Chapter 20

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Rose

I HAD TO ADMIT, ALEX did good work with finding a place for William. It was an adorable little apartment in a low-rise building in Chelsea. It was small but perfect for William’s needs. Best of all, it was fully furnished, so that was one less thing he had to worry about.

In addition to spending the past half hour thoroughly checking out William’s new abode, I was also entertained by the realtor, who was thoroughly checking out Alex. I found it rather amusing over how clueless he was to her flirting when it was so obvious to me. She was an attractive blonde around his age with boobs as fake as the Louis Vuitton she was carrying. It was a pretty decent replica compared to the others I’d seen, but I could pick out an imposter from a mile away, and that bag she had draped across her arm was without a doubt, a fake.

She directed the entire conversation to Alex, only looking my way to shoot me an annoyed glance every now and then. Little did she know, I had no claim to Alex nor did I want any. She would have been far better off in her plight for him by befriending me instead of shunning me. I would have been more than happy to try and hook her up. I wasn’t sure of his relationship status, but judging by his cranky attitude, it was apparent he needed to get laid, and this chick looked like she would take him up on that offer right there on the floor of William’s new home. But after shooting me enough eye rolls to throw her into a convulsion and the demeaning way she spoke to me, I had enough, and any hopes of me helping her land Alex were out the window.

“Love your bag,” I remarked as she and Alex were wrapping up with their business.

“Oh, thanks,” she muttered, then went right back to ogling Alex.

“How long were you on the waitlist for that?”

“Excuse me?” If looks could kill, I’d be dead. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.” She huffed.

“Really? Because my aunt has that same bag in raisin, which I think is much classier than cherry, but to each his own.” I raised an eyebrow and continued. “And she had to wait six months, but then of course, hers is real.” I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes, watching the color of her face change to the same shade as the fake red bag she was carrying.

She looked away and cleared her throat, and my eyes diverted to Alex as he dropped his head, trying his best to conceal his smirk. “I’ll email you over the paperwork in the morning,” she said to Alex. Her vixen-like attitude was now stripped down to that of a kitten.

“Sounds good.” Alex nodded, seeming as if he wanted to escape her presence as much as I did.

She shook his hand and looked away to avoid any contact with me.

I put on my best fake smile. “Bye, it was so lovely to have met you.” My phony voice conveyed the exact opposite of my words.

“Come on, Rose.” Alex grabbed my elbow and guided me out in front of him to avoid breaking up a cat fight, no doubt.

I held my tongue until we were outside and away from the she-devil and then I unleashed. “What a fuckin’ bitch!” I shouted. “Did you see the way she was looking at me like I was beneath her? Me? When she was the one carrying a fake Louis, and don’t even get me started on the twenty pounds of makeup she was wearing! I’m surprised her face didn’t crack from all that smiling she was doing at you,” I complained as we walked down the street.

He shook his head and let out a genuine laugh.

“Honestly, she should have been nicer to me. I would have hooked her up.”

“Hooked her up with what?”

“You.”

“Me?” He creased his eyebrows in confusion.

“Oh my God, Alex, please tell me you really aren’t that aloof? She was totally flirting with you!”

“Well, whatever. I wasn’t interested.” He went on the defense.

“Why not?” I pried. “She seemed to have everything most guys would want...halfway decent face, slutty attitude, fake boobs, and a fake Louis,” I joked.

He smiled once again, and I noticed for the first time just how adorable that expression was on him. He didn’t do it often, but when he did, it was rather endearing.

“Not my type,” he replied nonchalantly.

“What is your type?” I asked once we reached his car.

“Don’t know, haven’t found her yet.”

I pulled in my bottom lip with a million thoughts racing through my head as I waited for him to hit the key fob and unlock the door. Maybe I could find him someone. Someone he never would’ve known was out there. I was rather good at making matches for other people, just not for myself. My friends at home always said I should open a matchmaking business. Two of my setups from a few years ago went on to become success stories. One of the couples were newly married and the other engaged.

