Warning: Will eventually contain mature material. Language. Lemons. Some spicy limes. Maybe full-blown things. ~_^

A.N. - The next couple of chappies should come quickly because my muse is in hyper-drive right now, so keep an eye out my precious readers!

A Salvation Called Love

-Chapter 22-

-Drinks and That Surprise Conversation-

[Mr. Gold – Two Weeks Later]

The house was empty. Silent. Like it used to be before Annabelle had come into my life. I couldn't stay there without thinking about her. I stayed at work for as long as I could, sometimes spending the night. I did have a leather sofa in my office, so it helped. When I did go back to the house, usually to take care of the roses she so painstakingly took care of while she was here, I ended up in her room just laying on her bed hugging one of her pillows. They still smelled like her. When I was at work the only comfort of hers that I had were the pictures on my computer. Instead of doing the paperwork that I was supposed to do, I just sat there staring at the slideshow. In the pictures she knew that I took her smile was beautiful. With the pictures that I snuck of her where she wasn't paying attention, I could only remember what if felt like to touch her bare skin. I hungered to taste her again, craved to touch her smooth, silky skin. She haunted me awake and haunted me in sleep. I knew a year was going to see me insane. Insane. Lost. Mad. Mad from desire to see her. It's only been two weeks and I felt like I wanted to kidnap her back. But we had a deal. I couldn't see her, wouldn't see her. I couldn't afford to be weak. Not now. Not when she was living her dreams. I wanted her to be happy… happy away from me for now at least.

Currently I was in my office. My appointments were done for the day and for that I was absolutely thankful. I'd been doing less and less deals since me and Annabelle had parted. It didn't really affect my company, but my clients were starting to complain. I was sitting at my desk with a glass of scotch waiting for me to drink it. I was trying to escape my thoughts. With a heavy sigh I leaned back in my chair and ran both of my hands through my hair, tugging on it when I got to the end. "Dammit. Dammit why must you drive me insane?"

There was a slight knock on the door and it opened seconds after. It was Margret. "Mr. Gold. There is someone asking for you downstairs in the lobby."

I dropped my hands on the arms of the chair and stared at her. "I'm not accepting visitors."

She fidgeted a little. "It's Mr. Amatheon."

I narrowed my eyes at her for a few moments before taking a deep breath. "Fine. Tell him I'll be down in a few moments. I don't want him anywhere but the lobby, understand?"

Margret nodded and left quickly, leaving the door ajar. I stood up and grabbed my cane. I didn't know what he wanted but this would at least calm my thoughts of Annabelle. For the moment. I closed my office door behind me and headed downstairs. Margret was at her desk but I didn't bother saying anything else to her. When I got into the elevator I leaned my forehead against the doors after they closed and silently cursed these feelings that were eating away inside of me. A year was too long.

The elevator stopped on the first floor and the doors dinged as they opened. I straightened up and readjusted my suit as I walked out. Mr. Amatheon was waiting a few feet away. He stared at me with an intense gaze until I stopped in front of him. He offered me his hand. "Mr. Gold."

I narrowed my eyes at him but took his hand. His grip tightened only minutely to form a firm handshake. The handshake of a man. "Mr. Amatheon. How may I help you this evening?"

I motioned for him to take a seat in the seating area but he shook his head. "Do you want to go get a drink?"

"A drink?"

Mr. Amatheon gave a nervous cough and readjusted his jacket. "A scotch or something?"

I blinked at him for a few moments as I rested both of my hands against the top of my cane, gripping the handle tightly. "Is this some kind of joke, Mr. Amatheon?"

He quickly shook his head. "No, sir, Mr. Gold. I just… I just wish to talk, that's all."

I stayed silent for a few moments more watching him squirm under my gaze. Finally I gave a small shrug. "I suppose I can. I'm done with my clients for the evening."

He moved away to wait for me at the doors while I pulled out my phone and called up to Margret. She answered on the second ring. "Margret speaking."

"Margret."

"Oh! Mr. Gold, is everything alright downstairs? Do I need to call security?"

I made a small tsking noise and shook my head even though I knew she couldn't see me. "No, Margret. Everything is fine. I'm just calling to tell you that I'll be going out for a drink. You can lock up and go home. I'll come back in an hour to pick up my briefcase and papers."

