by BWWM Club
“I have to drive.”
“And the one glass is going to…what?”
“Dude, I don’t want to be driving under the influence,” she frowned.
“If you take this, I will get you a Derek Storm book signed by Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle.”
“Wait, those books actually exist?” Angelina asked.
“Just a few. Only about a hundred of them were ever made. You know, just enough to sell the idea of what the entire series is based on,” he said. Angelina looked up at him and shook her head. She didn’t know why she suddenly felt the need to indulge him. “And I must point out Miss Carter, that I rarely take no for an answer.”
“Good looking and authoritative,” she thought as she looked at him. She reached for the glass and raised it as she looked into his eyes. “What the hell, it’s not like I have to go to work tomorrow or anything,” she thought as she took a long sip. “Now, you have to live up to your end of the bargain,” she said as she looked into his mysterious dark eyes.
“If there is one thing I like to pride myself in, it is the fact that I am a man of my word, Miss Carter,” Adrian said as he looked at her. Somehow, the look he was giving her was giving her chills and she kind of liked it.
Chapter 2
For Angelina, allowing Olivia to push her to the new art museum could have been the best thing that had happened to her in a long time. She found herself spending more and more time at the museum and less time in her apartment which had been the case ever since she stopped working. The other reason she was having such a good time going down to the museum was the fact that she always happened to bump into Adrian down there. Over time, she found herself getting more and more drawn to him. It was like she was beginning to like him. And who could blame her? Adrian was not like the men she usually met. He was different. Apart from his impeccable taste in almost everything, he was also very interesting. There was a darkness around him that aroused her interest. He was actually the ideal man as far as she was concerned save for the fact that he seemed to push off everyone and everything. It was like he aimed to make people think that he was unavailable while he was actually an open book. Mystery was his game and Angelina was curious enough to want to uncover it.
It was on a Friday afternoon and she was looking at the same painting that first caught her attention. The same painting that she’d had countless conversations with Adrian over. A smile played on her lips as she looked at it. It was like every time she looked at the painting, she noticed something new. She was still looking at the piece when she smelled Adrian’s familiar cologne.
“Fancy meeting you here, Miss Carter,” he said as he stood next to her.
She wanted to turn around and look at him but she just stood there, suppressing a smile as she looked at the painting.
“If this keeps on happening, I will think that you are following me.”
“What if I was? Would that be so wrong?”
“Have you, Mr. Corday?” she asked as she looked at him. He took a step closer to her and took a deep breath.
“I have an answer for you, Miss Carter. And maybe if you let me take you for coffee sometime, I could give it to you,” he said as he turned to look at her.
“And what if I refuse?” she asked tightening her grip around the coat she had in her hands.
“I told you once, Miss Carter. I rarely take no for an answer,” he said before he began walking towards the exit, leaving a surprised Angelina staring after him. When he got to the door, he looked over his shoulder at her. “Coming?”
“I cannot believe that I am about to do this,” was what she was thinking as she put on her coat and walked out of the museum. She walked to where she had parked her Prius and Adrian walked over to where she was.
“What’s your pick?” he asked. She strapped herself in and shook her head.
“This was your idea. Why don’t you pick the place?” she asked.
“That’s me,” he pointed at a black Mercedes. “I’ll lead, you follow,” he said before he walked to his car.
Angelina did not understand why she was so intrigued by the way he was talking to her. Normally, she would have been insulted at the level of egotistic nature but all she could do was just nod. She revved her engine as she watched him walk round the car to the driver’s side.
“Why am I letting myself open up to this guy so much?” she wondered as she followed Adrian down the street. “It is almost as if I am allowing myself to actually cozy up to a new man.” The thought made her shudder. She was not ready. Not yet. “What the hell,” she thought when they pulled up in front of Mercury Lounge. She had never managed to get a reservation here, not even when she dropped the name of her former boss Carlton Meyer, who was supposedly a big deal. “What are we doing here? I thought we were doing coffee,” she said as she climbed out of her car.
“I skipped lunch and honestly I could use some nourishment,” he said as he led her to the door. She looked at him and shook her head as she walked in after him. “Corday, table for two,” he said to the hostess.
“Right this way, Mr. Corday,” the hostess said as she led them to an exclusively private table.
“Was this your plan, the whole time?” Angelina asked when they sat down.
“What?” he asked as he looked at her.
“Ask me to coffee and then suddenly turn it into a lunch date,” she said as she took a menu from the hostess.
Adrian looked up from his menu and smiled at her. “If we were on a date, you would know,” he said matter of factly.
Angelina felt a thrill down her spine. “So, what is this?”
“Just two people getting to know each other. Is that so wrong, Miss Carter?” he asked looking at her.
“Please, just stick to my first name. My friends call me Angie, though.”
“Angie. That sounds great,” he said.
She raised an eyebrow and looked at him over her menu. “Well, it should.”
“Have we made up our minds, yet?” a waiter asked as he walked up to them.
