“You mean us?” Glen spoke, chuckling for some reason.
Leizel shook her head. “No. Never.”
***
It was less than an hour into the party and Una was already bored and growing quite self-conscious with each passing minute. Nevertheless, her demeanor didn’t let on her discomfort and boredom as she continued to stand next to Liezel―who was making sure people noticed the floral bracelet around her wrist with a blank expression on her face.
Una had tried to stay as far away as possible from the three men who didn’t bother to dress in costumes that Liezel later on told her were the top executives in the company, though, throughout the course of the party, she had caught one of the men eyeing her on several occasions. Unfortunately for her, it didn’t help that Will was always talking to either all three of them or one of them―especially the oldest one in the group who she learned was the chairman and the father of the company’s chief executive officer.
Una sighed. When her feet started to hurt, she told Liezel she would go somewhere to sit.
“Sure. I’ll just go talk to someone and then I’ll join you after,” Liezel assured her.
Una walked around for a few minutes before she found an empty office in the far end corner of the room. When she opened the door, the room immediately lit up. It was obvious that the room belonged to one of the executives for there was no way an ordinary manager could have a finely furnished room with a built-in motion sensor.
With tentative steps, Una slowly walked in and closed the door behind her, the music and noise outside fading out into the background. She looked around the minimal but stylish office space. In one corner, a few feet from the executive desk, was a rectangular glass desk with a few black and white leather chairs. She walked over to it and grabbed one of the chairs and dragged it by the floor to the ceiling window and sat down.
Staring far ahead, she lightly gasped, amazed at the majestic view.
The city spread below her in a medley of shapes and glittering lights. There wasn’t a cloud in the star-studded sky. A crescent moon hovered at the edge of the incandescent cityscape, glistening in the night while vehicles bustled along the disarrayed lines of streets, creating winding threads of light.
She continued to appreciate the night as she softly massaged her calves.
“Stunning view, isn’t it?”
Startled, Una quickly stood up and turned to the direction of the voice.
“My god…” The man gulped as he stood at a distance. He slowly closed the door behind him, and as he drew nearer, his eyes widened in astonishment. It wasn’t like he had not noticed Una in the party, but seeing her this close had his mind struggling to accept the reality of what he was seeing.
His weird reaction earned him an alarmed look on Una’s face, and when he noticed this, his demeanor quickly changed. “I’m sorry about that. Um…Hi, my name is Sinclair Godfrey.” He offered his hand to her.
Una stared at his hand and looked around him rather than at him. “Una Miller. I came with Will. I’m friends with Liezel.”
“Ah! Your Ms. Blanco’s friend. I kept seeing her with you tonight.”
“You have been watching me.” Una blinked as soon as she realized what she just told him, shocked at herself at how she had managed to be this unpleasant to him this early in the conversation.
Sinclair’s jaw slightly dropped. Not letting her bluntness rattle him, he quickly counteracted her reaction with a coy grin. “I may have watched you more than a couple of times. Please don’t leave now. Sit down.” He gestured to the chair. “I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. I just can’t leave the party yet. We can chill here for a few minutes, enjoy the view, and then go back out there. Come on, hon.”
Una hesitated again. She really felt like leaving, but decided against it. Outside was too loud for her and with too many people. And Will was still probably engrossed in a conversation with his bosses.
Sinclair led her back to the chair and then grabbed the black lounge chair behind his desk and set it beside Una’s chair. He settled down and let out a deep breath. “I never get tired of this view.”
“It’s beautiful,” Una whispered, agreeing.
He glanced at her briefly. “By the way, nice costume, hon.”
“And who are you supposed to be?” Una asked, eyeing him. He looked like a Calvin Klein model in his charcoal gray suit.
He shrugged. “Myself?” he chuckled lightly. “The overworked CEO of this company who’s still working while everyone else is having a good time.”
Donning her blank expression once again, she replied. “Well, you’re not working now.”
Sinclair pursed his lips and thought for a second. “You know what? You are right. And I would have been still working if it weren’t for my father’s weak knees acting up because of the weather. He had to leave and here I am, finally enjoying the party, hon.” He chuckled lightly.
She sighed loudly and found herself saying, “Please stop calling me that.”
Her reaction got Sinclair quite taken aback. “I’m sorry.” He cast a glance at her when she didn’t say anything nor make any attempt to leave. “I didn’t mean to offend you or anything, Una.”
She remained silent and cautious, staring into the city view.
“She used to imagine those glittering lights as fireflies at night…” Sinclair trailed off, his voice suddenly filled with sadness and longing. “She loved the city view too.” He sighed, staring into the distance.
He remained seated next to her. Memories from his past softly played in his mind like melancholic music, pulling him back to those times with her. He shut his eyes, shook his head, and concentrated on the present.
For a long moment, all they could hear were the faint music outside Sinclair’s office as they stared off in each other’s world in silence.
“You’re not much of a talker, are you?” Sinclair asked, breaking the silence once again.
She glanced at him and then back to the glittering view. “No. Not really.”
