A Millionaire, His Suit, And Poor Me

“Jace, I didn’t want him to come! He... invited himself. And he left. And now he's going to show up here, he's going to be rude and I don't know what to do because I don't want to have anything to do with him. Tonight is supposed to be the tin to meet Louis."'m going to keep hacking. Jace frowned, handing me a carrot to cut. “It doesn't matter, Noras. I just thought you'd be stronger than that." “Ym trying, okay? I'm trying. He just... I haven't got a clue. He has this effect on me that I can't explain.’ “Do you love her?” I bit my lip. “Yeah, I mean, yeah. In a slightly twisted way. Yes." He sighed slowly and went back to marinating his steaks while I started cutting the salad. Louis would arrive in thirty minutes, and Henris in an hour. So I had an hour to mentally prepare for his presence. We finished cooking and Jace went to change while I started cooking the steaks, trying not to burn them. It wasn't going end well, I could feel it, and considering that my roommate got ready in less than five minutes, he could feel it too. She closed her pink apron and took the pliers from my hands. “You, oh, out of my kitchen.” There was no need for me to repeat it. I crept into my room in search of an outfit to wear, finally choosing tight black jear a beige sweater and black 10 cm heels, which made my height reasonable. No sooner had I finished applying the last coat of mascara than the doorbell rang. Running, hoping to beat Jace, I turned the corner and arrived at the door a few seconds before him, without even tripping over my shoes. In a not very masculir way, he asked me to stop by opening the door, immediately hugging our guest. “You must be Louis!"I said cheerfully, moving slightly away from the embrace to give him a look. Her Cerulean eyes stare at me with curiosity and her brown hair was slightly tousled by my aggression. Black tattoos were peeking out from her cleavage with words I couldn't read. He was wearing tight dark jeans, rolled up at the ankles to show more tattoos, and white Converse. A burgundy printed T- shirt and a denim jacket over it. Her hair has been manipulated to look tousled, but with style. “And you must be Noras."She smiled. “Jace keeps talking about you." “Jace doesn't stop talking” “Ah, I thought it was only like that with me."She tilted her head to the side to look at her boyfriend. *}, are you flirting wit Noras so unrestrainedly?” With an arm around Louis’ shoulders, I smiled at him. “Oh, you also have nicknames. Now come to our humble abode, dri our cheap wine and eat our steaks.” “Cheap wine is the best wine."He gave me a smirk. My chin hit the ground and I turned to Jace. “It's a catch!” They both smiled, took hands and walked to the kitchen, where the steaks were almost ready and three glasses of wine h already been poured. We sat, sipped and talked, waiting for the meat to be cooked and I questioned Louis trying to look intimidating, but from the little smiles that appeared on his face from time to time, I knew that I had failed. Louis was an actor working on Broadway. He hadn't gotten any big roles yet but was currently a reserve for a show whose name I didn’t quite understand. Jace stood around him with a look of adoration that I had never seen him give to someor before. Soon, too soon, the doorbell rang. I finished my glass of wine, walked to the door and opened it, revealing a divinely dressed Henris Steve, a bottle of my favorite wine in his hand and his usual smirk. “You have not been invited."I scolded him. He rolled his eyes and held out the bottle. “I brought your favorite wine, Noras." “I'l take the wine. You, however, cannot enter.’ “I told you that Claire and I were just friends"He said in a low voice. “I don't know why you're angry.” I took the bottle from his hands. “Maybe because you're an a***e." That said, I turned on my heels and went back to the kitchen where Jace and Louis were setting the table. I could hear hin walking behind me, and from the expression on Louis’ face when he saw Henris, in addition to being incredibly handsom: he was probably also very angry. “I brought the wine.'I smiled. I poured each person a drink and then nodded to Henris. “I didn't bring Henris, but he came anyway because he's an a*****e. Louis, this is Henris. Henrs, this is Louis." Henris seemed ready to walk through a wall. Smoke almost escapes from his nostrils when he shakes hands with Louis, who seems confused by our little interaction. We sat around our small table and Jace brought the still sizzling steaks witt the potatoes and other vegetables. “It seems very good."Henris complimented him, which caused Jace to smile with satisfaction and made Louis's eyes wider “Oy, are you English? From where?” “Holmes Chapel, Cheshire. You?” “Doncaster” He smiled, moving his bangs to the side. “Do you follow football?" Henris widened his eyes skeptically. “British or American?” “Both.” The Packers. Man U." Louis nodded his head in approval and clenched his hand into a fist. The company