was to tag along with Grayson wherever he went, so she couldn't afford to be hated by him.

Thus, she could only lower her head slightly and softly said, "Alright. I won't say anything more."