Chapter Four

 

 

Later that afternoon, Black showed up for coffee. I told him I was going to be leaving soon to start interviews and I needed to tell White which compound I wanted to go to.

“And?” he asked.

“There aren’t too many candidates at the Alaskan compound but I’ve always wanted to see Alaska.” I shrugged.

“I have to tell you, the average temperature for this time of year is only 40 degrees at our Alaskan compound. But it beats the rest of the year,” he took a sip of his coffee.

I really wanted to see Alaska so I made my decision final by calling White at the office.

“Damn it! I didn’t want to go there,” he complained.

“I have a couple of picks at that compound I’d like to interview.”

“Well, if you make any team picks I’ll want to review them. Besides, I won’t send you off to the compounds alone until the men know you. I think you should have a senior partner with you at each compound you visit. It could be a disaster to drop you off at a compound without one of us to back you up.”

“What do you mean, back me up? Don’t you think I can take care of myself?” I resented his attitude.

“That’s not it. It will just be easier for everyone involved if you have one of us with you on your first visit to each compound.”

“All right. I can see your point,” I conceded. “What time are we leaving to do the job for Colin?”

“In a few hours, so be ready.” White hung up without a good-bye.

“So?” Black asked as I replaced the receiver.

When I told Black that White wasn’t all that happy about having to go to Alaska, he grinned. Then I quickly outlined our previous conversation with the Admiral and Colin. I told him I was to meet White at the office in a few hours. He gave me a nod and said he’d see me at the office later.

The rest of my day was occupied with finding an appropriate clubbing outfit. I wanted to fit into the crowd but still be comfortable enough in my clothes that I could do anything… just in case.

Black collected me a few hours later and we made our way to the office.

“I’m glad you’re both here.” White waved us to our seats. “Let’s begin the briefing.”

White told us that we were going to a club called The Rave. Grigori was expected to have a meeting with the elusive man again. Of course, my job was to read their lips and White and Black would be there to make sure I stayed out of trouble.

We walked into the Rave and the music hit me like a wall. It made my body tremble and my heart flutter. It had a deepness that you could feel to your toes and all I wanted to do was dance. It was trancelike. The people closed in around us. I didn’t know how we were supposed to spot our target in this mess of moving bodies and flashing lights. I fought the urge to let the music take me and started scanning the room, looking back to make sure White and Black were still right behind me. Both of them were exactly where they should be, if they were bodyguards, and I had a small opening around me because of it. I should go everywhere with these two, I thought.

“I could get into this,” I yelled to White over the music. This was somewhat like a massive house party and much bigger than anything I had ever experienced.

He grabbed his ear with the earpiece in it and grimaced. “They can be fun.” He yelled back at me after he regained his composure.

As I scanned the crowd I caught sight of a balcony. I pointed to it and Black took my arm and led the way. White took my other arm and trailed behind me. As we moved, the crowd squeezed in on us, threatening to break us apart. We reached the top and I watched as Black looked over the crowd on the balcony and White looked out over the sea of people below us. I did the same and found it hard to pick a face out of the crowd. Before long, Black nudged me and discretely pointed toward the back wall. Then he and White moved away from me to watch out over the crowd below.

I turned and noticed the back wall was lined with cubicles of different sizes and bathed in soft pink lights.   To make the picture perfect, the rooms were curtained with sheer drapes. Near Grigori was a bottle of brandy, an ice bucket, and one glass. It must have been meant for a guest because he sipped a martini.

He held his drink in one hand and a large cigar in the other. There was a woman rubbing his shoulders and another was under his arm with the cigar. She was secretly trying to blow the smoke far away. I found it comical. One minute she was smiling and the next she was blowing air out the side of her face. Four other large men stood scattered about. Their eyes constantly roamed the room and the crowd outside.

Within minutes another man somewhere between forty something and sixty something appeared outside the room. He brought with him his own bodyguards. He waited impatiently as Grigori dismissed his girls. Soon both men were seated in heavily pillowed couches surrounding the small table. Grigori poured the man a glass of brandy.

