7. Jess #2
“Okay, well as a member of the male population I will say this: Men suck. All men suck. We just have a scale from less suck to major suck,” Bennet said, leaning in on the table.
I scoffed. “But not you, right?”
Bennet shook his head. “Oh, no. I suck too. Right babe?”
Brayonna smirked and took his hand. “Yes. And I love you despite your suckage. Which is minimal.”
“She’s being generous,” Bennet said, shaking his head. “But I will say that my suckwad radar is pretty good. All I’m going to say is, I’m picking up minimal suckage from Daniel.”
I swallowed my bite of turkey and shook my head. “Our first encounter started with me throwing myself at him while he was in character. An act he was putting on for his own career. He was a fake. It was a one-night stand. Nothing more. It’s not going to happen.”
“And yet, you’re having dinner with him,” Bray said thoughtfully. Then, in perfect sync, both Bray and Bennet pressed their index fingers to their temples, striking poses of deep thought as they let out a prolonged, “Hmmmm.”
I snorted half a laugh. “I’m picking up some major suckage from the both of you. Don’t you two have panels to prep for?”
“Yes,” Bray said, getting up and giving me a kiss on the cheek. “Call me after you see him.”
“Only if you promise not to give me crap about it.”
“Oh, I’m giving you crap, and you will call me anyway.”
After they left, I walked the convention floor until my panel on women authors in fantasy started.
It was at the end of the day, so I didn’t have the standing-room crowd from the day before, but I also didn’t have anyone showing up who I had inadvertently slept with or caused any viral controversies.
The panel ended a bit early, so I headed directly to Kao’s.
The restaurant was busy, but apparently Daniel had made reservations.
They brought me to the table, and I ordered a French 75.
Probably not the cocktail you should get at a Chinese restaurant, but the waiter didn’t seem to mind.
I pulled out an anthology of my grandmother’s writings I always kept with me to read whenever I felt off balance or in need of comfort.
However, when I read one of my favorites, A Circle of Crows, all I could picture was Daniel as Tyrst’an.
All his dialogue had Daniel’s tone and pitch.
After reading a couple of paragraphs, I had to stop, frustrated that I couldn’t even find solace in my usual routine.
Daniel entered the restaurant as soon as I tucked the book away.
He was dressed casually. Jeans and a collared shirt untucked, sleeves rolled up to his forearms. His hair wasn’t as highly styled as it was before.
It was as if he showered and used his fingers to make it look decent.
I didn’t see Tyrst’an this time or have a flashback to the night before.
I only saw him, and I had to admit he was extremely handsome.
This made it very difficult to be irritated with him.
I took a sip of my drink as I watched him.
He embraced and chatted with what appeared to be the owner of the restaurant before he headed to our table.
As he stepped through the restaurant, a brief image flashed in my mind of him wearing his leather pants.
The thought of it alone made me choke on my cocktail.
Luckily, I recovered gracefully enough before he arrived at the table.
“Do you make friends everywhere you go, or do you just know everyone?” I asked as he approached.
He blinked at me in confusion and turned back to see what I was referring to. He chuckled. “A little bit of both, I suppose. Mission Verde used to be my old stomping ground when I was a kid. The studio where we tape isn’t far from here. The owner of Kao’s and I go way back.”
The waiter approached us, but the owner swooped in and shooed him away. He smiled and bowed his head toward us both. “Please, allow me to fix something special for the two of you.”
I blinked, and I froze in place. Something special?
“Don’t go out of your way for me,” Daniel said, shaking his head politely. “Besides, I’m on a strict diet. If I eat anything off the list, I will get punished by my trainer.”
“It will be our secret,” the owner whispered, as if there were spies all around us.
“He always finds out,” Daniel laughed, still shaking his head.
“Then how about for the lady,” the owner said, turning to me.
“Oh, please don’t put yourself through any trouble for me,” I insisted, gripping the menu tightly in my hand.
I had expected to eat a couple of egg rolls and some cashew chicken.
The idea of “something special” terrified me, especially eating in front of a man I had torn apart for all the internet to see.
“Is this because of all the turkey legs?” Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “My metabolism is fine, thank you. I don’t want to be a bother. I’m really not that adventurous of an eater.”
