Nathan thanked everyone for coming to welcome Owen back, and then the two men took a seat on the sofa, with Owen on Nathan’s left and Amy on his right. Once they were comfortable, Amy took Nathan’s hand and asked him what he had been up to lately. “You have so much going on,” she said. “You must not have a lot of free time. Am I right?”
“Busy, busy, busy,” Nathan agreed, “but you have been busy too, yes? I saw your broadcasting show yesterday on TV. Who would have guessed that you would become a television anchor? I am proud of you. When will you introduce us to your boyfriend?”
Owen winked at Amy and said, “Come on. Be serious. Amy is a very popular television star. She can afford to wait for her dream man to come along.
Amy was somewhat embarrassed by what Owen had said, and she didn’t know whether she should deny what he’d said or admit that it was true. So, instead of saying one thing or the other, she remained silent and smiled instead. Of course, none of the other guests cared about this conversation. They were looking for their own opportunities to talk to Nathan. Unfortunately for them, Nathan was not a man that was easily cornered.
Owen handed Nathan a cigarette and lit it for him. “Are you in a good mood today?” he wondered.
Nathan nodded, but before he could reply verbally, the vice-president of Brilliant Group interrupted their conversation. “I heard that your company is about to make some big moves,” he said, “Will you be unveiling some new projects in the near future?” Brilliant Group was the leading enterprise in the country.
“Big project?” Nathan took a drag on his cigarette and exhaled the smoke from his mouth. “There is indeed a big project underway,” he said.
“Can you share some of the details with us?” the vice-president wondered. “It must be a great project. Otherwise, I am sure you wouldn’t be involved with it. At the very least, could you tell us how much you’ve invested in it?”
“Sure.” Nathan smiled. He shrugged and said, “It’s a four hundred and eighty-million dollar project, and I am the primary investor.”
The vice-president gasped, and then he called for everyone’s attention, “Hey, guys!” he shouted. “Nathan’s got a hundred and eighty million-dollar project underway!”
Nathan frowned, but everyone was so caught up in the excitement that only Owen noticed his mood shift. For Nathan, this project wasn’t as big of a deal as they were making it out to be, nor was his expenditure, and he would never have mentioned it to the vice president if he’d known that this is what he’d do with the information. Nathan had never been a fan of this kind of attention.
Amy put her hand on Nathan’s leg and said, “Nathan, congratulations on the success of your project. Cheers!” Amy lifted a glass of wine flirtatiously, took a sip, and offered a sip to Nathan. Much to her dismay, though, Nathan turned her offer down, explaining that he did not usually clink glasses with women.
The triumphant expression on Amy’s face froze instantly, but she recovered quickly. She put down the wine glass, pretending not to be embarrassed, and said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t know. It’s no wonder that everyone says you’re: a good man.” As she spoke, she noticed that Nathan’s sleeve was dirty. “Oh, Nathan!” she exclaimed. “Your sleeve is dirty. Let me help. you...”
Suddenly, everyone in the room turned to
look at Nathan’s sleeve. It was well known to all of them that he was meticulous about clothing and personal hygiene and that all of his suits had been hand-made and customized in Italy. Thus, they were surprised to discover that there was a stain on his sleeve.
Nathan pulled his arm away angrily, “Leave it alone,” he hissed.” Someone did this to me this morning, and I don’t want to talk about it!”
The room went silent suddenly. Who would do such a thing? - they were all wondering. They all looked at each other with astonished expressions on their faces. They couldn’t believe that someone would do such a thing to such an important man.
“Was it your wife?” someone suddenly asked. “Was your wife the one who caused the stain?”
When Amy heard this question, her face turned red, and she asked to be excused-and she went to the ladies’ room.
A few people chuckled as she left, and then they turned back to the question at hand. One of them said, “That’s impossible.” No one thought that Nathan was married, but they were all very curious to hear how he would respond to the question. He didn’t say anything, though, and the room fell into a long silence until one person turned to another and asked, “Is Nathan married?”
“If he is, it’s news to me,” one person replied.
One of the women gasped and said, “There’s no way our dream man could have gotten married without our knowledge!”
A second man said, “You guys are really behind the times. People like to call their girlfriends their wives all the time now.”
“Is that so?” a third man wondered. “But everybody says that Nathan doesn’t even like women that he’s a homosexual...”
A fourth man scowled and said, “Shh!
Watch out. He could hear.”
Owen was the last among them to speak. He looked at Nathan and said, “I didn’t know you were married. Why didn’t you tell me? I thought we were friends?”
Nathan still remained silent. After a moment, Owen said, “Shit! Tell me it’s not true! Is she the girl in the picture? I only asked you for a painting. There was no need for you to make her unavailable so quickly. You didn’t even give me a chance... As he spoke, he glanced at Nathan’s dirty sleeve. “What the hell is that thing on your sleeve anyway? And why haven’t you cleaned it yet?
“It’s snot and tears,” Nathan answered casually.
Owen was so startled by Nathan’s answer that he began to choke on his wine, and some of it shot out from his mouth and nose.
