by Maria Xystra
“I went to that ‘Nirvana’ place...,” I utter.
“Was Eric there?”
“No, he wasn’t.” I hesitate for a bit to tell her about my brief encounter.
“…but?” Sam urges me.
“Some guy appeared…,” I mutter.
“Height?”
“Tall. Over six feet.”
“Body?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Face?”
“Drool inducing.”
“Name?”
“Fucking Arrogant Son of A Bitch?”
“Ha, ha! So, personality?”
“None!” I declare. “Or really well-hidden,” I admit since I don’t really know the guy.
“Exactly your type!” she jokes.
I can’t really argue with that. Every single guy I ever dated or had...fun with fits this description.
Since Marcus, I haven’t had any serious relationships. At first, I thought that he was the one I would share my life with and didn’t even consider being involved with anyone else. And then, he effectively wrecked me and made sure of it. When he said, ‘you’ll always be mine’, he was right; not in the sense that I’ll always be with him, but in the sense that I can never be with anybody else; he took my life, he took who I used to be, and my future is in his hands to mold as he wishes.
Hence, for the last years I haven’t let anyone into my life, apart from the occasional ‘bad-boys-perfect-for-one-night-stands’. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not someone who just sleeps around, it’s just that sometimes there are needs that need to be fulfilled and since I can’t get serious with any man, I prefer the ones who don’t really care.
So, he kind of is my type.
Then, why on earth does it bother me?
“Grrumph,” I murmur as I reach my desk.
“So, what’s the deal? Did you...you know?” she probes suggestively.
“What? No, Sam! We barely talked.”
“You talked. Right.” I sense her bafflement. “What about”?
“Well, I thought he was having a bad day, so I tried to make a joke and-”
“Wait! You initiated conversation?”
“I..ermm..kind of?” I want to defend myself but can’t find the words.
“Babe! That’s great! Unusual and definitely unexpected, but great nonetheless!” She sounds enthusiastic and I roll my eyes.
“Don’t get too excited because in record-time, he went from being an interesting stranger to being… well, a player.”
“Ahem, ahem,” she agrees with me. “So?” she blurts out as if I’m being weird.
“So… I don’t know, it bothered me!”
“Bothered you?” she asks in surprise. “Why, what did he say?”
“He asked me what my drink was…”
“Noooooo!” Sam emphasizes dramatically, and I roll my eyes at the sound of it. “A guy? Asking to buy you a drink? And in a bar of all places?? Oh, dear! What a pervert!”
“It’s not funny, Sam.”
“You’re absolutely right! It’s ridiculous! It’s absurd! It’s ridic-absurd!”
“Are you done?” I scold her.
“Yeah, OK… I just don’t really get why you’re upset about some random guy.”
“Well, I don’t know!” I admit. “It’s just… He seemed very… At first it got me interested enough to feel like I wanted to talk to him. And then he literally put on a mask and slipped into this… this… I’m-sexy-and-I-know-it attitude! He wasn’t asking to buy me a drink… he was demanding!”
Sam chuckles on the other end of the phone.
“What?” I start to get frustrated.
“It’s just…funny. You usually don’t give a shit about guys hitting on you. What’s different about this guy?”
Without giving me a chance to reply, she continues.
“Was it like… you wanted to…taste him?” she lowers her voice, “or like you fantasized about doing something more?” I can practically see her brows wiggling and her grin getting wider through the phone.
It takes me a second to grant her an answer. Admittedly, I had considered all of the above when I first saw him. I can’t blame it on my vampire nature though, since I had a few drops of Sam’s blood last night and I feel perfectly sedated. I might not have had sex in a while but still, I’m not that horny. For now.
“Pffff!” I reply. “I’d rather drink poison than have his blood.”
Sam chuckles. “Hmm…” she starts contemplating. “Do you like him? Maybe Eric knows him. Do you want me to ask him-”
“No!” I interrupt her. “Just…just forget I ever mentioned this.”
