Chapter 4: Chapter 4

DANIEL

The day went by in a blur of emails, conference calls, and coffee refills. When Daniel finally glanced at his watch, it was 6:30 p.m. and his employees had all left. Normally, he’d just sleep here, but tonight, he couldn’t bear to stay. The office that usually brought him solace now held memories of his father’s teary eyes and his own broken voice.

~I have to get out of here.~

Daniel walked hastily toward the elevator and pressed G. One short trip later, he found himself in a large garage with uninspired concrete walls and flooring. Poor Johnson was waiting by the car.

~Had he even left? Had he eaten a thing since morning?~

Daniel was about to step toward his driver when a familiar voice distracted him.

“Took you long enough,” his childhood friend Camille said as she wrapped her delicate hands around his waist.

The corners of Daniel’s mouth turned up to form a smile. “I thought you were in California.” The last time he had checked in on her, that’s where she was. She’d been trying to convince her father to let her lead Lannister Industries since her brother had no interest in it.

“I was,” she replied simply.

A few days ago, there was supposed to be a vote among the shareholders, but there had been no announcement since naming the new CEO. Daniel would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious.

Camille’s fingers tightened around Daniel’s waist; he could feel her nipples against his back. “I figured you could use a friend today. Josh called; we’re meeting him at D Bar.”

Camille Lannister was one of the few people who really knew Daniel, who accepted every bit of the darkness that surrounded his heart. She had woes of her own, so she understood his.

She was also the only woman he’d ever fucked multiple times and would still fuck no matter what day of the week it was. With her, there was no fear of attachments. They were just friends with occasional benefits—nothing more.

Johnson drove over to where they stood and immediately got out, walked around the car, and opened the door for Daniel to climb in. “Sir?” he asked.

Daniel turned to Camille. “I’ll meet you there.”

She nodded and walked back to her own car.

The silence on the drive to D Bar was louder than any metal or rock concert Daniel had ever been to in his life. The only thing louder than the silence was Johnson’s expressions; every time a streetlight flashed across his driver’s face, Daniel could see his thoughts flicker in the rearview mirror.

Daniel broke the silence. “Spit it out, Johnson. You’ll get a heart attack at this rate.”

Johnson cleared his throat but didn’t say anything.

“I won’t fire you,” Daniel assured him.

Another minute passed, and then Johnson finally spoke. “I know you’ve grown up, and you’re not a child anymore… I shouldn’t worry about you being around her.”

Daniel frowned in the darkness of the backseat. “She’s not that bad.”

The scoff that followed held paragraphs in it.

Daniel sighed and stared out the window. For the first time in his life, his beloved Miami seemed freezing cold.

“She’s your friend, but we can both admit you have better friends. Josh, for example. Hell, even her brother, Chris. I just worry every time you’re with her; there’s always a mess to clean up when she comes around.”

Daniel continued to stare out the window. He didn’t say a word until they arrived at D Bar.

There, Johnson opened the back door, and Daniel stepped out onto the sidewalk. They could both hear Camille’s heels on the concrete as she walked toward them.

“Take the night off,” Daniel said. “Pick me up in the morning from the Fontainebleau. I’ll tell Gloria to book me another night.”

Johnson nodded at his boss’s instructions and drove away before Camille caught up with them. When she arrived, Daniel’s childhood friend hooked her arm in his, and they crossed the street together.

Nestled between two popular 5-star restaurants, D Bar was the place of choice for the elite to cool off after dinner or just hang out with friends or a date. Inside, the music was loud enough to hear but not so loud that people had to yell at each other to hold a conversation.

Across the sleek bar, Josh waved. He hugged Daniel when they reached him. “I was worried you’d tell me ‘no’ if I asked to meet, so I sent her,” he said with a wide grin.

A familiar hostess ushered them to a table with a chocolate brown sectional couch, a tiger print rug, and an accent painting. The table was close to the bar but tucked in a corner for the utmost privacy. Whenever they’d visit, this was their preferred spot.

Daniel rewarded the hostess’s gift of memory with a smile as Josh ordered for everyone. “Sweetheart, please bring us a bottle of your best bourbon for my friend here, a glass of Pinot Grigio for me, and tequila for this one.”

The hostess nodded and walked away.

Camille cozied up on the couch between both men, her right arm still hooked in Daniel’s left and her left hand tracing Josh’s thigh.

“Nice of you to remember I like shots, Josh.” With a confident but devilish smirk, she added, “If you weren’t still faithful to your wife, I’d find a creative way to drink it right off you right now.”

Josh rolled his eyes, shaking his thigh until her hand fell off. “Even without Patricia, I wouldn’t traumatize myself like that.”