“Yes. I’ll have the usual and a glass of your best white,” Adrian said as he put his menu down. Angelina wanted to ask him why he had been looking at his menu that long if he was only going to order ‘his usual’. She looked at her menu and wondered what she was going to have. She had been dying to eat here and now that she finally had the chance, she wanted everything. She looked up at the waiter indecisively. “May I suggest the salmon? They have the most perfect pan seared salmon here, the best in Los Angeles, actually. They serve it with a sweet and sour orange coconut sauce. You are going to love it,” Adrian said when he noticed her dilemma. Angelina slammed her menu shut and looked at the waiter.
“I think that is exactly what I’ll have,” she said.
“And anything to drink for you, miss?” the waiter asked.
“Chardonnay,” she said smiling at the waiter. “So, do you bring all your supposed coffee dates here” she asked when the waiter walked away.
Adrian looked at her and rubbed his chin. “Why? Would you be offended if I said I did?”
She bit her lip and pushed her hair behind her ear. She wanted to say that she would have been jealous but that was a part of her she could not control. The part that saw him more than just the bossy guy she had come to know. The part that wanted to scream ‘take me’.
“I don’t know you enough to be offended,” she said.
“So, Angie. Apart from art, what do you do?” he looked at her and interlaced his fingers.
“Art is all I do, really. Art has been my life…was my life until a few weeks ago,” she said. He raised an eyebrow at her.
“Has been?” He raised an eyebrow at her.
“I…got fired from my job,” she said. As soon as she said it, she could feel an enormous weight off her shoulder. This was the first time she had actually confided in anyone about what happened at Romaine’s.
“Is there a story there or are you just a bad girl gone wild?” he asked. She shook
her head just as the waiter walked back to their table with their drinks. Angelina looked at her glass and then looked up at him.
“Not really. Just the case of a boss who was looking to get a little too friendly,” she said before taking a sip of her wine. He looked at her and took a sip of his own wine.
“Don’t you just hate it when that happens?”
“Like you would know anything about that. You are a man,” she laughed. “Plus you have a lot of ego going on,” she thought as she took a long sip of her wine.
“There’s a story there too,” he smiled.
“Yeah, maybe you should tell me all about it.”
“Oh you have to prove that you will actually see me again before I get started dishing out,” he said. The waiter came back with their food and Adrian looked at her. “Bon apetit,” he said. She picked up her fork and took her first bite. She didn’t want to say anything but his choice was great. Impeccably delicious.
*****
When she got back to her place, Angelina was all smiles. For the first time in a long time, she had enjoyed a man’s company and it had nothing to do with the man wanting to screw her or work. She didn’t even understand how what was supposed to be a coffee meeting turned out to be a three hour long early dinner. They had even exchanged numbers. She walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water before she walked back to the living room. She had just sat down when she heard her doorbell ring. She got up and walked to the front door.
“Dear Lord…I need to get new friends,” she said when she saw Olivia waving frantically through the peep hole. “It’s Friday night, Olivia. Don’t you and your unmarried husband have plans or something?” she asked when she opened the door.
“Alex had to take some potential investors out and I wanted to have some girl time. Plus I brought dinner,” Olivia said as she walked in. “Knowing you, you probably have a microwave dinner in the microwave,” she added as she waved a takeout bag. Angelina closed the door and walked to the living room where Olivia was already unpacking the Thai food.
“As much as I appreciate this sweetie, I already ate. But if you have some dessert…” Angelina started before Olivia took out two boxes from the bag.
“Done. White forest slices with fresh cream frosting from Luca’s Bakery,” Olivia said. Angelina sat down next to her as Olivia pulled out chop sticks from the bag. “Wait, you are all dressed up,” she said as she looked at Angelina’s black high waist pencil skirt and nude sleeveless top. “Where were you and why didn’t you tell me about it?” Olivia leaned back and looked at Angelina, takeout box in her lap. “Well?” she pressed.
“I was at the museum,” Angelina started.
“Again?” Olivia asked as she raised an eyebrow. “I should introduce you to other places so you stop going to the same places all the time,” she said. Angelina took a bite of her cake.
“Well, today was different,” Angelina said. She was smiling broadly, almost blushing.
“What was different about today? Did you have a date or something?” Olivia asked. There was a hint of cynicism in her voice. She suddenly looked at Angelina when she didn’t answer. “Oh my God! You had a date?” it was more of a surprised reaction rather than a question.
Angelina took another bite.
“Well, in all fairness, it was not a real date. All that happened was that I bumped into someone and we went to a restaurant and had a late lunch. No more.” The way Olivia was looking at her made it obvious that she did not believe a word of what Angelina was saying.
“Which restaurant?” Olivia asked.
“Mercury Lounge,” Angelina said in a low voice. It was practically a whisper. Olivia almost choked on a piece of beef julien.
“Mercury Lounge? You just don’t bump into a person who decides to take you for a late lunch at Mercury Lounge. Chuck-E-cheese maybe but Mercury Lounge?” Olivia shook her head. “Nah ah. There is something you are not telling me here.”
Angelina took another bite of her cake.
“Like what? It is just some guy I happened to meet on the first night I went to the museum,” she said.
“But you didn’t even talk to that many people at the opening,” Olivia raised one eyebrow over the other.
