ALICE

You have got to be kidding me.

"Seriously?! You again?!" I look up to face the one person I really did not expect to see again today. Or any day, for that matter.

"You again," the rude man from the day of my interview answers, obviously struggling to stand up straight.

Is he drunk?

But then I notice how he shifts his weight to his right foot, and I also remember how he dragged his feet at the office, that day.

"Are you following me?" I ask in a mocking tone, giving him a taste of his own medicine.

"Don't flatter yourself," he rolls his eyes as he answers, although I don't fail to notice the hint of a smirk curling on his lips.

But when I see the way he looks at me, the anger rolling off of him in waves, I decide that I absolutely do not need this shit. And so I just turn on my heels and head to the other end of the bar to get our drinks. I can feel his eyes on me as I walk away, I almost expect him to follow me but instead, when I turn around I see him walking to the table that's dangerously close to ours.

Great.

Felix already hates me for leaving him alone with Laurel, the one friend of mine he doesn't like very much, so I decide to hurry up. After I get all the drinks I dash back to our table, trying very hard not to look at the handsome mountain of a man that's sitting just a couple of tables over.

"What took you so long?" Felix looks like he's about to kiss my feet with how glad he is that I'm back.

"Sorry," I laugh as I place the drinks on the table and sit next to him, "I ran into Mr. Grumpy."

"Mr. Grumpy?" The mention of a male obviously catches Laurel's attention.

"What? Really?"

I nod my head at Felix's question, filling Laurel in on my encounter with the man a few days ago. I told Felix the same day, although I did leave out the very rude stuff, which in hindsight is a blessing, considering the guy is here now, dangerously close to my best friend.

"Ohh..." Laurel grins at me with wide eyes, "And where is Mr. Grumpy now?"

And like two magnets, the second I turn around our eyes immediately meet, his own diving straight into mine like he's trying to figure out every inch of me. Laurel, of course, immediately follows my glance and I avert my gaze, hopefully she didn't notice who I was blatantly staring at.

"Is it that guy?" she finally asks, nodding her head toward the table I just focussed on.

My heart stops for a second. For some reason, I don't want her to know who it is. I haven't been friends with Laurel for long, but I do know she's a predator, hunting the male species like it was her last chance of survival every chance she gets. And somehow I don't want her near him.

When I turn around I see another guy winking at her though, and I release a quiet sigh when I realize it wasn't him, after all. "No, that's not him. I can't seem to find him."

But Laurel doesn't even care anymore, she's just playing with her hair, flirting with the other guy. I look to Felix, both of us simultaneously rolling our eyes before laughing out loud.

I can't help but look back once more, basically feeling his eyes burning into my neck, the laugh still resonating through my body when I meet his gaze. And this time I almost burn up from the sight of him because for the first time since I met him there's an actual smirk playing on his lips, although his eyes still hold that fire.

Just now do I notice that he shaved his beard a little, now there's more of a five-o-clock-shadow gracing his chiseled jaw instead of the full beard from before.

Ugh. Why does he have to look so good?

I still wonder what that god of a man wanted to talk about. Felix said maybe he wanted to hit on me but if that's the case, then I really don't want him to try again. Because that was, by far, the lamest pick-up-attempt I have ever witnessed.

"You know you're staring, right?" Felix's voice makes me look at him, but he just chuckles, taking a sip of his beer.

"Huh?"

"You're staring! And so is Mr. Tall, Dark, And Handsome over there," he nods over to the man, and I can't help but look back at him, realizing he is, in fact, still looking at me.

He's such a mystery...

"I wonder what his deal is," I admit.

"Well, with the way he's looking at you I'd say he likes what he sees..."

"Well, be that as it may, I don't care."

"Ha! Yeah, sure," he shoots me a wink and takes another sip of his beer, still grinning like he knew something I don't.

We chat for a little while, Felix catching me up on how his family is doing while Laurel still shamelessly tries to get the guy to notice her, which obviously is working, too.

"Alright, I'll get us another round," I suddenly feel like I need to take a breather, and so I make my way to the restroom, splashing some cold water onto my face to calm my racing mind.

God, just stop looking at him. He'll be gone soon, anyway.

