Chapter 4
Walking towards the couches I notice Xander is wearing a navy blue dress shirt that is somewhat buttoned. Below he is wearing slim black pants and black boots. His hair is swept loosely to one side. It's always unique to see him outside of work whenever I attend these openings with him.
"Hey, Natalia I'm glad you came." He says gesturing me to sit on the couch next to him.
"Thanks and who are all these people?" I ask politely while I sit down.
"Over here we have Reggie the club manager and his assistant."
He says pointing to the young gentlemen in the corner speaking to one another.
"And over there we have the San Francisco Times and her photographer."
He waves towards the right where a blonde woman and man stand looking like they are trying to get their things together.
"Well, I think the turn out for the club is much larger than anticipated. The line was wrapped around the block when I came in." I say.
He nods in agreement. "Yeah, It's going to be a successful night." He confidently says.
The journalists and the photographer head towards Xander to start their interview.
They begin asking a few questions and take a few photos for their article.
While there isn't much for me to do during his interview, I ask for a glass of red wine from a server nearby.
Moments later, as I'm going through my drink I noticed that the journalist and the photographer leaving. Xander soon joins me on the couch.
"The club is about to open do you want to join me downstairs for the ceremony?"
He asks and I nod in agreement. We both head towards the main hallway where we are greeted with a crowd of photographers wanting to get a photo of Xander.
Once the ribbon cutting and brief speech is taken care of, the photographers leave.
Seconds later the club is open to the public and groups of people arrive ordering drinks left and right.
"Do you want to get some drinks at the bar?" He asks in my direction. At first, I'm taken off guard as we rarely get drinks at openings and the times we do it's for appearance.
"Yeah, that would be great," I answer back. Drinks with Xander is a rare opportunity that I might not get.
We head towards the bar and sit at two available seats facing away from the dance floor.
While we settle down into our seats Xander orders two glasses of their red wine.
The club atmosphere is still buzzing with many people ordering drinks and dancing to the loud club atmosphere.
Xander leans closer to me to talk over the music.
"You look pretty tonight." He compliments and his words send warmth through my body.
"Thanks, and you don't look so bad yourself." I smile as I tuck a loose strand of hair away from my face. I rarely get compliments from any guy let alone Xander.
He chuckles, "I had doubts that you wouldn't come." He says.
"Yeah, I'm glad I did," I say in agreement. I usually don't go to club openings because Xander usually takes his wife to those functions but I guess for tonight she didn't want to show up.
Our drinks are set down in front of us and I take a sip from the glass. I noticed the taste of this red wine versus the other one I left upstairs, it's completely different. Knowing Xander he must have ordered their finest red wine just because he can.
"I feel like I missed you all-day Friday because of my stupid meetings." He says after taking a drink from his glass.
"I guess you can say that but I was also busy," I comment back.
"Good thing I'm making it up to you." He smirks and my pulse quickens.
Three hours later, I have slowly been sipping 2 and a half glasses of wine and Xander is on his 4th drink. We are still sitting at the bar laughing and talking about anything at this point.
"So that's when the pilot forgot about Olivia's luggage back in New York just moments before we took off."
He says laughing at his own story. I notice Xander's behavior change from a few hours ago.
I'm glad that I get to see this side of him where he doesn't care what he says.
I smile while my eyes drift at the clock behind the bar and notice that it's nearly midnight. Time has definitely passed.
"What's wrong?" He asks noticing my sudden silence.
"Nothing it's midnight and we've been sitting here for nearly 3 hours," I say thinking out loud. Usually, I don't say things without thinking but for some reason I am. It must be from all the wine I drank.
"Really? It doesn't feel like time has past whenever I'm with you."
He says before sipping the last of his wine.
His comment leaves me speechless but I try to not let it affect me.
As soon as the bartender comes back I order two glasses of water knowing that I'm a little buzzed and Xander might need to sober up to go home to his wife.
