by Brenda Ford
It better not be Roman, that’s all I can say. There is only so much I can be a good friend.
Friday comes around far too quickly, and it also couldn’t be more of a stressful day if it tried. The computer system has a failure which could seriously affect our data, so I spend much more time than I want to, trying to get it fixed with the IT company we use. That put everything else behind in the office which means we are all late leaving the office with no one in a good mood. Even the usually sunny Eve has a dark cloud clinging to her as she goes at seven forty in the evening, clearly ruining the night that she had planned.
I would love nothing more than to head home for a nice bubble bath. To spend the night relaxing after everything that I have just been through to get my head in order for the weekend of work that I have set aside, but unfortunately for me I have to partake in a date that I want nothing to do with just because my personal assistant and friend assumed that it would be fun for me to get to know someone new on a blind date.
“Fucking hell,” I mutter to myself since I won’t even get a chance to change in to something nice for the photographs being taken of me and my mystery man now. “This is just bullshit, isn’t it? What a mess.”
I can’t even cancel. Since I have no idea who I am meeting I can’t even text to say that I can’t make it, or even to change the time. I am stuck in this situation where I just have to get it out the way. If it wasn’t so important to Paige, then I would ask her to bail me out, but she has already called me a hundred times today to sort out plans with me. Nope, I am not getting out of this however hard I try so I need to just get it done.
“It’s just one hour with nice food,” I remind myself. “And this man isn’t going to be the love of my life anyway, so it doesn’t really matter how I look. Or it shouldn’t at any rate,” I correct myself. “I will be fine.”
I mean, I look smart. Not date like, more ready for the office, but that is where I have just come from. If this man runs a business like I do, then he will understand that not everything goes to plan in the business world. This is going to be someone on my wave length, so I’m sure that everything will be okay.
“Right, come on.” If I want to be on time, then I need to get the train now. “Let’s do this.”
But before I go, I head in to the bathroom to check my reflection in the mirror. I do look a little stressed out, but I mostly look okay. At least my long raven colored hair is still as glossy as always. My saving grace.
Satisfied that I look the best that I can manage, I head out to the train station to make my way to the location written in the text message. Along the way I do find myself just the tiniest bit excited. This is supposed to be an amazing restaurant, but it definitely isn’t somewhere that I would normally go. If only I didn’t have to eat there with some man that I don’t know and have pictures for Paige. If I could go with Paige instead, that would be good, or if I could have brought Eve along as my date, I would be happy, but there you go.
Nice food, Paige there to dispel any awkward company, maybe it won’t be so bad after all. Who knows?
I check my watch as I get to the correct train station and I’m dismayed to see that despite my best intentions, I am late anyway. I shouldn’t have taken all that time to check myself out in the mirror. That’s what killed it. I was foolish. Instead, I should have done it on the train and saved myself some precious minutes.
Never mind, there isn’t anything that I can do now but get a move on. It’s a woman’s prerogative to be a little late anyway, I’m sure. No man can expect me to be there on the dot. And he may be late anyway so there isn’t anything for me to worry about. I’m not going to over think anything, I will just get there…
God, I’m harassed. Stomping to the restaurant to make sure that I’m not any later than I already am has put me in a bit of a bad position. I feel like any part of me that looked good before now looks disheveled and like shit. Lucky I’m not here to meet a man that I might actually like because I would be so stressed then.
“Ah, Miss Dove.” It seems that the man on the door knows who I am and has been expecting me. “Your date has already arrived. Let me take you over to the table. Would you like to come this way?”
I almost pause to ask if I can have a few more moments, but instead I find myself nodding. I guess now despite everything, intrigue has caught me, and I want to know who my date is going to be. Just to see if this is someone that I am going to be able to get along with. I follow him inside with a thumping heart beat…
“Oh my God.” I can’t contain my horror as I see the guy sitting at the table waiting for me. This is a worst-case scenario type of deal, even worse than if Roman was sitting there waiting for me. My heart stops beating, I feel sick to my stomach, I want to turn and run at the speed of light. I want to escape but I can’t. “Daniel Wilson.”
Chapter 5 – Daniel
The excitement has been building all week long, it has been impossible to focus on anything else other than this blind date, I can’t wait for her to arrive. The week has dragged on and I just know that tonight will fly by. With my mystery woman by my side, it’s going to race at the speed of light. Potentially in to love.
I know that I shouldn’t keep thinking that because it’s putting too much pressure on tonight, if I keep thinking long term then the date is bound to be a disaster, but I can’t seem to stop myself. This whole weird situation has transformed me from a cold-hearted play boy to a mushy sap who might as well watch rom coms.
“Daniel Wilson.” That voice is sexy, seductive, and just a little bit familiar. I think that I might know my date which only makes this even more exciting as I spin around slowly to see her. She has been under my nose the entire time and I had no idea that love could potentially come my way. “What the hell…?”