Before we came inside, White had fitted me with a choker necklace that had a microphone and transmitter in it. He said it would work well because it was directly on my throat so my voice would come through better than the background music.

I started repeating everything I saw the men say and hoped it was getting through to Colin and Red outside in the van. It was a challenge to see their lips clearly through the drapes but I managed. Both White and Black were wearing earphones and Black gave me confirmation from across the room that it was getting through with a nod of his head.

“Grigori,” the older gentleman said as they shook hands and accepted the glass offered him. It seemed oddly bold that he’d speak to the head of the Russian Mafia so informally. “You know I’m not happy meeting here. What is so important?”

“Yes, ah chets.” I didn’t know what Grigori had said and repeated what I thought I’d seen. As soon as I said it, I felt foolish. It didn’t make any sense. My mind was taken off my mistake for a split second as I watched Grigori scoot deeper into the couch with a look of horror. The older gentleman’s reflexes were spectacular. He reached over and slapped Grigori across the face hard enough to make his nose bleed. Grigori’s men flinched at the contact and started making their way to the other man. Grigori waved them away and took a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket to wipe away the blood. I was kicking myself for not catching what was really said. This was important and I’d screwed it up.

“Never again, you careless…” the man stopped, his face red.

“Yes, Mr. Prutko. Please, forgive me.” Grigori looked crushed but continued. “I was hoping to show you what you could expect in the near future. I have acquired Gigi’s for you.”

The men didn’t speak again for several minutes and I was beginning to get restless.

I glanced at White. He mouthed, “Watch.”

“If you are unable to control your tongue we will no longer be able to meet in public.” Mr. Prutko spoke up, his composure completely restored.

“Of course,” Grigori agreed. “I have all the paperwork for you to sign right here,” one of the bodyguards handed him a folder. Mr. Prutko seemed unashamed of his lack of civility while he signed the paperwork.

White interrupted my view.

“I think we should reposition you for a little while.”

“Why? What if I miss something?”

“We don’t want you to be noticed any further,” he indicated one of the bodyguards. “He’s been watching you watch Grigori for a while now. We need to move along or risk a problem.”

I shrugged my shoulders and followed him back down the stairs.

Since I couldn’t do my job right now, I focused my attention on the crowd and the music. I was thoroughly enjoying myself when Black poked me in the side. It startled me because he had come up beside me when I wasn’t looking.

“Quit singing. It’s all I can hear.” He hollered.

I was instantly embarrassed and shot White a guilty look and he was openly grinning. I hadn’t given any thought to the choker and didn’t realize Black and White would be hearing me too. That must be why White grabbed his ear earlier when I screamed at him that I liked this place. I didn’t sing anymore, but I couldn’t stop myself from moving, just the tiniest bit, to the entrancing music.

It wasn’t too long before I got antsy and I asked quietly, “Can we go back?” The thought of the missed words was starting to weigh heavily on me and I wasn’t enjoying the music as much as before.

White’s lips moved, “No need, Prutko’s on his way out.”

He turned his head and I followed his gaze. Prutko walked importantly toward the exit.

After he exited the building White walked away only to come back five minutes later with a drink.

“What are you doing?” I was shocked he’d go get himself a drink while we were on a job.

“I was asked to retrieve this for Colin,” he held up the glass and pointed at his earpiece. “Cost me three-hundred dollars,” he said loudly into my necklace. The combination of his breath on my neck, his smell, and the music was enough to make my knees wobble. I pushed him away from me and gave him the best disapproving look I could manage in my state.

The three of us piled into the van and Red promptly had me backed into a corner asking me about the words I’d missed.

“Watch my lips. Could it have been Отец?” He said it slowly and it sounded like atyets.

“Say it faster. You’re exaggerating your mouth, just say it like you normally would.” I ordered and Red complied. “Yes. I think that’s what it was. What does it mean?”