I even scored with Lucy. She was so doubtful the FedEx guy would ever be interested, yet look where they were at that very moment. I could totally find someone for Alex, if he’d allow me to get to know him a little better and find out exactly what he was looking for in a girl. Then of course, I’d have to keep it under the radar and make it look like he had a chance encounter with his Miss Right. He would never allow me of all people to find him a woman, and if I did, I wouldn’t even take credit for it. Maybe that’s what he needed. Maybe then he’d be a little happier with life. Although he was starting to warm up to me ever so slightly, I still sensed something was missing from his life. If only he wasn’t so damn secretive.

“Are you gonna get in or what?” Alex asked, breaking me from my daydreaming.

“Oh, yeah.” I nodded and got in the car. We pulled out on the busy street and my mind was plotting. “I’m pretty hungry. What about you?” I asked.

“I’m all right,” he responded.

Strike one at my attempt to learn more about Alex’s perfect girl. “Really? You’re not even a little hungry?” I pleaded.

“What do you feel like eating?” He caved.

“I don’t know…what do you feel like?”

“Since I told you I’m not really hungry…”

“Okay, fine, how about a burger and fries?”

He made an abrupt right turn, cutting off a few people in the process.

“Geez, where’s the fire?” I asked.

“I didn’t want to miss the turn and have to circle all the way back around.”

He parked the car in an open spot along the street, and I still had no clue where he had decided for dinner.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“You’ll see.”

I followed alongside him, walking for some time before we were standing in front of Black Iron Burger.

“Oh, I’ve always wanted to try this place!”

We walked inside and were taken to our table. After placing our drink order, I pretended to be concentrating on the menu, but I was secretly plotting a way to pull some information from him about what he wanted in a girl. I was so engrossed in my thoughts, I hadn’t even realized the waiter hovering over the table to take our food order.

“Oh, umm, I’ll have a cheeseburger well done with double American cheese and some loaded fries.” I smiled up at the waiter and handed him my menu. I waited for Alex to order his food then decided to go in for the attack. “So, I guess since you haven’t found the right girl, I can assume you don’t have a girlfriend.”

He lifted his beer bottle up to his mouth and stared at me thoughtfully without saying a word.

“I’ll never tell,” he answered after taking a chug of beer.

“Oh, okay…I get it. Technically, we’re not friends, we’re colleagues, so we shouldn’t be talking about this stuff.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked, taking me a little off guard.

“I’ll never tell,” I mocked.

“Well, then let’s agree to never tell.” He raised his eyebrow and took another swig of his beer.

Damn it! Now how was I going to pull the information from him? My plan had totally fizzled. I’d get him drunk. People always talked under the influence of alcohol. I’d just keep the beers coming his way and throw in a few shots. “Do you want to do a shot of tequila with me?” I asked.

“I hate tequila.”

Of course he did. Why would I think we’d even have that in common?

“What’s your choice of hard alcohol?”

“None that I’ll be drinking tonight…I’m driving, remember? But if you feel like getting drunk, then by all means, go for it.”

Okay, scratch that. I didn’t want to have a killer hangover in the morning, not to mention there was no way in hell I was going to get drunk in front of him. God only knows what I’d say or do if that were to happen, and that would just be more ammunition for him to use against me. Even though I did sense us getting closer to a peace treaty, we were still treading in some pretty turbulent waters.

“That’s okay. Drinking alone isn’t fun.”

Feeling defeated, I decided to switch topics to William and his new apartment. I was amazed with how quickly Alex was able to make everything come together. It was a godsend that William had served in the military and they were covering his living expenses. I was more than willing to help if needed, but Alex assured me it was all under control. He informed me that when he’d spoken with William earlier in the day and told him about his new living arrangements, he put up a fight at first before finally relenting. Alex was right about one thing for sure. William certainly was a stubborn man even when faced with no other alternative. I don’t think I could ever be that strong, just like Marisa and Lucy. I admired William for that same reason.