Like an angel sent from up above, Luke, my boss, enters my office and makes his way to my desk; right on time to save me from Sam’s matchmaking. Only thing worrying is Luke’s ‘I-don’t-know-how-to-say-this’ look.
“Look, we’ll talk later; I need to get back to work.” I hurry to hang up on her and barely hear her saying “Just think about it!”
No way. I thought talking to Sam would help me get Mr. What’s Your Drink off my mind, but instead I’ve caught myself in an internal conflict of liking him and hating him and I don’t even know why!
Decision made: I hate him. For making me feel this way, for waking up dormant nerves in my body. For making my reflexes go bleh – how can a vampire bump her head for goodness sake?! I’ve wasted enough time on him and that’s so unlike me, it’s starting to become a joke!
“Was that Samantha Dannel?” Luke asks me. “I’ve prepared a draft of the list for our annual gala,” he informs me.
“Yeah, OK, email it to me and I’ll forward it to her.” Sam’s planning all the events for our company.
“Right. Well…. How’s my favorite person in the whole world?” Luke starts.
“What do you want?” I ask suspiciously.
“Lexy, Lexy, Lexy. Always thinking the worst of-”
“Spit it out, Luke,” I urge him. Despite the fact that Luke is just over forty, he’s very approachable for a boss.
He settles against the edge of my desk and drops a fairly thick file in front of me. He hisses a deep breath and scratches a spot behind his ear.
“You see...”, I find his hesitation amusing.
“For the love of God! What is it?” I snap at him.
“Hey! I’m your boss! You shouldn’t use that tone with me!” he says but we both know that our relationship leans more towards brother-sister teasing than boss-employee dealing. I give him my evil look.
“You can’t be mad yet! I haven’t even told you what I need you for!” he jokes. “Soo, have you got any plans for tonight?”
“I’m guessing that even if I do I will have to cancel them, right?”
“I would never ask you to do that!” he acts offended. “But since you’re offering...”
I raise an eyebrow at him.
“So, yes, this is,” he points at the file he brought with him, “a very important potential client and I need you to have a look at his file and the proposal we’ve prepared for him.”
“A file,” I emphasize, “or a pile?”
He shakes off my comment with a dismissing gesture.
“OK...” I state cautiously. And here comes the trick question: “When do you want this to be ready by?”
“We are meeting with him tomorrow at 8am.” His face slightly flinches like he’s bracing himself for an explosion.
I clench my jaw ready to argue, but I find this a rather decent opportunity to get my mind off the bar guy. Before I get the chance to accept the challenge, Luke hurries to sweeten the deal by praising me.
“Come on, Lex, you are one of the best consultants in this firm and I know I can count on you. I really want you in the meeting tomorrow, and you have to be prepared. Plus, you know that I value your opinion, so if anything needs changing, just go for it. I completely trust you.”
I exhale in pointed exasperation.
“Fine. So, who is this busy guy?” Luke’s face brightens at my
acceptance and comes around to brief me on the file.
“He runs the city’s most prestigious go-to spots. Clubs, bars, restaurants, you name it.”
“Is he the owner?”
“No, but everything goes through him. He wants to bring all these businesses together under one company, of which he will be the CEO.”
“I’ll have a look. And just so we’re clear, you brought this to me at the last minute and therefore if I need anything you’d better be prepared for late night calls.” And I wink at him.
“So, if you’re not getting any sleep, I’m not either, huh?”
“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” I smile and bat my eyelashes.
*****
Midnight found me buried in a stack of papers all concerning a Mr. Cole Theron. Luke was right. He is one of the big sharks and consequently, a very important candidate for the firm. He manages a big part of the city’s nightlife and as I found out, he is the owner of ‘Nirvana’. To be honest, I thought that his business and especially his paperwork would be a complete mess but to my astonishment, everything was quite neat, and all necessary rules were followed.
