by Brenda Ford
She takes me away from Roman, allowing my temper to cool by the moment. It’s amazing how some little prick can have such an impact on me. I hate him for that, and I am annoyed at myself for getting sucked in. Especially when it came to all of that Daniel nonsense. Now he is a real twat. He thinks that his shaggy blond hair and tall, muscular body makes him a catch. He uses those sparkling green eyes of his and his dimples when he smiles to lure women in, and he thinks that makes him cool. How can being a play boy make anyone cool? How can other guys respect that? It honestly baffles me. Men seem backwards in their priorities to me.
I suppose it doesn’t help that I haven’t exactly had a good track record when it comes to guys. I have been in two relationships that I would consider long term, one for seven months, one for five, which I suppose wouldn’t be the longest for other people but with Ollie who I met in college, it just fizzled out in to nothingness, the chemistry wasn’t anywhere near strong enough to keep it going, so we just kinda ghosted one another, and Anthony who came a couple of years ago who swept me off my feet with promises of long term love, a happy ever after, but who in the end turned out to be married, leading to a very awkward encounter with his wife. I was blamed by her even though I didn’t know anything about it, and I also found out that I wasn’t the only one who he was having an affair with. I didn’t see it coming which is why I don’t trust myself any longer. Myself or men, so I don’t need them in my life any longer. Roman just reminds me that they are all pricks.
“What was that about?” Paige laughs and rolls her eyes, dismissing what a prick Roman is. “Anyway, thank you for coming, Gemma. It means a lot to have you here. Have you bid on the silent auction yet? We have some of the best prizes ever this year. Some pretty quirky ones as well. I’m sure that you will love them…”
I don’t know about quirky prizes but there is no need to put Paige down in that respect. She has clearly worked very hard to make this night as incredible as it is, and she should be rewarded for that.
“I have sent Eve to do it for me.” I smile at my friend. “She will make sure that I win something so that I donate more than I originally gave you. You know how much I want to support you.”
“You are a good friend, seriously.” Paige nods a few times. “Thank you, Gemma.”
We talk for a little while, before I let Paige know that I need to go. She has seen me now; she knows that I have done my part so there is absolutely no reason for me to stick around. I’m pretty sure that I have lost Eve for the night anyway. She must have found one of her friends or a cute guy to chat to. She hasn’t brought me my drink, not that I mind. This is often what happens anyway. She can claim whatever prize I win at the auction on my behalf because I am done with the testosterone fueled atmosphere surrounding this place. It isn’t for me.
Once I escape the building, I let out a breath of relief, glad to be done with that for the year. It’s over now, the Romans and Daniels of the world will only be in my life in the board room and that’s where I can take them down with ease. That’s where I shine, and they fall. And this year, I will destroy them. More than usual.
Chapter 3 – Daniel
We take our seats for the silent auction winners to be announced and I have to admit that I am seriously excited about it. There is an air that anything can happen and it’s a lot of fun. Everyone seems to be able to feel it, there is an under tone of childish fun floating through the room, and I can’t wait to see what I get.
“What did you bid on?” Leanne, the sexy French intern for one of the other companies being represented tonight asks me in her wonderful raspy voice. The foreign twang only makes it even more exciting to me.
“Ooh, lots of things.” I shoot her a playful wink. “A vacation to Hawaii, I remember that one…”
“That will be a holiday for two, will it not?” Her eyes shine with excitement. “Maybe you will need someone to come along with you? I have a lot of brand-new bikinis that haven’t seen the light of day yet.”
I smile but don’t promise her anything. A weekend break is something that a guy does with a girlfriend. If I do win Hawaii, then I will need to make my intentions for the trip very clear before I invite anyone. Leanne is incredibly beautiful and a lot of fun too, but she’s much too young to be considered seriously. She is twenty-one years of age which I know will end up in immaturity in a relationship. I don’t need that. I am already inexperienced in love; I don’t want my first time to be with someone who isn’t really invested.
“This is fun, isn’t it?” Leanne slides her chair closer to me and clings to my arm. “I’m enjoying it.”
The woman who runs the charity starts announcing the prizes and letting people know that they have won. I listen intently and clap when the time is right, all the while waiting to see if Rebecca has done me proud. She said that she has put some high bids on things, but my name hasn’t been mentioned yet.
“Ooh, Hawaii.” Leanne is more excited than me and I haven’t even promised her an invitation yet. “This is it, isn’t it? This is the one that you are going to win. I can’t wait. Ooh, this is awesome.”
She squeals so loudly that it gets the attention of everyone around us. People are looking at her like she’s an embarrassment which isn’t that great for me. I don’t want to be the man on the arm of the drunk and excitable woman. I don’t want to be the guy who everyone is talking about tomorrow, but I can’t detach myself now. Not without seeming like I am a complete rude bastard. I will have to do it in a moment.
I try to slide across, but she comes with me. She has claimed me, and she isn’t letting me go. I probably should have looked around the room a little more before settling with the first beautiful woman to come my way. That’s always a foolish mistake, isn’t it? I just allowed myself to be lured in by her exotic sweetness…
“Oh… that isn’t your name.” Leanna snatches away from me. “I thought that you were called Daniel?”