“I’d prefer a quiet company, though. But, it’s quite surprising then that you and Ms. Blanco are friends. No offense, but you are quite her opposite.”
“I reckon you two are close?” Una asked.
A heedful expression quickly replaced Sinclair’s casual smile. “I know her but not in that context. She’s my personal assistant. She works for me, and I have seen her hang out with the other employees. I noticed that she’s quite chatty…and friendlier.”
Una nodded thoughtfully.
“I mean… not that you are not friendly―”
“You don’t have to explain.” She stopped him midway in his sentence. “I know what you mean.”
Her crudeness surprisingly earned her a smirk from Sinclair. A reaction so light considering his stern reputation. But Una already knew who and what he was, and it was her refreshing candor and nonchalance of the fact that made him stay in the room with her.
After another moment of silence, Sinclair spoke again, staring at her. “You said you came with Will?”
Una nodded at him. “Yes. I’m his,” she hesitated and cleared her throat, “…his friend.”
“Friend,” he echoed, the corner of his mouth curved into a smile. “Interesting.”
She shifted in her chair and brushed away stray locks of hair from her face, slowly feeling the weight of his stare. He took the opportunity to admire her dainty hands. For some reason he couldn’t help but find it appealing.
When the silence between them became too awkward for her, Una slowly got up from her chair, compelling Sinclair to stand up too. At the exact same time, they heard a knock on the door and Liezel walked in. “Sincla―oh, Una, you’re here too?” The expression on her face showed surprise and dismay.
“Yes, Ms. Blanco, what do you want?” Sinclair asked, cocking an eyebrow at her, effectively shutting down any suspicions before it could both ruin their night. He could read Liezel too easily just by the way her voice sounded when she walke
d in on them.
“I’m going to look for Will,” Una muttered and walked away.
“Nice meeting you, Ms. Miller,” Sinclair called out when she reached the door.
Una turned to him. “Thank you for letting me stay.” And then she left after giving Liezel a quick glance.
“I’ll catch up on you,” Liezel told her and gave her a quick small smile when she walked passed her.
When they were finally alone, Sinclair slowly took a step closer to Liezel. “You have quite an interesting friend, Liezel” he said, a small twisted smirk on his face. “You were looking for me?” His warm breath fanned over the sensitive skin of her collarbone as he whispered.
“Yes. I thought you already left.” An eyebrow arched as she looked at him with unfaltering gaze. “I didn’t know you were in here with my best friend.”
The emphasis on the last word wasn’t lost on Sinclair. He knew what Liezel meant when she dragged the word.
“She was already here when I came in, watching the view, looking like she couldn’t wait to go home.”
It was true; Liezel had noticed the disinterest in Una’s voice and facial expression while she was going around with the party with her. Una’s responses were always short and straight to the point.
“She has always been withdrawn and apathetic to anything, even to Will who’s someone special in her life. So, it’s not the party; it’s her,” Liezel said in what was, even to her, a blatant opinion towards someone she just claimed as her best friend.
A flicker of amusement crossed Sinclair’s face before he told her, “Someone special? She said that she and Will are friends.”
“Right,” she thought for a moment, her facial feature tightened. “A guy and a girl can’t live under one roof and just be friends.”
“They live together?”
“Yes, and they’re too stubborn to admit it, but as soon as they finally realize just how much sexual tension there is between them, they’d be screwing each other morning, noon, and night.” She had no idea what had suddenly gotten into her. She was never that aggressive when she talked about Una.
Could she be jealous? Liezel shrugged the idea off. Why would she be jealous? Una and Sinclair were only talking, and just like what Sinclair said, Una was already there when he arrived. But why would it even matter? Could it be because she had never seen him act this friendly and attentive over a woman?
“Why are you telling me this, Liezel? You’re not threatened by your friend, are you?!” Sinclair said in an overdone tone of shock.
“Of course not!” She returned with a smile that tried to divert the flush on her cheeks. “And that’s utterly absurd. She’s a virgin, if you must know. Una hates men, well, except for Will. Maybe.”
Sinclair stared at Liezel’s almond eyes, his jaw set. A sly smile crept across his face. Then slowly, his bright blue eyes turned dark and lustful. “Right.” Seductively, he reached over to trace the slit down her cleavage with his ring finger, taking in her sexy costume. “Have I told you how delectable you look tonight? I couldn’t keep my eyes off you.”
Liezel’s lips curved into a coquettish grin. She bit her lower lip and softly ran her fingertip along Sinclair’s jawline. “Do you want to take a bite later?”
Sinclair thought about it for a moment then managed a slight smile. “Not tonight. I’ll be working till morning.”
“Too bad then…”
“Not really.” He spun her around.
“What do you mean?” Liezel walked backward as he advanced towards her. She moaned when her ass hit his desk.
“Bend over the desk and you’ll know what I mean.”
***
A few minutes after Una left Sinclair’s office, Liezel was still nowhere to be seen. Half an hour later and she was already bored to bits. She looked around for Will and immediately spotted him at once by the refreshment tables in a conversation with his friends, Glen and Yohan. She figured she might as well go straight to them, interrupt whatever discussion they were having and propose they continue it during office hours, and tell Will she wanted to go home.
