One: Chase

Twenty three years later…

Roy

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Leaning my back against the huge glass door, trying as much as possible to ignore the deafening sound coming from the club behind me, I scrolled through my Instagram account, smiled on seeing Amy Walter's last post on her having to break up with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend who was my irresponsible friend. Childish youths. 

Inhaling hard, I dropped my phone into the pocket of my jean trouser, stared up at the dark sky. I was getting impatient. So impatient. I just needed Greogory to get here as soon as possible, so I'd know what I was to do. 

Someone hit the door behind me, which made me step forward. As I had expected, it was Jeo, my bud. He peered his head through the small opening of the door, his eyes moving unstably as a result or his groggy state. 

"Come on, man!" He cried, his voice sounding like some kind of disabled machine. That was one thing about when he was drunk. He always seemed like a lunatic. "There are many hotties tonight. You won't wanna miss this. Why the heck are you even standing there?"

I rolled my eyes. "Just go in. I'll join y'all soon. And seriously, you're still falling for the hotties? You've got a woman for damn' sake."

"She's not gonna know." He chuckled, and winked. "Even if she knows, that's not a big deal, right? We're at the brink of breaking up."

"Just fuck off." I hissed, looked away, dug my hands into my pocket. "Cheat," I mumbled. 

"See you soon," he added, then shut the door when he had his head back in. 

Commitment was one of the reasons I would never like any woman. My dudes made me understand that it was a really hard shit. All of them always ended up breaking up with their women. So what was the point in the relationship?

"Hey, Roy?" Greogory appeared, literally startling me.

I sighed. "What took you so long, man? I've been here for a really long time. I need to—"

"I'm so sorry," he apologized. As usual, he had a stern look on his face. He was about six feet tall, had a slim body and slightly built arm, but he always acted like he was some kind of hot dude who had many girls dying for him. I'd say he was quite egoistic. 

"So, what's up?" I asked, being impatient. 

"He said you should work with what he told you," he stated. 

I bit my lip, sighed again. "That's all? No addition?"

"Nope," he replied sharply. 

"Okay." I nodded. "You can leave. I can't believe I waited for so long, only to hear this. You could have just said it over the phone."

He lowered his head, his jaw clenched. What the heck was always wrong with this dude? Why was he this irritable? I was the boss here for goodness' sake. 

"I'm sorry," he said. 

"Whatever." I took my phone, checked what time it was. "Send my car by ten, I'll spend two hours here."

"Sure," he responded. 

"You're dismissed," I added, spun around to walk into the club. 

Only taking a step in, the magnitude to noise that attacked my ear, caused my face to involuntarily squeeze. Of course, I was used to the crazy noise from clubs, but today seemed different. Was this feeling because I was slightly nervous? 

"Sup, man?" Jason greeted me as soon as I reached the bar. He drank from his alcohol, looking serious as usual. He seemed quite intoxicated, quite sober as well. Well, he hardly got drunk. 

"I'm good." I sat on the high stool beside him, stared comprehensively at him. "You?"

"Same," he replied. Obviously, he wasn't going to tell me about his break up with Amy. Although we were childhood friends, he never told me anything about his private life. And since I knew the type of person he was, I also never bothered to ask him about it. 

"Okay." I moved my eyes to the dance floor. Where was I gonna find her? The one who'd make my night fun.

As usual, the dance floor was full with hotties. But tonight, just as Joe had said, the hotties were so many! Maybe they weren't so many after all. I never visited the club on Fridays, so I couldn't tell if it was always this crowded. 

"You need a drink?" Someone asked, from behind me. That voice was soft, pretty and nice. Could that be her? 

Smiling, I turned around. Maybe I could start this with a hook up. 

Her eyes were glued to the drink she was serving. The moment she looked up at me, the first thing my eyes caught were her honey brown eyes. She pursed her pink lips, smiled between. Her nose was straight, standing firmly between those perfectly arched eyebrows. Damn, this one was so pretty. 

