FIVE
"How could you, Dad. To not even call me. You put me on a plane knowing I might be stranded overseas when this happened," I fight to hold back tears.
"Baby girl. I swear I thought I could handle it. I would have called sooner but I've just been up to my neck in it. We have backup money. Enough to keep you there, but nowhere near as much as I would have liked. You might need to find cheaper accommodation, play it safe for a while. Maybe look into a roommate or living on campus. You'll need to find a job quickly," my Dad says.
"I've got a job. But it pays peanut shells," I snap, "tell me what happened."
"Debt just got away from me and the investors were getting restless. The sought out an overseas buyer before I could intervene. The options were to sell and pay back the debt or they'd take me to court," he says, "I had no choice. Selling the company wasn't enough to pay it back. So I had to dip into our personal funds, I had to sell properties. The only one I kept is the farmhouse."
"Dad how could you let it get this bad. Were you just waiting to hand me the company so I would be at the wheel of the ship," I demand.
"That's nonsense. You were years and years away from CEO. I would have turned it around by then if I hadn't been so manipulated by them," he says, "look I have loyal members of my team looking into all of this. We were making enough to return the debt. I think there's been foul play involved and I won't rest till I've proven it."
"What do you mean, Dad?" I ask.
"Embezzlement," he says, "I'm going to get to the bottom of it."
"Dad. Just be careful. We've lost enough," I say.
The knock comes to my door earlier than I expected.
"I have to go. I have plans," I say.
"Your making friends already? Bells, that makes me happy. Finally, some good news," he huffs, "look I'll call tomorrow. If you run too short on money too quickly you might need to look at alternatives. I'll be in touch."
"I'm looking for a roommate," I say rushing to the door, "I'll be fine Dad."
"Love you, sweet," he says.
"Love you," I pull open the door, "bye."
Edward stands before me holds a bunch of red roses, hand midway through his hair. Making it even messier, sexier.
"Hey," I smile up at him.
"You look great," Shamelessly, he checks me out.
Looking down at myself I can't help but blush. I'd pulled out one of the new dressed I'd purchased just before coming to New York. It was a strappy mini dress, shorter than I would usually dare, but tonight I felt pretty fearless. The bold blue popped against my skin. I'd pulled my hair up into a ponytail to elongate my neck, to let my shoulders show. I'd dug out a pair of high heels and a purse to match. I'd gone easy on the makeup, happy with my subtle look.
"Thanks. Please, come in," I stand back.
As he passes by, I check him out myself. He looks sinfully good. Black chinos, a black collared button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up his forearms. The smell of his cologne wafts through the apartment. I low key hope it lingers.
"So we open a little later but I thought I'd take you earlier. You can meet Alice then and we could go grab a bite and go back later," he says, "if that's okay?"
"Sounds good," I nod smiling.
"These are for you," he motions to the flowers, "a token of our.. friendship."
I playfully smack his arm taking them from him.
"They're beautiful. Thank you," I say, "I'll put them in some water and we can go."
"Sure," he nods leaning against the kitchen counter, "have you spoken to your family. I meant to text but you didn't give me your number."
"I thought a man like you wouldn't give up that easily,' I find a jug that I turn into a makeshift vase, "he thinks there's something more sinister going on. Embezzlement. He was sure the company wasn't into that much trouble. He had the money for the debt based on projections of income. He just secured this massive deal with a company in Peru. Who knows? All I know is I want to just think about tonight."
"Did he ask you to come home?" He asks.
"No. He wants me to stay. I guess he's worried I'll resent him," I shrug.
"You possibly might," he nods, "You'd leave behind unfinished potential. I'm here now so let's go make you think about happy things."
I place the roses on the counter in front of him and smile.
"Ready?" he asks.
"I think so," I nod, "Let me grab a coat so I don't catch a chill."
"Your Australian is showing," he smiles, "it's not even that cold. If you like I could keep you warm."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" I laugh grabbing my coat from the closet by the door.
He steps toward me to take it, opening it for me to slip my arms through. The vision of a perfect gentleman. His hands fall to my waist as I fasten the buttons on the front.
"More than you know," he squeezes the curve of my body gently, sending waves of want throughout.
"Let's go," I stammer out.
From the sound of the mischievous chuckle I'm rewarded with I know I'm in for a night of trouble by this man's side. He knows the effect he has on me this early on. Dangerous.
"Shit," my shoe catches on a stair as I step into the club.
A strong hand grips my forearm to steady me.
"Careful," Edward laughs, "don't get too excited now. You okay?"
I grip the handrail and nod. Rather than removing his hand from my arm, it snakes down to the small of my back, nesting there as we walk across the room. The length of the bar stretches the entire back wall. To the side, there's a stage, tables and chairs before it. A dance floor too. Where we walk in above us there's a balcony stretching the entire length of the room. with more chairs and tables. The place has a vintage style with neon signs and pictures of old-style Hollywood stars like Marylin Monroe. Curtains hang low with chandeliers and gold accents throughout. Expensive looking lounges surround the room with VIP sections upstairs.