“I am…” What the hell is she talking about? “Daniel Wilson. I didn’t lie to you.”
“Oh, well then you didn’t win the trip to Hawaii.” She pouts as if she has lost out not me. “That’s disappointing, isn’t it? I was looking forward to having some fun in the sun. My bikinis were going to enjoy it.”
I’m starting to get a bit annoyed now. This is so presumptuous. “That’s the nature of a silent auction, isn’t it? You never know what is going to happen. You can’t assume that you will win. I bid on other stuff anyway.”
She doesn’t look impressed though, her arms have folded across her chest and she won’t meet my eyes any longer. It’s as if this whole interaction was based around a possible trip to Hawaii which is ridiculous because I only just mentioned it a few moments ago. I turn away from Leanne and let the night continue, trying not to burn with rage at her. She definitely isn’t the woman that I thought she was when I met her…
But as the night continues and my name isn’t mentioned even once, I start to get a bit bored with it all. I really wanted to win something, I was looking forward to having a bit of fun, so this is irritating. I even end up dragging my cell phone out of my pocket to see if I have any emails to distract me…
What the hell? I have a text message from an unknown number which immediately grabs my focus. All it has on it is a date and time. Next Friday night at a really exclusive restaurant at eight thirty PM. I click on to the message to find out more, which is where I have found out that I am actually a winner of something after all. The blind date that I had forgotten completely about. I suppose this one hasn’t been announced so that we don’t know who the other person is which makes it that much more exciting….
I glance my eyes around, wondering which other person in this room is ready for this adventure with me. There are a lot of beautiful women around, a lot that I would like to get to know better given half the chance, and now next week I am going to. Could it be Jessica who I have only spoken to briefly at networking events? Or maybe Natalie who has given me the eyes a few times. Ooh thi
s is fun. Rebecca was right. I feel a little shiver racing down my spine at the idea of what could happen in the next few days. It could be the start of something awesome.
“So, what now?” I forgot that Leanne was still beside me until she says this. “The auction is done, and you didn’t win anything so what happens now? Is the event over or do we carry on drinking?”
“I’m pretty sure that things will start wrapping up now,” I tell her with a little bit of coldness to my tone. I’m done with her now; I don’t want this to carry on. Even more so now that I’m intrigued about this date. I wouldn’t mind doing a bit of mingling to see if I can get a clue to see who I will be dating. “The night is over…”
“Shall we get out of here then?” Woah. I’m shocked to hear those words coming out of her mouth. Is she serious? After she acted like a child about Hawaii, does she really think that I want to go home with her?
“I’m not going anywhere,” I reply seriously. “I have people that I need to speak to here. Don’t you have any networking that you need to get done? You came here for that reason, didn’t you?”
“No.” She shakes her head determinedly. “I didn’t come here for that; I came here for the charity. I want to support it. If you only see it as a business opportunity, then you are a bad person…”
“Did you donate any money?” I shouldn’t be getting in to this argument. I should just walk away but Leanne has wound me up. “No, you didn’t. You didn’t bid on anything either, all you did was get annoyed when I didn’t win, so please don’t act like you are so much better than me. I haven’t done anything to deserve that.”
“I am here, aren’t I?” She waves her hands around. “I am here supporting the charity. You don’t get to act like you are better than me either. I don’t know why you are suddenly acting so cold towards me, Daniel.”
“Listen, Leanne, you are the one who changed the moment I didn’t win Hawaii. You heard the name of the winner, didn’t you? If you want to go so badly then why don’t you go and find that person?”
Leanne looks at me like I have disappointed her, like I have let her down. “I can’t believe that you are being so cruel. I can’t believe that we are even having this conversation. This is so bad.”
“We aren’t getting anywhere, are we? This is something that we are never going to agree on, so I am going to say goodbye to you here. I hope that you enjoy the rest of your night, Leanne. I will be seeing you…”
With that, I scrape my chair back and I leave Leanne where she is, probably absolutely despising me. I do seem to be making a lot of female enemies at the moment which isn’t great. But I have my blind date coming soon and I’m sure that’s going to be different. I won’t be making any enemies there…
“Yo, bro, what’s going on?” Tim calls down the phone as soon as he picks up. Tim is such a fun-loving free spirit, he is always fun to talk to. I love the fact that I can always rely on him to pick up even after midnight which I’m pretty sure that it is right now. It’s definitely been a long ass night. “How are you on this fine night?”
“Good, good.” I let out a little chuckle as I slide out of the cab and pay the driver. “You will never guess what happened to me tonight? It’s just so insane. I needed to talk to someone about it.”
“Oh God, what is it? Please tell me that this isn’t something else to do with your sex life…”
“You say that like I am wild,” I cry out. “I’m not. I don’t have a weird sex life.” I unlock the door and practically fall in to my house, “It’s just not ever with the same person, that’s all.”
“I have to tell you that is pretty weird,” Tim continues, never sugar coating anything, just like always. “But anyway, carry on. Please leave out any sordid details though. I don’t know if I can handle it.”