“It’s Russian for ‘father’,” he glanced at Colin who was beaming at our discovery.

“Here,” Colin handed a wad of cash over to White. “That’s out of pocket expenses. You’ll receive the rest of the payment in the usual manner. Now, give me that glass.”

I’d seen pictures of Dimitri Glaskov and Mr. Prutko shared a small resemblance, but could it really be him.

“Does this mean that was really Dimitri in there?” I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“We won’t be sure until we get this glass tested for DNA but I’ve suspected it for months now,” Colin was still grinning happily.

The remainder of the drive back to the office was uneventful and I felt much better that I hadn’t really screwed anything up.

I awoke early the next morning and Black was at my door before the coffee was done brewing. He immediately went to the coffee pot and started to pour himself a cup.

“You’re spilling.” I pointed to the puddle on the counter.

Black put the pot back into its place with a quick motion and grabbed a towel.

“Sorry.”

“What are we going to do about Dimitri?” I asked, taking a seat next to him at my kitchen bar.

“Nothing.”

“What? Why?”

“We haven’t been hired to do anything about him.”

“So, do you think we will be hired for anything?”

“Doubt it.”

I didn’t bring the subject up again until we were at the gym working up a sweat. Black cut me off, saying it wasn’t our problem.

This wasn’t good enough for me so when we got home I went directly to White’s office.

Gabriella was in her seat so I spent a short amount of time visiting with her. She had fresh, long stemmed roses on her desk. Her new man was true to form. He’d spent a fortune on another date. I pictured myself on a date with White. He came to my door and escorted me to the car and held my chair at the restaurant. Everything a gentleman would do. Then I was abruptly pulled from my daydream by Gabriella’s voice.

“What’s wrong, hon?”

“Oh,” I realized I’d been staring into White’s office. “Nothing. I’d just love to go out on a date like that. Just once.”

“You need to get out. Take some time off,” her voice trailed off. “Would you be interested in a double date?” She asked suddenly with a twinkle in her eye.

“Uh,” I fumbled. At least she hadn’t noticed where I’d been staring. “I don’t know.”

“I’ll get it set up. Don’t make any plans for tonight.” She beamed at me.

“Gabriella, I don’t know. I don’t know what White wants me to do,” I tried to get out of it.

“I’ll take care of everything. Now get in there and find out what he’s got planned for you and tell him you’re busy tonight.”

I tried to object but she was very insistent as she shoved me toward White’s office.

“I’m glad you stopped by,” White greeted me as I stumbled in. “I want you to spend some time with Red before we leave for Alaska.”

“Okay. Why?” I wasn’t expecting this. I’d thought he might have a job for us concerning Dimitri.

“It won’t hurt for you to get a little more formal training in leadership. Plus he’ll help you go through the records to set up some teams.”

“Fine, but what about Dimitri? Has my dad or Colin said anything to you about him?” The double date had left my mind.

“Nope and I doubt they will. Not yet anyway.”

“They haven’t even talked to you about anything?” I was bothered about being left in the dark over such a serious matter.

“No,” his voice was slow and steady. “They won’t either. That’s none of our business unless they choose to hire us for something. We got more information than they expected though, so I’m sure they are happy with last night’s job.”

“Fine.” I understood where he was coming from. My curiosity didn’t fade but I decided to let it drop for now.

Gabriella stopped me on my way out, reminding me of the date she wanted to set up.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to do it,” I started to say when she interrupted me.

“It’s all set. You can come home with me after work and get ready at my house. It’ll be so much fun,” she gushed. “Us girls, going on a date. I can do your makeup…” she went on like this for several minutes before ushering me out the door to go find a suitable outfit. She informed me she’d be up to check my choices after work so I better have some set out.

I’d never had a girl friend before and this was all so different. Colin had never wanted to do my makeup or nails. He had pointed out some guys to me, but only in fun. He’d never actually set me up with anyone. I didn’t know how to react to all of this so when I got back to my apartment I gave him a call. I wanted to talk to him about Dimitri anyway.

