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he wasn’t the type of person to be lounging in a bar in the middle of the day. I hoped she was alright.
I walked hurriedly and pushed open the doors of the establishment. It was a dark place, with a handful of people in there already. Techies with their laptops and glasses of cold beer beside them. I scanned the room and found Beverley slumped on the counter. The barman was listlessly polishing glasses in front of her, unbothered. I weaved through the tables towards her, and before I could stop myself I was pulling her up by her shoulders.
“Beverley! Are you okay?” I asked and realized that she had her eyes open. She wriggled against me and finally managed to push me away.
“What do you think you’re doing? Leave me alone!” she hissed and I stepped away from her. I pulled my jacket back down in place and fixed my cufflinks. She was glaring at me and looked me up and down like she was assessing me.
“What are you doing here? And why are you in a suit?” she said.
“I had a morning meeting, and what are you doing here?” I asked her in a softer voice. Beverley reached for the glass of clear liquid in front of her and emptied it in her mouth. I clenched my jaw as I stared at her.
“What are you drinking? Why are you drinking?” I said, in a low guttural growl and she arched an eyebrow at me.
“It’s just water, and anyway, what do you care? And what makes you think that I need to answer to you?” she said. Defiance was streaming out of her large green eyes. Her straight hair was a little frizzy today and she was in old clothes.
“I care because I’m worried that this business deal is taking an emotional toll on you, and I feel responsible,” I said and shoved my hands into the pockets of my pants. A half weak smile crept up on her face and she looked away from me.
“You’re not responsible for me, Grant. I’m my own person,” she said.
Chapter 15
Beverley
“Beverley, I’m trying to help you,” Grant said it through gritted teeth and brought his face really close to mine. If other people in the bar could hear us, he didn’t seem to care. He was standing in front of me and now had me cornered; with his arms on either side of me. Our faces were only inches apart.
“Why?” I spat out and he took in a deep breath.
“Because your product is good and you’re an old friend,” he said and a sarcastic laugh escaped my lips.
“Friends? We were never friends, Grant!” I said and he stared at me. His blue eyes had darkened and I could see every strand in his beard. His gaze was focused on me, on my nose and my lips and then back to my eyes again.
“Call it what you want then, college loyalty,” he said, in a softer voice. But my nostrils were flared. I wasn’t prepared to see him, not so soon after what had happened the previous day. In fact, I had planned on never seeing him again.
“You don’t need to help me, and you definitely don’t need to show up at a bar and rescue me,” I said, jutting my chin out at him. For a moment I thought he was going to kiss me again. His lips were set in a thin line and I could smell the heady musky scent of his cologne. He was too close to me for comfort and I shifted in my stool.
“I’m not trying to rescue you, I’m just trying to talk to you,” he said and I rolled my eyes.
“You keep saying that, but I don’t know what we can talk about. It’s a business deal and our lawyers will see it through,” I said and looked away from him. Even with my eyes averted, I could tell that he was glaring at me. Thinking of the next thing to say.
“Beverley, this isn’t a competition anymore,” he said, in a much quieter voice and I whipped my head around to look at him.
“Who said it’s a competition? What makes you think I’m competing with you?” I asked him, trying to fool myself at the same time. It had always been a competition with Grant. Previously, in college it had been just friendly fire, but now it was a full fledged war. At least in my eyes.
“Why are you taking it so badly then?” he asked and I straightened myself.
“I would have taken it badly no matter who was buying my company. It isn’t about you,” I told him and I realized that my lips were quivering. He watched my lips and then narrowed his eyes at me again.
“So, why did you leave last night?” he asked, after a few seconds of silence. I crossed my brows and pretended to not know what he was talking about.
“Because I didn’t…” I tried to say the words, but I was melting in his eyes.
I felt him reach for my hand and he yanked me off the stool. My heart was racing again, as he tugged me gently, leading me around the tables till we reached the toilets at the back of the bar. When I realized where he was taking us, my stomach fell. I knew what was going to happen and my mind went into a tizzy.
But I didn’t resist it, because that was exactly what I wanted. Once again, in Grant’s presence; all common sense had disappeared and I was left with this raw need to have him.
Unconcerned by who was watching us, Grant pushed open the door of the toilet. There was just one, a unisex toilet that was thankfully well maintained and he let go of my hand when he locked it shut behind us.
“Grant, I…” I tried to say but he had grabbed my face with both hands again and we were kissing.