She wiggled her eyebrows, trying to denote something. But, of course, I was lost in staring at her cuteness. Wouldn't anyone die for such a beauty? Ah, shit, this was definitely gonna begin with a hookup.

"Drink?" Her left brow cocked. 

Embarrassed, I just blinked like a lost pig. "Um…" I cleared my throat, propped my elbow on the counter. With a sinister smile, I raked my fingers into my hair, sighed. "Sure," I replied. 

She tucked her blonde hair to the back of her ear, looked down. "What type? Alcoholic or non?"

"Scotch." My stare became immense. Ah, this one was too fine. And why did it seem like she had no interest in me? That was definitely not possible. Everyone wanted Roy Everett. 

In a short while, she dropped a bottle and glass in front of me. "There'll always be more." She smiled again. I knew it. She was gonna like me. 

"So…" I tucked my tongue in my cheek, ready to start this conversation. "You'll like to dance?"

She raised her brows, and chuckled. "I work here. Isn't that obvious?"

Jeez, why did I ask that? 

I bit my lower lip, so embarrassed. Pretending to be fine by her reply, I smiled. "You know what I mean, right?"

"Nope," she gave a straight reply, looking away. She took a pen from the counter, started to write something on a sheet. 

"Dance on bed," I indicated. 

She choked on something, suddenly coughing. I was confused. So confused. Who was this woman? First, she had pretended like she had no interest in me. Now, she was coughing because of a mere flirt?

Jason tapped my arm. And when I looked at him, he shook his head. "Don't take a tough step. Women like this'll embarrass you. Don't take the risk, man."

I glared. Embarrass me? Had he forgotten I was the boss here?

"Hey, Roy." A hand tapped my right shoulder. Turning to see who it was, I clenched my jaw on seeing this big eyed lady, Rina. 

As usual, she had that sly smile on her lips, her eyelashes batting like a confused dog. Biting her sneer, she flung her red hair over her shoulder, dropped her elbow on the counter, wiggling her witch-like fingernails. 

"Need a babe tonight?" Her sneer grew wider. 

I took a glance at her body, shook my head immediately. Besides the fact I wanted the lady serving the drink, I also wouldn't dare to be close to a woman like Rina. She was definitely not my type. 

"No. Thanks," I said. 

Her eyebrows creased into a frown, and she scoffed. "So straight? How rude," she remarked. 

With that, she stormed away. Good for me. 

Looking back at Jason, he shook his head again. But, I just ignored him. No one had ever refused me, so there was no doubt the bar lady wouldn't refuse me. 

"Are you fine now?" I turned back to her, smiled gently. 

She looked up at me, wore a cold look. Oops. 

"Yep. Very fine," she replied. 

"So…" I leaned closer to the counter. "What do you say? You'll like a dance?"

"Dance with your butt!" She choked out, in a low but sharp voice, frowning slightly. "The cheap ones are out there. Get them. They'll only take fifty bucks from you. Easy."

Uncontrollably, my mouth dropped. "Wh-What?" I blinked like an idiot. 

"You heard me." She slammed her pen against the counter, step backwards. Just about to turn around, she took a glance at me, smiled fakely. "Sorry for being rude. This woman's not in a good mood tonight. But, next time, open your eyes before you sputter words. Don't make a lady feel cheap."

Saying that, she walked away. Oh. My. Gosh. Woah, woah, woah. She just rejected me? A whole Roy Everett?

I curled up my fingers into a fist, swallowed, quite angered. Hearing a low chuckle from Jason, I turned to him. The moment our eyes met, he looked away. 

"Told ya." He took a shot of his drink. "Like she advised, heed to it. Open your eyes next time."

As well, he stood up, and left. 

Woah. 

What?

They all left? 

I tightened my fist. This lady definitely didn't know what I wanted. How dare she speak to me that way?

But, well, I just had to be calm. This just got started. This was one rejected. Many chances were ahead of me. Oh, yeah, I just got interested in this “chase”. Roy Everett just got started. 

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