I started the conversation with questions about Dimitri but he quickly put a stop to it. He said they hadn’t even gotten the DNA tests back and even if they had he wasn’t sure what they were going to do. I tried to argue with him but he wouldn’t budge so I changed the subject.

“It’ll be good for you,” he said after I explained my plight. I thought he’d be on my side. “Anthony never treated you right and it’ll be good for you to have a man treat you to dinner.”

“I don’t even know who these men are,” I protested.

“I doubt Gabriella is dating a murderer with that kind of money.” He laughed. “Here’s what you do,” he explained. “Hack into the system and look up the men Gabriella is taking you to meet. If you find them, maybe you should steer clear. If not, take your chances. If nothing else, you’ll have a night out,” he paused. “How long has it been?” I could hear the villainous grin through the phone.

“You’re no help,” was all I could manage.

I went to my closet and started rummaging. I didn’t want to go slinky for a first date and I didn’t want to go too conservative either. Three dresses lay on my bed before I became aware that I was enjoying myself and was actually looking forward to meeting someone new.

Pulling myself up short, I sat on my bed with my head in my hands. I knew I wanted to go on a date and be treated like a lady. Move back into the land of real people instead of the land of White and Associates. I really loved my job but I did need a break, some time for me to do something different. Going on a date was certainly different to me. Part of me wished it were with White but a wave of panic swept over me with that thought. This might be best, I told myself. White was the perfect man, as far as I was concerned, but I wasn’t ready for the perfect man, yet.

I started trying on the different outfits and was scrutinizing myself in the mirror when a knock at my door startled me. A tiny squeak escaped as I gave a slight jump. I looked around guiltily and thought about changing back into my daily clothes but then my doorbell rang.

I opened the door to Red who was keenly taken aback by my appearance. I felt myself blush as he walked past me into my apartment.

“Uh, White asked me to get together with you.” He was very uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were coming. Gabriella wants me to go on a double date with her tonight,” I explained my dress.

“Oh.” He’d been turned away from me but turned toward me obviously relieved with my statement. “You look very nice.”

“Thank you. But I’m going to go change now.” It hit me why he’d been so rattled. He thought I’d dressed up for him. As if.

I was redressed in my ordinary clothes in record time and found Red sitting at the bar in my kitchen.

“Better?” I asked, peeved that he was so put off that I might want to look nice once in a while.

“Less startling,” he said. “You do make an impression in a dress. So, you have a date?” He saved himself.

“A blind date,” I shrugged. “Gabriella kind of side-swiped me.”

“She does have a way about her. Lets go through this, shall we?” He indicated the file folders he’d brought with him and had laid out neatly over my counter top. All talk of my date ended and we poured over employee records. He had a file for each specialty. We put together teams of the best we had with at least one of each skill.

“These men will be cross trained,” Red explained as he started gathering his paperwork. “Most of them have had some type of cross training but we are going to go into more depth now that we have teams set up.”

“How will we know if they work well together?”

“You’ll do some interviewing but the only way to know is to put them on a job.”

“Do we really want to take that chance? Shouldn’t we test them first?”

“You’re learning,” Red smiled. “Yes. We will test them. White will set that up but in the meantime you will be going around to interview the men. We can force them into these teams but would rather give them the opportunity to join them willingly. It’ll be your job to convince these men to be promoted. It is a promotion so it should be easy enough, however, some might need some convincing.”

I nodded my understanding and stood from my chair to see Red out. He glanced toward my bedroom, seeing my dresses on the bed.

“May I?” He indicated my room.

“I guess.”

“I don’t want to be pushy, Alex. But, I know what goes on in this company and I know you’ve been with us for over a year now and have not had a single date. If you don’t mind, I do have a little insight on a man’s mind. Plus I do also know a little about human behavior.”

“Okay,” I was still reluctant as I followed him to my bedroom.