"Woah," I say, "this is the fanciest nightclub I've been in."
"The clientele has shifted recently," he says, "Alice had Leonardo DiCaprio here last week."
"You're kidding," I look at him shocked.
"I wish she was. She has photos. It's all I've heard about this week," he smiles at me, "she must be out back in the office."
He takes my hand in his and leads me toward a door behind the bar. Even behind the nightclub, the hallways are luxury. Expensive wallpaper, incredible décor. We pass private rooms before he leads me down a small set of stairs. He knocks on a large chestnut door.
"Come in," a voice sings out.
At first, I almost miss her she's so short. But when my eyes zero in on her they widen. She's stunning. Like Tinkerbell with short, black hair. She stands behind her desk to welcome us, smiling brightly at her brother. She wears tight black pants, a bralette and is covered in jewellery.
"You must be Bella," she gasps, "I'm so pleased to meet you finally."
"What does she mean by finally?" I glance at Edward.
"I may have mentioned you," he shrugs.
"That's putting it rather lightly, Edward," Alice scoffs moving around the desk.
She engulfs me in a warm hug, squeezing me firmly against her body before turning to playfully shove her brother.
"Your business is beautiful," I say, "the bar is amazing."
"Thanks," she smiles at me, "Edward mentioned you need a job. I'm hiring funnily enough and one of the girls just quit on me to pursue acting or something."
"Oh," I wasn't expecting that, "do you need me to interview."
"Sure. Let's get some coffee on Monday morning. Come back tonight with Edward and hang out. Emmett should pop up eventually. You can see if you like the look of the place. Just know it's not your average bar," she smiles.
I glance at Edward confused.
"What you guys usher in apes or something?" I ask.
"I guess you could call Emmett an ape," Alice nods, "You kids go have fun. Make sure you punch him if he doesn't pull out the chair. Mother would insist you punch him."
"Noted," I nod.
I like her.
"Stop being an ass to my date, Alice," he backs toward the door, indicating we're going.
"Friend," I correct.
"Ouch," Alice bursts out laughing, "just for that she's hired."
"Just for that, you're fired" Edward stalks out into the hallway.
I wave goodbye to Alice following along. He holds my hand the entire walk down the street to the restaurant, gently swinging without care. It was so nice not to care.
"This tastes better than sex," I spoon more cheesecake into my mouth.
"Oh Angel, you've been having the wrong kind," Edward laughs, "do Aussie men not know how to take care of you? Too busy wrestling snakes or something?"
"Have you seen the Hemsworths, Edward?" I scoff.
"Yeah, to be honest, Thor is something else," he nods biting into another scoop of cake.
I shake my head laughing at him.
"You're hilarious," I smile, "I genuinely am so lucky to have met you. I really can't imagine this week without you. It's like I crashed into you because I needed a distraction."
"It's crazy what dropping your groceries can bring," he smirks.
Our dinner had been perfect. The conversation never ran dry, the laughter constant. When he ordered dessert I knew it was simply the best date I've ever been on. He had pulled out my chair, opened the door for me just as Alice had instructed. He reached for my hand every so often across the table, just to gently hold it in his. Little jolts of electricity came from every squeeze.
"Should we head back. It'll be starting to get busy enough," he checks his watch.
"Yeah," I nod.
"You have something…" he trails off before reaching across the table to cup my cheek.
I still.
"There," he concentrates on my lips as his thumb delicately sweeps the corner of my mouth.
"Thanks," I clear my throat.
"What are friends for, Angel," he laughs, "let's go."
I wrap my arm through his as we stroll through the busy streets. He continues making me laugh, pointing out notable restaurants and stores to check out. When we make it to his club the line stretches around the block. He strolls to the front of it, me beside him. The security guard claps Edward's back in greeting before letting his past. Immediately loud, thumping music overcomes us. The floorboards vibrate, my pulse quickens pounding almost as hard as the beat.
People are everywhere. A stark difference to how empty it was when we came earlier. The smell of alcohol is everywhere. Instinctively I shrink closer into Edward, so I don't get lost in the crowd. His arm wraps around my waist holding me close against his side. He leans down to talk into my ear.
"Wanna get a drink? We can go sit upstairs. There's a VIP room that overlooks the whole club with a balcony. Then you won't miss the show," he says.
"Show?" I question back.
But he doesn't hear. If he does, he doesn't respond. Instead, he pulls me toward the bar. He orders us both a drink before motioning upstairs. It earns a nod from the blonde bartender. She wears a bralette similar to what Alice wore earlier, but she has booty shorts on too. Not much is left to the imagination.
