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"We rehab failing businesses. Our specialty is determining why a company is deteriorating, getting it moving in a different direction, and then selling it for a profit."
It's hard to concentrate on his words since I'm too busy watching his face. He's expressive, and it's clear that he has more passion for his work and what it can do for people than most people will ever have for anything in their lives. His eyes sparkle, and he gestures to illustrate his points. In that moment I know that I'm in trouble. If there's one thing I have a weakness for, it's passionate, powerful men. Liam Calloway exemplifies both. I take a deep breath and resolve to enjoy the night before I tell him I can never see him again.
Suddenly he leans in to me, as if he's about to tell me a secret that only I can know.
"I like to find broken things, discover their secrets, and repair them until they're far better than how I found them," he says, staring at me intently.
I squirm under the weight of his stare. I feel like he's looking straight into me, searching for all ofmysecrets. I ignore the double entendre of his comments and concentrate on finishing the most delicious piece of chocolate cake that I've ever tasted.
After we're both done eating, he escorts me to the curb where the valet has brought his car. He opens the door for me and I feel a shiver as he holds my hand while he helps me inside. He runs to the other side, and quickly gets the heater started as we start our drive out to Beacon Hill.
Despite the hard life I've had here, Boston is one of my favorite places I have found myself. The flawless way that the past and the present weave together has always charmed me. I love that I can in the same day, walk the Freedom Trail and visit sites dating back to the 1600s, and then afterwards walk among the towering skyscrapers of the Financial District. It's incredible.
When I appeared in this time period, I found myself in a small town in Nebraska. This was the first time since leaving Gabriel that I found myself in a place and time that gave me a chance to find out what happened to him. I rode a Greyhound all the way to Virginia where I finally found out that he had ended up in Boston. I only found this out thanks to a letter in the local library that had been saved and preserved in a glass case because it was supposedly from one of the founding fathers. I had been in Boston for almost a year, searching every cemetery I could find in my spare time, but I still hadn't found his grave yet. I was still hanging onto the hope that I wouldn't find it at all.
We pull up to a gorgeous, red brick townhouse in Beacon Hill, and my thoughts bounce back and forth between the past and the present. It's a pricey, historic neighborhood with cobblestone streets that make me long with every fiber of my being for Gabriel every time I see them. We had spent so many evenings walking along cobblestone streets, talking about everything that passed through our minds. The first time he had kissed me had been on the cobblestone streets in the main square of the town.
My happiness at dinner has faded from my march down memory lane, and I feel trepidation and a wave of depression as Liam finishes parking and opens my door for me. Liam grabs my hand as we walk to the door, and I feel the itchy urge to pull away and run. He must feel the tension in my body because he stops us in front of the door.
"Everything all right?" he asks, squeezing my hand reassuringly.
"Everything's fine," I tell him, knowing that the smile that I'm flashing is not very convincing. "I just haven't been to a party in a long time."
I leave out the fact that I've never been to a party in this lifetime. I'm sure what we are about to walk into will be a far cry from the parties of my past.
Liam opens the door without knocking, and we walk in. Despite the classic look of the outside of the townhouse, the inside has been completely redone to give it a modern feel. Liam lets go of my hand, and moves his arm to the back of me, sliding his hand to the bottom of my back as he does so. It feels intimate, much more so than even holding hands had felt, and I wonder why that is.
The rooms are dimly lit, I guess to set the mood, and there's a few bars set up around the room to serve everyone. It's far busier than Liam insinuated it would be, and I feel uneasy and out of place as I look at everyone.
It's a room full of finely dressed, beautiful people and they all appear to be looking at us.
A chorus of hellos fills the air as everyone seems to want to have a piece of Liam. The room starts to spin after an hour of what seems like a million introductions. I ease myself away from Liam after a group of his business associates start to pepper him with questions about the stock market. I make my way over to one of the bars and order a whiskey sour, a slight smile on my face as an old memory crosses my mind.
"I don't have very many people request this one," the bartender tells me, flashing me a charming smile.
"It's a classic," I agree, as I take my first sip of my drink and walk away.
I feel a soft tap on my shoulder and I turn and see a beautiful, willowy brunette standing in front of me.
"I don't think we've met," she says in a soft, breathy voice that fits her stunning appearance perfectly. "Are you Liam's date?" she asks.
Yep, saw that one coming. This girl has to be an ex of Liam's.
"Just a friend he took pity on," I tell her, and I see a flash of relief in her eyes. Totally an ex.
"Miranda?" comes Liam's voice behind me. It sounds hesitant and a far departure from the usual confidence that I've seen Liam exude.
"Liam," she says brokenly, and I find myself feeling very uncomfortable standing between them.
Looking at Liam, he looks conflicted, and I wonder if I was invited to this party to make this Miranda girl jealous. That would be a first.
"I'll just be over there," I tell them, trying to hurry away as I down my drink. Liam puts a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
"I'm so sorry," he whispers. "I didn't know she would be here. I just need five minutes," he says.
I nod understandingly and head to the bartender from before, looking over my shoulder once to watch him escort Miranda out of the room. There's a pang in my heart that I ignore when I see how low his hand sits on her back.
Five minutes turns out to be over an hour, and by the time Liam comes back looking harried, and without Miranda, I'm several drinks in. I'm pretty sure that the bartender either wants in my pants or feels sorry that my date ditched me, because the drinks still taste extremely strong despite the fact that I'm very drunk at this point.
