Benedict had been completely absorbed in his (smutty, smutty) novel, barely remembering to take bites of food, and has the look of a man confusedly surfacing for air when his attention is caught by a total stranger.

The mental scan commences: has he onboarded this person, no. Does he know who this person even is, no. Is this person beautiful, yes.

"What?" he says blankly, with a bit of a stupid smile.