Chapter One

"Speak!!!" Daniel scolded when the sound of the intercom came through. A sound that irked him a lot whenever he was very busy. 

"Y….your friends are here to see you, sir." His secretary's shaky voice came through.

Daniel cussed inaudibly under his breath. "Let them in."

"Okay, sir." She said after which the intercom went off.

Almost immediately, the door to Daniel's office flung open and his two best friends strolled in, Henry and Chad.

"I see you are still a monster. That poor girl was literally shaking when we insisted that she informed you of our presence." Henry spoke, making his way toward the visitor's chair opposite Daniel's desk area.

"I thought we had free access to you dude, when did you change the rules," Chad spoke as he took his seat next to Henry.

Daniel rolled his eyes at his best buddies. He rose to his feet from where he was seated opposite them and proceeded to the bar area of his office to pour himself a glass of white wine.

"Won't you offer us drinks?" Chad said when Daniel returned to his seat. He rolled his eyes at both his friends, and then took a sip of his alcohol.

He was really not in the mood to chat at the moment but he knew for a fact that they weren't going to let him be.

"Dickhead!" Chad said, then he went to pour himself and Henry a drink.

"Why are you guys here?" his voice came out coarse, probably because he hadn't said much in the past few hours that he had been sitting by his desk.

"Where else do you want us to be by this time?" Henry spoke.

"In your company, working your asses off just like I am doing right now."

"Come on, dude. It's past 6 pm. We'll be leaving for the club soon." Chad spoke, coming back to his seat with two glasses of alcohol and handing one over to Henry.

"Someone definitely ruined your mood today," Henry mumbled, collecting a glass of wine from Chad with a chuckle.

"And that's why I told her that I won't be seeing anyone for the rest of the day. You forced your way in so you face whatever you see."

While Henry glared at Daniel, Chad chuckled, taking a sip of his alcohol. They seem to be used to their friends' gloomy behavior which doesn't make them mad anymore.

"We got an invitation from your mom for Anita's wedding. Is that why you're in a bad mood?" Chad asked.

"I honestly don't care what goes on in that family. Anita can marry whoever the fuck she wants. That dude is a gold digger. She's sure going to regret the marriage."

"He could be a changed person. Who knows?" Chad retorted.

"I don't believe."

"With you in the picture. I don't think he would want to do anything to hurt Anita. After all, She's your sister."

"None of my business."

"She's your younger sister. You've got a duty to protect her." Henry reminded.

"You all are making me the bad person here as if you don't know Anita. Not only does her taste in men freak me out. She does what she wants. She's in love, so good for her."

"You would be attending the wedding, right?" Chad asked.

"Of course, he would." Henry chipped in.

"I don't think so. More like, I don't think I will,"

"Come on, dude." Henry voiced out.

"You all should know me by now. I don't do hypocrisy."

"But she's family." Henry reasoned but that doesn't seem to be doing any changes to Daniel's already made-up mind.

"I don't care. But you guys can still honor mother's invitation. She will be happy to see you all there."

"Are you sure that's the reason or you are tired of your parents pressuring you to get married?"

"Their nags bother me no more. They've got grandkids from Amarie. Anita is about to give them more so they've got no point insisting I get married."

"Maybe they are desperate for a daughter-in-law."

"Or they just genuinely want you to find love." Henry and Chad said respectively.

Daniel scoffed, "Fuck Love!!!"

"So you're never going to settle down?" Henry couldn't help but ask.

Daniel cursed softly. "Are you guys here for something important or you came to discuss my love life?" he couldn't hide his disgust at the topic in question.

"Chill man, what's got you on the wrong side of the bed this evening?" Chad couldn't help but say.

"You've been taking glances at your phone since we came in. Is everything okay with you?" Henry stared at him suspiciously.

Daniel puffed out some air, running his left finger through his hair. "This babe is going to be the end of me."

"Natalie?" Henry arched his brow.

"Never! They broke up last week " Chad chipped in, taking a sip of his wine but still peeking at Daniel for his response.

"Who's she? Where did you guys meet?" Henry turned his attention to Daniel.

"She works at the cafe not too far from the office."

Chad almost choked on his drink. "What?? She's a waitress??? A fucking waitress is making you feel this way?"

Daniel glared at Chad, making him shut his mouth.

"Since when did you become a racist?" Henry asked Chad.

"Racist? Is she black? Latino? Or Asian? I never said anything about race. I literally just got surprised that a waitress is making the almighty Daniel feel this way," Chad defended as he shrugged his shoulders.

"And, don't look at me like I'm the devil here. Isn't Daniel the one who claims he would never fuck the pussy of a commoner?" Chad added.

"What's your deal with her?" Henry asked Dan "You never get coffee yourself so how did you guys' path cross?"

Daniel sighed. He rose to his feet with his glass of wine, and took slow steps towards the window, where he stood with his free hand in his pocket and back facing his friends as he looked into the streets of California.

"The waitress is definitely giving him a hard time. I love to see it." Chad whispered, smiling. "I would love to see her," he whispered again.

"This is strange. He's never been this bothered about women." Henry said in a low tone as well.

Chad chuckled, "He probably just met his match so he doesn't know how to deal with it."

"I can hear you guys." Daniel groaned, taking a sip from his cup.

"Can you just tell us what happened so we can help you out of this mess?" Henry said.

"Can we meet her?"

Daniel turned around, throwing Chad a nasty glare.

"Are you going to talk or not?"

I was at the Cafe to meet with one of our biggest clients and she served our table.

"So, did you ask her out?"

"I don't ask women out. They throw themselves at me, remember?"

Chad burst into laughter, ignoring Daniel's glare.

"So you're pissed because she didn't ask you out?" Henry said, trying so hard not to laugh.

"She didn't acknowledge my presence."

Seeing Henry arch a confused brow, Daniel exhaled and then strolled back to where he was seated. "I'm used to women stealing glances at me and trying to flirt with me at any opportunity they get. She was so close to me and had the opportunity to do all of that but it was as if I was nonexistent to her."

"I don't know why but I couldn't seem to get her out of my head that night. So I went to the cafe the next day hoping she would acknowledge me but she still didn't."

"Been making a stop there every day for two weeks now but nothing has changed. She treats me the same way she treats other customers and would hardly even speak to me. My charm works on everyone. Why is she an exception?"

"Wrote my number and kept it on the table before I left. It's been more than 24 hours, no text, no call. And you know how much I hate being kept waiting, disobeyed, and disrespected."

"There are two things involved. She probably doesn't know you or...."

Daniel quickly chipped in. "Is that even possible? Who doesn't know Daniel Tucker Debock???"

"Not everyone cares about who's popular and who's not. We've all got our life issues so people's priorities are different. As I said, She either doesn't know you or doesn't give two fucks about who you are."

"I agree," Chad said.

"Instead of being here, staying all cranky. Why don't you just approach her and ask her out?"

Daniel chuckled, taking his seat.

"Some girls like it when you go the proper way. They like to be wooed." Henry added.

"I don't do that. They come to me and I decide if I want them or not."

"Then maybe you should let go of this one."

Daniel shook his head.

"What's the deal? Didn't you just say you don't do love?" Chad said.

"I don't love her dude!"

"You sure about that?" Henry stared at him accusingly

"You literally just ranted like a lovesick puppy," Chad added. "If it's not love, then it's probably an obsession that will make you end up falling in love."

"I disagree with you guys. But I'll know what I want after I've had my way with her."