In my mind, I already form an image of him: a fierce man, in his mid-forties I’d say, bossing everyone around, spending all his time in an office, with no personal interests besides money and probably not married. Or – as the norm goes with this sort of men – with an estranged wife and kids in Ivy League boarding schools. And probably a mistress, waiting for him at the apartment he bought for her. OK, I might have taken it too far with this one. Better cut down on the soaps, Lex.
I take a break and fumble with the food in the Chinese take-out box. As I surf the internet I get a notification that Sam has just posted a video on my wall. I laugh my ass off as I watch the ‘epic fails compilation’, and ring Sam.
She answers the phone and I can’t stop laughing to greet her back.
“So, you watched the video?” I can hear her grin as she speaks.
“Yeah! What are you doing up so late?” I ask her.
“I’m waiting for Eric. What are you doing up so late? I thought you’d try to catch up on some sleep.”
“Luke thought, or rather realized, that I have no social life!”
“Oh, that took him a while!” Sam teases.
“Oh, thanks for the support, friend!” I reply sarcastically.
“Don’t worry babe, we’re gonna fix this. Tomorrow I’m taking you for drinks. Eric can’t wait to meet you. And you’ve gotta stop being so anti-social.”
“But I like being anti-social! It’s my choice, as you very well know.”
“Yeah, but it’s not mine! So, we’re going.”
“Do I even have a say in this?”
“Not really! Eric is here so I gotta go!”
“Sam-”
“Love you babe! I’ll see you tomorrow!”
CHAPTER 3
He comes closer to my stool and repeats his question. “What IS your drink?” I turn to him slowly and lock his gaze. I trace his shoulder with my finger and lean to whisper in his ear seductively: “Juice.” I pause for effect and lean again, “Your juice”. He focuses on my lips, taking in all the flirtation I offer and comes closer to make contact. I feel my core tensing and I open my legs to accept him between my thighs.
I jolt up from my desk in utter astonishment.
WTF?
A pen that was apparently stuck to my cheek falls on the desk.
I stare into nothingness with an expressionless face, as I replay my dream in my head. My jaw drops and I’m in shock. I just had a sexual dream about the bar guy. And the words that came out of my mouth! Jesus! If I was a man I’d have a raging hard-on right now!
The first light of the new day creeps into my office between the blinds. I turn to the clock on the wall and it's nearly seven. I barely fell asleep for two hours and I dreamt about him? Pathetic! I blame Sam for this!
Returning to my office after a quick shower in the ladies’ bathroom, I answer my persistent caller.
“Hello?”
“Are you ready, sunshine?” Luke sounds cheerful and excited.
I yawn in response. Nice timing, I think to myself and smile.
“OK, then. I’m on my way!”
We hang up and I look around to make sure my office is set for guests. You see, being good at your job has its benefits. In my case, after the building renovation last year, I convinced Luke to join my tiny office with the tiny meeting room next door and as a result, I now have quite a big space, with a meeting table and a mini-bar, aka: first aid kit. There are of course Conference Rooms A and B for bigger audiences, but if we don’t need a projector we usually use my office. Brilliant idea, huh? And you know I’m talking about the first aid kit!
At least I tried to make myself presentable again. The spare outfit I keep in my locker is admittedly quite elegant. I replace my burgundy pencil skirt and ivory blouse with a navy-blue pencil dress with the thinnest nude belt ever made. It’s a pretty detail that matches my nude stiletto pumps perfectly. I pull my still numb hair into a high ponytail allowing my long brown waves to dry on their own. Light make-up applied and I’m ready to roll.
Luke barges into my office as I make my way out for the break room. I take a minute and watch as he strolls around hastily taking a seat at the meeting table. He then shoots up from the chair and sits on another. He repeats this action twice more.
“Someone’s edgy today!” I smirk at him.
He mumbles something incoherent like: “Um, I, ah, pt-”
“Right. Coffee, Luke?”
“Yes!” He exclaims. “With lime!”
“Huh?”
“What was the question?”
“Cof-fee?” I repeat as if I’m talking to a robot.
