Bent not Broken (259 page)

Getting up from the couch, I walked over, grabbed my bags, and headed to my bedroom before shouting, “See! There’s a good sport, so I should be ready around ten?”

I walked into my bedroom when I heard him yell. “
Yeah
! And don’t be taking like five hours getting ready either!” I laughed and shut my door. It was only five, so I could take a nap. I hung up all my new clothes and laid out a dress, accessories, and shoes for the night.

****

At 9:45 I was dressed with my hair and makeup done. Walking out of my bedroom, I decided to bother Jeremy. Not bothering to knock, I opened his bedroom door. To my surprise, he was lying on his bed in the same boxer briefs. “Jeremy!” His startled eyes peeked over the open lid of his laptop. “What are you doing? It’s fifteen minutes to ten!” Cocking my head, I glared at him as I threw one hand to my hip.

Removing the laptop from on top of his stomach, he placed it beside him and sat up. “Come on now, you know it only takes me fifteen minutes to get ready. I’ll hop in the shower now.” He stood from the bed. After a few steps, he froze and eyed me up and down. It was an erotic stare down, and my legs uncomfortably began to tremble. “What?” I asked, straightening my posture but keeping my hand on my hip.

With a slow and steady stride, he walked over. When he reached me, he was so close I could reach out and run my hands down his beautifully formed abs.
He was sexy
, but I didn’t see him that way—not anymore.

Leaning in, he rested his hands against the inner doorway, my head trapped between his biceps. As if he weren’t near enough, he moved in closer to the side of my face. “How could you possibly help me find the sexiest girl in the club tonight? When I’m staring at her right now?” He erotically purred the words in my ear.

He was
delusional
! He knew better than to make sensual comments like that when I was already in heat. My initial reaction was to smack his arm, and I did it so fast, loud, and hard it made him jump and grab his bicep. “Jeremy! Quit that nonsense, get in the shower, and take me out! You owe me two drinks and a shot for that!” He smiled with his gleaming aqua blue eyes.

“Okay, okay, give a man a break. At least I tried. I am serious though; you look hot! I’ll be pissed if I hear you got laid tonight and I didn’t.” Grabbing a towel, he headed for the shower.

Shaking my head, I made my way to the living room, threw myself on the couch, and grabbed this month’s People magazine.

Twenty minutes later Jeremy was standing in the living room in his fitted black pants and white button-down shirt with the top two buttons unhooked. His sleeves were rolled halfway up his forearms. His blond hair was damp from the shower but more maintained than earlier. He was wearing black shoes; although I knew he’d rather wear sneakers. Club21 has a strict no-jeans-and-sneakers policy; it’s
also
harder to get into.

I hurried to my bedroom to take one last glance in the mirror. I decided to leave my hair down. It was parted in the middle, so the golden brown waves fell down the side of my face and along my shoulders. The dress was a little short and tight, but it flattered my curves. The nude four-inch pumps allowed the radiant blue dress to pop; a bold gold chain necklace and matching bracelet completed my outfit. I smiled at my reflection, mentally thanking Melissa for the tips.

Chapter Two

In thirty minutes, we were in the Midtown Center City Boston nightlife. There was a strip with restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, but the place to be was Club21. After finding parking, we walked down the strip side by side, taking in the spring breeze. The stars in the night sky shone so beautifully on such a clear evening. When we reached the building, it had a ridiculous line that extended to the other end of the corner. It was a Tuesday night!

Then I remembered that day began the summer break for most universities, and many students were out celebrating. Luckily Jeremy’s father was CEO of McCullen’s Architecture & Designs. Mr. McCullen’s firm built and designed Club21, thus my earlier comment about Jeremy’s father: due to his connections, his son was welcome right in with his guests.

We reached a tall guard by the entrance. He was standing behind a platinum podium, wearing a black, fitted t-shirt, and his arms and chest were extremely huge. You could see every fat vein popping out of his biceps. I swear if he flexed an inch his shirt would have ripped. He looked up at Jeremy and smiled. “Mr. McCullen, you should have called. I’m afraid we don’t have any VIP sections available, but I’m sure I can reserve a table for you near a bar.” Mr. Husky seemed polite and professional with his strong Boston accent.