He gave the dresses on the bed a once over and asked where we were going.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know the name of Gabriella’s boyfriend, let alone the name of my date.”

“Call Gabriella and find out. You can’t decide what to wear if you don’t know what you’ll be doing.”

I did as I was told and came back to him with my information.

“Dinner at the Maddison Hotel. I guess Gabriella’s date, Martin, owns the place. I’m going to be set up with his little brother, Leland. Then we are supposed to go dancing afterward.” My stomach flipped as I relayed this to Red.

“Sounds like fun. Okay, you need something that invites a man’s eyes but not his hands. Something upscale for the Maddison and something you can move in for dancing.” He might know what he was talking about after all. This might not be so bad.

Red dismissed the dresses I’d already chosen and went straight for one of my favorites that I had never worn because I’d never been anywhere I felt it would be appropriate. It was a dark blue that made my skin look very pale.

“You don’t think this color would make me look sickly?”

“Hmmm,” he considered. “Try it on real quick.” He left my room, shutting the door behind him.

Again, I did as I was told and glanced at myself in the mirror. I didn’t look as bad as I’d remembered. I’d gotten some sun these past few months I guess. When I opened the door Red nodded his head in approval.

“This is nice,” he reached for me and stopped his hands just before he made contact. “The neck is high but the shoulders are exposed. Having the neck covered is a good way to say that you are not accessible and mix that with exposed shoulders and it says ‘Look but don’t touch.’ Am I getting your mood right?”

“Yes. I don’t want some guy I don’t know fondling me.” I felt my cheeks color at my outburst. It had never been my intention to tell Red anything personal, ever. He and I had a rocky start and had never recovered. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be having these conversations with Red. He was a psychiatrist after all and I didn’t need him analyzing my sex life.

“Well, it’s decided then. Get your bag and I’ll walk you to the office. Gabriella is off in about five minutes.”

“She was going to meet me here,” I reminded him.

“Do you want her to make you change your clothes? Or spend an hour up here trying to pick out what you should wear after you’ve already done it?”

“I see your point. I’ll meet you at the elevator.” Red might not be as bad as I thought.

The elevator ride was slightly strained as we both stood stiffly in the car. My demeanor had softened a little toward Red but my nervousness for my date put us both on edge.

He held the doors while I exited and followed closely behind me as I sashayed into the office. It was unintentional but the dress required a certain walk.

Gabriella gave out a squeal and White looked up from his desk. I saw his jaw drop and felt the heat of his eyes on me as he slowly rose from his desk to come see what the fuss was about.

“You are beautiful!” Gabriella raved and pulled my attention from the slowly advancing White. “What am I supposed to wear now? I don’t have time to go shopping.” She was visibly torn between admiring me and cursing me for showing her up.

“Red helped me pick it out.” He was still standing behind me so he didn’t see my raised eyebrows.

“Red, you dog! Why do you want to do this to me?” Gabriella chided him.

“Alex deserves a night out.” I had moved to see Red’s face. His reply was clearly meant for White as well as Gabriella.

“Why so dressed up, Ms. Grey?” White interrupted.

I turned back to see him sizing me up from his doorway. My internal temperature skyrocketed but I was able to keep the flush from my skin.

“Gabriella talked me into a double date,” I said a little sheepishly.

“She’s been pining over my date descriptions so I thought I’d do her a favor and get her out there again,” Gabriella hadn’t felt the tension. “Dinner and dancing,” she went on about how much fun we were going to have and I didn’t hear most of it because of White’s eyes. They were a mixture of amusement, bitterness, hunger and anger, if I was reading him right. I adverted my gaze and put all of my attention on Gabriella as she grabbed her things and led me out of the office, still jabbering about the impending date.

The two of us entered the elevator and her tone changed immediately.

“Did you see the look on White’s face?” Her one-eighty surprised me.

“No?” I played dumb.

“Come on girl. You don’t really think I’m that dense do you?” She leveled a serious look at me.