Heading over to them, she cleared her throat as if her presence wasn’t enough to draw their attention.
“Ms. Miller.” Will’s face lit up like he couldn’t be happier to see her at last.
“I’m ready to go home. Are you?” Una said, and it was followed with a long yawn.
“Oh, she looks so cute,” Glen gushed, and that earned a frown from her.
Will put down the glass of punch on the table. “Let’s go.”
Glen begged him to stay for another hour, but as soon as Una snarled at him, he let Will go and got sloshed by the punch he had spiked.
It was a cold and wet November night, and Will quickly turned the heater on as soon as Una got in next to him in the car next.
The ride back home was rather silent. Will kept his attention on the road ahead of them while Una stared outside her window, random thoughts swirling through her head. When her conversation with Sinclair crossed her mind, a spark of uneasiness emerged. The fact that he had admitted to watching her made her scowl in her seat. His audacity irritated her.
Halfway through the journey back home, Will took a slow, deep breath in and let it out, breaking the silence in the car. “Ms. Miller, would you like to have dinner tomorrow? On the roof?”
Una glanced up at him, casting him a skeptical eye, surprised. “Sure.”
“Thank you. I’m just thinking that it’s unfair that I brought you to the party but, I wasn’t with you the whole time…like I abandoned you.” His voice wavered, sounding slightly nervous for acknowledging the fact.
“Your bosses were there. You couldn’t have dealt with it differently,” she said but promised herself to never attend any parties moving forward anyway. It was just a waste of her time, she concluded. Parties could never be her thing. The endless chatter and mindless laughter were just too much for her. Slightly shaking her head, she thought of something else nice that had actually happened to her that night. She frowned when she couldn’t think of any, but briefly smiled when an image from that night suddenly crossed her mind.
Turning to Will, she asked, “Mr. Thomas, which Ronan Keating song?”
Will’s lips formed in a tight-lip smile. He didn’t have to ask her what she meant for he already knew. “When You Say Nothing At All.”
Chapter 12
Rooftop
“So are you ready to extend the Halloween party on the roof?” Will asked as he offered his hand for Una on Thursday evening.
Una smiled up at him and took his hand, then pushed herself up onto the ladder step. A light breeze worked its way around them, her hair moving gently across her face.
“Be careful, it’s a little steep,” she tells Will who was climbing the ladder before her. But noticing how Will climbed up with ease made her think that he had been out on the roof before. He did mention before that he liked looking at stars at night too.
When they reached the top, she saw that everything was already set up: a red picnic blanket is set next to a basket that she could only assume was where Will kept their food. They didn’t need any candles since the light from a nearby post was enough to let them see and move around.
She breathed in, gazing out into the beautiful glittering stars in the sky. From their spot on the roof, the stars seemed brighter than seeing it from inside the house. Before, she used to come on top to clear her mind from things and think where she would want her life to be in the next five to ten years. It was easier to breathe up here. The fresh air hitting her face had somehow given her a sense of relief as it washed over her. She could also think about her life. Like really think about it. Would she finish college? Would she still be meeting Dr. Larson? Would she really be able to completely put her past behind her?
“Ms. Miller, care to join me?” Will’s voice broke into her thoughts. He was now seated on the mat with his leg crossed.
“Why are you dressed like that again?” She cock
ed her head to the side and dropped her gaze to Will’s John Wick costume he wore to the Halloween party.
“I don’t really know. I guess I just really wanted to recreate the party and make it something you and I would really enjoy,” Will explained. “Don’t worry. This isn’t the same costume I wore last night. I have a few pair of similar clothes. John Wick’s costume isn’t really that difficult to reinvent.” Will smiled shyly then relaxed when Una smiled back.
“The rocker chick costume is in the wash.” Una looked down on her usual dress and cardigan ensemble.
Will’s smile widened. “No, you don’t have to…you look lovely in that. I’d prefer that because that’s…you.”
“The sky is so clear tonight,” Una said as she joined him on the picnic mat.
Will nodded. “It is. Couldn’t have picked a better night.” He started taking out the food he prepared and put it onto the mat. “I brought smoked turkey sandwich, hot potato salad, and two slices of blueberry cheesecake.”
“Did you make all of these?”
He shook his head. “No. I bought all these on my way from work. I, however, made the hot choco.” He grinned sheepishly.
“May I have a smoked turkey?” Una asked.
He held a sandwich toward her.
After a while, the wind picked up, and as soon as Will noticed Una shiver, he grabbed a folded blanket next to the basket. “May I?” Una nodded and let him drape the plaid blanket over her shoulder.
They sat there, admiring the night sky in comfortable silence as they ate their dinner. When the breeze had gotten colder, Will grabbed another blanket and wrapped it around him as he unknowingly moved closer to Una, closing the tiny gap between them.
Una inhaled his scent and felt the heat radiating off him as soon as he closed the tiny gap between them. She didn’t utter any protest because the closer they sat together, the warmer she felt against the cold night.
Considerably Wicked: A Dark Romance Page 12