Oliver and Luke (Part 1)

I’m still really bad at this sort of stuff. I’ve gotten better at being social and all, but I usually have at least a minute or two to mentally prepare myself. Random encounters were still a big weakness for me, so having Mr. Luke Allen walk up and talk to me all of a sudden made my brain freeze.

“My, this is very embarrassing,” the man said. “I promised to get back to you, but Jennifer is still not satisfied with her nose recovery and I’ve been so busy since then. I’m sure you won’t believe me, but I was hoping to free up next weekend so I could meet up with you, Mr. Thomas and Ms. Milana and thank you for what you did.”

My mouth opened and closed, dry as a desert. My brain was still computing, trying to adapt to this situation. You might think I’m exaggerating or overreacting, but beyond what I said about random encounters, I had no idea what to think about this man. There was something strange about him and I would’ve been fine not seeing him ever again. At least that’s what I thought back then.

“U-Um… H-Hello, Mr. Allan- Allen!” Shit. Got tongue twisted! “I… Um… How is Jennifer doing?”

I wondered if that was the right question to start with. I could’ve asked him how HE was doing or why he was here, but I asked the first thing that came to mind just to not stand there staring like a creep like I used to.

“Her nose has mostly healed, but there’s still a small scar she’s self-conscious about. She was afraid of going out again the first few days, but she’s been overcoming that fear, thankfully.”

“...Yes, that must’ve been a very terrifying experience.” I tried not to think about it myself. Honestly, that whole thing was a blur to me. One moment I hear I scream behind me, the other I’m driving a stranger to the hospital.

“Made more bearable by the help of you and yours. But… Why are you here, Mr. Brooks? Are you waiting for someone? Oh, I’m sorry! I’m not interrupting, am I?”

“N-No. I’m… waiting for someone, yes.”

Mr. Allen’s eyes widened. He smiled in something that was a mix of excitement and kindness, if you can picture that. “Is it your girlfriend? I’m sorry to pry, but if you’re going into the hotel, then I’d be happy to take this chance to repay you.”

“Huh? What do you…”

I was cut off by Diana stepping out of the building. She saw me and immediately apologized. “Oliver, I’m sorry to keep you… Ah, Mr. Allen, you’re here. Wait… You two know each other?”

Wait. Diana knew Mr. Allen?

“Diana?” he asked. “No, we don’t know each other exactly. Mr. Brooks here helped Jennifer when she was mugged. Caught the bastard and ground his face over the pavement, something for which I’ll be eternally grateful.”

I flinched. I… did kind of do that, didn’t I?

“But it seems you two do know each other,” Mr. Allen continued, looking back and forth from Diana to me.

“Ah, well… Yes. Oliver is… the man I started seeing,” Diana admitted. I saw her cheeks taking a subtle pink tint as she smiled. It was really cute, but Mr. Allen’s reaction drew my attention more.

His brow furrowed slightly, puzzled. His head tilted and he shook his shoulders as if uncomfortable. He turned to me… and I believed for a moment he was going to ask me if I was two-timing. After all, he knew about Mila. But then I remembered that Frey had… cast a spell to make people think of my polyamorous relationship as something normal.

…

Then I began to believe something very different was happening.

“Aaaah, I see,” Mr. Allen said, smiling and shaking off whatever awkward sensation he was having. “You’ve been in an awfully good mood these past few days. I guess now I know why. Well, the world really is as small as a tissue, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” Diana said with a small, amused smile. “Oliver, I suppose I didn’t tell you this, but Mr. Allen is my boss. He owns the hotel.”

Oh! Then it wasn’t much of a coincidence that I met him here, was it? And Mr. Allen was supposedly a wildly rich man with businesses all over the world, so him owning a luxury hotel here made enough sense.

“Mmm… Diana, I must apologize, but would you mind if I borrow Mr. Brooks for a few minutes?”

“Ah?” Diana and I exclaimed in unison.

“I promised him I’d invite him and his friends to dinner as thanks for what they did for Jennifer. I’d like to set a proper date for it and take him to see our restaurant now that we’ll be opening soon.”

“Oh. Yes, I don’t mind, but it’s up to Oliver,” Diana said, nodding in understanding.

“What do you say, Mr. Brooks? I’m very sorry to impose, but I think this will be worth your while.”

“...” There was no way for me to tell if there was more to Mr. Allen’s words. He was so casual, though in a formal way if that makes sense. He didn’t look or sound strange. Diana herself didn’t doubt that Mr. Allen meant what he said. Regardless, I did suspect something more was up, if only because of that strange reaction he had before. He wanted to talk, and it wasn’t about any dinner. “Okay,” was all I said.

I think I should be clear here. I thought there was something strange about Mr. Allen, but I didn’t fear him. I just had a feeling that getting involved with him would be troublesome and I wanted to avoid the hassle. A rich man with fame and power… and possibly a connection to the supernatural. For anyone looking for powerful connections, it didn't get much better than Luke Allen. I wasn’t looking for that, though, but even so… There was something about him that made me curious enough to agree to talk with him alone.

I don’t regret it.

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