Take Me Away | Richard Madden [Completed; Editing]

Chapter 13 - It's a Celebration, Part 2

Richard shook his hand firmly. "Pleased to finally meet you."

Brett stood proudly over him, nodding. Taking a bold move, he took the seat right next to Richard and ordered a drink. The Scot never took his gaze off of him, wandering his eyes on Brett's gelled hair and clipped beard. His eyes were green, Richard noticed, and he had a small scar just above his left eyebrow.

Mia sat beside Brett and motioned for Ines to join her, but she refused. Mia pleaded. "Please," she mouthed. She ran a forefinger across her throat. "I'm gonna die, Ines. Please!"

The blonde rolled her eyes and stood up, stomping her way to the stool. She slid in with a drink at hand. "Don't make it awkward," she advised.

Mia nodded as she requested for three more tequila shots. She knew it wasn't polite to, but she listened in on the boys' conversation attentively. From Ines's silence, it seemed that she was doing the same.

"I'm a huge fan of Thrones," Brett told Richard. "It sucks that your character was killed off so early on. The Red Wedding sure was... something."

Richard nodded slowly as he raised a glass to his lips. "It was. Remind me, what do you do again?" For the sake of dialogue, Richard found himself asking questions he already knew the answers to.

"Real estate," Brett answered, choosing a beer over anything else. "Ten years now."

"I see. How's the market looking nowadays?"

He shrugged. "Well, you know. The usual. New York's still expensive, but people make it work. It took a while though, considering the housing crisis a few years back. But condominiums are popping up like weeds now. You should consider buying one."

Richard laughed. "I'll take note of that. How's your beer?"

"Could use more time on ice, but it's alright." He noticed the empty glass in Richard's hand. "Care for another bevvy?"

Mia's eyes widened. She turned to Ines, who wore the same expression on her face.

Ines leaned forward and whispered, "Bevvy?"

"'Drink,'" Mia responded. She had never heard Brett say such a phrase, and it confused her. She refocused her attention on the two men again.

"Uh, yeah. That would be great." Richard was perplexed at his choice of slang. It was weird hearing it from Brett, but he thought that maybe it was something he had picked up from Mia.

Brett motioned the bartender to refill the glass. "How long are you gonna be in town for?" he asked.

"A few days."

"So, does that mean you're on a break right now? I heard you just finished a series."

"Bodyguard, yeah. You can catch it by the end of summer if you have BBC on your telly."

Brett furrowed his eyebrows. "It's not the remake?"

Richard chuckled and shook his head. "Sadly, no. Although I think I could make a fine Whitney as well."

Hearty laughs roared from the two as Mia finished her sixth shot of the night. She was surprised that they were getting along, but she didn't want to make a big deal out of it. She knew that she should thank the gods for their grace, but it was still too early to tell.

"Can you call the bartender over? I need another round," she muttered at Ines.

Her friend did as told, but with worry. "Damn, Mia. Slow down. Our bosses are still here."

Mia was certain of two things: one, that she knew how to control her alcohol intake; and two, that their bosses were probably off somewhere drunk faced as well.