Chapter 2 #2
A tall man with long, black hair and intensely pale skin brushed past me, his lips dark and black makeup painted around his eyes.
His eyes . They seemed to change colors while I stared at them.
Red, brown, and blue. It had to have been a trick of light.
He was beautifully dressed; his suit probably cost thousands of dollars.
The blond woman holding his hand was just as gorgeous with honey-toned locks and a heart-shaped face.
Others appeared to have just come from work; their drab-colored and plain clothing suggesting this was their first stop before going home.
Mingling amongst the ordinary and the insanely beautiful were others just like me, those who glanced about in wonder, trying to find their place in a curious and sophisticated world.
I stepped in front of the bar, following the flow of the counter while my head swiveled, still searching for my boyfriend.
My perusal stopped when I spotted a platinum-haired man fondling a woman across the room. His long hair reflected the meager light, swinging as he moved. He looked up suddenly, his green eyes piercing me with a single glance, and I froze. He was familiar; I’d seen him before.
It took me a brief second, but then I remembered the coffee shop this morning. He’d been behind me in line. I’d been too distracted to give him much thought at the time, but I’d noticed him. Enough to remember him, now.
Preternaturally beautiful, he almost looked like something from heaven, although the way he was watching me was anything but holy. He’d trapped me in place with his eyes, and I stilled, unable to look away.
My body reacted before my rational mind, with that deep inner knowing that something predatory had you set firmly in its sights. Suddenly, he shoved the lady off his lap, and my lungs filled with air. I jumped a little when a hand clapped my back.
“There you are, I’ve been waiting for you. What took so long?” Bryan came around in front of me, a tumbler of whisky in hand.
“I just got here.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re late. Come. I want you to meet the guys.”
I wasn’t, but whatever. Glancing over my shoulder, I found the green-eyed man still watching, though his gaze had narrowed to a slit.
“You cold?” Bryan asked. “Why didn’t you dress warmer. Stop shivering.”
There was no point in arguing, so I kept my mouth shut. Besides, this was the most he’d said to me at one time in at least a week. For now, I’d take what I could get. Later, I was going to have a serious talk with him because unless things improved, I was more than done.
Bryan introduced me to his friends, a man named Kenneth and two others—Bob and Marty. There were a few women with them, and I was introduced to them as well. Lucy, Miriam, and Deanna.
We settled around the bar and made small talk before I turned to the women, looking them over one by one. They were pretty and seemed cool and friendly, but I’d just met them.
“You guys all work with them?” I nodded towards the men.
Lucy spoke up, “We do. We work in the same building at least.”
Miriam stirred her martini and stabbed an olive, popping it into her mouth while staring at Bryan. “I work in the office with Bryan, Bob and Marty work for Allorum,” she remarked.
“Isn’t that a medical company?” I asked.
Deanna replied for her, “Yeah but they invest, too. Everything’s kinda connected.”
All of this was beyond my knowledge. Bryan never gave me the fine details of what he did other than to say he helped people and companies with their money. “Okay.”
I stared at the contents of my glass, the deep, etched grooves in the crystal refracting the light and making the liquid sparkle. Even my drink appeared magical.
When I glanced up, Bryan was gone, and so was Miriam. “Where’d they go?”
Lucy and Deanna peeked at each other. Deanna took a sip of her drink. Lucy shrugged her shoulder. “I don’t know. More drinks maybe?”
I glanced at Deanna again. She was fiddling with the short straw in her glass and looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. Her eyes met mine, and her gaze softened, giving me a small, tight-lipped smile. In that instant, I decided I liked her.
Leaning back in my seat, I lifted my glass, draining the contents. “I have to find the restroom, I’ll be back.”
I slid through the crowd, weaving between bodies until the short hallway separating the two areas of the club was in front of me. I wasn’t certain where my destination was, but I suspected it was toward the front of the building.
When I turned down another corridor, there was a small brass plaque that assured me I was heading in the right direction.
On the left was the coatroom, the contents stirring, and I stopped short.
It was none of my business, but the commotion was distracting enough to grab my attention.
Right before I pushed open the restroom door, I glanced over my shoulder one more time.
Two figures were wrapped around each other, draped beneath the long coats.
One was Bryan. The other Miriam.
Time sort of stopped while I stared, letting them fondle each other, their heavy breathing periodically muffled by designer fur. I watched not because I was horrified or heartbroken, but because I just couldn’t believe the nerve of the guy. Really? On our date night?
My foot tapped against the floor, and I let out a sigh. Miriam noticed me first. “Oh!” She untangled herself from his limbs and Bryan turned around.
“Cassia? What are you doing?” His eyebrows shot up. “This isn’t what it looks like.”
My tongue slid along my lower lip. “Let me guess—CPR? She was gravely injured and you’re assisting.”
Bryan shoved his hands in his pockets. “I can explain... if you want.”
“No,” I waved a hand at him. “Don’t worry about it. It's self-explanatory. I have to go to the bathroom.”
My heart thudded in my chest, and I shoved the door open while I tried to make sense of it all.
I was humiliated, yes, but also relieved.
Catching him with someone else meant I didn’t have to have that conversation where he’d just repeatedly tell me nothing was wrong.
I wouldn’t have to listen to lame excuses like, “I’m just busy at work.
” Or the popular favorite of weak men everywhere, “Things will change; I promise.”
Nope, I got to skip straight over all that since he’d gone straight for the jugular.
When I finished my business, I headed back to the bar. I wasn’t sure why, I just did. It was probably a habit since we’d been together for many years and sort of gravitated towards each other when we went out. We were a couple, a united front. Where Cassia was, Bryan was as well.
That was all changing.
The counter was in front of me to the right, and I took a moment to watch the group. No one would ever have been able to tell what had happened.
Miriam was next to my boyfriend. My ex-boyfriend . And Bryan was laughing with his friends, elbow resting on the countertop, his drink in his fist. He wasn’t acting like his long-term girlfriend had just caught him red-handed.
My hands slowly slid down my face while a wave of exhaustion washed over me.
I closed my eyes. There was no reason for me to be here—I could just go home.
But then what? My earlier question remained—who was staying in the apartment and who was leaving.
Maybe he could move in with Miriam since the two of them were so cozy.
When I lowered my arms and opened my eyes, the view of the bar was gone, and I was faced with a black wall instead. After taking a deep breath, I stepped to the left, but not before a warm hand landed on my shoulder. I glanced up.
“What troubles you?”
The man with the long, platinum hair stood in front of me, his jade green eyes searching my face.