Are you my Adonis?

Pain in the Neck

I spent the rest of the weekend drinking and crying. I wasn’t proud of it. I had ignored my phone the entire time. The most important man in my life thought I was a shallow gold-digger. The pain started in my chest and spread all over my body. I hated how he still had a hold of me like this. I shouldn’t care; he belonged to someone else. I was angrier at myself for still having deep feelings for him. I should have let him go when Sally and he made it official. Maybe sooner.

When I turned my phone back on, there were hundreds of messages and texts from Mom, Dad, Jacob, Devin, Sally, and Bill. I ignored the messages from Sally and Bill. I didn’t have the bandwidth to deal with them. I know how Bill would be. He’d apologize but would excuse himself. Sally would probably defend him and gaslight me into forgiving him.

Mom and Dad’s messages were careful worries. They asked about me without trying to probe. I smiled knowing they cared. Jacob’s messages were full of sass, and as usual, he dug up the dirt on why I left the gala like that. His messages turned from worry to cursing Bill with butt lice. I texted him I needed a quiet morning at work and that I would talk to him later when I’ve sorted myself out. He grumbled, but he knew that was what I needed.

Devin’s texts were a mix of sweet words, gifs of cute animals, and occasional scientific journal links. I smiled and texted him good morning, which he answered right away. I thanked him for the gifs and the links. He didn’t ask why I didn’t answer my phone for a day and a half. He just seemed to be happy to text me. He was a nice distraction while I tried to make myself presentable.

I had put myself together enough to go to work in the meantime. Work was good; work kept my mind busy. I was looking forward to Jacob’s coffee. My heels clacked down the hall to my office. I greeted the employees who were brave enough to greet me. I knew I was projecting a dark shadow right now. The office would be gossiping and wondering whose project was messed up and who was going to get the ax.

As I walked into my office, I sensed movement at my coffee table. I bristled as I saw James Winthrop on my couch drinking my coffee. How did he get past security and my assistants? I gave a big sigh and put on my neutral face. I took off my coat and stored it in the closet. I walked to the couch and stood over him.

“Mr. Winthrop, what business brings you here?” I asked with an even tone. I was going to have a bigger headache this morning.

“Nothing really, Mia,” he said smoothly. “I just wanted to see you.”

“You saw me now, please leave,” I said with a bored voice. I pushed the intercom on the coffee table. “Jacob, please make me another cup of coffee and have security escort Mr. Winthrop out.”

“Whoa, wait….” James pleaded. “I really wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?” I asked

“Adonis Romance Services,” he said as if it was no big deal.

“So, you want to talk about your company that swindled me out of 15,000 dollars in one night?” I arched my eyebrow at him.

“Swindled… You’re the one who didn’t show up to your session,” he reasoned. “Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot. I am really looking forward to our date. I want to get to know you a little better before I take you out.”

“That is completely unnecessary,” I stated. “It is one date as an obligation for the charity. We could go eat at a hot dog stand for all I care.”

“No, I want to take you out on a proper date. I researched you. You never dated. You don’t have any history. It’s not fair you’ve been holding out of Bill Delacroix. You deserve an amazing night out.”

“Why try so hard?” I asked bluntly. I didn’t understand why he was so interested in this date.

“Well, by profession, I’m supposed to give women nights that they’ll remember,” he explained. “I also am genuinely intrigued by you. “

“How so?” I rolled my eyes. It’s not like I haven’t heard him use that line on other women before.

“Really,” he looked sincere, but I knew it was all an act. “I never met a woman who is so strong yet so vulnerable before. The night you called the service, I was surprised. I have seen you at parties and get-togethers; you always seem aloof but strong enough to stand on your own. But the woman who was on the other end of the line was a sad and heartbroken girl.”

“So, you thought I needed a dashing prince to sweep me off my feet?” I asked sarcastically.

“No, I wanted to ease your pain. I wanted to get close to you. I wanted to know the real you,” he said almost convincingly.

“Wow, they should give you an Oscar,” I said while clapping. “If I didn’t know you, I might have been fooled.”

“Really, Mia. Your emotions are wasted on an i***t like Bill Delacroix,” he said as he reached for my hand. I pulled back and gave him a stern look.

“What I do with my emotions is none of your business,” I said in a monotone.

“Actually, it is my business, since you think I swindled you out of 15,000 dollars,” he said smoothly. “I feel like I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain. Think of this as customer service.”

“And you personally whoring yourself out to me is part of customer satisfaction?” I said without flinching. “If that’s the case, I’d rather apologize to the Adonis that waited for me that night.”

“Well… about that,” he said hesitantly. “I was the Adonis waiting for you in your suite. I felt that you needed my personal attention.”

“So you’re saying that you’re not just a pimp but a gigolo too?” I asked without really wanting an answer.”

“That’s not what an Adonis is. Can you give me time to explain?” he asked earnestly.

I sighed; I really didn’t need this right now. “You can make an appointment for the date with my assistant. “

He stood up. His face was twisted in anger and a bit of sadness. He walked out of my office with a stiff posture instead of his usual lazy ease. I sat behind my desk and waited for Jacob to come with my schedule. I looked again at the doors. Maybe I was too harsh with James.

Jacob came in with another steaming cup of coffee. I took it from him and sipped. I sighed as the warmth spread through my chest. I saw on Jacob’s face that he really wanted to talk about Bill and about James. But he took one look of my face and went into professional mode. He and I discussed the schedule, and he left. I did talk to him about James and how he got into my office. He explained that James breezed in with his charm and claimed he was the one who won a date at the auction. Kathy, one of my assistants, thought he came to discuss the details of the date and let him into my office. Jacob, at the time, had stepped away to talk to a manager at the research department about the presentation later that day. I told Jacob to demote Kathy and hire someone else for her position. I ended our conversation there. I then started on the big pile of paperwork on my desk. This is what I needed now.