Chapter 2
2007 Words
"We've been engaged for a couple months now, I think we should start thinking about wedding plans." He brings up.
"What do you want to talk about? I don't want to rush anything," I squeeze his hand.
"I just want to know where your head is at," he says "We don't need to plan anything but I would like to see what you're thinking."
"I want to get married in the summer," I say "then we can even have the ceremony outside."
"Well then we don't have to worry about it for a while, but we do need to think about Mia Alesky's Halloween party tomorrow night." He says.
"Do we have to go?" I moan, Halloween and Christmas parties were always too chaotic, they were only times of the year where everyone let their professional side melt away and have fun. However, they usually went out of hand very fast.
"It'll be fun, we can leave as soon as you want to," he compromises. I eventually give in.
The rest of the night passes quickly and Alexander eventually ends up going back to his house. We decided not to live together until after we got married to have something new to look forward to after the wedding, even though we both spent nights at each other's houses frequently.
I decide to look in my closet, deciding on what to wear now rather than rush myself the next day.
The last time I had gone to a Halloween party was with Xavier, 5 years ago, as his fiancé.
The party where he cheated on me. That was the first red flag of many, and I ignored very single one.
I may have not been the fairest to him, hell I was probably the person he hated the most right now. But I knew for a fact that I had never been disloyal to him when he was mine.
I skim through all the dresses I owned, I didn't want to go in a costume but something simple and casual. Me and Alexander had decided not to do a couples costume, I hated the idea of that since the last party.
I call Jodie, hoping to ask her what I should wear.
"Hello, what do you want?" She says, rushed.
"Are you busy?" I ask, not wanting to disturb.
"I'm out with Leroy, can it wait?" She says, apologetically.
"No worries it isn't important." I end the call.
I finally decide on a red dress, which I would pair with a red pair of devil horns. After having everything ready for tomorrow, I get some sleep, I had nothing urgent to do at the office tomorrow and the party wasn't until the evening so I could sleep peacefully with no alarms.
The next day, I woke up in the afternoon and after a long shower and eating some food it was already time for me to get ready. I dry my hair and add in some leave in conditioner before tackling my makeup.
I decide to go for a dark eye look paired with a bright red lipstick that matched my dress. It took a while to put on my dress since it was tighter than I expected it to be, but there was no other place I could wear it without getting any judgemental looks. It was a silky material that hugged my figure very well. My big curls contrasted the tight dress and I put on the horns and red heels before leaving.
I get an Uber to the club that Mia had rented out for the party planning on meeting Alexander there.
When I arrive I see the party is already in motion with people dancing and drinking. I scan the room but Alexander is nowhere to be seen. "Hey, where are you?" I call and ask him.
"Sorry babe, there's an emergency at the office I'll be an hour or so late." He says and ends the call before I could respond. I groan and make my way to the bar, deciding to wait it out until he gets here.
"Can I get a gin and tonic." I ask the bartender after I've sat down, most of the bar stools are empty as everyone is holding their drink as they dance. I sip quietly on my drink, swaying my body to the echo of music, which was barely audible from the bar.
"Is this seat taken?" A very familiar voice asks. Without even batting an eye I already know exactly who it is.
I act like I couldn't hear what he said, casually sipping on my drink and ignoring him.
His ice cold hand rests on my exposed shoulder, "I asked...is this seat taken?"
I put my hand onto his, holding it there for a moment, before pushing it off of my shoulder. Using the heel of my shoe, I kick the barstool next to mine out from underneath the counter, exposing it for him to sit down. "Be my guest." I mutter.
"Engaged and all alone?" He asks in an increasingly sarcastic way "where is that little fiancé of yours?"
His words were demeaning and irritating but I didn't want him to walk away, so I talked, bluntly answering his questions.
"He's running late." I say.
He hooks his foot around one of the legs of my barstool, and turn it around so I'm facing him. His foot stays secure around the leg of my chair, just in case I turn back.
His eyes have a glint as he eyes me up and down, making me feel incredibly self conscious. I look down at my feet, trying to get my hair to cover my face.
He places a finger underneath my chin, lifting my head up so my eyes met his.
I take this moment to make myself familiar with his face again. His sharp jaw was still visible despite the slight stubble he had grown. His eyes were mysteriously unfathomable under the low lit setting of the club.
I see a tease of a new tattoo on his neck peak out of the collar of his shirt.