“Oh, fuck.” My heart sinks as I start to understand the woman’s sentiment. She is right, what the hell? Of all the people that I thought that I could end up on a date with, my biggest business rival, Gemma Dove was never on my mind. She isn’t just someone who is a pain in the ass when it comes to my company, I hate her as well. She is a fucking ice queen who seems to look down on absolutely everyone. “This isn’t good.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Gemma demands with a redness to her cheeks as she slides in to the seat opposite me. “Why are you my date? I’m supposed to be meeting someone new who I can network with…”
I don’t even want to tell her that I’m supposed to be here meeting the love of my life because I don’t want to give her even a scrap of ammo to use against me. Instead, I shake my head and let my disgust roll free. I really shouldn’t have gotten so excited about this, day dreamed about what it could be because it’s a disaster, and I definitely shouldn’t have told Tim because now he is going to want to know all the sordid details which means I am going to have to re live this more times than I want to. Fucking hell, what a mess.
“You weren’t even at the charity event,” I snap out angrily. “So, how are you my date?”
“I actually was. Not that you would notice because you were too busy with some teenage girl.”
She saw me with Leanne? I don’t know why but I feel a little shocked by this. Also, by the bitterness in her tone. If I was a more big-headed man then I would assume that was jealousy coming out of her. But not with Gemma. She hates me with the same passion that I despise her. I can see it in her bright blue eyes.
“I wasn’t with anyone,” I bite back. “She was just a nice person.” A lie in the end, but she doesn’t need to know that. “And I guess I don’t need everything to be a business networking opportunity…”
“Which is why your company isn’t doing as well as mine,” she replies with a self-satisfied smile. “Because you don’t network enough. You are too busy chasing the next young woman in a skirt.”
“You don’t know me.” I narrow my eyes at her. I’m not going to let someone like Gemma fucking Dove make me feel shit about myself. I’m so annoyed because this is su
pposed to be an amazing night and it’s already turned to shit. I don’t even want the nice meal here; I just want to go home. “You don’t know anything about me so how can you make that judgement? I really don’t think that’s right for you to say…”
“People don’t get a reputation as a play boy for nothing.” She folds her arms protectively across her chest. “There is no smoke without fire. You must be something like that for people to say it about you.”
“I would have thought that you were above gossip., Gemma. I guess you aren’t so perfect after all.”
The waiter interrupts our conversation at that moment by bringing over a very expensive bottle of champagne. I want to get up and leave and I get the impression that Gemma does too, but it’s almost become a battle of wills to see which one of us will back out first. Like it’s a pitch we both want to win.
We taste the wine, barely making eye contact as we do, and both nod, pleased with it. I have tasted a lot of nice wine in my time, but this is one of the best. I would actually stay to drink the bottle if it wasn’t with Gemma. Urgh, I still can’t believe that it is her of all people. What a God damn mess. I can’t stand it. But I sit in silence and drink my glass much too quickly, just like she is doing, wondering when someone will break this thick, suffocating tension. We are going to have to talk soon, aren’t we? We can’t just sit here in a frosty silence all night long. But I have never made an effort to talk to the raven-haired ice queen and I don’t see how I am going to change that now. I actively avoid her for a reason, and tonight won’t magically make a difference…
“I think tonight is going to be a bust, don’t you think?” Gemma finally declares tartly, thankfully being the one to back down. I knew that it couldn’t be me. I couldn’t be the weak one in this situation. “We should just pay for the wine and get out of here. I have much better places to be and I’m sure that you do too.”
She doesn’t believe that, I can hear the pure sarcasm rolling off her tongue, but I nod. Sure, I might have cleared my whole weekend on the promise of this date being something incredible, but I don’t want to be here anymore than she does so the quicker that we end this the better for the both of us.
“Sure, whatever. I will even buy the bottle and you can take it home if you want…” Why am I being nice? This is weird. Not that Gemma seems to appreciate it at all. She is looking at me like I am a freak.
“Oh, hello guys.” A rushed voice bursting through the room grabs my attention. “Sorry that I’m late but I’m here now. I have the photographer with me so we can get these pictures done for the newsletter.”
My whole body sags with disappointment. This is Paige, the woman who has organized all of this. I almost forgot that she wanted to take pictures of it. Shit, now me and Gemma are going to be stuck here forever.
“How are you both?” Paige fusses with Gemma’s hair. “Why isn’t the food here? I wanted to get pictures of you with the food.” She tuts loudly. “I will go and get the chef on it now. Get this done.”
Once Paige rushes out of the room, I see no other choice. I grab the bottle of wine and pour us both another drink. If we are going to get through this and act like we are happy then this is what we need to do. We need to drink until our smiles seem genuine. I mean, I might not like any of this, but I do want to do well for Paige. She worked hard for the charity event and she deserves some kind of happiness in the pictures.
“So, we are really doing this?” Gemma cocks an eyebrow at me. “Fair enough.”
She glugs back the whole glass in one go and slides it across to me. I do the same and re fill them both. I certainly had no plans to get shit drunk tonight but that’s before plans changed. Now it’s the only way.
