The Bar

ANNA

My friend, Kris, was waiting when I pulled up outside a bar that evening. We’d met while working for Powell Inc. a few years prior.

She was much higher up the corporate ladder than I was, but we bonded immediately.

Although she would never admit it, I was pretty sure she played a role in me getting the job as Gavin’s assistant.

She looked as sexy as she always did when we went out, dressed in a black cocktail dress with a plunging neckline and sky-high stilettos.

Her dark hair was pulled back into a sleek French braid, and her winged eyeliner added some drama.

“All right, what boy has us drinking on a weekday, boo?” she asked as she threw her arms around me in a tight hug.

“Ugh, I’ll tell you inside,” I groaned. “First, I need a drink…or several.”

She pulled back and studied my face with a pout. “Are you okay?”

I felt my smile waver slightly under her gaze. “Yeah, it’s just been a crazy day.”

We went inside and found a table near the back.

It was still pretty early, and this place wasn’t one of the most traveled in the city. Most people considered it a hole-in-the-wall compared to some of the more prestigious clubs.

But the drinks were poured heavily, and the music kept the small dance floor lively.

I’d been coming here for years, so I knew most of the bartenders and bouncers. It was somewhere I felt comfortable.

As soon as we had our first round, Kris pinned me with a hawkeyed stare.

“Okay, spill,” she commanded.

I thought about Gavin’s contract and what it meant for my potential future. All at once, the feelings I’d been holding back flooded forth, and I felt tears start streaming down my cheeks.

“Oh, shit,” Kris said, wrapping me in a hug. “Babe, it’s going to be okay. Here, don’t ruin your makeup.”

She started blotting my cheeks with a napkin, and I let out a half giggle, half sob. Leave it to Kristina to make sure you stayed looking fabulous during a breakdown.

“To be honest, I don’t even know why I’m crying,” I blubbered. “It’s just…”

~This wasn’t how a proposal was supposed to feel.~

Kris gave my arm a squeeze. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”

I took a breath and was able to relay the events of the day to her. She nodded along, but I could see her becoming more and more troubled as I continued. When I finally told her about his contract, she threw up her hands.

“Wait, I thought you’ve always said you weren’t sleeping with him?” she exclaimed.

“I’m not.” I frowned. “I never have.”

“So you’re telling me this guy goes all alpha male crazy overnight and then hands you a contract proposing a fucking marriage, and you haven’t sucked his dick?”

She gave me a questioning look, and I shook my head.

“Not even once?” she clarified.

“No,” I continued to deny. “I’ve never even seen him with his shirt off.”

Kris smirked. “I mean, he wouldn’t ~have~ to take his shirt off…”

I snorted, and we both broke out into giggles. When I caught my breath, I sighed and dropped my chin onto my hands, where my elbows were resting on the table.

“Shit, Kris, what do I do? I can’t marry a guy who doesn’t love me, can I?”

She scrunched up her face. “I mean, if you’re asking what I would do? Fuck yeah, I would marry him. People get hitched for far, far less than a man promising millions, even if it doesn’t work out.”

She sighed and picked at the end of her braid. “But I know you, babe. You’ve been looking for your fairytale ending.”

“I haven’t found it, though,” I pointed out.

She chuckled. “You’re twenty-four. You’ve barely started.”

I swirled my drink. “Is it wrong that I kind of…want him to want me? He’s been my boss, so I never really let him be an option. Now that it’s a possibility, I don’t know if I’ll regret not going for it.”

“Honey, if you don’t go for it, you’re going to live your entire life with the what-if, even if you do find Prince Charming,” she said, shaking her head. “On the other hand, it could be the biggest mistake of your life. No one can know for sure.”

She pursed her lips as if trying to choose her next words carefully. “With everything that happened with your mom and dad… I worry that you might jump into this even if it’s not what you really want.”

“I’m not desperate, Kris.”

She vehemently shook her head. “No, no, that’s not what I meant. But you have been searching for something, and I know you haven’t found it yet.”

I looked away, not quite prepared to face that reality.

Kris took a deep breath. “I don’t know him like you do, but that contract kind of screams possessiveness. Are you ready to be with a man who’s so used to being in control? Or about what people might say when Gavin Powell suddenly marries his assistant?”

I groaned and dropped my forehead onto my hands.