“Sure, sure.” A split second later he adds: “I’ve got my cup.”
I shake my head and head for the door again.
“Lexy!” he calls, and I stop mid-step. “Does my hair make me look fat?”
I raise my eyebrows.
“Your hair is fi-”
“What about my tie?”
“It’s...” Yellow. Flashy. “...bright?”
“Open jacket? Or buttoned jacket?” he asks as he acts out the words.
“Umm…no jacket?” I suggest foreseeing the uncontrollable amount of sweat that is definitely starting to gather on his stressed body.
“Mr. Theron should be looking at the view, right?” he turns to inspect the view from the floor to ceiling glass windows.
“You can’t move the view, Luke,” I simply state and exit the office.
As I come back from the break room with my coffee in hand, I ponder about my dress, whether it makes my behind look bigger. I’ll just ask Luke.
I walk into the office and try to find my straw to take a sip from my iced coffee. Thankfully, I don’t utter my question straight away since I realize just on time that our guest has arrived.
Standing between my desk and the meeting table he is looking outside the window with his hands in the front pockets of his dark jeans. A long-sleeved black T-shirt embraces his upper body demonstrating his broad shoulders and his strong back. His style suggests that he is probably younger than I thought he would be. With a great amount of effort, I manage to pull my eyes away from his perfectly shaped ass. If his front is half as good as his back, then I would definitely do him. What? My subconscious screams at me: get a grip, you horny slut!
Still reaching for my straw, I hear Luke trying to introduce me. Mr. Theron’s head starts to turn, and I notice his hair. Shoulder-length, light brown, half of it pulled back in a knot. No. Fucking. Way.
“Mr. Theron, let me introduce you to one of our firm’s best consultants, Lexy Davis.”
He fully turns to me and I choke on the sip I never had of my coffee. Hazel eyes find their way to my face and a lopsided smile curves his lips. A beautifully tattooed arm reaches in the space between us for a handshake.
“Cole Theron. Nice to meet you, Ms.
Davis.”
I let my uncertainty settle in the briefest frown, not sure if he remembers me from the day before.
“Likewise,” I answer in a strict, formal tone.
I get the file and a couple of pens from my desk and we walk towards the table. Luke sits at the far end and gestures for Mr. Bar Guy to take a seat on his left facing the window. He abruptly stops before me and I flinch back losing my pens to gravity in the process. They almost roll under the table and I make my way around him, hurriedly crouching between the two men to get them.
He subtly puts his hand on the edge of the table to protect me from bumping my head on my way up. I stare back at him. Yeap, he remembers me.
Recognition settles on my face with an expression of hostility.
I take a seat on Luke’s other side trying to tune into work mode. At least I can’t complain about the view I’ve got. He really doesn’t make it easy for me to focus. His godlike, attractive looks in combination with his hypnotic scent crawl under my skin and make my stomach clench. Rule number one: avoid direct eye contact.
“So, Mr. Theron, you are interested in…,” Luke starts with a supposedly firm voice. Working with him for a few years though, I can tell that it’s laced with caution and a drop of nervousness.
Theron’s face looks so serious and serene, yet still agreeable. He seems more like the guy who walked into the bar. Before he slipped into his arrogant, ladies-man persona, that is.
“Please, call me Cole,” he interrupts Luke with his husky voice.
“Right. So, Cole, we are here to discuss the idea of merging your individual businesses into one company.”
“Yes, well basically…” he takes the floor with such ease, it’s really not difficult for me to picture him as the boss. “What we wish to do is to… provide a single name for the places we manage and have them operated by the same principles and strategies.” The way he talks, and his gestures are evidence that this guy knows where he stands, what he wants and how to go about it. It’s like he’s in charge and we’re his minions waiting for him to point us the way- Wait! We’re supposed to be the ones guiding him, not the other way around! I think I should say something at this point. His lips are mesmerizing – definitely not that though!! Rule number two: remember rule number one! I try really hard to pull my gaze off his lips and take the business plan folder to hand it to him.