Dancing With The Devil

Chapter 6

"What can I do for you..."

"You can just call me Alistair. I'm not here on business." He replied with a charming grin.

That explained why I thought his name had been Star, but my face flamed with embarrassment at my drunken mistake regardless. I can't remember the last time I held myself so improperly. I was supposed to be an accomplished business woman, but instead, I was a stumbling drunk at my own event, making a fool of myself in front of this handsome man.

"Well, if you aren't here on business, then what are you here for?" I asked, feeling the knot in my stomach ease. Knowing that he wasn't here to bring me more bad news about my home helped me relax. Though things were not great at least they were not actively getting worse.

"I enjoyed your company at the gala." He stated boldly, those bright eyes sparkling with something that I wasn't able to read. "I know that it's not tremendously professional of me, but I would like to spend more time with you."

"For what?" I blurted stupidly. But I could feel my heart rate accelerating in my chest. I just wasn't sure if it was because I was terrified of his suggestion or delighted by it.

He shrugged casually, unfazed by my awkwardness. "How about we just spend a few hours together and see where it takes us?" he offered.

"What do you suggest we do?" I pressed, feeling the butterflies come alive in my stomach. It had been so long since any man had shown interest in me, much longer since a handsome, clean cut man had. But despite all this, I was still to hesitant to just dive in. I had been burned so badly the last time. A man very similar to him had left me with scars that could never be erased from my body or my soul.

Alistair didn't see that, he didn't know what I had been through. To him, I was just a woman who had worn a revealing dress and danced the night away with him while others watched. He smiled brighter, like he was expecting me to ask him that. "I was thinking that we could wander around the halls of National Art Gallery. It's one of my favorite places in the city." He murmured, the suggestion sounding too perfect to my own ears.

I knew very little about art, and unlike other wealthy people, I didn't pretend to know, but the gallery was incredible and it had been ages since I had been there, despite how much I loved it. When I first moved here with Sophie I used to buy coffee and wander up and down the halls for hours as it was the most pleasant way to kill time before I had any work. I had always wanted to share those quiet, thoughtful moments with someone, but I had assumed it would never happen.

"It's like you read my mind." I breathed back.

Sophie laughed in delight when I told her the news a few hours later. But then her face fell with intense seriousness as she told me nothing that I owned was nice enough for a date. Pencil skirts and frilly blouses were great for the office, but if I was going to sway a high class man I needed something more sexy and playful than a white button up and black dress pants. She rolled her eyes at every single one of my conservative suggestions and nearly forced me to go shopping with her on Friday. I felt tremendously silly in the clothing she picked out for me, but she refused to let me stick with my safe, matronly options. So I ended up in the middle of the entrance wearing a brand new pair of skinny jeans, a low cut white tee shirt and a chic leather jacket that hugged me just right, making me look classy and edgy all at once. I fiddled with the short, rose gold necklace that sat at the base of my throat, watching Sophie float around the gallery with her new girlfriend in tow.

I had felt like I was using a crutch when Sophie had offered to tag along, suggesting that she and her girlfriend would float around at a safe distance to make me feel safer. I had denied at first, but then leapt at the idea, realizing that I didn't know this man at all and things could go sideways very quickly. Maybe his intentions were less than pure and I had distanced myself so aggressively from any men at all that I had no idea how to handle a bad date anymore. Plus, we hadn't exchanged numbers the day he had come into my office and Sophie would at least be a guaranteed ride home. And with every passing second I debated waving Sophie over and telling her that this had been a foolish idea and I wanted to go home. What was I doing anyway? Did I really think that going on a date with a government agent was a wise idea? Was this even a date?