As chance would have it, Crystal and Tiffany were dining at the same restaurant where Owen’s Welcome Back party was being hosted, and they were arriving at the same time that Amy was rushing off to the Ladies’ Room. Once they were seated, Crystal excused herself to use the washroom, and as she finished at the sink, she was accosted by Amy, who was just coming out of one of the stalls.“Hey!” someone shouted at Crystal. “Stop it!”Crystal looked up and saw the woman behind her in the mirror. The woman wore a black Chanel silk dress, and she was frowning at her.Amy was annoyed after having been humiliated twice by Nathan, and she saw the appearance of the meek girl as an opportunity to vent her anger. “You got water on my dress. just now!” she hissed. “My dress wa
Crystal did not want Nathan to visit her later that night, so she agreed to visit him at his table. She sighed as she put her phone away and turned to face her companion. She smiled and said, “Ms. Ford, as chance would have it, Professor Davis is also here at the Rossini Restaurant, and he has invited us to join him.”When Tiffany heard this, her face lit up, and she said, “Really? Let’s go.” Tiffany immediately grabbed her bag and took the lead.In the Aries Room, no one except Nathan knew that Crystal was coming, so when Crystal and Tiffany entered the room, they were surprised, and they focused their attention on the two women that stood before them. One looked mature and intellectual, and the other looked plain and malnourished.Nathan looked towards Crystal, whose hair was unexpect
Everyone turned to Crystal, and they began to demand a toast. They banged their fists on the table in unison and shouted, “Toast! Toast! Toast! Toast!”Amy handed Crystal a glass of wine, and she accepted it nervously. She lifted it in the air and said, “A toast to Professor Davis,” but Nathan refused to raise his glass.Owen looked up at Crystal and said, “Nathan won’t accept your toast.”Crystal: “Why?”Owen: “Because you are a woman.”The room went silent, and Amy smirked. She was unable to hide her pride or her feelings of victory over Crystal. Amy watched as Crystal stood awkwardly with her glass held in the air, and because Nathan didn’t raise his g
It occurred to Crystal, then, that her situation was hopeless, and she stopped struggling. Then, instead of fighting off his advances, she began to return them. Her hands began to climb up his neck, her fingers passed through his hair, and she returned his kiss with vigor-and they continued to kiss passionately until they were both breathless.Crystal’s lips were red and swollen, and when Nathan brought his hand up to touch them, she bit down hard on his fingers. Nathan shouted out in pain and anger as he pulled his hand away. “You bitch!” he hissed. “Are you a dog? Is that the reason why you like biting people so much?”Crystal growled and said, “I am a she-wolf, and I do like biting very much, but I never bite humans. I made an exception for you, though, because you’re not much of a man!”
Crystal raised her eyebrows as she ran her cold fingers across the top of Nathan’s silky shirt. She paused in the middle when she came to the top button, and she rolled it like a gem between her thumb and forefinger. She looked him in the eyes, smiled, and slipped the button free from the eyelet. One button - she thought to herself, and then two.Nathan raised his lips into a playful, sexy smile.Three buttons - Crystal was counting each in her head and using it as a device to keep herself calm- Keep Calm and Chive On- she told herself.The tip of Crystal’s finger accidentally touched Nathan’s chest muscles as she exposed them to the air, and he flinched- Four Buttons. His chest was flat and hard, and it felt very hot. Suddenly, Nathan grabbed Crystal’s hand, and she couldn’t move. She
Nathan knew immediately what was going on, and he reached out to grab Crystal, but he was yanked back into the car by his seatbelt. And before he knew it, she was free. He shouted after her, “Crystal, get back here!” Nathan quickly undid the seatbelt, and even though he was half-naked, he got out of the car. Crystal was about half a block away from him, and she was waving his shirt in the air so that, instead of a shirt, it looked like a victory flag - not only had she escaped his clutches, but now she was mocking him!The cold wind blew hard, it hit Nathan’s bare chest, and he flinched away from it. He had never been outside without a shirt before. However, from his education, he knew what would happen if he did not rectify the situation quickly. Furthermore, if one of his peers were to see him, he would be deeply embarrassed.Nathan watched
Nathan looked at the topless pictures of himself on Crystal’s phone and laughed. “So what?”“Aren’t you afraid that I will upload them to my Instagram account?” Crystal asked.Nathan smirked and said, “If you do, then you will have to explain why you were in a car with a half-naked man, and you will face more ridicule than I will!”Crystal was surprised by Nathan’s quick answer. She sat silently back in her seat and pouted all the way back to the house. As the car was stopped in front of the yard, Nathan gently touched her hand, and then he clamped his fingers tightly around her wrist. He stared into her eyes and said, “The past is over. It is better. to look forward to the future and enjoy the present.”C
With her head resting on Nathan’s shoulder, Crystal dreamt that she was a young girl again. She had been afraid of the dark, and her Mother was comforting. Her Mother gently hugged her, patted her on the back, and hummed a lullaby.Crystal wanted more of her Mother’s warmth, so she pressed her body against her and nuzzled her head against her chest. She could smell mint on her breath, and she began to feel dizzy. Why does my Mother smell like mint? - Crystal wondered. Her Mother had never smelled like mint before!When Crystal opened her eyes, she found herself in her bed, with Nathan hovering over her. And she began to panic. She tried to get up, but Nathan had her pinned down. She watched in horror as he lowered his head. “What are you doing here?” s