You never have been and you never will be. We will always be here for you.”
I can’t hold back the tears that cloud my vision. I give him a small smile and squeeze his hand back. “Thank you, Robert. Thank you for always caring. For being there for all of us. I truly don’t know where our lives would be without you.”
“Ah well, thank you, but it goes both ways as I don’t know what my life would look like without you ladies as well. We need to thank Jenna for paying me so well that I stick around.” He winks at me and we laugh at his joke. We both know he could probably make more money somewhere else, but wouldn’t get the flexibility, creative freedom, or the love that he gets with a boss like Jenna.
“We need to make a toast,” he yells to Nico, the bartender, for two more drinks. Nico quickly gets us more cider and delivers it to us. “To you, Layla! Cheers to your determination and strength to lead you on the path of health, wealth, love, and happiness!” We click our glasses together and drink.
“I’ve started looking for other jobs. I know my job is unhealthy for me, but I don’t know if I’m ready to ease myself back into the dating world quite yet,” I tell him as I put my glass down and take another bite of my food.
“Start off slow. I know, let’s create an online dating profile for you!” he says with excitement as he claps his hands together. I look at him with unease, dreading the fact that I might need to tell him I already have an online account that I used in order to find one nights stands.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea just yet, Robert. Let me continue working on myself for a little bit longer and then I’ll consider online dating.” I make a mental note to delete my current account so he doesn’t see it. Robert is definitely the type of friend who would create one for you behind your back and start playing matchmaker.
I watch his eyes leave me as they fix on something past my shoulders. A slow, evil smile spreads his lips as he looks back at me. “Forget online dating. I think the perfect person to help ease you back into the dating world has been underneath our noses this whole time.”
I give him a questioning look and turn around to see who he is referring to.
Imagine my surprise to see Chase Wilson staring back at me.
8
Chase
After cleaning up the shattered glass, I needed to get the hell out of my apartment, so I grabbed my camera and decided to walk the streets of Chicago. Photography used to bring me a sense of calmness before I became a paparazzi and I wanted to see if that still held true by taking photos of the beautiful architecture that makes this city so famous. Two hours later, I feel better and find myself near O’Malley’s Irish Pub. I’ve only been to O’Malley’s once in the past and that was to do some investigative research on Jenna. The bartenders were pretty loyal to Jenna, who was a regular along with Robert and Layla, and never took my bribes of money for information on her. It has a lively atmosphere and is known for their authentic Irish food and drink. With the crap day I had, imbibing in some Jameson whiskey sounded like a great idea, so I decided to go in.
Turns out my night was about to get a whole helluva a lot better when my eyes landed on Layla Sands.
Robert waves me over and I immediately see Layla shaking her head and mouthing “hell no” to him. If she was trying to be discreet about her feelings for having me at their table, she was doing a piss poor job at it. Somehow I doubt that Layla even cares and that makes me smile even broader at them.
“Hello Robert…Layla,” I nod at each of them, my gaze lingering longer on her. She looks beautiful as always, her aqua satin shirt making her blue eyes even more electrifying. The top two buttons of her shirt are unbuttoned and I can see a hint of her sexy, creamy cleavage. Flashbacks of those luscious, more than a handful, breasts start toying with my mind and I decide it’s best to keep my eyes on Robert in order to prevent my dick from growing