“No. I don’t think you’re dense,” I was going to continue to play dumb.

“Then don’t think I don’t know what’s going on between you and White.” Thankfully the elevator doors opened and she led me to her car in the parking garage.

I was dreading the conversation after we got into the car and wasn’t disappointed.

“This will be good for him too,” she informed me. “I see the way the two of you look at each other and he needs to make a move. If he sees you moving on with your life it might just knock some sense into that boy!”

I was flabbergasted and sat in the passenger seat trying to keep my mouth in a closed position.

“You do need a night out anyway,” she reached over and moved the hair out of my eyes, almost motherly. “Don’t think about White tonight. Lets have fun!” She cranked up the radio and started singing loudly.

‘Don’t think about White tonight.’ Who was she kidding? With the looks I received in the office and her cornering me on my feelings for him, how could I think of anything else? Was I really that obvious and if White was that obvious why didn’t I see it? He’d told me before that he was interested but I just couldn’t believe he was interested in more than just the physical. Gabriella had warned me away from him right away. Now she was making moves to make him jealous. I wondered what had changed.

I tried to bring the subject up while she was painting my nails an appropriate color for my dress and she waved it away. “I said not to think about White tonight. Tonight is for you.” She started to brag up Martin and I got lost in her descriptions again and White eventually moved to the back of my mind.

“Are you nervous?” she asked as a limo pulled into her driveway.

“Yes,” I admitted. “I’ve never been on a real date before and never a blind date.”

“Well, I don’t know Leland at all so you stay close to me and Martin. Unless you want to be alone with Leland,” she wagged her eyebrows at me and I found myself grinning back at her.

“Shouldn’t we go?” I asked as the limo came to a complete stop in front of her garage.

“Are you kidding? They need to come collect us. Besides, I want to meet Leland on my own turf before I let you go out on a date with him.”

Shortly after her comment her doorbell rang. She instructed me to sit down and look bored while she went to the door.

Martin gave her a soft kiss and then introduced Leland to her. She allowed them inside so I assumed Leland was to her liking so far.

Martin stepped in first. He was semi paunchy and balding but he had an alluring twinkle to his eyes. Upon first glance I liked him. He stuttered a soft hello to me as Gabriella introduced us then introduced me to his younger brother Leland.

Leland was similar to his brother without the extra weight and slightly more hair. However, he lacked the friendly twinkle in his eyes. Instead he wore a shrewd look. Martin seemed taken with me but Leland was strangely aloof, as if I might not be good enough for him. I became even more worried about the rest of the evening.

The men escorted us to the limo and let us climb in first. Gabriella sat opposite me so she could be near Martin and I near Leland. She gave me a questioning look as we drove to the restaurant. She and Martin had been talking while Leland and I sat quietly on our side of the limo. Leland had been staring out the window at the passing scenery.

Thankfully the ride was short. Before long the four of us were being seated for our meal.

Things lightened up some as we ate and drank. Leland actually told a couple of stories and smiled three times. The food and wine was some of the best I’d ever had and I forgave Martin for ordering for the whole table.

Gabriella said she needed to powder her nose and gave me a look that said I needed to as well. The men rose from their seats as we did and remained standing until we rounded the corner for the restroom.

“So?” Gabriella pointed to a lattice wall. I looked through it and saw Martin and Leland at the table talking.

“It’s going okay,” I shrugged as I looked back at her.

“No, silly. What are they saying? I know you can read lips. Hurry up, don’t miss anything.” She physically turned me back around and practically pushed my face into the lattice.

“She’s okay,” I saw Leland say.

“What do you mean? Okay? What does that mean, Leland? Mom is worried about you. You need to find a girlfriend.”

“I don’t know if she’s my type.”

“How are you going to know if you don’t give her a chance? Look at me. I didn’t know I was going to fall for Gabby the way I have.”

“What are they saying?” Gabriella whispered loudly in my ear from behind.

