Chapter 4
Eliza
Iswirl my straw in my drink as music plays softly in the bar.
I sometimes come to the Clover when I want to be around noise and people without having to actually interact with anyone.
I can order my food and drinks and then I’m left alone.
I sit in the corner of the room so I can see everything going on around me and be fully aware of my surroundings, but I still somehow miss a hulking six-foot-five British man approach my table and slide into the bench across from me.
My eyes widen as I nearly sputter my drink. Mac hands me a napkin, and I delicately dab my lips with it as I quickly gather myself. Neither of us say anything for a solid minute, both of us just staring at each other.
Mac eventually leans his arms on the table, his body following slowly as he quietly says, “I have an offer for you.”
I raise a brow, intrigued. Mac and I have barely interacted with each other since we first met when Liv and Josh started dating and the girls started going to the games.
I’ve always heard that he’s more of a loner who keeps to himself, never really joining the guys for anything outside of games.
I was surprised he showed up New Year’s at Matt and Zoey’s.
I lean back in my seat, crossing my legs under the table. I don’t say anything in response to his statement, figuring he’ll eventually continue.
As my lips wrap around my straw, I feel the way his eyes watch me. It’s like he waited for me to swallow my drink because as soon as I have he says words that would have had me spitting it all over him.
“I saw your manifestation at New Year’s.”
My ears immediately heat, and I feel it making a path across my face and down my neck, my skin feeling itchy as embarrassment fills me.
I haven’t even told my best friends about me being a virgin, and now this man I’ve barely talked to is sitting across from me in a bar saying he saw the confession and has an offer for me.
I swallow again as I blink a few times, trying to wrap my head around this announcement.
“I see,” is all I manage to say. There’s no way that I’m saying the words out loud, especially not in the middle of this bar surrounded by people who could overhear.
He nods and I swallow nothing, an involuntary reflex I know gives away my nerves.
I don’t have these conversations with my best friends, the people I’d trust with my life, having it with a man I barely know is beyond my comfort zone, even if the man has intrigued me for a while.
“I’m unsure of what you’re getting at,” I finally say, sitting up straighter as if that will give me the courage and nerves of steel to finish this conversation.
“Well,” he starts. “I have a dilemma that you could maybe help me with and in return, I’d help you achieve your New Year’s...manifestation.”
The way he says manifestation has me biting my lip to stop me from giggling. He obviously abhors the idea of it, and I must admit it’s not my thing either, but watching him trying to take it seriously right now is helping with some of my nerves—I don’t know why.
“What’s the dilemma?” I ask, trying to move the conversation off me for a bit.
He waves down the server, ordering a scotch neat before he answers.
The air is filled with awkwardness as he waits for his drink, and I play with the condensation on my glass, looking everywhere but at him.
When his drink is delivered, he sips it slowly, the air filling with more tension.
I have the urge to crawl out of my skin.
I hate silence when I’m with people. There are very few people whom I’m comfortable enough around that I can sit in silence with, and Mac is not one of them.
I barely know the guy, and to even be having a one-on-one conversation with him in the middle of this bar is bizarre to me.
I shift in my seat, and Mac finally puts me out of my misery when he says, “The thing is, my father, he’s very set in his ways.
” He sits back in his seat, as though putting distance between us, and I watch him.
Hhe continues to hold his glass and swirl it while he watches me.
“He wants me to be in a serious relationship before he’ll appoint me as his replacement to take over the company.
I don’t think it’s realistic, but then I figured maybe we could help each other out. ”
I take another sip of my drink, letting his words swirl through my mind.
I’m not sure how he could possibly think I could help him with this dilemma, and I’m shocked when he says, “You can pretend to be my girlfriend, just long enough for his retirement party, and I’ll help you—” His eyes slowly make their way down my torso.
I can almost feel them like hands skating across my skin and my cheeks heat.
“You want to help me?” I squeak.
The corner of his mouth quirks slightly, and he nods almost imperceptibly. He leans forward, holding his glass between his very large hands as he rests on his forearms and says, “I’d love to help you with your manifestation. I think we’ll have some fun.”
I swallow nothing, feeling the room get warmer and my throat getting drier. “And you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend?”
“Yes. We’ll need to make it believable for my father, which means that no one can know it’s not real. My father runs the company from London, but he likes to do random company visits, so he may show up to my place and expect to see you or at least some of your things at my place.”
He just goes right into it, not holding any punches.
“You’ve really thought about this,” I say.
“I’ve had a few days to make a plan.”
I’m not sure how I feel about being referred to as a plan, I’m not sure how I feel about any part of this. I look around and wave at my server, making a sign for the bill. I need to get out of here, get some fresh air, and think before I can give him an answer.
When the server returns, Mac grabs my bill, and I open my mouth to protest, but he waves me off.
“I interrupted your dinner, the least I can do is pay.”
I reach for the bill, but he pulls it away.
“I can pay for my own meal, thank you,” I say, my tone coming out harsher than I’d like.
I’m a very independent person, and I pride myself on being able to take care of myself. Letting others take care of me in any way is not easy, but especially a man I barely know.
He relents and allows me to take the bill, and I quickly pay the server when they come back with the machine. I try to slip out of the booth, but Mac stops me when he says, “You never gave me an answer.”
I slip my purse over my shoulder and look at him.
Two answers war with each other in my mind.
The normally safe part of me is saying no, while the side that wrote my manifestation for the year is saying yes.
I’ve always played it safe, protecting myself emotionally and physically.
I don’t take risks, but part of me wants to take this jump into the unknown.
Unable to settle on an answer, I say, “I have to think about it.”
He holds eye contact with me for several moments before he nods.