As James sat in the dark leather chair of his office, his strong fingers, decorated inexpensive silver rings, he finished typing up an email to a client.
He sighed as he leaned back in the chair, and his eyes fell shut as he rested his head on the back of the chair. When he saw the girl on Saturday, he hasn't been able to properly focus on his work for the past two days. It had been filled to the brim with her voice and the way she sang, and he had to stop himself from trying to track him down.
There was a loud knock on the tall, dark doors of his office.
"Come."
The door opened, and Adam peered his head in. "Need your signatures on a few things," James nodded at him, taking a long, white cigarette from his drawer. He lit it, rested his elbow on the table as he took the papers from his friend. Adam was executive chairperson of Dudleys Inc.
James was CEO of the business, having started it when he was the ripe age of twenty-five. Granted, his father did leave him a fortune when he passed in a tragic car accident when James was only fifteen, his mother's murder quickly following short. James never got over it though, and at the age of thirty-three, James was one of the richest men in the United States.
James scribbled his last name in dark swirls and took a deep drag of the white stick. Adam nodded at him and took the papers.
"Tell me why you've been half-assing work since yesterday?"
His question made James roll his eyes, his face falling into one of boredom again. James wasn't the kindest man, but his investments in charities made people love him from across the world. James was cold, his parent's death being the only thing on his mind since he was fifteen.
He fell into the wrong crowd after his mother, and he dropped out of school. He got related in gang activities, having learned his skills of fighting and interrogation from that. James was ruthless in his work, curt 'yes' and 'no's were the only two words in his vocabulary.
"Half-assing? You didn't show up to three of the four meetings we had today, pal,"
Adam tsked at his friend, knowing exactly how to get on his nerves. Adam and James had been friends since kindergarten, and when James fell in prison after a drug raid at one of the facilities, Adam was quick to his rescue. Adam's father had been one of the best lawyers in the city and got James out on good behaviour after serving two years.
James had a few murder charges against him, and Adam didn't even know if he did what he was convicted of. There had been an officer who was killed on sight; strangled with bare hands and face completely smashed in. But, there wasn't substantial evidence that James did it, and the judge thrived on eyewitnesses. And since no one spoke, they couldn't use that against him.
It was an understatement; saying James had a temper. Something small, minuscule, could happen and James would blackout, see red, and hurt anything that would get in his way.
"I was busy running your errands, boss," James stared at his friend, and Adam only raised both brows at the man.
James stood, towering over Adam. "Adam-" It was a sharp ring that echoed through the office that cut James off.
"Dudley," He barked into the phone. He frowned, and set the phone down on the wood table, pressing the speaker button.
"This is Margaret with Extreme Cutters. We'd like to schedule a meeting with you, Mr Dudley. We would like to talk to you about investing in our business, seeing as that business has been good recently. When would be the best for you?"
James looked at Adam, silently asking his opinion. Adam shrugged, and James raised a well-sculpted brow at him.
"Tomorrow, eleven-thirty,"
James pressed the button, and the call ended. Adam shook his head at his friend, "You need to be nicer, James," Adam pointed a slender finger at him, and before he could argue, Adam turned on his heel and pulled open the heavy wooden doors.
James sighed, and sat on the edge of the desk. He stared out of the large windows at the end of his office. The windows provided a view of busy Manhattan, the sun starting to set casting the large buildings in a yellow and orange light. His office was on the sixteenth floor of the building, so James' fear of heights almost didn't exist anymore.
James killed the cigarette in the ashtray and took his phone from his pocket. His fingers typed quicker than his mind could follow, and the next thing he knew he was reading an article on Calypso and The Dreamers.
Calypso, the lead singer, was a twenty-two-year-old NYU graduate. She volunteered at a shelter, and James almost smiled. From what he gathered the night at the bar, she was that kind of person.
Her bandmates consisted of Angela and Avery, and Jack. He read further, and then he found the number of her manager, Steve.
He hummed as he read, something he did often since he was young. She graduated when she was twenty, and started the band when she was fifteen. The band had an album out, it had dropped two months ago. James smiled as a picture of the group came up. His eyes found the girl that had burned a hole in his mind, and he felt his pulse quicken.
Her then dark brown hair hung in waves down her chest, and a black Metallica shirt hung loosely from her body. Her lips were turned into a wide smile, and that adorable nose scrunch was captured perfectly.
James frowned, noticing the long black swirls of ink that detailed the side of her forearm. He couldn't make out what it said, and he made a mental note of finding out; his curiosity had always been a flaw to him, but in this situation, it helped him out greatly.