"Come on," he tugs me toward the stairs near the edge of the bar.
People crowd various bar tables, booths up here too. There are private little rooms to escape the loud music with couches inside. We reach a room toward the edge of the balcony but this room is sectioned off from the rest of the balcony giving the occupant their own private space to party. Edward pulls me inside shutting the glass door behind us. I make a beeline for the couch, crashing down into the cushions.
"Oh my god this is comfortable," I say shocked.
As I remove my coat his eyes study me. I have never felt more exposed while fully clothed.
"You look sensational. I said beautiful before but it was understating how you look," he sits beside me.
Warmth travels from my cheeks, down my chest and even further south too. I couldn't believe my luck. This night, this man as my date.
"Thank you," I say, "You know you look fairly handsome too. For a friend at least."
He laughs moving closer to me, hand now comfortably at home on my thigh. With one arm wrapped lazily around my shoulders.
"Can I kiss you?" he asks softly.
In answer, I lean forward cupping his face in my hand. His smile welcomes my lips as if they'd been waiting for this. They're inviting, moving to meet my lips. The perfect fit to my own. Gently, but with absolutely no lack of passion what so ever, he kisses me back. His body leans into mine, engulfing me into his arms. Unable to help myself I moan quietly into his mouth, enjoying the intrusion of his tongue. It's like I've been parched my whole life, this makeout is the water.
What started off a sweet, innocent kiss quickly turns into something more. The intensity gets the better of us both and suddenly my legs are covering his lap, giving him the advantage to close the room between us. He leans into me, pushing me deeper back into the couch, his torso covering my small frame. I feel the strength of his hand now on the back of my thigh with each sensual squeeze of bare skin.
"Oh fuck," the door is thrown open, pulling us apart quickly with a jolt, "Alice said you were up here. She never mentioned you were about to go full animal planet on some woman. Finally Edward!"
"Bella. This is my brother, Emmett," he hangs his head slightly, eyes shut from frustration, "Emmett, this is my date for the night, Bella."
"Pleasure to meet you," Emmett flashes his brother a shit-eating grin, "Would you like me to leave you two?"
Emmett places both of our drinks on the small table before us but does quite the opposite of exiting. He sits down on the couch across from us kicking his feet up, looking out over his nightclub.
"Why did you offer to leave?" Edward grunts.
"Something about polite. I need to hide anyway," Emmett says, "she is here. She's down there fucking flirting with guys, letting them look down her tits. If I stay down there another moment I'll punch someone. Alice told me to fuck off up here."
"Language," Edward glares at his brother.
"Oh, does she not speak English?" He motions to me, "My ex-ay is a fucking bitch-ay."
"She speaks English," I nod.
"Oh, an accent. Say something different," he leans forward intrigued.
"Different," I shrug.
Edward laughs, squeezing my inner this as he picks up his drink. I clench my legs together around his hand smiling at him. The fact I made him laugh gives me pride.
"I like her," Emmett grins at me, "switch me. Take Rose and I'll take the cute Aussie."
"I say this with more seriousness than you've ever used in your life, Em. Get fucked," Edward glares at his brother.
"Language," Emmett warns with a similar tone Edward used before.
"It's her job Em. Rose works here," Edward sighs, "Alice won't fire her. So, you'll have to just live with it."
"What happened with her?" I ask.
Edward sits back into the couch groaning. He's not yet removed my legs from his lap or his arm from my shoulders. I like it a lot more than I want to. Part of me wishes I'd never asked so Emmett could leave and I could return to my previous activity.
"She told me we were growing apart," he growls, "So I made a dumb suggestion that we try a break and now she's really gone spring break on my ass. So I broke it off."
"But it was what you wanted?" I shake my head.
"I take it back. Don't like her," Emmett says to Edward.
"Shut up, Em," Edward rolls his eyes, "Emmett is expert at throwing his toys from the pram. He did it with his beautiful girlfriend and now he's expecting her to come crawling back. Instead, she's here clearly pretending to be happy while he mopes around threatening to kill any man she speaks to behind her back. If he opened his eyes he'd see she is actually just as miserable. It's been like this for a year. They fuck every few months then go back to hating each other. It's off and on like a tap."
"That'll win her back," I smile, "Why don't you just say you made a mistake. Win her back properly. You're both drawn to each other clearly, just try to make it work."
"This woman can't be won," Edward laughs, "That's why I like her so much. Emmett can't try anything. He can't commit."
"Daddy issues," Emmett shrugs smiling at me.
A voice calls over the intercom urging the crowd to get excited. That the show was about to start.
"What show?" I demand turning to Edward.
"Just watch," He kisses my cheek.
The lights dim and a spotlight hits the bar. Then the music changes completely and the bar erupts with cheers.
Thanks for reading! Please drop me a review.
L