Page 80 of Heartless

“Yeah. I need something to take the edge off. It’s been a long week.”

“Everything okay with you and Meadow?” Angie asks as we walk behind the rest of the group down the hallway of the hotel towards the bar.

“Yeah, everything is fine. It’s just this baby thing. It’s driving me crazy because it’s all she can think about day and night. Ang, it’s driving a wedge between us.”

I haven’t told anyone the truth. They don’t need to know that my wife has already walked out on me and told me that it was over.

Most importantly, they don’t need to know it’s because I cheated with one of our staff.

“Well, you know how I feel about all that. I’ve told Jack that we’re not having a baby for at least three years from now. I have too much to accomplish in my career before I settle down with kids. They take a lot of time, energy, and attention. I never want to short my kids on love.”

“I’m sure that you’ll make an excellent mother when you do decide, Angie.”

She smirks at me, and we step into the bar.

“We’ve got a table over here,” Andre, one of the men in our group, waves us over.

There are four other people at the table besides Andre. Blair, Heather, Mitchell, and Sonia are there as well.

Once Angie and I are seated, we place our drink order, and the chatter begins. The conversation moves from the conference, that just concluded, to sports, to vacation to our plans when we return home.

Everyone at the table is married except for Blair who just started a relationship with a man she met online. She regals us with tales of online dating before we move on to reminiscing about our college years.

Looking around for the waitress, I see that she’s busy, so I head to the bar to request another round of drinks.

As I sit at the bar waiting for the bartender, a beautiful woman brushes up against me.

“Excuse me,” she says coyly, biting back a shy smile. “I thought you were someone else.”

“Who?”

“Have you ever heard of Darien Martin? The actor?”

Shaking my head, I reply, “I can’t say that I have, but I admit that’s the most unique pickup line I’ve heard to date.”

Laughing, she says, “You’ve got me. I couldn’t help but notice you over there with your friends.”

“Business constituents.”

“What?”

“I’m here on business. They’re not my friends. Good people, just not...never mind,” I say, shaking my head as she smirks at me.

“It’s all good.”

“And you? What are you doing here alone? It’s not good for a lady to be in a bar by herself.”

“I think I’m fully capable of handling myself.”

“Oh, you are, are you?”

“I have to be. I have three older brothers who whooped my ass on a daily when my pops wasn’t around. Being raised in a houseful of men, you have no choice but to be tough as nails. There was no room for tears and breakdowns.”

“I hear that. I’m sure your mom is proud, too.”

I find the woman attractive, but I’m not interested in anything other than good conversation. We’ll talk, maybe share a few laughs, and I’ll buy her next drink. After that, I’ll leave here and head back to my room where I’ll hopefully get a good night’s sleep and then return home.

My empty home.

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