Chapter 3 Mr Knowles

(Mr Knowles)

Kathleen put on a beautiful smile as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, satisfied with the black dress she had on that had such a risque neck line and so short which was enough to make a sane married man turn, she straightened her hair and tucked both sides behind her ear and adorned herself with a pair of dangling star earrings—with a simple touch of compact powder, mascara and blush with her favorite black eyeliner and red lipstick to seal the deal she was ready now.

She put on thigh high boots lended to her by Gloria who wanted tonight to be the best night of her life even though she would've preferred her leather sandals, and walked out of her room only to be showered with praise from her best friend which fueled her ego by a mile.

It was a new Chapter now, she had the worst day but she was also going to have the best night of her life—single, free from the testosterone and most of all...she was going to dance her heart away. She chuckled softly as she made her way down the stairs with Gloria who kept on complimenting her but her smile quickly died down seeing Mr Garrison outside the apartment building.

‘Going out I see'. His brows perked with skepticism.

‘Y.... yeah...I'll have your rent ready in due time Mr G'. She forced a cheerful disposition and nudged her best friend to quickly call a cab before the encounter got any more awkward—she didn't even get the job yet but she was hopeful.... at least.

*******

At the other side of town Grayson Hunter just watched his girlfriend walk away from him, he wasn't annoyed with the fact that she just ended their relationship of three years, he was raged at how he planned this beautiful dinner date for both of them and celebrating his return to the country after a long business trip—all for him to get dumped just like that, in the most inexplicable way possible.

She was delusional, he thought nipping on his bottom lip and tapping his feet impatiently on the ground to contain his anger. Charisse Watson was delusional, calling him the worst boyfriend when he was the ideal man most women wanted for themselves.

He pursed his lips and looked down at his watch, then released another sigh and shoved a fistful of his hand into his hair in a bid of frustration. Damn her, he thought to himself, she had just obliterated his ego into a billion pieces knowing fully well he was going to end things with her.... she just beat him to it.

Then he smiled mischievously when he realized it wasn't the first time they were ending things, it wasn't the first time she had broken up with him and even though this looked like it was permanent....she would come back....she always did and this time was no exception, then he would be the one to break up with her permanently.

With his now satisfied feeling of self importance, he rose to his feet and walked out of the restaurant ready to go home when his phone suddenly rang and he smiled again seeing who the caller was—his best friend who was in the army, just promoted actually and he prayed to the gods he was back from Afghanistan.

‘Hey Connor'

‘Guess what??'

‘You're back from shooting innocent civilians and driving them from their homes?'. Grayson's brows lifted.

His best friend frowned, ‘There you are with your smart mouth but yeah—i just got back and I'm in the mood to party....please don't be in your workaholic state tonight Mr tighty-pants'.

‘As a matter of fact I need a drink', Grayson sighed deeply, ‘Charisse broke up with me'.

‘Again??'. Connor was amused.

Grayson frowned this time, ‘Yeah and I think it's for good this time'.

‘All the more reason to party tonight and maybe mingle with some beautiful ladies tonight. Your ex has always been a bitch and you know that'.

‘Don't call her that'.

‘Okay my bad', Connor laughed, ‘Meet me at our spot in an hour. You're gonna have the best night of your life tonight!!'.

He hung up and Grayson let out another sigh, if there was one person who could lift his spirits up it was his best friend since college. Connor was the kind of guy most women hated, vulgar, a sleaze sometimes which had landed him in jail a couple of times—luckily his enrollment into the army set him in the right path, but he was still a goofball. Grayson still loved him though, underneath the brash uncontrollable soldier was a sweetheart with too much trauma that would scare a human away.

He looked down at his watch and saw he'd lost twenty minutes just standing by his car and thinking, another sigh left him again and he got into his car ready to go home and change into a much partying appropriate outfit. Connor would laugh at him if he wore a suit.

*********

Kathleen regretted her decision almost immediately as she walked into the tightly packed club and almost being groped by a drunk sleaze who looked like he was into hippie culture, sending Gloria a death stare when asked if she wanted to go to the dancefloor. Gloria shrugged at the harsh reaction from her best friend and left her to go dance with a handsome stranger, Kathleen on the other hand went to the bar and grabbed a stool, then she ordered a gin tonic—the same one hurled at her face hours ago.

She downed a shot and ordered for another which made the bartender curious, ‘Having a rough night I see'

’Yeah', she nodded, ‘I just need you to get me drunk tonight'.

He smiled and threw a wink at her, ‘You betcha'.

She smiled watching Gloria have fun at the dancefloor whilst she remained on the barstool feeling miserable. It was a bad idea coming here, she thought to herself after being in self denial that everything was going to be okay—no it wasn't okay, she had high hopes for a new job but thinking about how she got humiliated by her boyfriend's secret wife and being in an affair left her mood sour.

So she shrugged, forcing a smile as she downed her third glass of gin when a random man took a seat next to her and offered to pay for her drinks, she rolled her eyes ready to decline his gesture but one look at him....just one look and she found herself mesmerized and transfixed on the spot.

Then he stretched his hands towards her, ‘Hi I'm Mathew Knowles'.