Today had been what one might call a bad day. I lost a business deal and to make matters worse, my car broke down on the way home. I decided to take trip to a bar to get in one or two drinks while it was being fixed.
Seated at the bar. Tequila in hand, Bobbed my head to the music. I found myself replaying the days event. I notice a woman a few seats away. Blond hair, flushed cheeks, blue eyes, red lipstick she kept glancing at me. I had just counted her fifth shot when a drunk slid into the seat next to her, holding a bottle of vodka almost empty.
“Hey. You sexy looking thing, how about we excuse ourselves from here and head into the back for some action”
“Not interested” I heard her say. Turning away.
“Aw, Come on lady. It’s not everyday we get to see people like you around here” he places his hand on her shoulder. I notice the look of disgust flash across her face.
“She said, she’s not interested” I say pushing off my seat and walking toward them.
“Mind your business Turk, me and this lady here are just trying to get to know each other, ain’t that right” he places a hand on her knee. She shrugs it off.
I flex my fingers and collect the bottle from him, placing it on the table. “When a lady says she’s not interested, I believe she means it, I suggest you get the hell out of here, unless you are looking to cause a scene”
His eyes flicker between the lady and me “Relaxxx” he says raising his hands in defeat and getting up to leave “come on man, just joking around” he takes his bottle with him.
“Thank you” she let out a breath.
Sliding into the stool beside her “A lot of jack asses at the bar, you should be careful, did you come alone?”.
“Pretty much”
I nodded towards her drink “Rough day, yeah” .
She exhales with a small laugh “This?, Well you can say that again. I feel embarrassed now. This is a very wrong first impression”
“No judgement here” I smirk. “Sometimes a little tequila is necessarily or a lot”
She laughs
“I am Donald” I extend a hand.
“I am Rebecca, nice to meet you” she takes it.
“Are you new here?, I mean I come to this bar a lot and I have never really seen you. Not that I must know every single person who troops in and out of here. But still”
“Not really, just bars are not my thing, on a normal day this would be the last place one would find me”
“Oh yeah, so what makes today special”
“I guess I just wanted something, different and exciting”
“At a bar?” I arch a brow. “You must be living the life” I joke.
She smirks, twirling the rim of her glasses. “You’d be surprised”
She smiles. “You won’t be seeing me here again that’s for sure.”
She glances at the time and back at me.
“I should go”
“Already?”I take a sip watching her.
”yeah, fun as this is, I have a feeling I won’t enjoy tequila as much in the morning”.
she scoops her bag in her hand and makes to leave almost tripping.
I support her with my hand “Woah, I don’t recommend drunk driving”
Startled, She places her hand lightly on my arm “Don’t worry, I have a cab” she winks before turning away.
I watch as she walks towards the exit, struggling to remain steady, the dim bar lights illuminating her blond hair.
Outside, I see the glow of headlights as a car pulls up. She nearly trips again but steadies herself with the door handle.
Nice body. I think.
“Come on Donald” I mutter slapping my forehead “focus”.
I get home late, I had stopped by a restaurant for dinner. The first odd thing I notice is how easily the front door swings open.
I stop
I could have sworn I locked it before leaving.
Must have been the house keeper. The only one who had access to my house.
Over the years I had learnt to keep few people close.
I feel unease. A feeling a can’t seem to shake off. I live in an area surrounded by trees, very secluded. It wasn’t something someone would just stumble opoun by mistake. And I don’t give just anyone my adress.
Pushing the thought aside. , I take a shower trying to shake off exhaustion.Then head to my study to perform my nightly routine of going through reports for the day’s work.
Then I notice it.
One of the desk drawers is open.
A realization hit me.
Someone has been in here.
It was most definitely not the house keeper, my study was always off limits.
Anger welling up in me I take heavy strides to the desk. I pull open the drawer fully. The stack of cash I keep inside is gone.
Quickly my mind drifts.
The safe!!!.
I spin around and walk toward the hidden compartment. Sliding the cupboard above the safe aside. I punch in the code.
The lock clicks open. The safe is scattered.
I Rumage through the contents. Documents are still here.
My heart drops.
Something is missing.
Realization clicks in.
The envelope. Someone was in here, they knew exactly what to take. This wasn’t Random.
Fuck.
I dial up Mike. My grip on the phone tight.
“Did any of your rookies come to my house?”
“What sort of a question is that”
“Someone broke into my house took some cash and the envelopes missing from my safe, you are the only one who knows the combination”
“Well it wasn’t me, bro come on. It’s just an envelope, I really do not understand what you are so worked up about”
I could hear loud music in the back ground probably at a club.
“It’s not just an envelope, this contains vital information about us, our real names. Come on bro”
“It’s probably nothing and if it is, we would handle it, must have been some kid who was playing around with friends and they see an exciting house like yours. Who wouldn’t want to explore.”
“And my code?”
He laughs. “ a safe is the easiest thing to break into, we do it all the time, go to sleep Donald, we would handle it”
I sigh. “I hope that is what it is”
After hanging up I head to bed, the image of Rebecca walking towards the exit flashed through my mind. I smile.
Cling.
My phone vibrates on the night stand. Probably Mike trying to tease me.
If grab the phone. My breath catches.
The message on my phone sends a shiver down my spine.
I sit up, fully awake now. Staring at the words. Heart pounding. This is no longer about just a stolen envelope. This is something worse.