For Richer, For Poorer （To Have or To Hold, Book Two）

CHAPTER 9

　　Theo laughed. “Something like that. He’s one of those people that you’ll never get to the bottom of, and if you do, you may wish you hadn’t gone there in the first place.”

　　“How true.” I smiled, taking another sip of wine. “You are observant. Anyway, whilst we’re on the subject, do you have any more inside info that you can dish on the boss?”

　　“Ha, is that what you’ve come out for a drink with me for? To find out your boss’s dirty little secrets?”

　　“Not exactly,” I cringed, wondering if I had gone too far. “It’s just that he knows all of my business, so I wondered whether anyone knew anything about the elusive Mr. Morgan.”

　　“Fair point. He does seem to be the eye that knows all and sees all, yet people know little about him.” He pondered in thought for a moment. “I do know that he was engaged, a few years back.”

　　“Engaged?” I half-gasped, sitting a little more forward in my seat.

　　“Yes, but I don’t really know why that got broken off. Probably something to do with Mr. Morgan being quite a hit with the ladies.” Theo grinned.

　　“So, he’s always got a lot of women on the go, has he?”

　　“Not that I’ve seen, but there’s always women fawning over him. I see that a lot when we’ve been out for lunch… for business meetings and the likes.”

　　“Ah right.”

　　“I thought you may have been in his sights.” Theo smiled.

　　“What do you mean?” I gulped, knocking back a bit more wine.

　　“You’re an attractive woman, Becca, and I hope you don’t mind me saying so. I’m surprised that he hasn’t noticed. Unless he’s now gay.” Theo laughed. “He probably could have the pick of the lot of the male variety as well.”

　　“Ha, no, he isn’t…”

　　Theo raised an eyebrow my way. “Do you know that for certain?”

　　“Er, no, not for certain. But he just doesn’t give me that vibe,” I covered, trying to not blush.

　　“I suppose ladies pick up on all that stuff, more than men do.”

　　“I suppose so. Anyway, we didn’t come out to just talk about my boss. Tell me about yourself.”

　　Theo began talking about his family and friends, and to be honest, it was nice to have someone be so open about their personal information. Theo seemed like a thoroughly nice guy, and I was enjoying the night with him. He told me about his two sisters, his mum and dad, and there seemed to be no ‘cloak and dagger’ about anything going on. It was refreshing.

　　After a couple of drinks, I think Theo could sense that I was beginning to lose my focus due to being exhausted, so we wrapped up our conversation and he drove me back home. Outside the apartment complex, Theo turned to me:

　　“Can I take you out again?” he asked, with that shy expression going on.

　　“Yeah, that would be nice.” I smiled.

　　“How about the cinema, this Friday? And we can have a bite to eat afterwards.”

　　“That sounds lovely.”

　　“Great. I’ll pick you up at around half six. I finish work at five, so it’ll give us both chance to get ready after work.”

　　“That sounds good to me. I’ll see you then.”

　　Reaching forward, he placed a soft kiss on my lips, and although it wasn’t as intense as it previously had been with a certain other male, it was nice, and it was a softer feeling that made me feel comfortable with the person I was with.

　　Giving me a light smile, Theo bid me a goodnight and got back into his car, while I pressed the combination into the keypad to enter the building. Waving goodbye to him, I entered inside the complex and made my way to my apartment.

　　Thinking over the night, my mind sprung back to what Theo had said about Jace being engaged, many moons ago. I suppose it solidified in my mind what I had thought all along; that Jace had only thought of me as a ‘booty call’, and wasn’t interested in committing to me in any way, shape, or form.

　　That did hurt my feelings, in the strangest sense, and I really wasn’t sure why. Well, I did have a slight inclination, as whether I cared to admit it or not, I had become attached to Jace in more ways than one. The heart was a treacherous thing, and I wondered whether the feelings for him would ever pass.

　　Each and every time I saw Jace, it was like I fell for him all over again. No matter how mad I was at him, just one look at his beautiful face and sculpted physique, and I’d forgive him anything. Maybe not ‘anything’, but it didn’t help when my libido got involved and shut my rational thinking up.

　　My thoughts then drifted off to the unknown lady that Jace had been engaged to, and I would’ve bet money that she looked like some sort of supermodel. I couldn’t picture him with anyone else, and that’s why I had often wondered why he was with the likes of me. Yes, I wasn’t the ugliest of the bunch, but I wasn’t catwalk standards, and with Jace and his ‘image’, I could only imagine that he would pick someone of those dizzying heights.

　　I wonder why they broke it off?

　　Maybe she had had enough of his womanising ways, or his half-answers to everything. I could imagine that being around that for too long was grating. It got on my nerves when I’d spent five minutes around it. But the s*x was sooo good…

　　Shut up, Becca.

　　Perhaps my leaving a guy at the altar because of his cheating ways, had given Jace the accurate impression that I wouldn’t put up with anyone who behaved that way. That could actually be it – maybe he knew that I wouldn’t stand for his womanising behaviour, so I’d immediately been put in the ‘s*x zone’, to call up whenever he felt a little frisky.

　　By all accounts, Jace was quite the ladies’ man, and I’d seen myself the way the women fawned over him. He drew the attention of a crowd in wherever he went, and how would I have ever competed with that? He probably just liked the thrill of the chase, because I was probably the first woman who hadn’t fallen at his feet. I’d just fallen headfirst into a pool, but that’s a different and more cringeworthy story.

　　I was driving myself nuts with this mental narration, so making sure Kitty was okay and heading off to bed, she snuggled up at the side of me whilst I let my mind drift over the exhausting day that I had just experienced.

　　Jace had probably done me a favour by rejecting me and not wanting to commit, because I don’t think I could be put through the ringer again. Yes, I was a little heartbroken due to his rejection, but it was better off that it had happened now, rather than months or even years down the line.

　　Theo was such a nice man, and if Jace had held a claim to me, I never would have met him, or had the option to go out on a date with him. Yes, it was definitely time to enjoy myself and see what the future held. I was footloose and fancy free, and any other notion of selling my old property and pesky exes turning up at my work-door, could hold off for now.

　　I was way too tired to be bothered.