My idea of a culinary adventure involved trying barbecue sauce or honey mustard on dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets instead of ketchup.
“You really should let him take care of you,” Daniel insisted, giving me a smile. “The chef here is from a five-star restaurant back in his country. His food is amazing.”
“That’s okay,” I replied, trying to be polite.
Daniel leaned in, a sly smirk on his lips. His voice dropped low, and he surprised me with a quote from The Gathering. “Come Fiona. Break bread with me and know that in my house you are safe.”
He was playing dirty pool, and he knew it. I tried to get angry about it, but that damn voice….
“Are you paying?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
He smirked. “Absolutely.”
“Break his bank,” I joked, handing the owner my menu.
“I’ll have the plain grilled chicken, steamed broccoli and brown rice,” Daniel said with a touch of regret as he slid the menu to the edge of the table.
“That’s it?” I asked, amazed. When he mentioned training, my thoughts had gone back to the other night, and my hands were running over his… Nope. Not going there.
“I’ve been on a training regimen for weeks,” he explained, with an irritated scowl. “Tyrst’an’s physique is very important to the studio.”
With the mention of the studio, any fleeting thought I had of his physique disappeared. For a brief second it had felt like a date instead of a business dinner. My smile faded, and he noticed.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s fine,” I said, waving him off. I didn’t want this to become a battle in a public place, but he shook his head, his face sincere.
“No. We need to talk about this,” he said seriously.
I took a deep breath and forced a tight smile. “Okay. Go ahead.”
Daniel leaned forward, and I caught a whiff of his cologne. Bergamot. I almost had to pinch myself to keep my head clear.
“I want to start off with my apology,” he said earnestly.
“It better be good,” I scoffed.
“Hear me out,” he leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table.
He rubbed his hand over the bottom of his face.
“I want to apologize again for our… initial meeting,” he said, his voice dropping low.
“I don’t regret what happened that night, but I recognize that it put you in a horrible position on that stage.
I should have been more insistent before we stepped out in front of everyone.
I should have made sure you knew what happened.
If I had any clue that was you dressed as Fiona, I would have been completely up front with you. ”
I bit my lip. He sounded sincere. I reminded myself again that I was the one who initiated the hookup. I believed what he said. Still, the part of me that didn’t want to let him off the hook fought to keep me from falling under his charm.
“Secondly, I learned a valuable lesson today. I didn’t respect the source material for Valley of the Red Tyrant.
After ten years of dealing with soap opera plot twists and ridiculous storylines, I forgot how important it is to give the material the attention it deserves.
The books don’t deserve that. The fans don’t deserve that.
You had every right to call me out. I can’t apologize to the fans, but at the very least I can apologize to you. ”
I opened my mouth to say something snarky but closed it again. The expression on his face was earnest and apologetic. Despite my prior experiences with actors, including the one across from me, I believed him.
“You really want to lay into me, don’t you?” He said, reading my expression.
“Oh, I so do,” I blurted out.
He laughed, leaned back in his chair, and waved his fingertips at me in a “bring it on” gesture. However, the viciousness I had for him earlier had drifted away. His laughter and charm made it hard to hold a grudge against him.
I leaned my elbows on the table, resting my chin on my hands. “So, was it my question or your sister beating the crap out of you that made you realize this?”
“Those were two moments which clarified things,” he admitted. He paused for a second, some kind of inward debate brewed inside of him. “If I tell you something, will you promise to keep it between us?”
My eyebrows went up, but I nodded. “Of course.”
He pulled out his phone and began to swipe as he talked.
“I have a niece. She’s fourteen, and I have helped raise her since she was a year old.
The ‘Boss’ I mentioned in the interview?
It’s her. It’s a joke between my sister and me.
” He held up the phone to show a picture of himself, Paige, and a girl with black hair with dyed red highlights.
She had glasses with thick frames that highlighted her intense stare.
Everything shifted in my head. The smirk on his face during the interview.
Paige laughing backstage, and then how angry she was afterwards.
Across the table, I saw the shame in his expression, and I realized that I had misunderstood a part of him.
When he mentioned his niece, it took me a second before I realized his motivation for taking the role.