"Oh, ok. Have a good night then, Mr. Gold."

"Same to you, Margret." I hung up without another word and tucked my phone into one of my suit pockets. I turned around and walked over to where Mr. Amatheon was waiting. He held one of the doors open for me and I walked on through, my cane clicking lightly on the floor. I got a small amount of happiness at seeing him flinch at the sound. When we both were outside and the cool New York air was rustling against us, I turned and peered up at the man. "Did you have any one place decided for a drink? Or shall we go to the gentleman's bar down the block a ways?"

Mr. Amatheon gave a small shrug. "I don't mind a little walk if you don't."

I grinned, flashing my golden tooth. "Then the gentleman's bar it is."

We turned and walked down the sidewalk. The sun was setting and the sky was beautiful above the city but I kept my thoughts to myself as we walked in silence. When we got to the gentleman's bar it was my turn to hold the door open for Mr. Amatheon. I grinned as he gave me a shocked look. Who would have thought me a gentleman? I laughed silently to myself at the small joke. A gentleman? Rrriigghhtt. As we entered the voices hushed for a few seconds as the men inside eyed both of us before finally resuming to their normal conversations. I took the lead and guided us over to my own personal booth at the back of the bar. In fact, I owned the bar. The owner had asked for a deal and offered me the only thing of value he had, the bar that had been passed down from his father and his father's father. But who needed to know that? I scooted into one side of the booth and tucked my cane in under the table so that it sat against my leg and wouldn't trip anyone. Mr. Amatheon scooted in on the other side.

My normal waiter walked up with a big smile and handed Mr. Amatheon a menu before turning to me. "The usual scotch and ice, Mr. Gold?"

I nodded and motioned towards Mr. Amatheon. "Let him get whatever he wants. It'll be on the house." The waiter nodded and waited for Mr. Amatheon to order. He ordered a bottle of Gulden Draak, a heavy imported beer. I arched a brow at him. "A tad bit expensive I'd say, Mr. Amatheon."

Mr. Amatheon had the dignity to blush a little. "I'm sorry, it's what I used to get when I was working for you. I was able to afford it then. I can get something else."

I grinned and waved the thought away. "No problem, Mr. Amatheon. I can treat you to one since you are Annabelle's father and she would most likely get onto me for being stingy to her father."

He gave a small laugh and leaned back in against the back of the booth. "I don't know, she might knock me on the head for getting such a heavy beer. She hates it when I drink."

My grin grew as I pictured her doing such a thing. "I bet she would. She is a feisty one, Mr. Amatheon."

Mr. Amatheon gave a small cough and shifted forward to lean his elbows on the table. "If it's not too much of a bother… I'd like it if you called me Bill. And… and I'd like to apologize for my actions the day you brought my daughter to visit."

"Hnnn." I reached up and scratched at the unshaven stubble along my chin. "I suppose if it's a genuine apology I can accept. But truthfully it's not me you should be apologizing to… Bill."

Mr. Amatheon shifted again and gave a small nod. "I know that. I shouldn't have said what I said to her. She is my only daughter after all."

We stopped talking as the waiter brought us our drinks, sitting them gently down on the table. He smiled, told us he'd be close if we needed anything else and left. I picked up my scotch and slowly swirled the gold liquid around for a few seconds before taking a small sip. It burned down my throat, rich and perfect. "What did you want to talk about, Bill? Or did you just want to apologize and drink?"

Mr. Amatheon sighed and leaned back in the booth, taking a deep swig of his beer. I wanted to make a disgusted face but I refrained. I preferred a lighter, pale beer that wasn't as strong. Something like Rolling Rock. "That's one reason I wanted to talk."

I inclined my head to the side and arched a brow. "And the other?"

He took another swig and slowly sat the bottle down on the table. "I wanted to thank you for paying for her senior year."

I shrugged. "I didn't do it for you."

He sighed heavily. "I know that. I know it's all for her but that doesn't mean I can't thank you."

I gave a small nod and took another small sip of my scotch. I was tempted to crunch on a piece of the scotch soaked ice but refrained. "Thanks accepted then."

"Can I…" He paused and stared at me silently for a few moments trying to gather a little courage to ask what he was going to ask. "Can I ask why you did it?"

