Page 22 of A Night of Indulgence and Sloth
“A glass of your best whiskey, please. Neat,” I say to the blue-haired bartender currently mixing a Moscow Mule for Kaleb. She’d been trying to flirt when I showed up, though Kaleb was entirely oblivious to it, his mind solely on one specific woman.
I wait until she hands us our drinks before placing my hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry about earlier. She’s going to find you drop dead sexy, regardless of what you wear. You know that.”
He laughs and takes a sip of his drink. “I don’t know that. I can’t manage to read her at all, and I feel ridiculous. Did you know that part of me hopes she’ll figure it out? If she remembered me from the club—”
“If she remembered you from the club, she’d probably quit. And trust me, her knowing doesn’t make it any damn easier. She avoids me like the fucking plague. We knew going into this that things wouldn’t be easy, but we just need to have patience. Regardless of what happens with her in our personal lives, she’s an asset to the team.”
“I know, I know. I won’t jeopardize anything. Don’t worry.”
“Kaleb, that’s not my worry, and you know it. She’s only been working for us for a week. We have plenty of time to woo her. Let’s just focus on getting to know her and making sure she gets to know us. Deal?”
He lifts his glass, knocking it against mine before taking a drink. “Deal.”
I would never admit this to him, at least not on purpose, but I have similar worries. Less about how she’ll perceive me, since the cat’s kind of out of the bag, and more about what it means that she knows. There was something about Liliana that took hold of both of us from the moment we laid eyes on her. Her soulcalled to ours like a siren, and I was starting to realize that with her, I wouldn’t mind drowning.
Liliana
Calantha helped me pick out a dress since I had absolutely no sweet clue what people wore to fancy dinners. The classiest place I’d ever been was the Olive Garden. I’ve never even heard of the restaurant DANIEL before, let alone could afford it now that I’d checked it out online.
I walk through the main doors of the restaurant in my form-fitting black dress with a pair of heels I borrowed from Calantha. Did I spend all morning walking around in them to make sure I don’t make a fool of myself? Yes. Did it work? Not quite. But I figured if I was worried about walking, I couldn’t obsess over the fact that I’d be eating at a nice restaurant with my two incredibly attractive bosses. One of which knew my body intimately and the other that I very much wish did.Yup. Focus on making your feet work, Lily.
While I wait at the podium for someone to seat me, I take in the gorgeous area. There’s a bar nearby where Aiden and Kaleb currently stand, having what appears to be a serious conversation. Aiden has his arm reassuringly placed on a frowning Kaleb’s shoulder. There’s a pull deep inside thatbeckons me toward them, begging to find out what’s wrong. As hard as that pull might be, I don’t give into it. If they want me to know what’s going on, they’ll tell me. We’re co-workers, after all. Not friends.Or anything else, for that matter.
A stunning waitress with ash-blonde hair approaches me at the podium, her lips tilted in a fake smile. She looks me up and down, seeming unimpressed with what she finds. “Table for one?”
Okay, so she’s pretty, but she’s also a bitch.As much as I want to snark back with a comment of my own, I know better than to think I won’t fuck up somehow. It’s funny, really. I protected my sister at the farm and would easily fight any battle for her, but when it comes to myself, that fire just isn’t there anymore. “Actually, I’m here for a reservation under Fitzgerald.”
Suddenly, I hear Kaleb’s voice as he appears beside me. “Ah, you made it.”
I turn to see him smiling at me, looking devilishly handsome in a blue shirt that makes his eyes pop. He takes my arm, causing goosebumps to rise on my flesh, and glances toward the woman behind the booth. “She’s with us.”
To my surprise, she hides her shock well. Or at least better than I expected. Her eyes widen slightly, but her jaw doesn’t hit the floor like I thought it would.
Aiden stands at my other side, dressed elegantly in a gray suit with matching tie and pocket square. He places his hand on the small of my back, and I think I might just faint. Warmth spreads across my flesh, sending a tremor of pleasure right to my core. I tell myself it’s all an act. They must have heard the waitress’ comment and are only trying to make her jealous. That’s all. It’s not like he wants to touch me. That would be inappropriate.Right?
“Come,” Aiden says, striding past us and effectively dismissing the waitress. The blood pumping through my veinsheats at that one word, reminding me of our shared secret.Oh, I came for him alright.
Oblivious to my internal musing, Kaleb leads me through a gorgeous mirrored archway that’s so strategically placed that I almost don’t realize it’s a mirror. We walk past busy tables and other guests, but I’m too busy taking in the opulent room to pay much attention to them. The ceiling has wooden accents and lovely art on each tile. Based on the grandeur of this place, it feels as if it could have been painted by Michelangelo himself.
We don’t stop here, instead passing through an arched doorway into a room with red walls and a much more intimate feel. Finally, Kaleb stops at a curved booth in the corner and gestures for me to sit.
I scoot in, fully intending to keep going all the way until I’m on the other side, but I don’t get that far. Kaleb and Aiden each take a seat, cutting off my exits and leaving me stuck in the middle of the booth. Placing my clutch behind me on the seat, I swallow and try to hide my discomfort. Sandwiched between these two for any reason probably isn’t good for me, though my body doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo.
A server approaches the table to take our drink order, and I welcome the distraction. I find the extensive drink menu, one that doesn’t appear to have any prices next to the cocktails, so you know it has to be pricey, and let Kaleb and Aiden order first.
“I’ll have the white cosmo, please,” I tell him when it’s my turn.
“Great choice, miss. I’ll be back shortly.”
He leaves and as much as I want to look up at my two companions, I don’t. Instead, I take a sip of the water in front of me and peruse the menu.I am so not cut out for this shit.
“We were thinking of ordering from the tasting menu. Smaller portions, but it will give us a chance to try different things. How does that sound?” Kaleb asks.
“That sounds really nice.” And I mean it, I do. Even if I don’t stop my inspection of the menu. Plus, more plates of food meant more chances for the server to save me from any uncomfortable topics of conversation. Win-win.
“Here. There’s a few options on this side.” Kaleb reaches over to flip my menu, making it more than obvious that I hadn’t truly been paying attention. Great. Just great. Could this evening get any worse?
I check out the selection, not at all surprised to find half of the words are much too fancy for me to know what they truly are.What the hell is a vichyssoise, anyway?
