26| Date

Chapter 26: Date (Ace's POV) Owen knocked on the door and then came into my office. "Yes, Owen?" I asked, reading through an old contract. And according to it, somebody's late on their payments. "Suzie isn't coming in today. Her daughter isn't well." I think that's our bartender. Whoever it is, it doesn't matter. "That's okay, ask someone else to cover her shift." "Summer would normally do that but she isn't here either." "And why isn't she here?" "I don't know. She didn't inform us in advance, she just didn't show up." I closed the contract and looked back up. "Then find out why she isn't here. If it's a valid reason, that's okay. If it's not, then fire her." He sighed, "You can't fire employees so easily." "Of course, I can. It's not like we do it without telling them where to go work instead. Find a replacement. Boy, girl, man, woman, it doesn't matter. And send someone to bring in Danny Wilson." He straightened up. "Danny Wilson? The man you signed a contract with months ago?" "Yes. He's late on his pay." He paused for a second. "Should I keep the cleaner's back?" "Yes, the room might get bloody," I nodded. "Okay," he said under his breath before leaving. A minute later, he knocked and stuck his head back in. "Yes?" "You have a visitor." I looked up from the computer. "And that is?" "Um, Mrs. Allister." I stared, not knowing how to respond. "Your wife, sir." "I know who that is, Owen. Send her in." He nodded once and then pushed the door open completely, holding it for her. She strolled in with a wide smile on her face. I took in her outfit, which I somehow like more now than I did this morning. She has on a faded teal blue blazer dress with a white Gucci belt around her waist and she has on matching white heels. Her hair has been pulled up in a sleek high ponytail and she has makeup on today. Teal glitter in her inner corners which is blending out into her lower lashline. "Hi," she sang, stopping in front of my desk, fucking beaming. Is it that easy to make her like me? "Hi?" "It's one-thirty." "So?" "So, it's time for lunch." She stuck one hand out. "So?" I mumbled in confusion. "So? Take me out to lunch, come on. It's the lunch break." She dropped her hand and walked around the table, stopping beside me. "I want to go out to lunch with you. Don't you guys have a lunch break around here?" "My staff does, I don't." "So… you just don't eat?" "I order in." "That can't be healthy," she snickered. "Let's go, come on." She held her out again, her fingers dancing. "It's a date." "A date?" I echoed. She rolled her eyes and then sat on my desk, pushing the folders and papers aside. "We've never been on a real date and we're married. There's a lot wrong with that sentence. So, let's fix it?" I watched her carefully. "And you didn't kiss me goodbye this morning, by the way." Oh, I forgot we've been doing that every single day. "Yes, I did." She shook her head. "You didn't. You forgot." I did. "No, I didn't." She chuckled, "Look at your face. You know you forgot. Fix it. Take me on a date, come on. I'll split the bill." I laughed softly, leaning back. "You think I won't take you because I'll have to pay the bill?" "Well, I certainly hope not. Come on, Allister," she groaned. "I won't ask another time. If you say no, I'll leave. And if you're busy then I'll go buy some and bring it for you." I grabbed her hands which were resting in her lap and moved my chair until I was directly in front of her. I tugged at her hands but she didn't let me slide her off the table. Because if I did, she'd fall into my lap. "When did you become such a wifey wife?" "When you forgot to be such a husband-y husband," she smiled. "A date?" She nodded. I stared at her for a minute and then nodded. "Okay. Let's go." "Really?" She lit up. I stood up, towering over her. I nodded again. "Let's go." She giggled, she fucking giggled. I let out a soft laugh before leaning in to kiss her. I felt her hands sliding up to rest on my chest while I grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her in closer. After a while, she pulled away. "I'm not here to spend my lunch break making out with you, come on. I'm fucking hungry." I laughed, stepping back and helping her off the table. I grabbed my car keys and then we left. I locked my office door like I always do and then we headed downstairs, walking through the club which was still empty, apart from my employees. We got to my car, which I unlocked and then held the door open for her. She climbed in and I started the car, backing out of the parking spot and turning to her. "Where do you think I'm taking you?" "Is that supposed to tell you where I really want to go?" She laughed. "Anywhere but Sapphire." She really doesn't make anything easy for me. I eyed her carefully. "McDonald's?" She gasped, her jaw falling slack and her eyes going wide. "How did you know?" I shrugged, heading to a drive-thru, I turned the corner of the street and dropped one hand to her thigh. She chuckled softly to herself, staring out the window. I glanced at her, noticing that she pulled one hand up, hiding her smile behind her fingers. In that case, I think I'm doing great. She's falling little by little, bit by bit, and when she falls head over heels, I'll be secured. She won't do anything to me and that'll be guaranteed. I'm going down the right path, but then why does it feel so wrong? It can't. I just have to put the feelings aside for this, I feel like I have to. Because it comes down to my life, so I'm not willing to play with it. I pulled up to the order window, we placed our orders, we drove forward, collected them, paid, and then I drove to the nearest empty parking lot. She danced excitedly in her seat before opening the bag and taking out her burger, fries, and coke. She didn't wait or hesitate for a second, she dove right in and started eating. "How come you're so hungry? Haven't you eaten anything?" I asked, sipping my coke. She shook her head. "I had the fruit bowl for breakfast at eight and nothing since then." "Why didn't you eat a snack at work?" "I didn't have time. First I was on the phone with Evelyn, then I got six new clients that came in for measurements and brainstorming, then I had to fire someone." "Who?" "Our janitor." I snorted, almost choking on my food and then started laughing. She laughed with me. "He showed up drunk and passed out in the bathroom. You can't talk your way out of something like that, no matter how much of a silver tongue one has. And then I got a new set of interns and had to show them around." "My oh my," I said, turning to look at her. "You started work at nine and you've done all that before two. I'm impressed." She grinned. "What have you done before two?" "Absolutely nothing." She narrowed her eyes at me, eating a fry. "Liar." I chuckled. "I set up the club, the bar. Then I started going through recent contracts, checked up on some people who we're working with, some people who owe us." "And?" "And I'll be home late tonight." She fell quiet momentarily. "Are you going to kill someone?" "Not kill, no." "Torture?" "I might," I sighed, crumpling up the wrapper and putting it back in the brown bag. "Why? I won't bother asking who it is." Good call. "Because that man is over eight months late on payment. I gave him enough nice, gentle reminders every month and if he can't pay back the interest, he's in trouble." "What are you going to do to him?" I sighed, shaking the cup, hearing the coke slosh around inside. "Interrogate, rough him up a little." She turned to look at him. "You're going to beat the shit out of him, aren't you?" "I have to, darling. It's the business I'm in. And if I don't, he'll get away with my money." "Money first, huh? Humanity later?" I frowned, leaning my head back against the headrest. "What do you mean?" "I mean instead of having him dragged to your office, and then probably tying him to a chair and beating the life out of him, why don't you have him come himself and ask why the money hasn't been brought to you yet? If he doesn't cooperate, you can always go your own way. But you should try playing nice sometimes, Ace." "Nice doesn't work in my business, love." "You haven't tried it, so how do you know?" "I have tried it. And that's why I know." "Really? Who were you so nice to?" "Your brother." She blinked once, then twice, then pulled the straw away from her lips and set the cup down in the cupholder. "And then he killed someone?" She asked that question with her voice so soft that I barely heard it. "He did me wrong, okay?" "He killed someone." "Gianna." She stared at me. "I don't want you to think of him as a murderer or as the kind of person he was in business. To you, he was your brother. Keep it that way." "And to my husband, he was a murderer. What do I do about that, huh?" . . . . . Chapter 26 anyways