Back to the fainting goat?

“We’re here Ma’am.”

“Thank you.” Cordelia said, staring at the bouncer in front of the entrance through the  car window.

Cordelia was hesitant to get down from the car.

She was having flashbacks of how Senator Ivan’s boys almost planted a bullet in her head.

“Is everything alright ma’am?” The driver asked.

“Yes, I’m fine, thank you.” Cordelia answered as she stepped out of the car.

Cordelia took a deep breath, then walked towards the entrance of the bar.

The bouncer recognized her and didn’t want to let her in, until she showed him the card that Mckayla had given her the other day.

Cordelia’s reason for coming to the fainting goat was to ask about Jared.

She knew nothing about the guy that she was falling for.

As she entered the bar, she felt a bit out of place. She wasn't used to the dim lighting and the smell of alcohol, but she took an another deep breath and walked up to the bartender.

This time, it wasn’t the same person that saw her slap Senator Ivan, so she relaxed.

“Excuse me,” Cordelia said, trying to sound composed.

“I’m looking for someone named Jared.” Do you know him?

The bartender looked at her suspiciously. "Sorry, I can't just give out information like that. Who are you?" He asked.  

Cordelia hesitated for a moment, unsure of how much to reveal. "I'm...I'm his classmate,  we attend the same school and I want to know more about him. He's been very mysterious."

The bartender raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't know so much about him personally, but I do know that he's been coming here for a while.”

“Plus I hear that Sir Jared just attends that school for formality sake, to please his dad”

 

“He's always been pretty quiet, though.”

Why don't you try talking to some of the regulars? Or bosslady Mckayla, maybe they can help you out."

Cordelia nodded gratefully and tried to make her way over to a group of people sitting at a nearby table. 

She was skeptical about asking them, fearing that they might have seen her before, but she summoned courage and went anyways.

‘I’ve got to know about Jared.’ She muttered silently as she walked towards them.

They welcomed her warmly and she introduced herself, explaining her situation.

But before they could begin responding to their questions, she heard someone call out her name from behind.

“Cordelia! Cordelia!” 

It was Mckayla, she had just arrived from setting up one of her customers with the lavish spender, Senator Ivan.

Immediately their eyes met, Cordelia smiled and went up to meet Mckayla.

That was the first time Cordelia smiled since she arrived in Croatia.

“Cordelia…” Mckayla called, stretching out her arms to give her a hug.

“How have you been? It’s so good to see you. Take a Seat.”  Mckayla said, pouring a drink for her and Cordelia.

“Whiskey right?”

“Yes, Whiskey.” Cordelia responded, smiling.

“Thank you for last time, I’m grateful.” Cordelia said to Mckayla.

“You should thank Jared instead, if not for him, Senator Ivan would have had you killed with no questions.”

“I saw him at school. And he’s even in my class.” Cordelia said, with a wide grin on her face as she sipped her whiskey.

“Yes. Jared also goes to Pliver. But it’s all to please his dad. Jared’s dad wants him to take over the conglomerate that he’s building. That’s why he’s making him study business.”

‘Oh… that’s what the bartender meant.’ Cordelia muttered under her breath.

“I’ve been trying to talk to him, but it’s been quite hard, maybe even impossible. He saw me in class, and I thought he was at least going to say something to me.”

“Jared only helped you,  no strings attached.”

“Wait… Do you like Jared?” Mckayla asked with quizzical look on her face.

“Oh no! I don’t! I’m just trying to say thank you to the person that saved me.” Cordelia responded, raising her voice slightly.

“Don’t waste your time. You’re not Jared’s type. Forget about that.”

“Do you have any friends yet Cordelia?” Mckayla asked looking intently at Cordelia.

“No, I don’t. I was too scared to talk to anyone in school today. They were all so different.” Cordelia responded.

“Well, listen to me” Mckayla said, lowering her voice. “Some of those girls in your school, work for me, and I pay them well. 

If you join my group, you’re going to have friends in school, and even outside the school.” Mckayla said, still lowering her voice, like it wasn’t just the two of them inside the room.

“You’re a beautiful girl. And trust me when I say you can make a lot of money from this too.” Mckayla continued.

Cordelia raised an eyebrow. “What kind of group?”

Mckayla leaned in closer, dropping her cup of whiskey on the table beside her.

 “It's a host and hostess club…  “All you have to do is to go home with our clients, flirt with them a little, please them, and if you choose too, you can have sex with them too.” And you’d get paid.

“It’s no biggie.” Mckayla said.

“No biggie?” Cordelia asked, laughing out loud. 

Cordelia shook her head in disgust . “I'm not interested in such a dirty business. I have never done such business in my life. It even sounds illegal, and I definitely don't want to go to jail.”

Mckayla tried to appeal to Cordelia’s lack of friends. 

“Think about the friends, the company you’re going to make, think about the money you’re going to earn.”

