Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4:

Goodness me! How long would this guy take to reach here?!

I checked my phone for the nth time, resisting the urge to insert my hand into it and pull the person out of it by his ear. I was anxiously looking at the entrance of the bar with a soft drink in my hand while occasionally looking out for Allie who hadn't stopped dancing from the moment we stepped in. I could see a lot of guys dancing near her and some trying to get closer than they already were.

I saw one of the hands traveling down her back lower than what was customary for dancing. I stood up from my place, ready to intervene but then I saw Allie get closer to owner of the wandering hand and say something on his ear. By the looks of it, it wasn't a pleasant invitation to grope her as the guy had thought. His gaze changed from lustful to fear and finally indifference as he pulled away from her and walked to the other side. I believed that the guy was one of her high school friend and mentally made a note to remove his name from the guest list for the next time.

I chuckled. Typical Allie. She could handle herself out of any situation. Well, except out of her crazy-about-Mike situation. Apparently the idiot forgot about her birthday and apologized for that when she called him to remind. And that had dampened her mood although she was trying hard not to let it affect her birthday. However, I was determined to make her birthday special and not let that douche ruin it.

Which reminded me, where the hell was that guy? I swore to myself that I would rip his limbs out one by one if he didn't arrive by the next 5 minutes.

A beep from my phone pulled me out of my thoughts and I looked down at my phone to find a new text.

I'm here.

About time. Perhaps God didn't want him to be dismantled just yet. I quickly moved towards Allie and grabbed her hand, pulling her with me towards the center of the bar as the lights went out. Someone passed me a blindfold and I quickly put it over her, ignoring her protests and colorful swearing. Soon, soft lights flowed around the whole bar, then a male voice sounded from the microphone.

"I'm really sorry to interrupt you guys but the moment has finally come to celebrate! The reason why we all are here tonight! So guys and girls, on count of three, let's all say it together! One... Two..."

I quickly removed Allie's blindfold just in time for the large chorus to resonate "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Allison. Happy birthday to you!"

In no time there were confetti and balloons flying everywhere followed by loud cheering of people. The projector at the center of the dancefloor showed a picture of Allie and me looking at each other with silly grins on our faces and a caption:

'Happiest birthday to the world's best friend and the best human being. The silly person who’s been with me through thick and thin; the reason behind my headaches and my smiles. Love you, Allie Ballie.’

I heard a gasp from my right and suddenly I was engulfed in a bear hug with a force that made me stumble a few steps back. She pulled back after a few moments to smile wide at me with eyes filled with tears.

"Thank you so much Eves! You're the bestest friend of the world. I can't even find the words to express my gratitude that you're my best friend." She cried, sniffing in the end.

"Then don't. You deserve this, Allie, and so much more. And to be honest, it is I who should be grateful that you're my best friend." I said, remembering those dark days when Allie was the only one I had. She’d been the constant anchor while I was a ship about to be wrecked by the raging storm.

I pushed the memories at the far end of my mind and exclaimed, "Alright, now stop it! You are not going to cry here. I have a reputation to keep and it won't do well if you go on crying from my surprise. And besides, it wasn't just my work. You need to thank a certain someone who has helped me do this. Inviting all the people from your connection wasn't an easy task y'know. You, my friend, have a large group of well-wishers." We both giggled at that.

It was as if she just looked took notice of the people present in the bar. She slowly roamed her eyes around the bar and saw that, indeed, everyone was either her friend or colleague. "Oh my God! Eves! Did you really just... How did you... I mean when..."

I chuckled at her expression. It wasn't always that you could catch her off guard and I was enjoying her current situation. But remembering I had something else to do, I quickly grabbed her hand and said, "Allie, as much as it's cute to look at your dumbfounded expression, I'm afraid I need you to meet someone who is as much responsible for this as I am. I'm sure you'd love to meet him." I let my eyes wander the entirety of the bar and finally found the man in question smiling and chatting with a group of girls who were swooning at his presence.

"What do you mean? Wait, it's a man? Eves, who are you talking about? Is it... is it... him?" Allie asked hesitantly with a hint of hope in her.

