“Get a drink with me.” I refused to state who I was because my voice did it for me. I wanted to see her tonight, to see her sit across from me with her beautiful long hair and a short dress. I wanted the night to conclude in my bed, but I was also fine if it didn’t. My loneliness made me crave things that had never been on my palate before. My closeness with Hades gave me intimacy I’d never needed from someone else. He was family to me, and even though he’d been gone a long time, the wound was still fresh.
“Depends. Who is this?”
“Annabella, you know who this is.” I liked the way she could hold herself in a conversation without making a nervous giggle or saying random shit just to fill the silence. She was confident, and that was sexy. I imagined she was hit on all the time at work, that I wasn’t the only one who’d waited for her to clock out and leave.
“Arrogant and demanding…I think I know someone who fits that description.”
“And tall and sexy. You forgot those.”
A quiet chuckle came over the line. “I can’t hear those things.”
“Trust me, you can.” I could definitely hear her long sexy legs. I could hear her soft hair. I could hear her smooth skin under my soft lips. “You want me to pick you up? Or do you want to meet there?”
“Presumptuous…”
“No. Presumptuous would be me telling you to come over right now.” It would be ideal if she came over and we got straight to the point, but I didn’t mind a night of conversation. She was so pretty, it would be foreplay.
“I’ll meet you there.”
I’d rather her not walk there alone, but I knew I couldn’t be suffocating like that. If this was casual, I had to act casual. “Alright. I’ll see you soon.” I gave her the name of the bar, hung up the phone, and left my desk. When I stepped into the hallway, I wished I had picked a better time because Hades and Sofia were about to pass by.
Hades had her hand in his as he guided her along, tall and proud and always protective. He knew I was standing there, but his eyes remained forward as if he didn’t know I existed.
Sofia was the only one who looked at me, and she gave me a sad smile like she didn’t know what else to do. I’d been an asshole to her last time we spoke, so she wasn’t very warm to me. She looked at me in acknowledgment but didn’t actually say anything.
I stared back and watched them walk away.
We sat together at the bar, side by side on the stools.
She had elegant posture and held her back perfectly straight with her legs crossed. Black heels were on her feet, and she wore a short black cocktail dress. Her hair wasn’t constricted in a ponytail. It was big, luscious, and all over the place. It was in curls like the first time I saw her. She possessed a lot of features that were beautiful and intoxicating, but something about her hair really turned me on. It wasn’t just the length or the shine, it was something else altogether. Or maybe it was everything combined.
She ordered a gin and tonic when she’d first arrived, which surprised me. She seemed like a woman who would order red wine or some shit like that. But she ordered a stronger drink, something I might order depending on my mood.
I wasn’t much of a talker, so I spent my time staring at her, mesmerized by all the perfect features of her face. I tried to remember the last time I’d seen a woman this beautiful, but I couldn’t recall. Maybe that occasion never existed.
She tilted her head back and took a drink before she set down the glass again. “You stare a lot.”
“You’re easy to stare at.” I grabbed my scotch and pulled it closer to me but didn’t take a drink. I’d been drinking too much these last few months, and I constantly kept canceling my doctors’ appointments because I didn’t want to be told that my liver was dying.
She turned her attention back to me and stared at me with the same intensity. “See how it feels?”
“I think it’s hot.”
She smiled slightly before she turned back to her drink.
Since I didn’t want to interrogate her about her divorce, I didn’t have much to ask her. Her walking into my office and demanding to be removed from his accounts was the only shared experience that we had. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in the details. If they were divorced and he still wanted her to have his money, that could only mean he’d fucked up. He probably cheated, but that didn’t make sense because why would a man cheat on a woman like that? “How do you like your new apartment?”
“I like it a lot.” She rested her hand over the top of her glass, as if she were afraid someone would spike it if she looked away for a few seconds. “I got a good deal on it, and it’s close to work. It’s not in the best neighborhood and it’s a little small, but it has everything I need.”
I didn’t like imagining her in a dangerous area, so my initial impulse was to buy her a beautiful place. But that would offend her, and it would be totally inappropriate on my end. I didn’t even know this woman. It didn’t matter how many billions of dollars I had; I shouldn’t spend any of it on someone I hardly knew. “What are your plans for the future?” I assumed she didn’t intend to be a waitress forever, but I didn’t want to ask her what other skills she had because that would make me sound like an ass.
“What kind of question is that?” She turned back to me. “What are your plans for the future, Damien?”
I took a drink before I answered. “The same shit I always do. Work.” I didn’t have much of a life, but that had never bothered me until recently. I used to work, fuck, and then do it all over again. It was satisfying…until Hades left. Now, I was alone all the time, tortured by my guilt and regret. “To be honest, I don’t have a lot in my life. I don’t have a lot of friends or family. I’m a slave to my job.”
Instead of judging me, her eyes softened. “I don’t have anyone either.”
My other hand rested on my thigh, and there were times when I wanted to reach out and rest my fingers against her knee. I wanted to touch her like she was mine, but she was different from other women, so I couldn’t do those things. “I find that hard to believe. You’re a lovely person.”
“Even if that’s true, it doesn’t matter. After my divorce, people took sides. And of course, they sided with him.”
Why would they do that if he was in the wrong? Maybe she was the one at fault after all. “Why did they choose him?”
“He’s the one with the money.” She rolled her eyes and took a drink.
Since she didn’t elaborate, I didn’t pry.
“The bank closes at five, so I’m surprised you have to work so much. Don’t you own it?”
“True. But I have a second job.” If her husband used our services at the bank, he wasn’t a clean-cut guy. He must break the law in many ways. She was either aware of that or completely in the dark. The fact that she didn’t want his money made me wonder if his criminal activities were the reason she was opposed to it. If she knew I was a drug dealer, would she walk out right now? I didn’t want to lie, but I didn’t want to ruin this before we even had a chance.
Thankfully, she didn’t ask. “I might have to get a second job too, but I’m sure my reasons are different from yours.”