 “We're talking tens of thousands of euros here. Enough to live the kind of life anyone would dream of.”

Cordelia almost comsidered the deal, thinking about how the money would help her compete with Jared’s girlfriend, Sasha.

But Cordelia hesitated, and shook her head again. “I'm sorry, Mckayla,  It's just not my type of thing, I can’t do it. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright” Mckayla said, raising her cup to take a sip from her ice cold whiskey. 

“I’d be here. If, If and just if you give it a second thought. You still have my card right?” Mckayla asked.

“Yes, I do.” 

Few minutes later…

“Oh look who we have here.” Mckayla said, pointing downstairs.

“That’s Jared!” Cordelia answered in excitement.

“Does he always come here?” Cordelia asked, but Mckayla didn’t answer. She only gave her a deep stare as she sipped her drink.

“I’m going to go talk to him.” Cordelia said, standing up to adjust her skirt.

All the while as Cordelia went downstairs, Mckayla said nothing, only staring at Cordelia with her drink in her hand.

Jared had asked the bartender for a glass of whiskey too. 

“Ice or no Ice?” The bartender asked.

“Ice.” Jared answered in a low tone.

“Hey Jared. So you like whiskey too.” Cordelia said with a beaming smile.

“I was trying to talk to you in school, but it was like I was invisible to you.” 

“Do you remember me? I’m the girl you helped with the Senator man here.”

“Do you remember me?”

“Yes, I remember you.” Jared answered.

Jared was about to take a sip from his drink when Cordelia asked him another question.

“Then why didn’t you say anything to me in school?”

Jared looked straight into Cordelia’s eyes and paused before speaking.

“I’m not much of a talker. You should have noticed.” Jared responded with coldness in his voice.

“I just wanted to be friends with you Jared, you don’t have to be so mean.” Cordelia said.

 

“I’m not interested in being friends with you. And as you can see, I’m busy.”

“Then why did you save me? Why did you help me?” Cordelia asked.

But Jared didn’t answer, instead he took his drink and walked away, leaving her at the counter.

“Jared, Jared…” she called as he walked away.

“Well, if you don’t want to be friends with me, I don’t want to be friends with you too!” She said angrily, gulping down all the whiskey in her cup.

Suddenly, someone walked up to her and tapped her shoulders.

Immediately, she turned slowly, fearing that it would be another Senator Ivan experience.

However, the young man she saw had quite a remarkable appearance, he had brown eyes, with a strong jawline and neatly styled hair that fell to the left side.

He wore a simple button-up shirt that hugged his toned physique perfectly and a jean jacket, paired with fitted pants. In his hand, he held a sleek glass filled with a sophisticated cocktail, the garnish adding a pop of color. 

He exuded a quiet confidence that drew people in, but there was a humble charm to his demeanor that made him approachable.

“Hi, I’m David. I couldn’t help but notice what happened between you and Jared. Are you okay?” He asked.

“You know him? I mean Jared” Cordelia asked.

“Yea, I do. I attend Pliver too. Actually, I saw you in class today but I didn’t know how to approach you. I was seated four seats away from you.”

“Oh… I didn’t notice.” She said.

‘How could I have noticed, when all I thought about was Jared’ she muttered quietly.

“What did you say?” David asked.

“Oh nothing, never mind. I was just about to take my leave.” Cordelia said, looking up to see if Mckayla was there, but she wasn’t.

“That’s alright. Allow me pay for your taxi” David said as they both stepped outside.

It was about to start raining, and there was no taxi in sight, so Cordelia and David had to find shelter under a nearby shade. It was only 7pm but everywhere was already very dark.

It started to rain heavily…

David took off his jacket quickly and wrapped it over Cordelia 's shoulders.

"Here, take my jacket," he said, trying to shield her from the downpour.

Cordelia looked at him with surprise, touched by his gesture.

 “But won't you get wet?” 

“I'll be fine,”he replied with a smile. “Don't worry about me.”

Cordelia huddled under the jacket, feeling grateful for the warmth it provided.  “Thank you David, you’re such a gentleman” she said, looking into his eyes.

He chuckled. “Of course. I wouldn't want you to catch a cold. I’m just doing what anyone would do.”

“Taxi! Taxi!” Cordelia screamed, as she saw the lights from a yellow car from afar of.

Immediately the taxi stopped in front of her, David ran to the door quickly, to open it for her.

“Thank you So much David.”

“I really enjoyed the little time we had together today, and I’d be really happy if I could have your number so we can stay in touch?”  he asked politely, with a  warm smile on his face. 

“No pressure though, if you're not okay with it, it's totally fine.”

“Oh it’s fine.” Cordelia responded, as she punched her number into David’s phone.

“Thank you.” He said, reaching back for his phone.

“I guess this is it,” he said with a sigh.

She smiled, looking at him. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

As Cordelia’s taxi drove away, the image of him removing his jacket and protecting her from the rain played in her mind.