I sat my glass down and ran one of my hands across my face, scratching a little at my stubble. It was relaxing and completely an unconscious gesture. I'd been in the habit of doing that lately since I stopped shaving. Since Annabelle had left, I felt like I didn't really need to look as clean-shaven. A little scruff didn't look bad. "I wanted…" I paused and tried to gather my thoughts together. "I don't have many pleasures in this life, Bill. I'm a rich man and I can have what I want, but that only fills me up so much. Then it gets boring. I've been in business for a long time now. My life was set in stone pretty much. Then your daughter popped in and for once someone defied me. Fought with me and butted heads. She brought life to my old bones after a long time of having nothing to care for." I gave a small shrug. "I found that I wanted to give her her hearts desires. Her music is her passion… I also knew…"

I paused for a long moment, long enough that Mr. Amatheon had to prompt me. "You also knew what?"

My tongue flicked out a little to lick against my lips and I cocked my head to the side, blinking at him steadily before speaking again. "I knew that I couldn't keep her." I picked my scotch back up and tossed the rest of it back. I looked for the waiter and nodded at him, wanting another scotch.

Mr. Amatheon stared at me intently for the longest moment. "Do you love her, Mr. Gold?"

I refused to look at him until after the waiter brought me another glass of scotch and I'd tossed a good portion of it back. "I don't know if I'm capable of loving, Bill."

Mr. Amatheon frowned. "You don't know if you're capable of loving? What kind of answer is that? You either love her or you don't. It's as simple as that."

I slammed my glass down, sloshing a little of the scotch onto the table. "It's not simple, Mr. Amatheon. Love isn't simple. If this tortured feeling inside of me is love, if this angst of not having her next to me at night is love, then yes. Yes I'm in love." I relaxed back against the booth and pressed my thumb and forefinger against the bridge of my nose. "Before I knew it, she'd begun to consume my thoughts every hour of the day. I burned with the desire to hold her, kiss her, touch her beautiful skin… to keep her forever."

Mr. Amatheon slowly nodded his head and watched me the whole time. "You wanted to keep her forever, using my debt as an excuse, but she's changed your way of thinking. Hasn't she, Mr. Gold?"

I slowly opened my eyes and peered at him from behind my hand. "Yes."

He grunted and picked up his beer to take a big drink. He wiped at his mouth when he was finished and sat the bottle down with a soft thud. "Her mother was the same way. It's where she got that particular talent from."

I slowly sat back up straight, adjusting my suit until it sat right. "She must have been a good woman."

Mr. Amatheon nodded. "That she was." A small smile spread across his face as he remembered his deceased wife. "And I see her in Annabelle every time I look at her." He finished his beer and slowly stood, towering over me as I sat in the booth. I had to crane my neck back just to stare up at him. "You shouldn't let a year go before you see her, Mr. Gold. You shouldn't try to push her away. If she's changed you this much, in such a short time, then I think my Annabelle would be good for you."

I frowned up at him. "What are you saying, Mr. Amatheon?"

He reached out and patted me roughly on the back. It was a very unexpected gesture and one that I wasn't familiar with receiving. People rarely touched me. "I'm saying that I'm putting all the crap aside and telling you not to let my daughter go. I don't give a shit about age, Mr. Gold. You're a fine man for your age and healthy to boot it seems. I think you'd give my daughter a good life for a long while."

By the time the meaning of his words completely sank in he'd already collected his jacket and gone. I was left sitting in the booth by myself with a half empty scotch and a very confused look on my face. Tonight hadn't been something I'd expected to ever experience. I wasn't even sure it had really happened. I tossed back the rest of my scotch and scooted out of my booth, pulling my cane with me. I thanked the waiter as I left and exited the bar. It had gotten dark while I'd been inside and a few people passed by while I popped up the lapels of my suit jacket as the cool air blew against my skin. My thoughts consumed me as I made my way back to the office and when I let myself in everyone but the security guards were gone. I rode the elevator up to my office and collected my things quickly. I didn't feel like sleeping at the office tonight. I had too much to think about and laying in Annabelle's bed sounded like a good plan. Tonight had been strange but as I got into my car and pulled out onto the street I felt myself smiling for the first time since Annabelle had left me. Maybe I should plan a visit down to Florida to see my sweet Annabelle. Maybe, just maybe I'd allow myself another night with her.