by L. P. Dover
Opening my purse, I found my phone and dialed April’s number. She was my friend and also my hair stylist. One of the perks of being her friend was that any time I needed something done in a hurry she would always fit me in.
“Well, well … let me guess,” she chimed playfully. “You want to go out tonight?”
Chuckling, I pulled out onto the street and began my way to freedom. “Of course, it’s the last day of school. I need to celebrate my independence. Do you want to meet me at my house at seven?”
“I’ll be there. Just have us a glass of wine poured up when I walk through the door. We’ll make Lia drive tonight since you were the designated driver last time.”
“Sounds good. I’ll call her and tell her to come over.”
After we hung up the phone, I was about to call Lia when another call came through; it was Daniel. I scoffed and hit ‘ignore’ before tossing it into my bag. For the past couple of weeks he’d been trying to get me back, calling nonstop and saying how much he still loved me. I’d ignored him, even when he’d show up at my house in the middle of the night. Thankfully, my cousin Mason had changed all of the locks and made sure there was no way Daniel could get in.
“You can go fuck yourself, Daniel. Tonight you don’t exist.”
I was going to live my life and enjoy every single second of it.
“MR. WALKER?”
Getting to my feet with a smile on my face, I approached the elderly lady sitting behind the desk. Between her white hair, which was pulled up into a bun, and the wrinkles adorning her face I figured she had to be in her mid-sixties. Wearing a sweater vest with cats on it, she reminded me of my grandmother.
Standing at her desk, she looked up at me and grinned. “Thank you for being patient. Mr. Matthews is ready for you.” She pointed to the closed door across the hall from her desk and nodded. “You can walk right on in, Mr. Walker. It was a pleasure meeting you. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.”
I hope so.
I had an interview with the top architectural firm in the United States, and if I got this job I could go anywhere; there would be no limits to what I could do. My father was an important man in the political community and I knew I could build my own company with his help, but I didn’t want to owe him anything. It pissed him off to know that I was going to work for someone else when I had the means to do everything on my own.
At the door, I knocked once and opened it slowly to be respectful, even though I’d been told to go in; I didn’t want to barge inside like I owned the place. Galen Matthews, the owner of M&M Architectural Design, looked up from his desk when I walked in and immediately stood and extended his hand, smiling.
Galen inherited the company from his father, who’d recently passed. When I first showed interest in working for them, he’d been the one I had spoken to … not Galen. His father wanted me to work for them and practically offered me the job, but before things could get under way, he died. I had no clue he had talked to Galen about me, but when I got the call a few weeks ago asking if I was still interested in the job I was taken by surprise.
“Brett, it’s good to finally meet you. My father talked very highly of you.”
Galen’s grasp was firm when I took his hand and shook it. “I’m honored that he would say such things. He was a good man.”
Galen let go of my hand and motioned to the seat in front of his desk. “Yes, he was. Have a seat so we can get started.”
When I sat down, Galen pursed his lips and leaned back in his chair, narrowing his gaze curiously. He was thirty years old with ash-blond hair and blue eyes, which could see straight through me; if he was anything like his father, he was smart as hell.
“All right, so I’m not going to sit here and go through the motions of an interview. I already know you could be out there being my strongest competitor. You have the means to build your own empire, but yet you’re not doing it. Why is that?”
Sighing, I sat back in my chair and looked straight into his eyes when I replied, “One of these days I want to be on my own, but it’s not right now. I want to work my way to the top, not have it handed to me; the same way you worked hard to follow in your father’s footsteps. You didn’t just inherit M&M because of blood … you worked hard for it.”
Silently, Galen stared at me for a moment and released a heavy sigh before turning his lips up into a smile. “That was a good answer. I think you’ll do great here. I’m actually going to be looking for a partner in the near future. When the time is right, and if you decide you want to keep working for M&M, I’d love to consider you.”
Wide-eyed, I followed Galen’s lead and got to my feet. “Really? Even if you haven’t seen my work?”
Putting on his coat, he smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “What can I say? My father knew who the best were and he considered you one of the best. I trust his judgment. Now come on and let’s celebrate. I’ll buy you a drink … that is, if you still want the job.”
He walked around his desk and slapped me on the shoulder before opening his office door. That had to be one of the fastest interviews I’d ever been in. “Yes,” I claimed wholeheartedly. “I wouldn’t pass up this opportunity for anything.”
“Good, now let’s go.”
THE BAR WE went to was just around the corner from the M&M building, so as we walked there, we talked about random everyday life. He was married and had a little girl; I could see in his eyes that he was focused solely on making them both happy. I had too much fun being a bachelor to even think about taking that step. Besides, the women I slept with weren’t what you called ‘wife’ material.
Slapping me on the back, Galen got to his feet and put a few high bills on the bar after finishing the last of his gin and tonic. “All right, Brett, I think I’m going to head out. My wife will kill me if I miss dinner. I’ll see you bright and early Monday morning.”
Nodding, I shook his outstretched hand. “I’ll be there. I think I’m going to stay a little longer to celebrate.”