During our dinner, I managed to extract a little information about Alex, but not much. He was twenty-eight years old, which I kind of already guessed him to be. He was an only child, and his parents lived in Georgia. Other than that, he was mum on his personal life. He knew just when to stop himself from spewing out too much information. I, on the other hand, was an open book, telling him a little more about myself than he really cared to know. Of course, the fact I’d gone back on my word of drinking, downing two cosmopolitans, aided in my diarrhea of the mouth. I hadn’t hit full-blown drunk, but I did have a nice buzz going on. I was surprised he actually seemed interested in my stories about back home, college, and my time spent in Europe last summer. He listened intently and even asked questions instead of the usual eye roll I’d get from him whenever I’d speak. I was hoping my time yapping about foreign countries would open the conversation to places he’d been in the military, but it didn’t happen. That seemed to be a chapter in his life that ended, and he had no intentions of turning the pages to reread them, especially not with me.

“I got this!” I said, trying to grab the check when the waiter placed it on the table, but Alex beat me to it. He ignored my plea and took out his wallet. “Really, Alex, will you please let me pay! I invited you, remember?”

He rolled his eyes, and I had to smile. As much as he annoyed me when he did that, I kind of found it cute in an irritating sort of way. He placed the credit card in the check folder and handed it to the waiter as he walked by.

“Thank you, but you really didn’t have to do that.” I relented.

“I know.” He smirked, his green eyes looking a little more hazel as they bore into me.

“Did you know your eyes change colors?”

“I do. What color are they now?” he asked.

“Hazel, but the other day they looked blueish.”

“That ain’t nothing. Sometimes they turn red.”

It took me a second to catch on, causing him to bust out in laughter. “I wouldn’t doubt it,” I joked.

“Hey, I haven’t been nasty to you all night. Have I?”

“With the exception of refusing to answer some of my questions…no.”

“And what question would that be?” He looked up at the waiter and took the credit card slip from him.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“I thought we had an agreement where that’s concerned.”

“Well, I’m relinquishing my end of that agreement…I kinda sort of do. Well, I’m not really sure if I’d call him a boyfriend.”

“Why is that?” He grinned.

“We went out on two dates, and I think they went really well, but you never know. That doesn’t qualify him as a boyfriend just yet, does it?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I wouldn’t consider a chick a girlfriend after two dates, but I guess everyone is different.”

“Yeah, well. He’s really different. Different than all those immature guys I used to date back in college. I just have a feeling about him, and normally I’m right about my feelings. That’s why I’m so good at setting people up. I guarantee Lucy ends up marrying the FedEx guy.”

He ran his hand down the side of his face and let out a loud chuckle.

“You’ll see, and if I’m right, you owe me a dance at her wedding.”

“So, you think you’re gonna marry this guy who you don’t really classify as a boyfriend just yet?”

“You never know. Maybe this time next year, I’ll be Mrs. Brock Donavan.”

In an instant, the grin on his face vanished, his amusement turned to anger, and his eyes changed back to their normal shade of green. He stared into space for a few moments before dropping his head and signing the receipt.

“Ready?” He stood up, threw the pen on the table, and grabbed his credit card.

I nodded and followed behind him, wondering what the hell had just happened. He had finally lightened up a little and now here he was going back to his old ways. Something had definitely set him off, and I wasn’t sure what it was. Then it dawned on me. Could it be he was jealous that I was seeing someone? It couldn’t be. Not after the way he had treated me these past few months. Then I thought back to Lucy’s comments and how she thought he had a crush on me. I dismissed it, but then I did catch him staring at me in the meeting.

I was so confused by his odd behavior. He was like a puzzle to which there were no pieces. I just couldn’t take the cold shoulder from him again. As fun as it was to hate on him, it was actually kind of nice to be civil to one another as well. Only time would tell if the bridges we had mended would now collapse all because I spilled my guts to him about something I would’ve probably been better off keeping to myself.