“Leland isn’t sure I’m his type and Martin said to give me a chance because he didn’t know you were perfect for him until he gave you a chance.”

“Really? Marty really said that?” I could hear the emotion in her voice and I grinned. At least Gabriella had found someone worthwhile.

“You can’t tell me she’s not pretty enough,” Martin continued.

“Oh, she’s beautiful. It’s just…”

“Just what, Leland?” Martin had a perturbed look on his face as he tossed his napkin onto the table.

“You just don’t understand.” Leland stood from the table and made his way our direction.

“Here he comes,” I said. “We better get into the bathroom.” I grabbed Gabriella by the arm and pulled her into the room.

“Did they say anything else?” She questioned me as soon as I pushed the door shut.

“Leland is firm about me not being his type and Martin got a little upset with him. I’m not sure we should have eaves dropped on their conversation.” I felt a little guilty.

“Why not? It’s good to know. When we go dancing don’t feel bad about checking out other guys,” she said indifferently as she looked at herself in the mirror and smoothed out her makeup.

Leland still hadn’t returned to the table when Gabriella and I took our seats once again. We waited a few minutes before Martin said he was going to go see what was holding Leland up. He stood from the table and started making his way toward the latticed area when Leland appeared from around the corner. It almost looked as if he’d been crying.

When the two returned Martin said, “Shall we?” They both held our chairs and escorted us to the limo. Leland was more open in the limo on the ride to the club and he and I had a real conversation about the hotel his family owned.

When we reached the club Martin ordered a bottle of wine for us and immediately swept Gabriella out onto the dance floor. I watched them dance for a couple of songs while taking in the rest of the establishment making sure to glance at Leland from time to time.

He finally noticed my sideward glances and began to talk. “Gabriella thinks Martin spends big bucks on her but really, we get our meals for free so he can afford to buy her the roses and the limo belongs to the hotel too. Well, it does belong to us but if we had a client that needed to be picked up at the airport or driven anywhere else, the limo wouldn’t be available. Customers first, you know.”

“That’s what makes a good business,” I supported him.

“Exactly.” The conversation ended there and we both let our eyes wander back to Martin and Gabriella on the dance floor.

Finally a slow song began and I felt like I was intruding on a private moment so I let my eyes wander. I picked out a few good looking men that I wouldn’t mind flirting with but I didn’t want to do that to Leland, no matter what Gabriella said. He didn’t have enough self-esteem and didn’t need me adding to his complex. My eyes flitted to him to see if he was showing any interest and my own self-esteem started to drop until I followed his gaze. He was watching the same men I was.

“He’s cute, don’t you think?” I took a chance at damaging his ego.

Leland slowly looked at me with horror in his eyes. “What?”

“Well, I don’t want to be rude, but you seem to be staring at that man over there. The dark haired guy?”

“Oh, I hadn’t even seen him yet.” He was clearly taken with the man’s good looks enough to let his guard drop. He pulled away from me and asked, “How did you…”

“I guessed. You seemed to be checking out the same faces in the crowd that I was and I haven’t really noticed any of the women in the place yet,” I lied. I’d already tried to memorize every face in the building.

“Martin doesn’t know,” he said quickly. “Well, I think he suspects and doesn’t approve.”

I reached over to refill Leland’s glass and noticed he’d already drank the entire bottle except for the glass that sat in front of me. I called the waitress over and told Leland I would buy this round.

We each ordered something more substantial and sat quietly until they arrived. I, of course, had a shot of whiskey and Leland had ordered two shots of scotch. We clinked our glasses together and downed our shots and Leland immediately picked up his second scotch and swigged that down too.

Gabriella and Martin had found a different table and left Leland and I alone. We ordered more drinks but I made sure to order cola only. I didn’t need to get all messed up on a fake date.

Suddenly Leland started to pour out his life story. Great, I thought, but he made it short and to the point. He’d preferred men for as long as he could remember but his mother had harped on him and Martin about carrying on their father’s name so often and early enough that he’d never told anyone of his preference.