Camille gasped loudly and retorted, “Fuck you.”

Daniel chuckled at the bickering. It’d been a while since they’d all been in the same room together, and he’d forgotten how it used to be.

When the hostess sent a waitress to deliver their drinks, Josh tasted his wine and sighed, satisfied. Camille poured bourbon into Daniel’s tumbler and pushed the glass into his hand. “Here,” she said, picking up her shot of top-shelf tequila. He ~clinked~ their glasses before chugging the liquid inside.

Josh looked around and then frowned. “Where’s Johnson?”

“I sent him home,” Daniel replied dryly.

“It would’ve been nice if he’d joined us.”

Camille finished her first shot and poured another one. “Why would the help join us? Ever since you married someone outside our circle, you forgot that they don’t actually belong in it.”

Her acidic words turned Josh’s handsome face green. “Camille, you don’t belong anywhere, not even on the fucking street.”

Daniel burst out laughing, the numbness of the day slowly unwrapping its tendrils from around his heart. Finally beginning to relax, he raised his glass to the bickering friends beside him and changed the subject. “So, is it official? Will you be the new CEO?”

Camille poured herself another drink and finished it. “The old man is insufferable. I’m not an idiot—I know he would choose Chris if he wanted the position. He’s just sending me in circles to buy himself some time.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Daniel replied, even though he knew her father could very well be holding out hope for his only son to take over.

Camille’s expression was guarded enough to issue an unspoken warning, so Daniel didn’t say anything else on the subject. Neither did Josh. They instead drank for hours and spoke of topics suitable for a bar.

Eventually, Josh’s wife came to pick him up. When they were alone, Camille shifted so her crossed legs hung between Daniel’s. She raised a hand to trace his left nipple through his shirt.

His member twitched.

“I missed you,” she murmured in his ear. The scent of tequila and her strawberry lip gloss heightened his already aware senses.

Daniel turned to look at Camille. Her glance held a glimmer of something that he absolutely did not like, and all the lust he felt immediately disappeared. In two seconds flat, his mood switched from informal to formal.

Daniel shifted so her legs would no longer be on his, and he didn’t even try to be subtle when he moved her hand away from his chest. He couldn’t pinpoint the reason for the shift, but something just suddenly felt off.

“Why are you really here, Camille?” he asked with the utmost seriousness.

Camille dangled an empty shot glass between her fingers. “Daddy keeps speaking of marriage.”

The sultry sound of her voice used to turn Daniel on, but now he felt as if he went to Alaska in the middle of winter and someone threw a bucket of ice water on his crotch. Just the mention of marriage made him nauseous.

“Why are you telling me this?” His voice was softer than he wanted it to be.

“Calm down, nobody’s forcing you into a committed relationship. I know you always have your fun—I do too. Let’s not get crazy.”

Daniel exhaled a sigh of relief, and Camille laughed. “Jesus, were you that scared?”

“Of course, I was. I couldn’t feel my balls, Camille.” He held his chest to soothe the tightness.

“Dad keeps talking about marriage whenever I bring up the CEO position. He has some bullshit misogynistic idea that women can’t run a company, even though I’ve proved that I can for years. I know he wants me to be married before he offers the position.”

Giving up on pouring shots, Camille pressed the tequila bottle to her lips. Daniel listened uncomfortably as she continued to complain.

“If it was his precious son, he wouldn’t tell him to get married first, but CJ doesn’t even want to run the company. He has his own business, and he’s hellbent on staying away from all things Lannister.

“If marriage is what I need to do to get what I want, I’ll do it. Marrying you would be better than picking some random guy who’ll try to scam me out of my own family’s company and take it all for himself. I know I’m just paranoid, D, but at least I know I can trust you. Daddy knows that too.”

Daniel’s urge to throw up lessened. Her ability to speak clearly while drinking always amazed him.

He took a deep breath before responding, “I don’t have to tell you that I would be the world’s shittiest husband. You know that, right? I wouldn’t be faithful to you, and I definitely wouldn’t want kids with you either.”

Camille giggled. “How long have you known me? Do I look like I’d want to yank a damn melon-sized human out of my vagina? Who would take care of it? Who would feed it? Did you forget I travel more than you? Did you forget I don’t even want kids? What the hell is wrong with you?”

By the end of her speech, Camille’s voice had risen so much that it made Daniel laugh. He pulled her into a hug.

“Fine. My bad. You shocked me with this, and I forgot for a second that you’re the female version of me.”

“Just think about it for the future,” she murmured over his shoulder.

“Hmm” was his only response.