Tonight I had another shift so Brandon was hovering, he tried to subtle about it but he failed miserably. I didn’t pay him much attention though, I was more focused on my cell phone. In fact, I was obsessed with it, checking it every damn minute, hoping Nicolas Woods sent me a message. Sent me anything really. It was getting pathetic and unhealthy. It also made me wonder if Brandon was right about that guy, maybe he was toying with me. Loving the chase, but now that he pinpointed where I was standing, he was no longer interested.
“Anything changed in the past minute?” Brandon asked sarcastically, moving past me while he dropped his bag in his locker.
“Shut up.”
Brandon ran his fingers through his hair, quickly fixing it while his eyes were on me, “Don’t be that girl.”
“What girl?”
I knew what he was talking about. The sad girl everyone felt sorry for because the hot guy who obviously messed around with her was no longer showing up. He was done with her. Therefore everyone around her looked at her with pity in her eyes. Yet THAT girl kept holding on. I was definitely being that girl right now.
“You know.” He told me quietly.
I knew very well. Wouldn’t admit that to him though. Not in a million years, my pride wouldn’t let me.
“Your hair needs another layer of mousse,” I told him snidely I pocketed my phone.
Brandon’s lips curled up into a smirk as he buttoned up his white crisp shirt and straightened the color. He stopped commenting on my behavior which was appreciated. He didn’t have to say more, the message came across crystal clear.
“Promise me.”
I sat on the bench in front of our lockers staring at him as he morphed into the charming blonde bartender all the drunk women were crushing on.
“What?”
“Don’t lose your mind over him. If he’s done, you’re done too. His loss really, you’re a catch.”
This time it was me who was smirking, “Stop being so damn perfect.”
“Can’t help it, Em.”
I chuckled, “Because you were born perfect?”
He slammed his locker shut and turned to look at me, giving me his full Hollywood smile, “No one is born perfect, Em. It takes lots of time and effort to improve yourself, but no one will ever reach the state of being perfect. Because humans are simply flawed.”
I smiled, “So you are capable of having an actual conversation with a woman.”
Throwing me a glare he moved to the door and reached for the doorknob, stopping in his tracks to look at me over his shoulder, “See you in a bit, get yourself together first.”
Nodding I looked away again, staring at the lockers in front of me. Taking a deep breath I let all the stress I had over Nick not contacting me leave my body and reminded myself of Brandon’s words. Wise words for someone who always joked around. If he was done, I was done too. I couldn’t become that girl.
Grabbing my nametag I placed it on, straightening my white button up shirt as well. Walking up to the tall mirror near the bathroom I fixed my hair and ran my hands over my uniform. Making sure it was straight, no wrinkles allowed. My head might be a mess right now, my appearance wouldn’t be. Taking another deep breath I actually felt all the tension leave my body, feeling a lot lighter. Feeling better about myself I walked out of the employees’ room, smacking right into a brick wall known as Evan Black. Nick’s business associate, best friend and also his rival.
Evan placed his hands on my shoulders to steady me, flashing me his panty-dropping smirk, “Hi there, beautiful. Fancy running into you here.”
“I am an employee here.” I told him, pointing behind me, “And this is the employees’ room, so you know, the chance was pretty high of us running into each other.”
Evan’s eyes lightened up with amusement, “That’s the girl who caught Nick’s eye.” He slid his hands down my arms and pulled away, “Actually, I haven’t seen you in a while so I figured I’d drop by and say hello. Have a drink or two while I’m here.”
Something about his eyes and his words made me distrust him, “You’re here to say hello?” I asked him, folding my arms across my chest, “Really?”
“Well, that and to piss Nick off.”
There was the real reason why he showed up. I couldn’t believe this guy actually stalked me to piss off Nick. Whatever rivalry they had going on was intense. It was also something I didn’t wish to be part of. But by the looks of it, I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t exactly have security throw, Evan, out since he was the big boss’ best friend.
“You’re trying to piss Nick off while he is not here?” I asked confused, “How does that work exactly?”
Walking past him I headed to the bar and helped Brandon stall out the glasses. Evan stood right across me, watching me do my tasks while he continued our conversation.
“He isn’t here yet.” He told me cheekily.
“What are you planning, Evan?” I asked, narrowing my eyes on the smirking bastard who was a professional mastermind by night.
“You give me too much credit, beautiful.” He smiled at the brunette who ‘accidentally’ bumped into him to get his attention and shifted his gaze back at me, “All I did was get in my car after work and asked my driver to take me to the club.”
“Okay, so what’s up with the Cheshire grin?”
“I think some paparazzi guy followed me, could have been more, but I don’t pay attention to it.”
Definitely a professional mastermind by night. That paparazzi guy didn’t start following him by mere coincidence, Evan planned it that way. He was also giving me no choice here, I was becoming part of their little rivalry game and just had to endure it.
Placing my hands on the counter I leaned forward, watching Evan lean closer as well. Never breaking eye contact with the smirking bastard.
“Did you consider that I might not want to be in tabloids or all over the internet? The one who is getting hurt here is me, Evan, not Nick.”
Those words made the permanent grin Evan had on his face slip, along with the amusement in his eyes, “Dating Nicolas comes with consequences, beautiful. The whole media circus is a part of his life, deal with it or reconsider your decision.”
I never said I was dating Nick and I was pretty sure Nick didn’t admit that to anyone either. We were teasing each other, definitely playing the game. But things weren’t official. That being said, I also knew people were speculating about us. Pictures of me in my royal blue dress pressed up against Nick’s side was spreading like the plague over the internet. There wasn’t much you could do about that. Realization must have been clear in my eyes because Evan moved back, giving me a firm nod before his eyes shifted to Brandon.
“Maybe you could help me out here since this lovely lady refuses to pour me a drink.”
Brandon didn’t say much, but I could see he was displeased about the whole situation. He wouldn’t say anything to either one of us now though. Not when we were both on our shift.
“What would you like to drink, sir?”
“A whiskey, please, top shelf.” He smirked when Brandon scoffed and reached for the most expensive bottle we had, “Put it on Nick’s account.”
Okay, I was trying to be professional here, but I couldn’t hold in my laughter when he said that. Both guys glanced at me when I chuckled. Evan grinned at me, actually giving me a wink as he reached for the glass Brandon poured him.
“Thanks, man.”
“No problem.”
Evan pushed away from the bar and raised his glass to me, “You know where to find me, beautiful.”