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H
is words were firm; she noticed the fear that visibly flashed across Richard's eyes; she had never seen him like that. He instantly moved his hand away from her body, and as soon as she felt him moving away from her, she felt as if she could finally breathe again. She exhaled deeply before she turned around, and instantly, Angela felt her words getting caught in her own throat.
She came face-to-face with him; she barely heard the words that Richard spoke as he walked towards the center of the event, leaving her with the man she feared to see the most.
"You've really started making friends in high places, haven't you?"
She knew who he was talking about. Her breath hitched at his presence so close to him.
He was dressed in a tux accompanied with a bowtie, and he had dark black strands of hair neatly placed and styled, revealing his forehead. He was easily a good five to six inches taller than her, and his shoulders were broad. He kept his back straight, and a shy smile was laced upon his plump lips.
She was shaken out of her thoughts when he spoke up as he managed a safe distance from her, making sure not to come too close.
“Was he bothering you?”
Angela gathered herself she needed to keep herself together; she couldn't mess this up; she gulped, holding in the bad thoughts as she shrugged a few strands of loose hair over her shoulder and spoke.
"Uh.... kind of, I mean...."
Before she could go on, she noticed that he pointed towards the bar behind her and spoke up, cutting her off.
“I’m glad I could take care of him. Have a sip.... you look like you need it.”
She was confused at first, but then she turned around, and her eyes landed on the glass of whiskey that was placed on the counter. She instantly nodded her head; she hadn't even realized that the glass had been placed on the counter. Angela had barely even grabbed onto the glass when she was stopped in her place by his presence moving a little closer to her.
The smell of his cologne spread towards her and she closed her eyes, just taking it in; as her eyelids slowly began to flutter open, she instantly came face-to-face with him. His deep, light brown, coffee-stained eyes were staring back at her, and her breath halted at the sight.
He had a habit of making her lose focus of where she was; she was pushed back into her surroundings when he raised his arm, flashing a heavy-looking gold-plated watch clinging to his wrist towards her as he spoke, pointing to the glass on the counter.
"Whiskey on the rocks, is it?"
She raised her eyebrows and stared at him. A smile appeared at the corners of his lips, and she couldn't help it; his smile was contagious as he carefully leaned across the bar, leaving a respectful distance between them as he spoke.
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. I just have a habit of recognizing a good drink when I see it."
He trailed off almost as if he was nervous, and that and the act itself made her heart flutter. She stared up at him before she gathered the courage to speak up finally.
“I’m actually surprised that you got it right.”
At first, she couldn't believe the words that left her own mouth; Angela was one to be the last to admit she was ever flattered by anyone; she considered it to be a bad trait of hers that she had too much ego, but when it came to him, the words just flooded out of her mouth, and it was too late to take them back.
The same short smile danced upon his lips as he waved towards the bartender; for some reason, Angela's eyes remained glued to him. They followed every small move he made; she focused on the way his lips moved as he spoke to the bartender, leaning into the bar by pressing both his palms to the glass surface; she was so focused on his movements that her guard fell to the floor and she was captured like a deer caught in the headlights. As soon as David turned around to face to her, he knew that she had been staring at him.
His eyes met hers, and Angela's cheeks shot up in a bright shade of pink rushing through her skin; she couldn't control it as she felt the warmth spreading through her body. She stammered, trying to get a hold of herself, but before she could say anything at all, David turned around; he pointed towards the center floor of the party and spoke in a gentle tone with his eyebrows raised.
"These people here really seem to have a problem with you, don't they?"
He was gesturing towards the stares that she seemed to get from every second person in the room; she cursed under her breath as she realized that even he had picked up on what was going on. She shook the anxiety from her body as she grabbed the glass. Just before she pressed it to her lips, she spoke with sarcasm laced in her tone.
"Well, I'm a lawyer and not the kind who does cocaine with celebrities on the weekends and defense gigs for rapists...."
She trailed off; to stop the anger from getting to her even more, she pressed the glass to her lips and made sure to drink as much as she possibly could. By the time she placed the glass back on the surface of the bar, it was safe to say that more than half of the alcohol was gone. She looked up, and her eyes met his; this time, he was the one who had been caught staring at her, but he was quick with the damage control as he spoke up immediately.
"Easy there, Mrs. Marvel... it's okay; these things are a bust anyway."
He waved off the people in the background, and she sighed. The nickname had a ring to it, but she firmly refused to show a reaction to it as she spoke.
"Oh, come on, aren't half of the people here associates of yours, Mr. High and Mighty?"
She decided to pull the same trick back at him, and she could tell that he was caught off guard. He grabbed onto his drink, and this time, he was the one who downed it within one sip. He had barely even placed the glass on the table when his facial expression suddenly changed; he gestured towards the door as he spoke.
"You know what, let's get out of here...."
She was suddenly taken back; she was about to reject him, but he went on.
"I know an amazing pizza place just down the road; I would take the pizza over whatever catering they have here."
Angela didn't consider herself to be one who would often make impulsive decisions, but now, she didn't know what had gotten into her; she left the glass by the bar and gave the man before her a firm nod. She felt all the doubts starting to form in the back of her mind, but she ignored them one by one.
She noticed the way he moved his hand forward for her to take it. She thought about it for a moment, but once she saw the look on David's face, and without waiting for a single second, she allowed her hand to slip into his. He immediately grabbed on to her, and she felt the waves rushing through her body. She took a few deep breaths.
Before they had even reached the elevator, she knew she was too far gone.
