Page 40 of Mr. Aster
“Hasn’t let me down yet.”
“Really?” he said, lighting a cigar. “It’s landed you in a miserable relationship with me for the next couple of months, and unless I can get my mother settled down, you’ll be dealing with her wrath when she arrives on Monday. I’d say that running behind my back toget evenwith me has let you down quite profoundly.”
“Fine,” I concededyet again. “Rule ten,” I jerked the cigar out of his arrogant and proud mouth, “no smoking in the house.”
I turned and marched out of the dining area withhis bottle of tequila and cigar, searching for a quiet place to unwind my frazzled nerves. I plopped down in the grass behind the tree beyond the courtyard perimeter, where no one would ever stumble across me.
I took a huge swig of the smooth tequila before taking a puff of the cigar, which nearly made me gag.
I had no idea how I was going to make it through this, but if I had to start tolerating sick, disgusting things, I might as well start with cigars.
Chapter Sixteen
Sebastian
Iwaited for Darcy in the Bugatti I had delivered from the dealership where I’d purchased it in Beverly Hills. It was a unique showroom car the previous owner had purchased from Sotheby’s before deciding they didn’t want it. I didn’t hesitate to buy it for two reasons: it was one-of-a-kind, and I needed to do something nice for myself since I’d inadvertently found myself in a war that seemed to have no end.
“Where the hell is she?” I thought. I glanced at my watch, rolled my eyes, and then strummed my fingers impatiently on the top of the steering wheel.
“Nice ride, Bruce Wayne,” she laughed, sliding effortlessly into the passenger seat.
“Bruce Wayne?” I questioned her in confusion.
“You know who Batman is, right, genius?” she said, predictably annoyed.
“Right, of course,” I answered. “Although I have no idea why you would call me that since your opinion of me couldn’t be any farther from a superhero.”
She looked over at me as if I’d just asked her how to spell the wordsfuck off,and sighed, “Your car looks like the batmobile, but yeah. Complimenting you wasnotwhat I was going for with that statement.”
“Well, at least we are getting off to a fantastic first date,” I chuckled, then eyed her as she buckled up and relaxed into her seat.
Damn. Shereallycleaned up well. My eyes drifted over her white, silk dress, its length inching up to reveal her muscular, polished legs, stopping at the top of her thighs. The top was formed in a tank-top fashion, accentuating her toned andwell-definedshoulders and arms. She was perfectly fit, which I knew from the camisole tops and short skirts I’d seen her wear when she trotted around her parents’ home. This form-fitting dress was simple but elegant, lending her curves the definition and style to complement the labor she’d dedicated herself to with an obviously structured workout routine.
It’s not that I wasonlyattracted to a well-toned body, but I appreciated and respected the self-care and discipline that went into a healthy routine.
“What are you staring at?” she said, catching my eyes roaming over her perfectly polished body that complimented her cocktail dress. “Drive. I’m sure you didn’t pay nearly three million bucks on this car just to sit in it.”
I smirked, “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you know how much a Bugatti Chiron costs.”
She propped her right elbow up in her window and leaned against her hand, fingers massaging her forehead in agitation.
“Yeah,” she responded. “Interviewing assholes such as yourself afforded me that information.”
“So, is this how our night is going to go?” I questioned, not in the mood to get on the battlefield with her. Strangely, I was in better spirits than I imagined I would be.
“Our night is going to go exactly like it’s supposed to. We’ll tolerate each other during the time we’re forced to be together, and in front of people, we’ll act like we’re the cutest fucking couple to hit the billionaire tabloids. That’s it. You’re not getting any more from me.”
“I was hoping we could at least be civil to each other.”
She looked at me and narrowed her eyes, “How canwe, of all people, be civil to each other? Everything you do irritates the shit out of me, and you love to over-evaluate everything I do and state how I’m wrong. We are from two separate worlds and have found ourselves on a collision course on a highway of fuckery.”
“Well, that’s certainly one way of putting it,” I smiled, knowing she wasn’t far from the truth.
“All I can hope for is that I can actuallypretendwell enough not only to like you as a person but also as a fuckinglover,or else my career is shot to hell.” She raised both eyebrows in reproach to me. “Thank you for this, by the way. I don’t think I’ve ever been so fucking stressed in all my life.”
“Well, just fake it,” I said. “Isn’t that what women are known to do?”
“You really know how to say the worst thing at any given moment, you know that?” Her eyes widened at the statement that I believed to be accurate. “I guess I shouldn’t hold your sexism against you, though, since I’mone thousand percent certainthat every woman you’ve ever met has had to fake it with you,” she seethed. “Now, drive your fucking cartoon car, and get us to this dinner with Jim and Avery so I can lie to my friend’s face. Fuck!”