"Are we meant to be the devil tonight, Miss Davis?" His smooth voice asks, I swallow the lump inside of my throat and nod, his eyes glaring into mine.
"What are you supposed to be?" I ask quietly, he's wearing the same usual black suit as always.
He uses his other hand to pull a pair of sunglasses out his pocket. "Men in black." He says.
"R-right." I stutter, his presence suddenly became so overwhelming that I couldn't even talk properly.
"I'll be keeping you company until Mr. Fiancé is back, is that alright with you?" He asks so compellingly that I have to agree.
CHAPTER 4
XAVIER POV
My Uber stops outside the club, the techno music echoing through the sidewalk and through me. I pay the driver, letting him keep the change and walk into the club.
It was full of people I already knew - either privately or as business associates. I hear a few 'heys' and 'hellos' as I make my way to the bar. I sit down at one end, ordering a couple drinks.
I was begging for time to pass quicker, I didn't even want to be here but Leroy made me go, under the pretence that he would come with me but ditched me last minute to be with his girlfriend.
I look round, the long bar was mostly empty except for someone sitting at the other end. Squinting my eyes, I try to make out who it is.
Lia.
Sitting there, silently and oblivious to the fact that every eye was trying to sneak a look at her. From here I could see her tight red dress, encasing her perfect body, and her wild curls sprawling down her back.
Looking around, I can't see Chopra anywhere, so I make my way to her.
"Is this seat taken," I ask her, casually, referring to the stool next to her. She either can't hear me or pretends she can't as continues to sip on her drink.
I smile to myself, her disinterested attitude wasn't something I loved, but it meant that she wasn't giving anyone else her time of day either.
I see this as a perfect opportunity to finally touch her, however briefly, for what felt like the first time in my lifetime. Placing my hand on her shoulder, to get her attention.
I feel revitalised as my hand touches her warm skin. She shrinks at my touch but she doesn't push me away just yet. "I asked...is this seat taken?" I repeat myself, asserting some dominance in our conversation.
She places her hand over mine, for a moment, before pushing it off of her body. She pulls the chair out with her leg and gesturing for me to sit.
An involuntary victory smirk places itself on my lips, 6 months ago she would degrade me and then tell me to 'f**k off' but today she was pulling the seat out for me. This was progress.
"Engaged and all alone? Where is that little fiancé of yours?" I ask her, hoping he wasn't going to be coming here, so I could have her alone just for tonight.
"He's running late." She mutters, my hope cracks - he was coming but he wasn't here yet.
I place my foot around the leg of her chair turning it so she faces me, shamelessly drinking in her beauty. I'm silenced for a moment at just how ethereal she is.
Her perfect lips are coated in a killer red and her eyes are painted darker, making her sensational and hard to resist.
She realises my unapologetic gawking at her, as a soft blush appears across her cheeks, and she looks down at her feet.
I lift her face back up, wanting to kiss her so badly. Looking away from her lips, otherwise I probably wouldn't be able to control myself. My attention goes to her hair which had two horns sticking out.
"Are we supposed to be the devil tonight, Miss Davis?" I ask her. She's frozen for a moment but then slowly nods, as if in some trance.
I try not to feel to proud that I could still make her feel this way, even if I can - she's not mine anymore.
I'm about to get up to leave, she probably doesn't want me here. I take my hand away from her face about to get up when I hear:
"What are you supposed to be?" She asks, her voice barely audible but she said it, and I couldn't turn down a conversation with her.
I take the pair of sunglasses Leroy he shoved onto my face out of my pocket "men in black."
"Right."
At this point I figured this is the most I'll ever get to talk to her outside of a business meeting or conference room so I decide to stay.
"I'll be keeping you company until Mr. Fiancé is back, is that alright with you?" I ask her and she nods, placing her feet on the footrest of my stool rather than her own, so her legs are sitting between mine.
"Congratulations on the Altec deal," I say, struggling to find a topic to talk about with her.
"Like I said," she sips her drink "you could've easily gotten that deal if you wanted it. That kid wanted as much money as he could get."
"Isn't that why everyone wants to get into business?" I say.
"Not me. I wanted to make my mother proud-" she stops abruptly as soon as she realises she's talking about her mother "would you have even gotten into business if it wasn't for your dad?" She changes the topic.
"I don't know," I pause for a second thinking about what she's asked "I didn't even think there were other careers for me."
She laughs softly at what I say, even though I didn't intend for it to be funny.
- Writer