“Just make sure you call a cab. I can’t have you getting a DUI.”
I chuckled. “No worries. My condo is just a few blocks down the road, so I can walk there if need be.”
Galen nodded to the bartender as he picked up the large amount of money he left on the bar. “Ryan, take care of my friend here. Give him anything he wants.”
Ryan’s eyes went wide at how much he held in his hands. “You got it, Mr. Matthews. It’ll be my pleasure.”
Ryan was a lanky man, probably in his early twenties with pale skin, black hair, and large framed glasses. He sure knew how to dump the liquor in his drinks, though. The patrons at the bar loved him.
After Galen left, Ryan took my empty glass and made me another Crown and Coke. “Thanks,” I said, reaching for my drink.
“You’re welcome. Where are you from? I can tell you’re not from around here by your accent.”
Most people told me I didn’t have an accent, which was probably from moving so much as a kid. Having a father in politics I was never in one place for long; we were always traveling somewhere.
“I’m from Charleston, South Carolina, but I moved here a few weeks ago from New York. I have family in this area, and now a job.”
“I see that,” he marveled. “You’ll love working for Mr. Matthews. I get a lot of his employees in here and they’ve never had anything bad to say about him … ever.”
The pace in the bar started picking up since more people were coming in. It was Friday night and reaching the prime time. After Ryan tended to the people sitting at the bar, he came back over to me.
“You know, if you stick around for another hour or so that’s when the ladies typically come in. It’s Friday night, so this place will be slammed.”
A smile splayed across my lips. “Really? What types of women are we talking about?”
Ryan leaned over on his elbows and smiled. “The good kind,” he whispered. “I’m not talking about the money grubbing whores who want to take your bank account
for a ride either. No, these women can take care of themselves. The other week, I had one take me home with her. I’ve been hooked ever since.”
“Is she going to be here tonight?” I asked curiously.
Ryan shook his head. “No, she couldn’t make it. Tomorrow night is all ours though.”
More people started flowing into the bar, so Ryan busied himself with all of the requests while I sat there searching the room. He had been right. Women of varying ages were coming in left and right, one of which happened to spot me at the bar. She was a tall, blonde-haired woman in a skin tight red dress; sexy as hell, but not what I wanted.
“Hello,” she purred. “Can I buy you a drink?”
She ran her long, red fingernail up my arm and moved closer, pressing her tits against me. I was about to give in when out of the corner of my eye another figure in red caught my attention. Only this time, the woman wasn’t wearing a red dress … it was her wavy, red hair that got me. She was beautiful.
When the lady caught me staring at the red-haired beauty, she moved into my line of sight and smiled none too happily. She realized then that I wasn’t interested in what she had to offer. “So what can I get for you? We can always take our drinks somewhere else and—”
“Actually,” I began, cutting her off, “I think I’m going to pass. Thank you, though.”
Mouth gaping open, she scoffed and stormed off through the crowd, never once looking back. “Dude, did you really just turn her down?” Ryan asked, eyes wide. “What’s wrong with you? She’s hot.”
Nonchalantly, I shrugged. “Yeah, but I’m looking for something else.” She happened to be in a short, white strapless dress with silver heels. There was something about her that was different from the rest of the women I’d been with; I just didn’t know what it was … but I wanted to find out.
When Ryan noticed me checking out the sultry redhead, he burst out laughing. “I hate to break this to you, but that one is off limits,” he stated regretfully.
Keeping my gaze on her and her two friends, I tilted my head to the side and asked, “Why is that? Is she married?”
Ryan leaned closer. “No, it’s just she comes in here a lot with her two friends, and I’ve seen her shoot down every single guy that tries to talk to her. Trust me, she won’t budge. Sometimes she talks to me when she comes in here.”
She won’t budge, huh? We’ll see about that.
“That’s where they went wrong, Ryan. They went to her … I’m going to make her come to me.”
She was going to be mine.
“DO YOU GIRLS want anything from the bar?” I asked. A man and woman had left one of the high top tables, so I pulled up a vacant chair so we’d have three seats.
April and Lia both sat down and placed their small purses on the tabletop, gazing around at the crowd of people filing in. April had shoulder-length dark brown hair with chocolate colored eyes, and was wearing a strapless midnight blue dress. It was funny because we all decided to wear strapless dresses tonight.
The three of us were different as far as looks and personality; it was what made our friendship unique. Lia was about a foot shorter than me with blonde, pixie styled hair and blue eyes. She was the only one who got carded when we went out to bars since she looked sixteen.
“I’ll take a glass of wine since I’m driving,” Lia replied. “After that, I’ll just enjoy watching you two get wasted and doing foolish things.”
“There won’t be anything like that with me,” I told her. “Now April, on the other hand might, be a different story.”
April rolled her eyes and grinned. “Please, I know how to behave myself.”