Jeremy smiled in response. “Not to worry, Tony. A table for four will be fine; I have two other guests who will join us, David and Michelle. Can you make sure they’re on the list?”

David was a childhood friend of Jeremy’s. I only saw him and his new wife Michelle when we got together at Club21. They were more his good friends than mine. Tony jotted down the names, and let us in; the place was throbbing with a loud hip-hop beat.

Mr. McCullen had done such an amazing job with this place. It had a luxurious, modern design. The dance floor was large enough to accommodate roughly one hundred people comfortably. There were six glass bars surrounding the club. Each bar had a different color fluorescent light gleaming through. The high ceilings were covered in white silk drapes, and the VIP rooms were on the second level overlooking the dance floor. Each of the rooms had a glass wall, so VIP guests could look down to view the entire first floor. Some of the curtains were closed for privacy, and others were open.

I’d previously seen that the rooms were large enough to fit twenty people in each one. They were equipped with an oversized white sectional and a black ottoman. I had the pleasure of visiting a few of them, and they were all decorated the same way. Each room also was completed with a beautiful chandelier and dim blue lights. On warmer nights, guests were allowed to enjoy the oversized L-shaped underground swimming pool and deck out back.

Jeremy grabbed my wrist and led me to the back near the blue bar. Beside it was a U-shaped sofa with a table in the middle. We slid along the seat until we met in the middle. Before getting comfortable, we were greeted by a tall brunette. She wore a black, fitted dress and black pumps. Her hair was slicked back into a low ponytail. “Hello Mr. McCullen, what can I get for you and your guest?” she asked.

Jeremy glanced at me and I nodded. He knew what I wanted; he just wanted to double-check. “A Cosmo for her and a Grey Goose and tonic for me, thank you.” The waitress smiled and headed to the bar.

We didn’t have a VIP room, but the table was private enough and tucked in the corner near the bar. We were also able to view the stage and dance floor. It felt good to finally be free from reading case after case, studying, and dealing with the grief I suffered the past seven months. I just wanted a
drink
! Although I didn’t go out a lot, I made sure every Friday, either on my own or with Jeremy, to have a few glasses of wine to mellow out after a long week. This time I wanted liquor, not wine; I wanted to feel free, good, and relaxed.

The waitress returned with our drinks and three shot glasses.

I look at Jeremy confused; I didn’t hear him order shots. “Mr. DeLuca sent these over; he said he’ll be by once he greets a few people,” the waitress blurted and then left.

Raising an eyebrow at Jeremy, I freaked the hell out. “Mr. DeLuca who?”

He smiled. “Okay, so I kind of never told you that I know Marcus. He owns this club, and my father designed a few things for him.” He shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his drink.

My eyes grew narrow. “You kind of never told me? And what about the externship? I knew you met him before and your father designed his office building, but I didn’t know he owned this club and that you guys were close.”

“Mia, we’re not best friends. We’ve had a few drinks before … mostly here when you were
hibernating
for the past seven months.”

“And the externship position?”

He bit down on his bottom lip nervously. “Well, Marc told me I have it. They just have to do the interview; it’s mandatory.” I rolled my eyes. I can’t believe this! Now I’m going to sit here all goo-goo gaga over this dude because my best friend failed to mention that the guy we are interviewing with on Friday not only owns this place but he fucking knows him personally! Great! I grabbed my drink and chugged it down. “Whoa, calm down, Mia! He’s cool; trust me. He’s not like these stuck-up snobby, rich kids you see at school.”

He had to be
kidding
me. “No he’s instead the richest and top lawyer of Boston! Jeremy, I’m not ready for this. This is my career we’re talking about. Yours is obviously set! The last thing I want is for my possible future to meet me in a club over drinks. I wanted to get
drunk
tonight and make a
fool
out of myself. Now I have to behave!” He didn’t move or say anything just looked at me with those blue eyes and a sympathetic smile. God! There’s no point; he would never understand. His entire life was rolled out in front of him like a red carpet. I spotted the waitress and lifted my glass. She nodded in response and worked her way back to the bar again.