This caused a pang of guilt in me. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. I knew by him, she was referring to Mike but that he-bimbo didn't even seem interested in doing anything for her birthday even when I'd called him a few days ago, making a stupid excuse of being busy for his concert. I didn't want to hurt her by replaying our conversation and seeing her face laced with hope and desperation was slowly killing me. I had, however texted him the location of tonight’s party in case he decided to change his mind.

I immediately schooled my expression and rolled my eyes at her. "C'mon Allie! Do you really think Mike is the only guy who would do this for you? Well, then let me remind you that there are plenty of others who are more than willing to lend their hands for your birthday. I just chose a single person from the list. And I'm sure Mr. Loverboy has some of his own ideas for your birthday up his sleeve for later." I gave her a wink and saw her blush a bit. "Now c'mon! Let's go meet our handsome helper." With that, I ignored her confused look and pulled her along the direction of her mysterious helper.

He turned around just in time as we reached him. Seeing us, he grinned widely and said, "Ah, so the birthday girl is finally here to thank me?" He said with his eyes slowly going from mine to Allie's and remaining there for a bit longer.

Before anyone could do anything, I heard her high squeal before she wrapped her arms around him with the similar force as when she'd hugged me. "Oh my God, Jake! What are you doing here? Where have you been? And when did you..."

Allie stopped her series of questions and pulled away from him. She then narrowed her eyes at the both of us. "You two!" She exclaimed, pointing her finger at us. "You planned all this behind my back and I didn't even suspect a single thing! Either I'm too dumb or you're both too good at this." She pouted.

Jake wrapped his arm around her shoulder and chuckling, he said, "it's likely the latter one, Lily." He emphasized the name he gave her, knowing she hated it and chuckled at her obvious displeasure.

"You are denser than the A****n rainforest. But still Eves and I are simply awesome." We high-fived and laughed at her grumpy self before pulling her into a group hug.

Allie pulled away after a while. "Okay now, enough of talking and hugging! It's my birthday, my two best friends are here and the night is still young! Now let's go partayyy! Come on guys!" She squealed, grabbing our hands and pulling us into the dance floor. Lots of people came and wished her on our way. She excitedly thanked them for coming and continued to pull us.

We reached the dance floor where the DJ wished her a happy birthday and invited everyone to dance. We danced together and laughed as we missed most of the beats. I silently thanked the lords above seeing Allie smile that bright in a long time.

I suddenly froze when a pair of hands suddenly encircled my waist, pulling me closer to a hard chest. Something about the cologne made my heart beat harder against my ribs. I slowly turned around only to lock my eyes with electric blue ones I saw not more than a few hours ago. He was still in the same suit as earlier and stuck out among everyone as the dominant one of all.

"Fancy seeing you here, Ms. White." Adrian Stone whispered in my ear sending tingles to my body. "I believe fate has brought us together tonight to celebrate our upcoming partnership." The infuriating man had the most idiotic smirk in his face while I could only stare at him dumbfounded like an idiot.

"What the hell are you doing here!?" I exclaimed mentally thanking my brain and mouth for finally coming to their senses and making their presence known.

"Well, it's a Friday night and I happen to like this place. Seems like you do, too. We do have a lot of things in common, Ms. White." Once again, he didn't forget to pull up his smirk.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I am aware that it's a Friday night, Mr. Stone. However, I'm merely surprised that you were able to get through the entrance as I'd booked this place for my friend's birthday and had strictly mentioned no unwanted visitors." I said, emphasizing the last three words.

The smirking devil didn't lose his smirk and was apparently thoroughly amused by my exclamation. "Oh, I'm glad you did so since I wouldn't want any unwanted visitors visiting my private party either. But a small problem is that White,” He leaned close to me and added softly, “I'm guessing you didn't mention no owner of the club."

"What?! You own this place?" His eyes were filled with so much humor and his smirk so huge that I wanted to throttle the man and tear off his beautiful face. I had a strong urge to face palm myself for not thinking of it sooner. Of course he owned the club. That man could buy half of America if he wanted and he knew it very well judging by his smug expression.

Resisting the urge to stomp his foot, I took a look at Allie and found her and Jake dancing together, giving curious looks to the big headed businessman beside me. I gave them a smile and turned around, walking away from the dancefloor. Soon after, I heard as well as felt my possible business partner trailing behind me.

I sighed. To think it was a long day. I had a feeling the night was going to be much longer.