“I’m sorry,” he slurred. “I shouldn’t be dumping this on you. I really shouldn’t drink either.” He let out a small burp.

“No, it’s okay,” I forgave him.

The two of us started to openly admire the men in the joint and guessing about their lives.

“I bet he’s a… dog groomer,” I spit out, pointing out a man to Leland. He started to laugh at my guess and so did I. I didn’t intend to spend my night trying to cheer up my date and acting silly to do it, but it wasn’t all that bad. At the end of the night I felt as if I’d done something good, even if I hadn’t helped him at all.

Leland and Martin dropped us off at Gabriella’s house. Gabriella couldn’t wait to get me inside so she could ask about how we seemed to hit it off at the club.

“You two seemed to warm up to each other after we left you alone at the club.”

“Yeah. I made a new friend,” I smiled at her.

“Wasn’t there any chemistry there?” She was disappointed.

“I wasn’t attracted to him and he most definitely wasn’t attracted to me.” I was still smiling.

“Alex, you have to get past White for a while. Who knows, you might find someone you like better. Plus how could he NOT be attracted to you with that dress on?”

I didn’t say anything but gave her a sly look until she finally caught on.

“No!”

“Yes. But don’t tell Martin. He’s not told him or their mother.”

“No way am I telling Martin!” She smiled back at me. We talked about the evening until we both started yawning.

Gabriella rose from the couch, stretching. “You can stay the night here if you want. I’m sorry but I can’t drive you home. I’ve had too much to drink.”

“Thanks Gabriella but I’ll take a cab. I don’t mind.”

She flopped back down on the couch to keep me company until my ride arrived.

“I’m sorry your date sucked,” she said when the cab pulled into the driveway.

“Not your fault,” I laughed.

“Don’t you dare tell White that Leland wasn’t the perfect gentleman,” she warned.

“I won’t.”

The cab ride was peaceful and I was glad the night was over. I walked slowly into the building, greeted security and took the elevator to the roof. I’d gotten used to being outside under the stars over the past few months and wasn’t ready to go to bed yet.

I reached the roof and stepped out into the cool night air and gave a little shiver. Though I was chilly, I welcomed the breeze through my hair. It had a cleansing quality to it.

“You’re home early,” I heard White’s voice from behind me.

I was startled but turned slowly toward his voice. “Not really. It’s after midnight.”

“But the clubs are still open.”

“Gabriella had her fill I guess,” I shrugged.

“So, how was the date?” he asked casually.

“Well, we ate at the Maddison. Martin and Leland own it, you know.” I went on to explain our meal and then simply stated, “Then we went dancing.”

“Sounds like,” he smiled, “fun.”

“Yeah, it was nice,” I managed a satisfied sigh.

This made him look closer at me but his smile returned, even bigger than before.

“What?”

“It was a flop. Wasn’t it?”

“No, it was nice,” I tried to convince him.

“I can tell you’re lying, Alex.” One eyebrow raised in amusement.

I couldn’t help it and I started to laugh. “Okay. Don’t tell Gabriella I told you but Leland turned out to be gay.” I wanted to make White jealous but had always been a bad liar. As it turned out it was even harder for me to lie to White.

“Really?” His smile practically split his face in two.

“Knock it off,” I gave him a soft push.

“Or what?” He pushed me back.

“Don’t push me,” I feigned anger.

“Or what?” he asked again backing me into a corner.

My legs began to shake as I struggled to come up with something else.

“Here,” he took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. “You’re shivering.”

“Thank you,” the playfulness died down and we walked to the best spot on the roof. The view of the city was beautiful and we sat in silence for a long time before I gave White his jacket back.

“Thanks. I better get home. Black will be there to get me in only a few hours.”

“I’ll ride down with you.”

When we reached my floor I reminded him not to say a word to Gabriella or I would figure out something to get even and left him to ride down to his apartment alone.

 

*****