“Yeah. I just talked to the one. Adrian Corday,” Angelina smiled. Olivia’s eyes grew big.
“Who?” she asked as she looked at her.
“Adrian Corday. He is the only person I talked to at the opening night of the art museum. Why do you look surprised at that?” she asked. Olivia looked at her obviously stunned. She suddenly reached for her phone and typed something on it. “What?” Angelina asked as she looked at Olivia, feeling confused.
“For a person who has been in the art world for most of her adult life, you sure are a clueless person,” Olivia said as she handed her phone to Angelina.
“Oh holy…shit,” Angelina said under her breath. She was looking at the Corday Incorporated home page and there was a picture of Adrian there. “Founder and CEO of Corday Inc.,” she read. She looked up at Olivia and exhaled loudly.
“You were on a date with Los Angeles’s most eligible bachelor?” Olivia asked excitedly but Angelina was too stunned to answer. All she did was look at Olivia. She was speechless.
*****
The loud ringing of her phone was what woke Angelina up. She stirred in her bed to reach for the phone which was on her night stand. She looked at the phone screen and groaned. It seemed to be a landline number. She didn’t know anyone who still used landlines…and she didn’t understand anyone who did. She ignored it and covered up but it was not long before she heard her phone ring again.
“Hello?” she said in a groggy voice.
“Angie? Is that you?” she heard a masculine voice ask.
“Who are you trying to reach?” she asked, rather annoyed. All she wanted was to go back to sleep. That was all she had been doing perfectly for the last eight weeks.
“Angelina Carter,” the male voice said. She looked at her phone and she had half a mind to throw it across the room.
“Listen, whoever you are…” she started.
“Angie, it’s me. Adrian.” He had interjected just in time to avoid hearing her wildly profane words. She put a hand on her forehead and groaned again.
“Hey…what could you possibly want this early?” she asked, her eyes still closed.
“Are you not feeling well? It’s nine in the morning. Why are you still asleep?” he asked.
“I am unemployed, remember? And it’s a Saturday for God’s sake,” she said. By this time, her sleep had escaped her. She sat up in bed and ran her fingers through her tangled hair. Great, her headscarf had come off during the night.
“Well, maybe I have something for you to do. You may want to get ready,” he said. Now Angelina was fully awake.
“Like what?” she asked.
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you now. Would it? Just get ready. I’ll swing by to pick you up in an hour,” he said. If she didn’t know any better, she could have sworn it was more of a command than a request.
“But why now?” she could not help but ask.
“Remember when I told you that if we ever went on a date you would know? Well, consider this our first official date,” he said. A smile played on Angelina’s lips. Normal men would have asked to take her out rather than tell her.
“So, where are we going? I mean what should I dress in?” she asked.
“I’ll give you a hint. Pool party,” he said before he hung up.
“Wait…you don’t have my address,” she said in a low voice. She was not sure how he was supposed to find her but somehow she was convinced that he would find her. She got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, her toothbrush in her mouth, she was wondering what kind of impression she was supposed to make, she felt a thrill go down her spine. She could not help but wonder whether she was feeling this drawn to him because he was strangely different or it was that perfect
ly muscular toned body she knew he was hiding under that power suit. By the time she finally got dressed, she still had a few minutes on the clock. She looked at her reflection in the full length mirror and sighed. She was in a pair of blue skinny jeans and white sleeveless floral top and a pair of blue, yellow and pink peep toe color block heels. Her shoes were a perfect match for her pink wet look handbag. For some reason, her heart was beating hard and fast when she heard her doorbell ring. She walked to the front door and opened the door.
“Hey there,” Adrian said smiling. His eyes were running up and down her body, obviously enjoying what he was seeing.
“Hey,” Angelina said in a soft voice. He was in a pair of gray jeans and a dark blue Ecko t-shirt.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
Angelina looked at him and nodded.
Chapter 3
Angelina was not surprised that he was not in his Mercedes this time round. He had come to pick her up in a white Buick. She almost asked him how many vehicles he had to his name but she was sure his answer would probably surprise her. According to Olivia, Adrian was worth an upwards of ten million dollars. And that was just him, not his business. Her eyes almost popped out of their sockets when they pulled up in front of his house. It was in an estate on the outskirts of Los Angeles and it looked like one of those homes that would be featured on House and Garden magazines.
“Whoa,” Angelina said under her breath when she stepped out of the car.
“Mi casa es su casa,” he said as he walked to the front door. Angelina looked around. This must have been what a slice of heaven looked like. She looked at him as he held the door open for her. The house was the epitome of perfection. The black and white monochromatic color scheme was what Angelina pictured when she had first spoken to him. The two walked to the kitchen where Adrian pulled out a bottle of wine from his fridge.
“I’m sorry but I have to decline. I haven’t really had breakfast,” she frowned.
“Fine. But in all fairness, this is not how I pictured our first breakfast date together,” he smiled as he opened the fridge. He got two yogurt cups and placed them on the counter before he washed his hands in the sink. He then took two bowls from one of the cabinets and then walked back to the fridge.