"Ugh..." I groan as I dab the rest of the water off my face before opening the door, but I don't even make it one step out of there before I slam into someone, my hands holding onto whoever that is in order not to slip.

"Fucking hell, do you ever look where you're going?!"

Of course it's him. Of course.

I have to actually swallow a laugh, my attitude changing from turned on to absolutely annoyed in a split second.

"Do you ever not stand in people's ways?"

"You're the one slamming doors into innocent bystanders."

"Well, don't walk so close to the door then. The hallway is wide enough for you to walk aside without being hit by doors." I cross my arms in front of my chest.

But he just rolls his eyes and places his hand on the wall behind him. "We still need to talk."

"I still have no idea what you want to talk about. I don't even know your name."

"Elijah," he suddenly speaks up, and I can't help but raise an eyebrow before I answer, "Alice."

"Okay, Alice. Can we talk now?" he actually smiles this time. Like, really smiles.

"Fine," Why the hell do I agree to that?! "Let me just get some drinks for my friends and I'll meet you at the bar"

Ten minutes and a flash cross-examination from Felix later I find myself back at the bar, taking a seat next to the man who I now know is called Elijah.

"So," he says it almost impatiently, as if I was the one who mysteriously asked for a talk.

"Well, you're the one that wanted to talk, so..." I take a sip of my beer, studying the different brands of liquor on the shelf in order to ignore his glance.

"Yes. Well. When i saw you in that office you had a job interview, right?"

That makes me look at him, my eyes narrowed as I take him in. "How do you know that? Were you one of my competitors?"

"God, no," he laughs as he takes a sip of his beer. "I was there to visit my father."

"Your father? Who..." But I don't need to ask further, the second he looks at me with a raised brow do I know who he's talking about.

Oh hell no.

"No. No way. No."

"Connected the dots already. Huh?"

God, how can someone be so arrogant and so beautiful at the same time?!

"Please don't tell me you're the son I'm supposed to move in with tomorrow," I practically beg him, hoping that this is just one giant misunderstanding.

"Sorry, but that would be me." And just like that he burns down that last shred of hope.

"You have got to be kidding me..." I slam my beer on the table, running a hand through my hair as slowly but surely the panic submerges me. I already sublet my apartment to someone for the time I'm gone to save some money. Jake can definitely need it, I promised I'd help him save for a car... I can't not do this job.

"You thinking of quitting the job before it started?" he even has that amused look on his face when he asks the question.

Asshole.

"No."

"No?"

"No," I repeat myself, "I signed a contract and I gave your father my word."

That doesn't seem to impress him much because he just shrugs, "Trust me, my father's word doesn't count much."

"Well, mine does." God, this guy is getting on my nerves.

Elijah shakes his head and takes another sip of his beer, swinging it around before he turns to look at me, his facial expression hard as granite suddenly.

"I don't want you to move in. I want you to tell everyone you did, but no one needs to know you didn't. We'd both profit from it," he says it like he just had the brightest idea ever, a content smirk on his face when he waits for my answer.

"Okay. I don't know about you, but where I like I have to get out of contracts when I move out. I'm scheduled to leave tomorrow, and I will. I'm a woman of my word. You being a little child about this situation doesn't change that."

"I'm a little child?"

He looks almost offended, but that only makes me laugh. "Of course you are! I don't want to move in with the lady daddy, wah wah wahhhh!" I imitate a baby's cry, and it almost makes me laugh - it does sound just like him.

"Wow. Very mature," he rolls his eyes at me, and I think it's the scoff that follows right after that makes me get up.

I finish my beer, slamming the bottle on the bar. I'm moving in with him tomorrow anyway, and I'm pretty sure I'll have a shitload of fun putting up with his shit. Might as well spend my time now with my friends.

"Where do you think you're going? I'm not done yet!" he suddenly exclaims, but I just shrug.

"Well, that's tough because I am. My friends are waiting for me, so unless you want to join me at our table I'll leave you to it."

And as I do my best to ignore his burning gaze on my back when I walk away, I can't help but turn around once more, looking him straight into the eyes as I mouth the words "See you tomorrow!"