Winning Her Heart

I wish Florian was here, or my grandparents were still around, then I wouldn't be in this mess. I shouldn’t be doing this alone. My eyes burn and I blink quickly to stop the tears threatening to well up.

I need to get ahold of myself, I can’t turn into a blubbering mess at the bank when I’m going down there to try and project an image of a mature professional. But it’s hard when I feel so small and scared.

Chapter 3 - Dominic

My arms crossed across my chest, I pace quickly back and forth in my office. My annoyance grows with each step, and it takes conscious effort not to grind my teeth. I hate waiting, especially for other people.

I stop pacing and glance at my watch. I sigh in frustration and throw my arm up. "That idiot was supposed to call 7 minutes ago," I complain to myself.

At least I don't have anything important to do. Yet. I would be more frustrated if I was late for a meeting or something. But my time is valuable, and I don’t enjoy having it wasted.

I stop pacing and start thinking of what I could be doing instead of wasting my time here waiting. An early lunch would have been one option. I could get a jump start on that pile of paperwork waiting for me at home…

Suddenly the phone rings, interrupting my thoughts, but to my annoyance, it’s my personal cell and not the work line. I snatch it off my desk and answer it. "Hello?" I snap angrily at the person calling.

"Dom?" Kevin asks in surprise from the other end of the line.

I had forgotten I was expecting a call from him, too. My best friend.

He recovers his composure quickly and starts to laugh. "Geez, I can tell from your tone it's been a while since you got laid," He quips.

I roll my eyes at him, even though he can't see. Truthfully, I hadn't really thought about it. Lately I’ve been consumed with work. We have so much going on with the company that I don't have time to think about anything else, which is good for business I suppose. "Longer than I care to admit." I reply with a sigh.

Kevin is my best friend, so I can confide anything to him

"Well, today is your lucky day. I called to let you know that the club is planning to host another auction," He says excitedly.

I hold the phone with my shoulder and walk behind the desk. I start looking over my files. "Hmm," I sigh in response.

I think about the last time I was at one of these auctions, a few months back. I didn't particularly enjoy myself, and I don’t recall having a spectacular time at the one before that, either. I haven't had a good run of luck lately at these things. For some reason they aren't holding my interest anymore.

Maybe I need more of a challenge, although that isn’t my usual style. I’m normally perfectly happy to keep things simple. I pay, my needs get satisfied, end of story. No hassle, no hang-ups. I don’t have time for messy entanglements.

So why am I bored with it?

"Well, that’s not the reaction I was expecting," Kevin says finally.

"Sorry, man, I don’t mean to shit all over your parade, it's just that I'm starting to wonder of it's worth it to even go to those anymore. It's always the same old story and we never meet anyone interesting," I sigh, sharing my opinions with him.

"Well, I suppose you're right. " he admits after a second.

I hear him sigh as he tries to figure something out. I feel a little guilty for being such a damper on his excitement. "Ok,” he says finally, ”How about we go, just to check things out? If it looks too boring, we’ll duck out and we can just hang out and have drinks. At least we can get out and enjoy the night, you know?" He suggests.

I'm still on the fence about the whole thing.

I'm kind of tired of that whole scene, but a night away from work would be nice. Just as I'm about to answer him, my work phone rings at my desk. Finally. I'm a little annoyed by the sudden interruption to my thoughts, but glad this guy is finally getting around to it.

"So what do you think?" Kevin asks again.

I need to hurry up and get him off the phone so I can get back to work. "Yeah, yeah, sure, that sounds fine," I agree hastily.

My hand reaches for the other phone and I hold it in my other hand.

"Really? You're serious?" He asks excitedly.

"Yes, yes," I agree again, eager to get off the phone.

"Great I'll call you once I have an exact date." He says before hanging up.

"Yeah fine, I gotta go, ok, bye!" I say hanging up quickly and answering the other phone before I miss the call. "This is Dominic," I say smoothly, switching back into business mode.