"They don't make 'em like that anymore. Hot damn." Ben said watching Parker and Carter leave.
"Like what?" she said nonchalantly
"OH, you know what I mean. Tall, dark and with a bloody amazing accent." he fanned himself
Kassia kept quiet because in her mind she was just replaying the instant she saw him walk into her office space.
Parker so that was his name.
He was the brooding sort all while being cool. She compared that image to the young boy that stood with her delivery bag from years ago. One thing for sure that didn't change were those green orbs he had for eyes.
His hair was still thick but had a more styled look with it combed back and gelled.
"What are you stewing up in your mind?" Ben snapped her back to reality.
Giving him a knowing look he didn't have to wait for a reply.
"I KNEW he was just your type." he threw a crumpled piece of paper to her, lightly hitting her head.
"I've seen him once. A while back. He was a delivery boy. May have matched on a certain dating app." she sighed.
"Shall I turn to our know it all friend to dig up some more information?" Ben didn't even wait for her reply as he powered up his computer to see what he could find on Google.
"I feel like I don't want to know," she whined slightly.
She had a rule about gossip. Never to go looking for it. She wanted to know what the person was about directly from them.
"Fine, I'm still going to look him up anyway. Just in case he's a weirdo." Ben snickered full on knowing he wanted the scoop on the brooding man.
"Woah there pal. It's not like he's going to ask me out or whatever. We're probably not seeing him anymore." she rolled her eyes.
She noticed Ben had gone quiet and that he could only hear the scrolling of his mouse and occasional clicking and her curiosity just grew even more.
"Ben. You need to stop. You're killing me." she threw back the crumpled ball at him.
He came out of his daze and just smiled at her "Honey if some reason you push this guy away. Send him to me. I'm going for lunch." he got up getting his wallet as he headed to the exit.
Her jaw dropped "That's all you're giving me?!"
"I don't believe in gossip on the internet." he made a high pitch noise mimicking her voice
"I DON'T SOUND LIKE THAT!" and he laughed leaving her behind.
Ben seamlessly moved with the face-paced crowd of New York City as he walked towards his lunch spot.
As he walked into the little Italian joint, he saw Maria's blonde head bobbing up and down as she spoke on the phone animatedly. When she saw him, she waved him over.
"Did she suspect anything?" she said as she hugged him
"Not at all. I could tell a lot was going on in her head after meeting Parker."
"What was his reaction could you tell?"
"I don't know him well enough, but he was very... observant."
"Damn it that Parker. He's always the reserved type."
"Kas did mention that they have had a run-in before," he told her about the delivery story.
"Mmm yes, Parker never went with the trust fund route and paved his way through school and trying to build the company. My Carter was the same as well." Maria said with a sense of pride
"Is it true about Parker's family?"
"Oh, yea. Very well to do. The definition of old Irish money."
"So.. how are we going to casually place these two in the same room again?" Ben said drumming his fingers together.
"Oh.. I have a perfect plan. Don't you worry," she said grinning and began to tell him about a casual party she was going to have.
~~
Parker slammed the front door to his apartment slightly harder than he should have.
Loosening his tie, he went to the three-tiered silver cart that housed his extensive selection of liquor. He poured himself a glass and sat on his go-to chair that was his office chair by the window.
Today was just another day of what it was like to own your own business. It was frustrating, but it also was enjoyable. However today, he was just frustrated with the company he was working with.
They went against his advice which resulted in their system being hacked, and of course, they point the blame to him yet again.
Taking a deep breath he let it all out and enjoyed the traffic below him.
He let his mind wander to the brown-eyed beauty from days ago. The jet black hair that went down to just above her waist. Her voice just made him relax and want to stare.
His phone rang and it was Carter calling.
"Hey man, you coming over?" he could hear the house filled with the chatter of people.
"I don't think I'm up for it." he sighed thinking of having to chat with a bunch of people that were not in his circle.
"Dude, just come over. It will be fine. Forget about the long week. You should blow off some steam with us." Carter convinced him
"Fine. I'll come over after winding down a little." he agreed
He took a hot shower to relax his muscles. Picked out jeans and a black t-shirt and in classic man style, just ran his fingers through his wet hair and let it dry out.
He took a bottle of whiskey that was still packaged so he wouldn't arrive empty-handed.
Carter and Maria lived nearby so he decided to take advantage of the cooling weather and walk over.
As he approached their apartment he could see their guests walking about in front of the wide window that faced the road.
He rang the bell and was greeted by Maria herself.
"Parks! Carter told me you were thinking of not coming. I'm glad you did anyway." she hugged him and told him he could place the bottle with the others.
He surveyed the room and headed to the guys.
"Hey fellas." they eased into conversation. Occasionally one of them would eye up Maria's friend.
Parker silently let them do so. Except when Steven seemed to be in a daze.
"Woah. I've not seen her before," he said.
Carter chimed in "Yea, that's Kassia. We met her in Montauk initially and she and Maria hit it off."
Parker wanted to turn around right away but had to find it in him to play cool.
"Man.. what a classic beauty." Steven seemed to continue staring.
"Oh, yea. When I was first starting she was one of my first clients. She's pretty awesome." Herman said and Parker wanted to laugh at how small this city was.
"She went to Brown, was snatched by EY right out of school but her business sense is out of this world." he continued
Parker finally glanced at her and did a double-take. The guys noticed how he sized her up from top to bottom, taking his time.
"Any longer you stare and it's going to be considered illegal," Steven smirked
"Dude... you met her just the other day. Why are you looking like it's the first time?" Carter knew deep down Maria was right about letting them meet.
