The Cursed King

"Ahem…" Loriel hit Marc's back and gave him a serious side-eye. "The lady has introduced herself. Don't be rude."

Marc batted his eyes and realization immediately dawned on him. He smiled sheepishly and shook Elise's hand. "Oh, hello, Miss. My name is Marc Sanderman. Nice to meet you."

Marc was surprised to see no reaction whatsoever from Elise when he introduced his name.

Didn't this woman know him? His name was all over the news in recent years as the most eligible bachelor, the most sought-after executive, New York's No.1 Dream Husband, and many other nicknames he was pleased to hear.

It looked like his name meant nothing to her.

Okay, this woman was truly Loriel's match, Marc thought to himself. She must not read the news. Did she hate reading the news too, just like Loriel?

"Welcome," said Loriel curtly. He closed the door and walked back to the kitchen. Marc nodded and then stepped inside the penthouse.

"I brought a little something for tonight's dinner," Marc said and held up the wine bottle. 

Loriel's penthouse was always stocked, but he still decided to bring something. It had been some time since Marc and Loriel met in person.

Marc actually felt awkward as he did not actually interact with Loriel besides the much older man's requests and their occasional family gathering at Christmas when his father was still alive. But he did his best to act like they were truly old friends.

"It's great to see you again, Loriel," Marc said and then glanced at Elise. "So this is the one you wanted me to meet today?"

"Yes, I heard that you were open to hiring at a certain position. A paid internship program if I remember. Didn't you say your assistant Alex needed an assistant? I think Elise is the perfect fit for that role," Loriel said and motioned to Elise.

How would things work? 

Elise already introduced herself as Elise, but her papers and ID showed that her name was Madeline. Would she tell Marc that her real name was Madeline? 

"I see, I see. She's the one who'll be working with Alexandra then," Marc said with a smile. He clarified that Alex was short for Alexandra so Elise would immediately know that she would be working for a woman.

"What do I need to submit?" Elise asked Mars as she received the wine bottle from Marc. "Do you need to interview me tomorrow?" 

Marc turned to Loriel and asked the man with his eyes about what he had to do in regard to Elise's question.

His grand-uncle looked him dead in the eye and Marc immediately knew what Loriel wanted. 

"It's not a strategic position, so I won't need to go in-depth with the interview and everything. Just consider yourself hired," said Marc with a sweet smile. "I will give you my card and you can meet Alexandra tomorrow morning. She will take it from there."

"Oh my… that's very kind of you," Elise looked so touched that her eyes were gleaming with tears. She couldn't believe her luck. She kept meeting kind people who helped her without asking anything in return.

First Loriel, and now Marc, his old friend. It seemed this world was full of kindhearted people.

Well, she did meet some less than kind ones, but that didn't change her perception of this world being a beautiful place with many good and generous people in it.

"Let's have dinner," Loriel interrupted their conversation. He came with a saucepan fresh from the stove and put it on the table. "I am making risotto and veal for dinner."

The food smelled amazing. Marc was so impressed. So, his uncle cooked too?

How wonderful!

He wanted to help by going to the kitchen, but Loriel stopped him. "You are our guest tonight. Just sit and enjoy the food."

He motioned to the dining table. Marc chuckled and did as he said. The man sat at the dining table and waited for the food to be served.

He should enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience. The world might come to an end before Loriel would serve him like this again.

Loriel acted like a good host. He brought dish after dish throughout dinner and all of them were perfectly prepared. To be completely honest, Marc was very surprised to find out his uncle had this talent for cooking.

He had never tasted food better than what Loriel cooked for them today. Maybe being an immortal had its advantages, he thought. Loriel had all the time in the world in perfecting his cooking skills. Just like he had learned to speak 70 languages fluently.

"Ah, this is really good," Marc said as he tasted the food. 

"Thank you, the two of us prepared dinner together," Loriel said with a smile. He wanted Elise to notice it more than Marc though. 

"He says that, but it's him who mostly did the work." Elise smiled at Marc.

Loriel was right when he mentioned that Elise was the most beautiful woman in the world.  There was something about Elise's gentle and yet charismatic nature that appealed to Marc, and yet he stayed strong. 

He should never feel attracted to this gorgeous woman. He didn't want Loriel to kill him in his sleep. 

"You've helped me a lot with the food preparation, so give yourself some credit." Loriel chuckled.

Elise lowered her gaze and smiled sheepishly at Loriel's compliment. This made Marc suddenly feel like he was the third-wheel in this otherwise romantic dinner.

"The way you phrase it makes it seem like I did a lot of things," Elise pouted. "You're the one who practically told me to just take a seat and leave the work to you. But it did seem like you didn't need my help at all."

Loriel shook his head. "I needed it, it's a lot more fun cooking when I have someone who can talk with me."

Marc blinked at the two of them. He already knew that his grand-uncle thought of this woman as a special person to his life, but Marc didn't imagine seeing such a soft and gentle expression on Loriel's face.

Marc had never seen Loriel acting this sweet before. The grumpy grandpa was watching Elise's every move in a doting expression.