“Nah.” He walks over to the window and looks outside. “I’m not going anywhere tonight. I made too many trips to the bar…”
“Oh, you just came up here to drink in peace.” I motion to the bottle of whiskey. “I certainly got in the way of those plans.”
“It’s fine.” He pours himself another drink. “Want one before you go? It might help with the pain, unless you’re planning to drive yourself home.”
“I’m not driving.” I look at his glass for a moment and consider it. “Sure, why not.”
Lawson picks up a second glass and pours a drink for me. I’m glad we didn’t destroy those when we were ransacking his office. He sits in his chair and motions to the couch, so I walk over to take a seat.
“Are you the boss here?” I tilt my head slightly and take a sip of my drink—it’s really strong. “You have to be, right? If you were the one who fired my friend’s dad…”
“Nah.” He shakes his head. “I used to be, but not anymore. That’s a long story.”
“This is a strong drink. It’s going to take me a while to get through it.” I shrug. “Unless you don’t want to talk about it.”
“I can’t deny it’s an interesting story.” He scoffs, “Fine, I’m sure as fuck not going anywhere.”
Lawson starts off telling me about his son, Hudson, and how he exhorted money from him. If that wasn’t enough to make my jaw drop, the rest of it makes my head spin harder than the whiskey I’m drinking; especially when he tells me about his best friend who is now his son-in-law and his boss. By the time he finishes his story, I’m done with my drink, and feel like I need another one more than ever before.
“Wow, just…” I blink a couple of times as I continue to process what he said. “Wow!”
“See, I have a good excuse for spending the night in my office with a bottle of whiskey.” He pours himself another drink.
“I can’t see how anyone could judge you for it.” I lean forward and let him pour me another glass as well.
“People judge me for plenty of shit.” He taps a cigarette out of his pack. “Maybe one day I’ll get used to it.”
“Do we need to go outside?” I motion to his cigarette.
“Nah, fuck it.” He reaches for his lighter. “It’s Friday night, and there won’t be anyone on this floor until Monday.”
I reach for my purse and dig out my pack of cigarettes. I light one up and lean back against the couch, then I notice that Lawson has a perplexed look on his face.
“You don’t need Superman’s heat vision this time?” He narrows his eyes.
“Oh, well…” I grimace as I try to come up with an excuse that makes sense.
“Was that just part of your plan?” He tilts his head inquisitively. “Not very smart telling me your name; unless your name isn’t really Ainsley Andrews.”
“No, that really is my name.” I chew my bottom lip nervously.
Screw it. It isn’t not like it will make a difference at this point. He’s already rejected me once. I like talking to him, but I doubt I’ll ever see him again after tonight.
“I had no idea who you were when I approached you outside.” I take a quick drag from my cigarette. “I just wanted to talk to you…”
“Why?” His head snaps back, and more confusion registers on his face.
“I…” It takes me a second to gather my courage, but I finally do. “I thought you were really attractive and… I don’t know, it was stupid.”
Well, so much for that. I got part of it out at least.
“At least you got a chance to get a good look at me and see that I’m nothing special.” He sips his drink and laughs under his breath. “Besides, you’ve heard enough about my life to know that I’m a fucking mess; I’m sure you can do a whole lot better.”
No, I liked you even better when I got a good look at you.
Your life is really interesting.
That doesn’t even begin to cover what I was hoping you’d do to me when you caught me in your office.