“Like you are so innocent.” I collapse on to my bed, feeling good about the way that the night went, even if I never did find out who my mystery date is going to be. “No, I wanted to tell you about a silent auction that I was a part of tonight. One that won me a blind date with someone else from the event, but I don’t know who.”
“Er…” There is a brief pause from the other end of the phone. “Nothing normal ever happens to you, does it? What do you mean you won a date at a silent auction? And you don’t know who with?”
“No, it’s just a prize. No clue about any of the details. It’s next Friday night.”
“You sound very excited about it, which isn’t like you at all,” Tim muses. “Is this going to be just another one-night stand though, because I think that’s the last thing you need. It’s time for you to start looking for someone nice. Someone who you can actually be with. I don’t want you to be alone forever.”
“Right, my free-spirited loner of a brother giving me that advice,” I joke. “Anyway, who knows, this could be it, couldn’t it? A quirky way to meet the love of my life, don’t you think? I am considering something more serious these days anyway, so you don’t need to worry, and I wonder if this is it…”
“It would be crazy if it was,” Tim tells me honestly. “But awesome too. You know what? I’m rooting for you. You will have to give me a call after the date to let me know how you get on. You have me intrigued now…”
“I will.” I grin to myself, glad to have my brother coming around to my point of view. “Oh, I will.”
Chapter 4 – Gemma
“Is this a joke?” I can’t keep the temper out of my tone as I snap this at Eve. “A blind date, are you serious? I wanted you to bid on something useful like a spa day or something that I could pass on to a client. Not this. This is stupid. I wake up to a text message that doesn’t make any sense with a date and time…”
“I just thought that it was time you went on a date again.” She shrugs her shoulders, completely unabashed. How can she be so blasé when she has upset me so much? She is just lucky that she has become such a good friend to me, or I might be tempted to fire her over this. This really is too much. She is interfering in my personal life in a way that I don’t like one bit. It is up to me what I do thank you very much. “It’s been forever.”
“Eve, the reason that I don’t go on dates is because I don’t have time for it at the moment.”
“Oh, come on that is just an excuse and you know it. This could be so much fun.”
“It also could be a disaster,” I remind her. “I mean, just think of the guys who were there at the event, who could have put a bid on for the date. It could be Roman.” I shudder hard. “Someone I hate. It’s probably going to be someone who is a business rival of mine and I really don’t like any of them.”
Eve is thankfully silent for a couple of minutes looking like she is really understanding how bad this is. Thank God because in a moment I am going to need her to cancel this damn date. I am happy to pay whatever is needed of me, but I am not going to go out with some guy who I don’t like. My time is too precious for that.
“I get that,” she finally says sadly. “But at the same time, I think it will be a bad business practice to not show up. It might seem rude to the other person who clearly wants a date. If it gets out that it is you who has backed out… well, it doesn’t look good, does it? Plus, it’s for charity and people do all kinds for charity…”
“When they have time, yes,” I bark back, not being backed down right now. “But I don’t have that.”
“I don’t know if you can use that as an excuse when everyone is in a similar position to you.”
I squeeze my fists angrily by my side, trying not to flip the fuck out. This is utter bullshit as far as I am concerned. A complete waste of time. I don’t want to have any part of it no matter how Eve tries to sell it to me. I am already being judged in the business world; I don’t think that being seen as rude will change that. And if it helps me to escape a night with someone as dreadful as Roman then I am all for it.
“This could be a new business contact for you anyway,” Eve declares with a one shouldered shrug. “I know how you like to network
. This is clearly going to be someone in a position of success which could be good for you. You don’t know if you don’t try. And how often do you go out to dinner these days?”
“Never,” I admit. “But that’s for a reason, because I don’t have the time. I’m too busy…”
“Stop it.” Eve rests her hands on my shoulders and stares determinedly in to my eyes. “Stop acting like this. Stop making excuses to not go out. You know me well and you are very aware that I wouldn’t have done this for you if I didn’t think that it was the best thing to do. I always have your best interests at heart.”
“I know, but…” I try, but Eve isn’t about to let me get a word edgeways.
“No buts. Just go. See if you can have a good time. No one is saying that you need to stay there all night long. Just go for an hour, even you can commit to an hour, then you can leave if you want to. Just try it.”
I let out a giant breath and quietly seethe to myself. I suppose Eve is right really, I should give it a try. I should see what I can do when it comes to this date just in case it is someone worthwhile. And by that I definitely don’t mean the love of my life, that isn’t ever going to happen in this way, but in a business sense. I am always up for meeting new contacts; half of my business is making sure that I reach out to anyone and everyone possible.
“Fine, I will commit to an hour,” I tell Eve firmly. “But that is it. And if I need to get out of there, then you will be the one to get me out of there with ease, do you hear me? You will make it run smoothly.”
She nods slowly before confessing one last thing. “Paige will be there to take a few pictures, just for the charity newsletter. Nothing serious. But that is okay with you, isn’t it? It will look good.”
I roll my eyes and storm in to my office. I don’t have any words to express how annoyed I am, but now this is a thing for Paige, so I don’t have any choice in the matter. I have to do this for my friend. There is no chance of Paige letting me off the hook so I guess I will have to get through this date one way or another…
