Page 72 of Delilah In Discretion

And lo and behold, there he was, already at the front of the line at private customs in his navy blue suit.

Delilah bit her lip as she watched his jaw clench in irritation as he answered his phone angrily. She slowly found herself wanting to go over to talk to him, but Nathan pulled her away as the dean started addressing the entire school.

Soon enough, it was time for them to get their tickets and make their way through baggage claims, and eventually, the students started to disperse into their groups. Other than the students of Highland Bridge Academy, there were few people at the terminal in general, most likely because at least twenty planes would take off in the next half hour or so for just a few groups.

Delilah walked through the lounge areas as they still had time to spare and made eye contact with Archer. He kept his eyes on her for a moment and examined her as she slowly walked towards him.

He eyed her attire, from her white dress to her blazer to her heels that walked across the tile with grace. Her hair was pin straight, tucked behind her ears, giving him a perfect view ofher face. He looked away before she noticed his staring, and she stopped before him.

“Can I help you with something?” he asked her in annoyance.

She already felt awkward about the conversation. “I just wanted to say hello... I haven’t seen you in the past few weeks.”

“I think that’s for the best. After all, you did ask me to keep my distance,” he replied with a look of sarcasm.

Delilah furrowed her eyebrows. “I... thought we were past that. I mean, you didn’t listen to me in the library.”

“That was before I remembered that I don’t likespoiled princessesplaying peacemaker. Thanks to you, I’ve been set back with my father’s business, and it will take months to get it all back to its standards.”

Calvin told her she would need to help Archer work on fixing his branch of the company in return for her trip, but she didn’t know he would be this upset.Does he even know I’m supposed to be helping him?With the look on his face, she didn’t want to ask at the given moment.

“Archer, I didn’t know—”

She flinched as she felt his arm wrap around her waist before he pulled her closer. A blush rose to her cheeks.

“Exactly, Delilah: you didn’t know. Ninety-nine percent of the time, you’re fucking clueless, and if it weren’t for the fact that Luca was going on this trip and I needed to speak to a few of my father’s colleagues, then I would be rethinking my choice of going because, with this time, I could be working and getting shit done, which I now have to do all by myself.” He spoke in a rage as she was flushed against his chest.

No one was around at the moment. Even Nathan was occupying himself with getting everything settled.

So he doesn’t know I’m going to be his assistant when we get back... oh boy.

“...You told me you were only going because I was. Did that change, too?” she asked him as he stared down at her, emotionless.

He wanted to be upset with her, to show her he was angry with her, but his anger slowly faded as he looked into her eyes. Pulling away from her, Delilah felt her heart sink, and he glanced down at his watch.

“I have to go. My plane leaves in ten,” he muttered, and Delilah nodded wordlessly as he walked away.

She’d known Archer for years and even knew he had a tendency to do certain things that would hurt her purposely, and in this case, like many others,it worked.

He would get overly upset about it, take it out on her, and eventually, things would go back to as normal as they could be. He told her he wanted to go to be with her… and that made her want to go even more than normal, only for him to ignore her at the end of it all.

Deciding to pull herself together as she could feel the sadness still evident on her face, she turned away from where she was standing and returned to Nathan.

Standing on the sidelines, Luca noticed the dejected look on Delilah’s face, as Archer seemed livid in contrast.They’re fighting, it seems…he thought to himself as Archer let her go and walked away without any remorse, a look of guilt still on his face.

Turning to walk away, Luca toppled over as something was unknowingly placed in front of his path. He quickly turned over to see Kimiko with a fake pout as she crouched beside him. Only then did he notice it was her luggage that made him trip.

“Looks like someone took a hard fall,” she remarked before shrugging innocently. “Who knows, if you stayed to yourself and not in other people’s business, you may still be on your two feet. And I wish I could help you up, but… my hands are full.”

Luca chuckled threateningly as he looked at the coffee cup occupying onlyoneof her hands. “Masahiko… I’d be careful if I were you.”

She stood up and sighed. “How unfortunate… you must actually think I take you seriously.”

Luca slowly rose to his feet. “I advise you to begin soon enough, sweetheart. You never know what lies ahead…”

“Well, currently, as president, the only thing that lies ahead is discussing the traveling agenda with the dean. And don’t worry; the rest of the students will be notified of any schedule changes soon enough.”

Luca’s jaw clenched as she sent him a smile. He shouldn’t have felt annoyed being grouped with therest of the students,but there it was—a flicker of irritation he couldn’t quite suppress. He prided himself on being a step ahead, always in the loop,in control…and Kimiko’s casual dismissal stung more than it should have.

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