50 Keeping Up With Diane Brown

~One Year Later~

It's 5:00 PM and a black Maybach pulled over in front of Cavatina Restaurant.

Dressed in a white pantsuit that gave her an angelic appearance, Diane stepped out from the back passenger seat of the car and pushed her wavy brown hair to the side.

Taking one look at the building, she stashed her phone in her black purse and strolled in. As soon as she got passed the revolving door, her eyes landed on a familiar figure stepping out with a team of men in exquisite-tailored suits.

Of course, he was the most eye-catching one in her eyes, not solely because he was the youngest amongst the men he was leading, but because of the thought in her heart.

Diane froze in her steps as time seemed to stop. The classic music playing in the background gradually faded as her eyes pinned on Christian.

It's been a year since she heard anything from him or saw him physically apart from what the news rarely reported. Now, seeing him on a day like today, she was stunned.

He was still the same as the last time they spoke, handsome, with an air of importance hanging around him.

Quickly, Christian and his entourage reached her side. Diane quickly recovered from her earlier shock. Her lips slowly parted. She was going to greet him, but the man passed her with his gaze straight.

If a human being had been standing in front of him, he didn't notice.

As the man walked passed her, a gasp escaped from her lips. She couldn't believe that he actually meant what he said to her back then.

They hadn't seen each other for a little over a year and he was going to pass over her like she was air?

Diane didn't know how she finally resumed her steps, but as soon as she found her table, she plastered a smile on her face.

"Hello," she waved her hand at the man in a black business suit and round-rimmed glasses over his eyes sitting in front of her. He was quite good-looking.

Hearing her voice, the man's gaze moved from his phone to her face and immediately, the corners of his lips curled. "You are my date?"

Diane nodded and took the seat across from him. "I'm sorry I'm a bit late."

"It's fine." The man waved his hand and put his phone away, resting his gaze on her. "I understand that things could come up suddenly."

Diane humoured him with that smile plastered on her face without bothering to explain further. She also refused to be overly nice since that side of her cost her a lot in the past.

"Shall we place our order and get to know each other while they prepare the food?" The man asked, picking up a menu from their table and waving it in front of her.

---

Outside the restaurant, a silver Rolls-Royce pulled over and George stepped out from the front passenger seat to pull the back door open.

Christian shook hands with the men surrounding him with a polite smile on his lips before entering the car. As soon as the car sped off from the beautiful vicinity, the smile on his face vanished.

"George, find out what Diane Brown came to Cavatina to do this evening. I want every detail you can get your hands on."

"Yes, Sir," George replied and immediately picked up his phone to make a call.

At the back seat, Christian's brow was knitted in a frown. Throwing his gaze to the window, he rested his elbow on the door and slipped his right hand under his jaw as a vein throbbed in his head.

---

Meanwhile, inside the restaurant, Diane was still getting to know her date.

"I'm Diane Brown, how about you?" she inquired.

This was a pure blind date that was arranged, neither of them knew each other's names. They had only seen each of their photos before their date was fixed.

The man who sat across from Diane replied with a smile, "Phillip Adams."

As soon as Diane heard that name from his lips, her nose scrunched up as her brows furrowed lightly.

It was difficult for her to maintain focus and discipline after hearing that name, such that she didn't even care what her date thought of it because there was no way she was going on a second date with him.

That name, 'Phillip' was a complete red-flag package on its own for Diane, and no matter how good other men that bore it appeared to be, she was having nothing to do with them.

"Is anything the matter?" Phillip Adams asked, raising a curious brow after seeing her reaction.

Diane shook her head. "It's nothing. Please don't mind me and carry on." She tried to smile, but having an idea of how fake and ugly it would be, she continued to keep a neutral appearance.

Although she had already lost interest in her date, she didn't have much choice sitting through to the end.

The only reason she was being polite was only because that man hadn't in any other way offended her apart from the name he bore. That was the only case.

"I am an anesthesiologist at Keck Health Hospital. What about you?" the man asked, proceeding with further questions.

---

Christian sat behind his desk at Heirs Hotel with a hazy gaze. He looked to be in deep thought and quickly recovered from it when a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in," he instructed as his gaze strayed to the door.

George pushed the door open and walked in, stopping in front of his desk.

Without waiting for his report, Christian asked first, "Did you find out what I asked you two?"

Taking that question as a cue, George quickly opened his jacket and dipped his hand inside his inner pockets to take out a few pictures. He put them on the table and pushed them straight to Christian before stepping back.

"She went there on a date," he revealed.

Instantly, Christian sat up and picked up the photos in front of him, his eyes widening with each look he took.

Finally, he slammed them on his desk and lifted his furious gaze. "Who says she can go on a date behind my back after I chased away that scoundrel from her life?"

George dared not meet his red gaze. In his mind, he thought, 'Boss, you are the one who doesn't want anything to do with her. Why are you concerned about who she dates?'

On the other hand, Christian was restless. Thinking that this was what Diane had been up to for the past year, he took his anger to a greater height.

"It seems like you have been living a good life while I've not," he sneered. Turning his gaze back to George, he instructed. "I want Diane followed. Report to me about everything that happens around her, and that includes her schedule. Don't even miss a thing!"

George hurriedly nodded. "Yes, Sir." It seemed like his boss was about to make Diane Brown's life more eventful than it already was.

This time around, it wasn't Diane who was going to be chasing Christian rather he was the one.