Paige gets the dinner organized quickly and brings it out to us. I have to admit that it looks nice. Honestly, if this night was happening with someone that I liked then it would be the best night ever, the best date of my life, and that would stand even if I had a lot of dates to compare it to. But Gemma ruins everything.
“Guys, you two really need to talk a bit,” Paige finally declares as we tuck in. “The pictures look really stiff at the moment. I know that it’s awkward with us here, but can you just have a go?”
“Er, what do you want to talk about?” I ask Gemma while drinking some more.
“How about the fact that my business is so much more successful than yours?” She smiles sweetly, looking totally different from her words. “And the fact that companies come back to me far more than you?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I hiss back, adopting the same nice smile. “My business is doing just fine and I think that if you take a look at recent contracts that we have both fought for, you haven’t been winning any of them. I can hardly handle the work load that I have coming my way.”
She stuffs her fork in to the food a little too hard and sneers. “Do you get the contracts because you sleep with people? Because I heard that’s how a lot of people with no integrity get to the top?”
“Oh no, they just like me better because I am not a cold-hearted bitch. A robot, some might say.”
More drink flows and somehow the insults keep on coming. It seems to be the only way that me and Gemma can communicate. The conversation is charged with anger and I keep expecting Paige to stop us at any given moment, but she doesn’t. It seems that she just needs us to talk and it doesn’t matter what we say. Well, that’s good because by this point we definitely don’t have a nice thing to say to one another.
“You must not have a boyfriend, right?” I finally hiss. “Well, I’m not surprised. I can’t imagine any man wanting to put up with you. You are a fucking nightmare. An absolute witch.”
Her eyes sparkle. Almost as if she is enjoying the exchange. I don’t know if I might be feeling the same way as well. This isn’t exactly what I had planned for tonight, but there is something to be said for getting a lot of hatred off my chest. It’s up lifting in a really strange way. I don’t quite know how to handle it.
“Oh okay, coming from Mr. Relationship, right? Like I will be upset with what you say.”
“I suppose.” I shrug my shoulders. “Because I wouldn’t give a shit about what you say either. Your words are meaningless to me. I’m sure they are to a lot of your clients as well.”
She rolls her eyes, electricity zinging through us in a weird way. I almost expect the pair of us to burst out laughing in a moment, like all of this anger has been a joke. “My many, many clients.”
“That are slipping away by the moment because I am stealing them from you, day by day.”
“That couldn’t be further from the truth, Daniel Are you completely deluded?”
“We shall see,” I reply mysteriously, teasing her with everything that I have. “We shall see…”
The camera snaps away, Paige remains oddly silent, the insults keep on coming… I honestly have no idea what way tonight is going to go, how this will end, but I am very intrigued to find out.
Chapter 6 – Gemma
What is happening here? I honestly have no idea. I don’t understand how the meal turned in to a drink afterwards, how me and Daniel who famously hate one another ended up laughing with each other, and how we are crashing through the front door to my home now, kissing one another like crazy. It’s absolutely wild. I mean, I hate this man. No amount of drinking is going to change that, but somehow, we’re kissing.
And fuck me, it feels good. The hate somehow manages to mix in with the magical tingling of his lips and it makes my whole body tingle and pulse with need. I suppose it doesn’t help that it has been a long time since a man has touched me like this. I have been so wrapped up in work that I forgot all about this.
“Shit you look good,” Daniel growls while slamming me up against my hallway wall. “So good.”
The fact that I am not even dressed for a date makes this comment feel even sexier. I knot and tangle my fingers up in his hair while his lips work their magic all over my mouth, cheek, and neck. I’m hon
estly pretty breathless. I should probably say something back to Daniel, but I don’t know what to say.
“It’s just a shame that you are a massive bitch, isn’t it?”
Before I can defend myself, Daniel spins me around and presses my face against the wall. Not hard but enough for me to know that he is in control of me right now. The way that my heart hammers hard in my ears lets me know just how much I love this. I want more. I roll my ass out towards him to silently let him know.
Daniel takes full advantage of the control as well and he gently slides his fingers up and down the inside of my thighs, teasing me until I just can’t handle it anymore. I am shaking violently, trembling hard, needing more. My lungs are ragged with the short sharp breaths darting from my chest, I am almost tumbling to the ground. But Daniel is sure to keep holding me up right, I guess because he likes me in this state, a mess for him.
I hate it. I actually despise the fact that I am a mess for him, that I have a wetness pooling between my legs for this man, that he can probably feel how soaking my panties are, but I can’t seem to stop. Whether it’s the booze or the hate lust driving me forwards I don’t know but it feels so fucking good.
“Do you want this?” Daniel asks, his words tickling my ear like crazy. “Do you want me?” I nod, mostly because I am totally unable to actually form words right now. But Daniel isn’t going to have that. “Tell me.”
I bite down so hard on my bottom lip that I’m afraid I might be drawing blood. This is a real issue here, because I do want him, but I’m scared that it might be showing weakness to admit that. I can’t let Daniel completely control me. I need to let him know that I am still number one here. If only he didn’t have my brain all scrambled, then I might be able to form some kind of answer that wouldn’t make me look like a fool.