“I’ll say this,” she continued after a moment. “He might say he doesn’t love you or whatever, but he definitely doesn’t want you with anyone else. From what you’ve told me, he was super weird from the jump this morning any time you were talking with another guy.”

That was true. I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but it made sense. I realized it could also just be that Gavin couldn’t stand the thought of losing. He had planned his proposal, so he pushed back when he saw that I was talking to another man who might disrupt things.

“Plus, you know he’s always had a soft spot for you,” she continued. When I frowned in confusion, she rolled her eyes. “Annalise, he gave you an apartment.”

She had me there.

About a year after I started working as Gavin’s assistant, he sent Mark to pick me up for the first time. I was renting a flat in a building that had seen better days—much better days.

Shortly after arriving at work, I was called into Gavin’s office, where he peppered me with questions about my living situation.

After explaining that I wasn’t comfortable with a roommate and that I was trying to save some money, he sent me on my way.

Conveniently, the following week my landlord decided not to renew my lease, and Gavin happened to have an opening in one of his rental properties that he had trouble filling.

For months, I badgered him about how much I should be giving him for rent.

I didn’t know a ton about the real estate market, but I knew his place was well out of my price range.

He always told me he would get back to me, so I thought he was just being nice with a temporary solution.

It was only when I asked for the afternoon off to go sign a new lease that he told me I could stay as long as I wanted.

We never discussed it again.

“He told me it was more profitable as a tax write-off,” I argued.

Kris gave me a look, and I shrugged innocently.

She laughed. “Well, either way, you have a big decision to make. But for now, let’s get a round of shots and dance.”

I grinned. “Maybe two rounds.”

***

Three shots of tequila later, we were on the dance floor moving like no one was watching. I knew I might regret it in the morning, but I felt free.

I let myself forget about Gavin and marriage and his stupid money. Instead, I just danced.

Large hands around my waist and a sweaty body against my back made me freeze in place.

“Hey, don’t stop, beautiful,” a deep voice purred in my ear.

I pushed away and spun to face the strange man accosting me.

“I’m not interested,” I shouted over the thumping bass. “I’m here with a friend.”

“What friend?” he asked.

I turned to point to Kris and was surprised to see she had vanished. Immediately, I knew something was off.

She wasn’t the type of woman to ditch a friend at a bar. When we went out with a group, she was the one who made sure everyone followed the buddy system, even if they were just using the restroom.

“I’m not sure where she is,” I said with a tight smile. “I need to go find her.”

As soon as I started to step away, he grabbed my wrist in a firm hold.

“Come on, baby,” he crooned with a malicious grin. “Don’t be like that.”

Despite the sweaty bar, I felt a cold chill go down my spine. Even with some distance between us, I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

I tried to break free of his grasp, but his hand only tightened around mine.

“I’m not your baby,” I snarled. “Let the fuck go.”

“Everything okay here?” I looked up to see Jake, one of the bouncers I knew well, standing with his arms crossed. He was over six feet tall with a bodybuilder’s physique and tattoos from the top of his neck to his wrists.

“Just asking the lady if she would care for a dance,” the man trying to force himself on me slurred.

Jake raised an eyebrow in my direction, and I shook my head slightly.

“All right, bud,” he said. “You need to go.”

“What the fuck, man?” my would-be captor complained. “I wasn’t even doing anything.”

The muscles in Jake’s arms flexed, and he cocked his head. He was one of the nicest men I’d ever met, but he definitely knew how to be the most intimidating person in the room.

“Get your friends and get the fuck out or I will take you out,” he commanded. “I’m not fucking around.”

Drunk Guy threw his hands up before gesturing to a table of sleazy-looking men and heading for the door. Immediately, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

Kris came running up just as I turned to thank Jake.

“Oh my God, Anna!” she said, panting. “I ran into someone I work with and got caught up in conversation. Was that guy messing with you?”

“It’s okay,” I assured her, despite still feeling a bit shaken up. “Jake took care of it.”

I held out my arm, and he wrapped me in a side hug.

“Anytime, Anna Banana,” he said. “You two better not leave without saying bye, okay?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Jakey,” Kris said and reached up to give him a peck on the cheek.

I rubbed my wrist, and Kris eyed the quickly forming bruise with a frown.

“Let’s sit for a bit,” she offered.

As we pushed through the small crowd, movement at the entrance caught my eye.

When I looked up, my veins turned to ice. The man who had assaulted me pointed in my direction with a menacing sneer before slipping into the dark night.