"How about we stay for another hour?" He asks while drinking from his glass.
"Sure. Do you want me to call your driver to pick you up?" I ask.
"No need to I drove here myself." He says and this surprises me usually he has his driver take him everywhere.
"Oh okay. How about I drive you back? Besides, I drank less than you." I say pointing to my half-empty glass of wine. Over a few years in college, I was able to know my limits.
"Okay." He says looking down at his glass. I just hope Olivia doesn't blow up on me when I get to his penthouse. I've never been inside his home before but I've been outside his building a couple of times to hand him some office work.
The hour passes with small talk and him paying for the rest of our drinks despite my protest to pay for my own half.
"Ready?" He asks after getting his suit jacket from the coat check.
"Yes," I say after retrieving my coat and bag from earlier.
As we head outside in the parking lot I noticed a black Tesla that is parked in the far right corner of the parking lot. Of course, he owns a Tesla.
"Here," Xander says while handing me the keys to his car, at first he had to show me how to turn his car despite being more or less sober.
I thank him for his help and pull out of the parking lot.
I'm glad that I memorized where Xander lives just from previous times I came by.
As I pull closer to his street I ask where to park and he says that there is a parking structure under his building.
After I have gotten through the structure and parked I turn off the car to say "Well I'll see you Monday, I'm going to see if I can get an Uber to take me home."
"No need to why don't you head upstairs? I'm pretty sure your phone is dead." He suggests and just like that, I noticed my phone is at 5% in battery life.
"Okay but I'm afraid your wife wouldn't want me to intrude," I say half-heartedly. I'm not a confrontational person especially when it comes to Olivia.
"Olivia? No, she's in Europe doing god knows what and won't be back till next week." He simply says.
"Oh, I thought she was home from her previous trip," I say trying to rack my brain from the last time she left.
"One can wish she stayed in one place." He says looking down at his shoes.
"Oh." Is all I say, as I get out of the car and Xander joins me.
We both walk in silence towards the elevator that leads to his penthouse.
Being on the top floor Xander has to punch in a code to get in and within seconds we are in front of his door.
Xander opens the door with his keys that I hand back and he allows me to step in.
As I make my way inside, I'm in shock. Inside, the entryway leads to a large living area and a kitchen across from it.
Behind the living area is a balcony that gives a panoramic view of downtown.
Off towards the side of the entryway are stairs that could possibly lead to more rooms.
His penthouse is neatly decorated in various shades of blue and grey decor.
"Wow!" I say under my breath.
He smiles showing me to the living room, "Do you want some water? Or food I'm pretty sure my kitchen staff can cook you dinner." He offers.
"Water is fine with me and let me get it I'm pretty sure you're still intoxicated from early," I say heading towards the large kitchen.
I open the fridge and noticed various bottled drinks and food.
I soon find what I'm looking for and head back towards the living room.
I notice Xander is sitting on the couch waiting for me.
"I charged your phone for you." He says pointing towards the little charging station by the right side of the couch.
"Thanks," I say, I feel uncomfortable being in this situation with Xander but he is my boss and he is being too kind for me.
"You know that Olivia and I live separately from each other." He says taking notice of my discomfort.
"I didn't know that. Where does she stay if she isn't here?" I ask in curiosity.
"In another penthouse on the other side of town. I have various properties but I like to keep this space my own." He says. I know that Xander and Olivia are married but I never knew they lived separately. I Just wish he wasn't married at all, but I know I could never have a chance with him.
"It's weird living alone and being married." He says looking at the floor.
"Not really," I quietly say and without thinking I say, " but I can see in your case why you do it."
Instantly, he looks at me and before I can say anything I say, "Sorry I wasn't thinking." I say quickly.
"Don't apologize and it is true." He says.
In my mind, I always thought there was a part of him that had wanted to love her but now I'm starting to realize his feelings for her aren't in that way. I wonder if there are any feelings towards me even though it's just a wild thought.