CEO looks at the little clenched hand with confusion, as if he doesn’t know what to do with it. But then, surprising everyone, he clenched his fist with Louis anc withdrew his hand, making a small explosion noise. This is the least “Henris” thing I've seen, other than the food battle with Gemma. I tried to keep calm and be angry, chasi away thoughts of the adorable little sound coming out of her sophisticated tongue. “Louis, you will love our office."Jace started. “It's amazing." “Seriously. There are these huge windows that overlook the city... it's perfectl added. Henris stared at me across the table. “It really is. Do you remember that I saw him this afternoon when I came to see you “Ah, yes. Uninvited, of course. You have this bad habit of showing up in places where you shouldn't” Jace cleared his throat and, as usual, became the savior of a social meeting, sending me a warning look that clearly said “You scare Louis and I really hate you’, so I decided to ignore Henris as much as possible. “Anyway, I was talking to Louis about the Packers game we're going to watch this weekend."Jace smiled. “And he's a little jealous” “A little?" Louis replied. “Okay, he's incredibly jealous and it's hilarious." Henris looked up from his steak with a light in his eyes. “He could come with us” “Really? I'said Jace, surprised. “I have another ticket Henris shrugged his shoulders, as if the tickets weren't worth as much as some people's weekly wages. “We could all go together.’ “I can't accept, it's too much, man."Louis interrupts him politely. Henris, with a smirk, looked down at his plate. “It's nothing, really. We can book in a hotel and stay there after the match. The guys started planning while I tried not to burst out screaming in frustration. I was there, trying to be mad at Henris because he's an asshole, and instead he’s offering tickets to Jace’s boyfriend and laughing at all his jokes. The dinner proceeded in this manner, Jace and Louis making jokes and laughing while I endeavored to cast a black glance at Henris, who seemed only amused by my evil glances. Probably because they weren't as intimidating as I thought. As soon as the plates were cleared, I took the opportunity to get away from the table and started clearing the table. I scrupulously washed the dishes, setting them aside to dry while listening to the conversation of the boys in the other room, which was now centered on a football player who, according to Jace, was “incredibly cool” and, according to Henris, “extremely healthy’. I scrubbed the dishes with more ardor, as if I could drive Henris out of my mind once and for all. But it wasn't going to be easy, considering that he himself appeared at the entrance to the kitchen with a smile on his beautiful face. “Noras."He said softly. “Henris.l imitated him. He runs his fingers over his chin, frustrated by the tone of my voice, his teeth visibly clenched under his hand. “Why are y like that? It's boring." “I don't know, maybe because you showed up at my office making excuses, then you kissed me and then you came here, even though I told you not to, just because you think you're the king of the world. Well, you know what? You're not."t answered sharply. He was in front of me in a second, breathing heavily and a stern look on his face. A vision of a beautiful rage. “Stop. Now." “No! You didn’t even apologize! You just made up excuses, saying it was a business meeting. And I understand that, but it doesn't matter because you're not even my boyfriend. Yet you throw it in my face by blaming me? Bullshit." “Because it was just a business meeting. Grow up, Noras."He said angrily. indignant, I turned back to the sink, washing furiously. You don't understand. It's not even about that anymore. It's the fa that you think you're better than everyone else, and that you can't even apologize!” “I don't think so." “Yes, you do, you know that. Now, please leave before I do something stupid, like kiss you again.’ He sighed slowly, frustrated, and put his fingers lightly on my hips, as if only his touch could turn me into dust. “You are mine” “I don't even know what that means’l said sharply. “You said you were mine. Was that even true?” “Ym not lying, Noras. I am yours and you are mine. I promise you that.” I stared at him trying to catch my breath and my cheeks flushed with anger. My perfectly smooth hair was now curled as I continued to run my hands through the strands. He slowly stroked my arm, reached for my shoulder, moved my hair to the side and back and pulled me closer to him. I’ not lying." “There is nothing better than an honest businessman.'l answered sharply. His fingers came down to rest on my wrists where they could feel the pulsation of my heartbeats, which were frantic at th moment. “Ym not a fucking romantic, nor a boyfriend” - he spat out the words like poison - “but I'm a damn good businessman. That's who I am. That's what I'm doing” “It's not enough for me. I need you to show your emotions, and show that you are mine. I can't go on with this half- emotional relationship. I can not." mumbled, shaking my head and biting my lip to hold back my tears. “I can't, really Henris!" “Noras."He warned. Her voice came out hoarse and almost tense and her fingers stopped touching me. “What do you mean?” “You must try. You have to try to relax and be like a fucking normal person, or I can't do this." His gaze immediately darkened and, reflexively, he took a step forward, moving closer to me so that my back was pressed against the counter and I was completely under his control. “But you want to do it. I know you want it, I see it when you look at me and when I touch you. By the way you react to me. You want to be mine" “Enoughl sighed. “You do.’ “It doesn't matter what I want. What matters is that it's not good for me, OKAY? Can you just admit that you were wrong?” “ was out for dinner with a business partner. I didn’t do anything wrong” “Go away." “Noras... “I told you to leave."l said on the verge of tears. “And don't bother talking to me if you don’t want to apologize.” He slowly stepped back, running his hands through his hair, looking deeply at me, which made me lower my gaze to the floor. I knew that if I had looked into his eyes, would not have seen sadness. I would have seen anger, and it would have only made things worse. The sound of his slow and irregular breaths filled the room while I continued to admire the tiles of our kitchen that need to be changed. Whispers were coming from the other room where Jace and Louis were probably worried by the screams coming from the kitchen. Henris grunted slightly, finally, after what seemed like an hour of tense silence. “she’s just a friend.” “It's not about that! It's no longer about petty jealousies, Henris! It's the fact that you can't admit that you can be - God forgive me — wrong in a situation, like in this case. It's the fact that you think you can control everything” “I don't understand. We had dinner, and now you're angry, Noras."He said softly. At the soft tone of his voice, I looked up, encountering, instead of anger, real confusion. “I don't have to be sorry." I could no longer contain myself and a bitter laugh escaped my lips at his stubbornness. “Could you just leave? Could yo for once in your life, do what someone else asks of you?" He hesitated slightly at my words and took another step back until he was back in the doorway, the confusion having nov turned to anger. His eyes darken again as he stares at the mess of frizzy hair and dish soap in front of him. “Noras, I'm trying. I'm really trying." I slowly nodded, not knowing how to answer, and 1 saw his shoulders sag slightly. We kept looking at each other, not knowing what to say. I was too embarrassed to break the silence and her words were too carefully chosen. Finally, he spo again. “Are you still coming to the game this weekend?" He asked in a low voice. “We have already planned itl shrugged my shoulders in response, which only reinforced his level of bullying. “All right. So I guess you will come.” “Maybe if you apologized for being a real asshole” answered dryly. He bit his lips in his magnificent mouth that I desperately wanted to press against mine. “You are mine."He said coldly. “Again?” I nodded slowly, lowering my gaze to the ground again. “Yes. Even if I shouldn't. And you're mine." “Yes.'He answered simply. “Are you still angry?” “Yes. You didn't apologize. So, please, leave. This is the third time I've asked you." “See you s00n, Noras’He mumbled almost as if it was a threat, then turned on his heels and left my apartment after staying there for a little over an hour. My heart was almost racing and I slipped slowly to find myself sitting on the floor. I had just had an argument with Henris Steve, and I didn't let his cruel words or his abrupt looks make me flinch. I didn't his warm kisses on the curve of my neck soften me, nor the way he usually calls me “his” make me less angry. I didn't let the deep dimple in her cheek overshadow the cold look in her eyes. “Jace!'l screamed from the ground. He entered quickly, an air of panic on his face, followed shortly by a confused Louis. “Is he gone?” “Damn yes! smiled. “has he apologized?” My smile fell. “Well, no. But I didn’t let him win." “Yes, I understood from the way you shouted “he’s a bastard” at least six times.Jace laughed, making Louis step back. “I was afraid that you would scare both our boys at the same time." “Well,” I mumbled. “I wouldn't be surprised. And Henris is not my boyfriend.” Louis laughed as if I had just made a joke, then he looked at me, feeling my gaze on him. I raised my eyebrows, as if to as him what was so funny about my messy love life. He raised his hands in defense and an adorable smile appeared on his lips. “Sorry, it's just that, the way he was behaving... that's fair... it just seemed like he couldn't be closer to you than that. 1 assumed he was your boyfriend.’ “Well, it's not." mumbled, trying to ignore the bitter tone of my own voice. “Now can we watch a movie or what?”