It was a tattoo that said: "Forever Mine." and a date next to it.
It was when James phone rang, that he was snapped from his haze.
"Dudley,"
"James, listen. We have to go for a round of drinks tonight. Catherine's bringing that redhead from Seattle with, you have to come."
Adam had tried to get his best friend to find a girl for the longest time ever, but James wanted nothing to do with them. They would always throw themselves at him and enjoying the attention, James would give them everything he asked. Being extremely wealthy, the dent they created in his bank account was minuscule.
"No."
"James, I'll give you a hundred bucks,"
James laughed, "I make a hundred dollars every second, Adam." The line passed a sigh to James, and Adam went on, "Come on, Jamie," The nickname was a soft spot for James, and Adam knew it. James groaned softly, "Jesus, alright." The man on the other end yelled excitedly, and James ended the call as quickly as he could.
As James drove home on the other end of town, Calypso was riding her bike to Avery and Angela's house. She wore a smile as she always did, paired with a dark pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. She turned a corner slowly and sped up once she saw the people walked on the sides of the pavement.
For the past two days, Calypso's mind travelled back to the man at the bar. She had spared him many thoughts over the few days, and she wondered if she even made an impression on him. She doubted it though, seeing as he was much older than her and probably thought she was just some angsty teenager.
She stopped in front of the apartment building of her best friends and used her finger to press the buzz button. The button buzzed in the small apartment of the sisters, and Angela ran to buzz Calypso up. The door made a sound and she pushed it open, pushing her bike in first.
She found the door to the sisters home already opened, and she walked in. "Bedroom!" A voice rang through the house, and Calypso rolled her green eyes, "Which one?" She called back as she positioned her bike against the wall.
"Avery's!"
She slumped off her backpack and shoes and trodding to the bedroom. She leaned against the doorframe, grinning at her two friends.
Avery and Angela were spluttering out insults at each other as they ripped the closet apart, in search of something to wear.
"What are you doing?
The girls looked at her for a second, and Avery mumbled, "Jack wants to get drinks tonight." Calypso nodded slowly. She enjoyed outings with the group, but after Saturday, she hadn't fully recovered from the small concert. Her voice was hoarse, more than usual. she usually lost her voice after performances, but the new single they put out, took a toll on her voice.
"You can't wear that," Angela pointed at Calypso, and she frowned. "What's wrong with it?" The gm blonde girl narrowed her eyes, "There's paint everywhere," Avery chimed in then, "Maybe it could be a statement, ya know? Like, yeah, I'm a painter, I'm artistic," Avery made a face while she spoke, and both Calypso and Angela rolled their eyes. Avery was deep into fashion, and she said if the band ever came to an end, she would pursue that.
Calypso and Angela were more into music. Calypso had taken up painting when she was younger and started writing songs when her younger brother passed away along with her mother.
They died in a house fire when she was seventeen, her and her father being at the bowling ring when it happened. Her father became a raging alcoholic after that, and he has been in rehab for the last year and a half. She had a hollow feeling in her chest ever since she saw the thick, black smoke rise from where her house once stood.
Her father tried getting past the firefighters, but they held him back while the young girl sat in the car, unable to move an inch.
"You can wear this,"
A white, frilly dress made her vision go black as Avery threw it at her face. She held it in front of her, observing the dress. "No."
Avery glared at her then, coffee brown eyes narrowing at her best friend. "You will wear that or you will wear this," Avery held a tight red dress in front of her, and Calypso's eyes widened.
She had always preferred jeans over dresses or skirts, switching up between shorts and long mom jeans. She tsked at Avery and walked to the bathroom. Calypso slipped her clothes off and slipped the white dress on. It was a bit shorter on her, seeing as that she was three inches taller than Avery. She smoothed down her messy purple hair and smiled at the memory of it.
Three drunk girls in a bathroom of a nightclub, having gone out for a drink after buying red and purple hair dye. Avery dyed her hair a deep, almost burgundy red and Calypso was shocked when the purple actually showed up on her dark brown hair.
She opened the door to the bathroom and smoothed down the dress as it layed on top of her thighs.
"If I wasn't straight, I'd be hitting on you so hard right now," Avery winked at Calypso, while she merely laughed.
Angela smirked mischievously, "Well, I'm not straight," Calypso held up a hand, "When is Jack picking us up?"
Avery smiled, and before she could answer, the front door opened. She turned around and met with Jack's face. Smoke bloomed out of his mouth, and a quickly sucked it back in.