She turned her gaze toward the bar and stared mesmerizingly at the gentleman in the gray suit. When it came to guys, she could definitely find the good looking ones. Even I couldn’t help but stare at him. There was something about the way he moved his hand over his glass and brought it to his lips; so smooth.
His dark hair was gelled in messy spikes, but I couldn’t really see his face. Secretly, I wished he would turn his head so that I could see what he looked like. You could tell a lot by a person by the look in their eyes, which was why I turned down every single douche bag that tried to talk to me at these clubs. They were all like my husband: arrogant, self-centered, and selfish.
I had to stay away from those types.
“Mel, are you okay?” April asked, snapping her fingers in my face. A sly smile spread across her lips when she glanced over at the stranger at the bar and then back to me. “So I see the hottie at the bar caught not just my attention, but yours as well. Why don’t you go up and talk to him? He’s by himself, and I don’t see a ring on his finger.”
I scoffed. “I don’t think so. My luck with men has been disastrous.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not always going to be like that,” Lia cut in. “You need to get yourself out there and actually give people a chance.”
“Starting with that one,” April agreed, pointing to the guy at the bar. “Unless you’re too scared. If you don’t want to partake, do you mind if I go up there? I’m pretty sure I’d have a good time with him.”
She started to get up, but I put my hands on her shoulders, halting her. I couldn’t stop the odd sense of jealousy that swept over my body. It was strange, but I didn’t want to see her with him.
“Sorry, babe, but you guys kind of challenged me. I have to go through with it now.”
Taking a deep breath, I turned around and started toward the bar. My heart dropped when I glanced at the empty seat where the guy had sat just a few seconds ago. Where did he go?
When I got up to the bar, I sat down in the seat beside the vacant one my guy just left and waited on Ryan to come to me. “Good evening, Melissa,” he greeted warmly. “Do you want your usual?”
“Yes, please. I’ll also take a glass of Riesling and a glass of Chardonnay please.”
Ryan nodded. “Coming right up.”
Biting my lip, I wanted to ask him where the gentleman in the suit went, but I didn’t want to sound desperate. “So how’s it going?” I asked.
Noncommittally, he shrugged. “It’s going okay. We’ve been really busy the past few weeks. I was just telling my friend about it a few seconds ago.”
“Oh yeah? Which friend would that be?”
He fixed my tequila sunrise and handed it to me before nodding toward the seat beside mine. “It was the guy sitting right there. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, no reason. I was just trying to make conversation,” I lied.
Smirking, he passed me the glass of Riesling and the Chardonnay. “He’s a pretty good guy,” he added. “Just to give you a heads up.”
Mouth gaping open, I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks. Ryan winked at me and sauntered off to fill more orders while I stood there, waiting. Waiting on what I didn’t know. My heart pounded out of control, and instead of looking like an idiot with three drinks in my hands, I strolled back over to my table and gave them to the girls.
“Where did he go?” April asked. “He was just there a minute ago.”
“Yeah, well, he’s not now. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.” April looked bummed, so I bumped her in the shoulder and nodded toward her wine. “Okay, ladies, bottom’s up!”
We tapped our glasses together and in one huge gulp I tossed back my drink. The burn slid down my throat and warmed me instantly; I wanted another one. It just so happened that my phone started buzzing in my purse, distracting me from my haze. When I reached in to grab it, I actually had seven missed calls and four messages. What the hell?
“Girls, I’ll be right back. I need to see what’s going on?”
April stopped me with a hand on my arm. “If that’s your ex, you better tell him to leave you alone or I’m going to rip off his balls,” she demanded. “He needs to leave you alone.”
“I agree,” I said. “Give me one minute and I’ll be right back.”
Off to the side of the bar there was a door that opened up to a patio w
here a little courtyard sat nestled in between the massive high rises in downtown Charlotte. Most people went out there to smoke, but it was a better choice to go out there instead of out the front where everyone waiting in line could hear me cussing out my ex-husband.
When I got outside, most of the tables were occupied … except one. Immediately, my skin grew damp with the summer heat as I started toward it, dreading even looking at my messages. With my head down, glaring at my phone and the gazillion text messages, I strolled in the direction of the vacant table and took a seat.
Daniel: I need you. Please let me make it up to you.
Daniel: I want you back, baby. I’ve changed. I love you.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I hissed under my breath, disgusted.
What a bunch of bullshit.
“You know, if it’s that bad to sit beside me I can move,” a voice to my right spoke out.
Gasping, I fumbled with my phone and it fell to the ground. I didn’t even know someone was there. Instantly, I bent down to pick it up, but the other person got to it first, holding it out to me. When my fingers brushed against his it was like a jolt of electricity coursing through my veins, sending shock waves up my arm.
What the hell?
Quickly, I grabbed my phone and sat back into my chair, clenching my tingling hand as I glanced up. The breath left my lungs the second I looked into the most gorgeous set of stormy gray eyes I’d ever seen.
It’s him.
“Hey,” I stammered awkwardly, my cheeks burning in embarrassment. “I honestly didn’t know you were sitting here. I swear I thought the table was empty.”
