Blind Date with an Underboss

Chapter 3: Red Wine, and Arrow

Katie's POV

“Can I get you started with anything?" the waiter, who had just helped me to take a seat after many failed attempts at doing it myself, asked me.

“What would you recommend?" I asked him, sounding more confident than I felt.

“I recommend a glass of Chateau Lafite." A new male voice came from the poorly-lit entrance of the intimate, private dining nook.

I know the hostess insisted that it was a room, but the more time I had spent inside of it, the more it felt like a small hollow inside of a cave. I could just make out the outline of the man's broad shoulders and tapered waist. The nook was growing even smaller in size.

“That's an excellent choice, Mr. Russo," the waiter said. “Two glasses?"

“We'll take the bottle, Ben, thank you." The man who Ben referred to as Mr. Russo walked into the nook. His tall frame barely made it through the low ceilings.

“Excellent. I'll bring it right in," Ben said as he exited the room.

The mystery man sat down in front of me. The candlelight danced dark shadows across his sharp jaw and deep eyes. My mind took longer than I'd like to admit catching up to the feast it was partaking in to understand whom it was devouring.

“Arrow?" I whispered his name like a dumb question.

“Yes, and you must be Katie," Arrow said. Just when I thought his devastatingly handsome face couldn't get any more devastating, he smiled. Not the corner-lifting smirk in his photo. No. A completely face-lighting smile. His bright smile shined brighter than any candle could ever dare to burn.

“I am Katie," I said, stupefied, which earned me another smile.

“Relax, I'm not going to bite you," Arrow said as Ben came back with two glasses of deep red wine, placing the bottle on the table in the center. Arrow nodded his head at Ben as I took a sip of the wine. Blackberry and other rich flavors burst across my tongue.

“This is amazing," I said to Arrow in complete shock.

“It should be. It's two-hundred thousand a glass," Arrow said, casually taking a sip of his wine.

“What?" I said, completely dumbfounded. “You're joking."

“It's ranked number five of the most expensive wines ever sold. But in my opinion, it should be number one."

“You could buy three of my…" I said, stopping short.

“Three of your what's?" Arrow asked, a softer smirk playing on his lips.

“I was going to say degrees. You could buy three of my degrees."

“You never did tell me what your degree was in," Arrow stated, leaning back in his seat, casual, as if he was completely at home in this dimly-lit nook sipping on a two-hundred thousand a glass of wine.

“I may have fudged a little on my bio on the dating site… I didn't graduate from the University of Chicago with my degree in finances…" I started feeling the hives creep up my neck.

“I know," he said simply, his voice holding no anger or judgment. “I make it a habit to look into the women I meet for dates. One in my position can't afford to truly go on a blind date. Don't worry I didn't dig too much to where there's no mystery, just enough to know that you weren't some deranged stalker."

“You're not mad?" I asked surprised. “I lied."

“In my life, I have known many men, and women for that matter, who have lied to me, and about more than how much money they've made and what job they do. They have had a variety of reasons. I've minded with that, but not with you. I have a feeling you could rip my heart from my chest and rob me blind and I would still crawl back for more," Arrow said. His smile faded from his face, his dark eyes shone with such intensity that it should frighten me, but it didn't. It intrigued me.

“I'm a teacher. Kindergarten, specifically," I said, answering his initial question, unable to dig into his proclamation, his boldness with his feelings making the butterflies already a swarming flurry with excitement and anticipation.

“Have you always wanted to be a kindergarten teacher?" Arrow asked me.

“Since I was a kindergartner myself. There was something about what happens in kindergarten that was magical to me. What happens in the classroom becomes the kid's initial impression of the rest of their academic life, and I wanted to be a part of that," I said forcing the moisture back from the surface of my eyes.

“And who was that teacher who made that epic impression on your life?" Arrow asked taking another sip of wine.

“My mother," I said simply, following suit with another sip of my own.

“Does she still teach?" Arrow asked leaning forward.

“No. I mean she did, up until just recently. She and my father were both educators in the Cook County School District. They just retired this past summer," I replied.

Ben and another staff member walked into the nook with handfuls of plates with a variety of mouthwatering flavors, interrupting the conversation at the perfect time. It gave me time to pause and gather my emotions back in. There was something about my parents that made me emotional.

“I hope you don't mind, I called ahead and ordered with the chef. I assumed you didn't have any food aversions or allergies but if you do, please don't hesitate to say something and they will make adjustments. There's a beef, fish, and chicken option for both of us to sample," Arrow said as Ben placed my plate in front of me, while the other staff member placed the other plate in front of Arrow.

“This is the most extravagant experience I have ever had," I said, looking at the beautifully-plated food. It looked more like art than a meal.

“Well then, Katie, may this be just the start of extravagant experiences," Arrow said raising his wineglass.

“To the start," I said raising my glass to meet his.

Arrow smiled at me, a beautiful endearing smile full of hope and charm, which I couldn't help but match with a smile of my own.

There was something about this man in front of me, dressed in his fine designer dress pants, and only what I could assume to be pure leather shoes. His dress shirt, that had to be expensive, was rolled up to his forearms with intricate tattoos peeking. Even his assumed name Arrow wanted you to see him as intimidating, and to some terrifying.

But the man sitting in front of me was letting his mask slip, and underneath it was someone who was like me, someone who was craving different, something of their own, not what was given to them. My dad used to tell me if you wanted to know someone, remove them from their environment, that's when you get to see who they truly are. Since I couldn't physically remove Arrow from his environment, the next best thing was to ask him what that environment looked like.

“If you could be anywhere in the world, and call it home, where would it be?" I asked.

“I've had this dream since I was a kid of waking up one day to living in this house on a lake, surrounded by nothing forest and nature," he responded as he took a bite of the steak sitting in front of him.

“Not a city guy?" I asked him.

“The city holds too many expectations, let's say. Too many people wanting you to do things, be places. This mystical lake house is somewhere where I could just be me," he responded

“And in the city, you're...?" I asked

“I'm Arrow," he said, sounding slightly sad.

Unsure of what to say next, I forked off a piece of flaky fish and placed it in my mouth. The flavors exploded in my mouth like fireworks. I was unable to hold back a moan of pleasure at its flavors, and instantly felt embarrassed at the sound.

I looked to Arrow, his fork paused at his mouth in the aftermath of the sound that had unwillingly leaked out of my soul. Arrow's eyes met mine, and the look wasn't something I had seen in their dark shadows. Where before I had seen kindness and charm, was pure heat and attraction. A new sense of anticipation sparked in my soul as new butterflies swarmed.