"Just like you, I appreciate what I see." he finally trailed up to her and just then they both made eye contact.
She smiled and gave a little cautious wave and he smiled back. Maria then swooped in and grabbed her by the arm and took her away from his line of sight.
He turned back to the guys and they most definitely were in the mood to tease him.
Through the night he watched her mingle with everyone and he noticed her business partner arrived as well.
He especially liked when she flashed her smile that seemed to light up the room.
"Mr. Brooding is here and he's snuck in a glance at you every chance he's got," Ben said casually when she was alone.
"Stop. You're making it obvious." she tried not to scream.
Yet her heart was racing more than it should be. He was the first thing that she noticed when she walked into the beautiful brownstone.
The fitting black t-shirt and jeans were different from the suit she had seen him in.
Very delectable.
"I'm not going to be a repellant for you. You let him know I swing the other way if he brings that up. Looks like he's coming this way. BYEE." he left swiftly.
Fuck fuck fuck he is
"What are you drinking?" he faced her smiling a little.
"Just a regular white wine. You? Whiskey?" she asked.
"Yes, I brought a good bottle and decided to share. So.. I didn't think I would see you again. Didn't realize you knew Maria and Carter."
"I didn't think I would either" she blushed a little "It's a rather fresh friendship but I can tell it's a good one. We met in Montauk and hit it off. I truly didn't think circles ran this small."
Herman approached them and all but ruined Parker's flow "Kassia, it's been too long." he gave her a hug
"Herman? Jeez, it's been so long since I saw you! It's usually over the phone with me panicking." she laughed
"I just couldn't believe my eyes. Had to come by. I see you've met Parker. We work together all the time." three of them chatted and Parker was impressed that she kept up with their tech talk.
"You guys carry on. I just had to see you before our next conversation again."
"Oh, expect that call for sure on Black Friday. I don't know how bad that is going to be." she raised her crossed fingers.
"You'll be my priority for sure, Kas."
"So you guys are the tech titans of NYC then." she laughed when he walked away.
"I don't consider myself that, but the way you phrase it makes my ego a little happier for sure." he laughed this time making her wish she could make him laugh a little more.
"Another drink?" he asked noticing her empty glass.
"Sure, one more won't hurt." he took her glass to the bar and was joined by Ben and a few others from earlier.
"Kassia! Ben was telling us how much you enjoyed Montauk. When the winter hits here the both of you need to come over to California to escape the cold. We'd love to show you around." a man named David from earlier smiled at her.
If her gut was right, she had a feeling this guy was hitting on her. Parker returned with her glass just in time to join the conversation. The few others noticed his gesture and were aware of the instant chemistry that both of them had.
"Your place up in Malibu Dave?" he sipped his whiskey
"Yea, it's been remodeled and the views are great. I'll have to get everyone over there. Though I'm sure most of these snowbirds will be on that side of the country anyway."
"Oh, we'll have to try. No promises. That's around the holiday season and it's our busiest time of the year. Thank you though." she said hoping to make it clear she would come with Ben.
"I'll have to get your contact info so I can let you know when." Kassia felt like she was a deer caught in the headlights.
Parker wanted to roll his eyes at David. He worked fast with women for sure.
She felt eyes on her, waiting for her response. Ben swooped in saying "Well lucky you, I have our business card so you can do so."
Parker felt Kassia relax a little at that and knew that was the time she was going to excuse herself.
"It was really lovely meeting all of you. But I've got an early morning tomorrow. Let me just see if I can catch Maria and Carter." she said as politely as she could.
David was the typical Wall Street guy. Confident and not afraid to show it and talk about it.
AKA, not her type.
She found Maria in the kitchen, putting away some things.
"Hey! I'm going to head on out. I had a great time." she gave her a hug
"So fast? I see you were speaking to Parker for a bit. Was he pleasant? He usually keeps close to the guys." she tried playing it cool. Full-on knowing that Parker was taken by her.
He had watched her through the night and made a beeline to her as soon as she was alone.
"He was great. Very down to earth. I admire him for that. You don't find many men that... don't brag about themselves." she said cautiously
Maria gave her a knowing smile "He's great on the eye too. Wouldn't you say?"
"MARIA!" she attempted to shush her hoping no one passing by had heard her
"OHH I knew you'd think so." she giggled "Anyway I'll walk you out. Let me get Carter." they walked back to the living room and without having to call him out, Carter came to her.
Parker was in the group of guys, casually leaning against the bar but stopped to look directly at her.
Did she wave or something? Seeing that Ben was in the group as well she waved.
"Kassia, thanks for coming over. I'm sure we'll be seeing you often. Maria enjoys both you and Ben's company. He's a hit with the guys. I'm sure we'll be seeing him at poker night at Parker's on Monday."
"Good. I'm glad they enjoy his banter! I will see you guys. Thanks again."
"Do you want us to hail a cab for you?" he asked
"No, no. I enjoy walking. It's not too late anyway." she gave one last hug and left.
As she waited at the crosswalk for the light to turn green, very unlike the New Yorker she claimed to be she heard someone call out her name.
She saw Parker wave at her and she was slightly confused yet enthralled to see his tall figure walking at her.
"Ben was pretty worried about you walking back. I volunteered to keep you company. Hope you don't mind." he tried not to babble and out of sheer nervousness, he slipped his hand into his back pocket.
Kassia grinned "As long as you're sure you don't mind. I'd feel really bad if you had to go far back to where you live."
"Even if I lived on the opposite side of NY, I'd still walk you back wholeheartedly," he said easily
She was sure she turned red as a tomato so she just gestured for him to come along.