"Hello, loves," His thick British accent echoed through the house and Calypso grinned, "Hi, you look dapper," Wearing black jeans and a white button-up shirt, he smiled at the girl, "Don't you look pretty, hm?"
Jack and Calypso had always had this tension between them, but since they were childhood best friends, the thought of them being together made Calypso's skin crawl with disgust.
Angela and Avery finished a second later, looking like royalty. Avery wore a black dress, and Angela a matching set of white.
As they walked down the stairs of the apartment building lobby, they chatted amongst themselves. When Jack opened the doors for the girls, they playfully curtseyed at him and laughed as he bowed.
The sun had set completely now, the sidewalk being illuminated with bright street lamps.
As Calypso unlocked her phone after it dinged, she was busy typing out a text message to her father, telling him that she'd be sleeping at the girls.
But, a hard surface collided with her side which sent her phone flying out of her clumsy hands. She yelped, and when the world's started to turn, she braced herself for hard impact.
But a pair of large, calloused hands caught her slim waist before she could connect with the concrete. Like in some dramatic romance film, the hands felt like they were burning holes through her dress; onto her pale skin.
Electricity, almost feeling like fire shot up from the contact, up to her brain and legs. She looked at the rude collision and momentarily felt herself faint. After regained consciousness, she swallowed.
James' hands felt like jelly as he held the small girl, in an attempt of stopping her fall. His heart was beating in his throat at the feel of her tiny waist, and when she looked up at him with wide, curious eyes, he couldn't help but smirk.
"Sorry about that, darling,"
She paled. His words rung in her ears like church bells, and her bottom lip entered her mouth. She bit on it hard, "It's okay, mister,"
The man pulled her closer to him, allowing her to stand on her own two feet again. He noticed her nibble at her bottom lip, and he guessed it was a habit.
The sound of someone clearing their throat caught James' attention, and his blue eyes snapped to a boy. He looked to be nineteen, maybe twenty. The boy had his hands in his pockets, and his stare was focused solely on James. He smirked but dropped it as quick as it appeared.
Calypso smoothed down her dress again and looked up at the tall man. She craned her slender neck and noticed he was staring at Jack with the scariest stare she had ever witnessed.
"Hi, I'm Adam,"
A slender hand came into Calypso's view, and she mentally thanked the stranger for cutting the tension. "Calypso," She said, her lips tugging into a smile at the man. He was tall but shorter than James. Slender hands, and thin. He looked kind, and Calypso was easily put at ease with him.
"That's a beautiful name, for a beautiful girl. Don't you think, James?"
James' eyes then snapped to Calypso, cold, and softened by a fraction. The man bummed in agreement as he watched her, as she grew unsteady at his gaze. She looked to her left and saw the twins smiling widely at her.
"That's Avery and Angela,"
The man didn't even look where she pointed, his eyes being solely on her. Her little dress hugged her graciously, not sparing a curve untouched. A small gold chain rested on her chest, and under the streetlights, her hair almost glowed purple.
"Jack,"
Almost in an instant, he grew annoyed by the voice. James' jaw clenched in annoyance, and he looked at the boy again.
His eyes moved around his face, noticing how boney and pale he was. He looked sick, almost. And when he looked at Calypso again, she raised a brow at him in question. James looked down at the hand extended to him then back at Jack.
"James Dudley."
His voice was deep, raspy. He almost sounded angry. Calypso smiled, satisfied he at least introduced himself to Jack.
"Right, now that all the introductions are done. Where ya headed?" Adam asked, clapping his hands together. Calypso swallowed before she began, and took a step back, almost like it would help her breathe better under the stare of the large, intimidating man.
"Nostalgia. You know it?"
"I own it," James chimed in and made Calypso look at him again. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her the entire time she stood in front of him, and she had to force herself to look away.
"So, you'll get us free drinks then?" Avery's voice melted through the air like butter, and Calypso noticed James' lips jerk up into an almost-smile.
"We'll meet you there, then," Adam said and put his hand down on James' shoulder. James wanted to ask if they could walk the girls, but he didn't want to be too forward.
So, he watched as the girl nodded and smiled sweetly at him, making his heart hurt tremendously. She was the prettiest flower out of the entire bunch, and she didn't even know it. She picked up her now shattered phone, and James noticed her pout but didn't say anything just yet.
So, the two men made their way to Nostalgia, the bar a few blocks away from their office. James didn't say a word on the walk with his friend, half-listening to him rant about something.
He could only think about Calypso and the way she felt in his arms. She looked tiny compared to him, and that made him grow that much more fond of her. He wanted to see her in his arms again, and as he pushed open the door to the bar, he promised himself he would.