I was so nervous. Just be yourself, Mia, everything is going to be okay. I took a few deep breaths. My empty glass was replaced with another Cosmo, I thanked the waitress and she left. I took small sips this time. Jeremy grabbed my hand, “Mia I’m sorry, okay. Trust me he’s cool.” His touch quickly calmed my nerves. He was right; I’d be fine. I was overreacting as I usually did when it involved my future. I took a few more sips and calmed.

After what seemed like forever, I was on my fourth Cosmo and third shot. I was extremely relaxed. Still no DeLuca, but we finally met up with David and Michelle. Michelle is from England, and her accent is pretty cool, though a little hard to adjust too. She met David in her hometown when he traveled there for business. David does some work for an advertising firm and travels a lot. They fell in love, and she followed him here. Three years later they were married and had a four-month-old baby boy.

The boredom that overtook me when Michelle spoke of diaper changes and different formulas that their son couldn’t keep down was beginning to kill my buzz. I finished my fourth Cosmo and waved my hand at the waitress for another drink.

“So yeah, other than that, our little one is an angel.” Michelle giggled while reaching for her cell phone. She began to search for something.
God,
she was going to show me pictures,
please no
! Sure enough her screen was in front of me with the image of a big green-eyed baby. If it weren’t for the blue shirt and hat, I would’ve mistaken him for a girl. He was cute but nothing to go all
aw
about.

I smiled and said what every new mother wants to hear. “He is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!”

With a bright smile, she placed her phone back into her clutch. “Thanks! He is, isn’t he?” I nodded and glanced over at the dance floor.

Thankfully David asked his wife to dance, and she accepted. Jeremy stood up and walked toward a woman near the bar. They’d been eyeing each other for twenty minutes. They exchanged a few words, and then he led her to the dance floor. I was left alone by myself with no drink. To pass the time, I grabbed my phone out of my clutch. Scrolling through it, I noticed no new emails, texts, or missed calls. The disappointment of having no one contacting me made me feel…
lonely
.
Where
the hell was my drink!

I decided to read old text messages between Jeremy and me. The last text I received from him was an hour ago when David and Michelle arrived and were all over each other.

GET A ROOM! GROSS! :-/

I laughed to myself again. My response was a simple LOL.

I was scrolling through my phone deleting junk emails, when I was presented with another drink. This time I didn’t look up at the waitress as I thanked her. I grabbed it and took another sip.
Ah
, it was even tastier than the first one. In the middle of indulging my,
oh
so good Cosmo, I heard the waitress’ startled voice, “Um, good evening, Mr. DeLuca. Would you like your usual?” Choking on my alcohol, I managed to keep my eyes on the glass. I heard a low, deep voice with a slight Boston accent. “Yes, that’s fine. Thank you.” I finally had the courage to look up. The waitress hurried to the bar: this was the fastest I’d seen her move the entire night.

The man standing before me was definitely God’s gift to women. He was tall, tanned, and had the most gorgeous big brown eyes I’d ever seen. His dark brown hair was neatly brushed with a loosened strand that lay on his perfectly thick arched eyebrows. He smiled at me with his full lips and perfect white teeth. He had one deep dimple on the right side of his cheek. I wanted to melt, but I held my composure. He was even more stunning in person. I’d seen pictures of him on his law firm’s website and in advertisements, but I’d never had the opportunity to meet this beautiful man in person.

He didn’t speak; instead, he slid over the chair until he was almost beside me. Gently placing my glass down, I hid my shaky hands under the table, laying them on my lap. I straightened my shoulders as he leaned in. Nodding at me, he lifted his right eyebrow. He must have sensed I was nervous because his smile broadened, and he seemed to be amused by his thoughts.

“Hi, I’m Marcus DeLuca, and you
are
?” He asked while reaching for his drink that magically appeared out of nowhere. I was instantly enthralled by his adorable smile; it was like a chain reaction, and I couldn’t help but flush in response.
Oh my God
, I felt my cheeks turn a burning red. I cleared my throat and prepared to respond.

“Hi, I’m Mia, Jeremy’s friend.” I tilted my head and glanced towards the dance floor where Jeremy was grinding behind a brunette this time. He had ditched the blonde. I glanced back at Mr. Hottie who nodded then took another sip of his drink. The strong liquor from his glass smelled to be whisky or brandy. I wasn’t sure which.