266 Old Wounds (15)
Gale was driving to a meeting with one of his informants when he received a message. While standing at a red light, he took a quick glance at it. Iris actually sent him Elise's number, saying it was so he could contact her if he wanted before going out to meet her.
He put away his phone when the green light lit up while shaking his head. If he wanted, how could it have been hard for him to get Elise's number himself? It wouldn't have even taken five minutes.
Kyro's girl was way too invested in the matter. What did she plan to gain by constantly trying to force him to go through with this farce?
As he waited for his informant, he looked at the number he'd received again. Since he had it, he might as well contact her. The sooner they were finished, the sooner he'd be free and Kyro would get his alliance for Dioscuri.
[Are you free today? I know a place to bring you.]
Mondays weren't the best for partying and social gatherings, but it wasn't like there was nothing happening. He knew enough people to be able to celebrate every day.
[Who are you?] came a reply in a minutes.
'Iris didn't tell her about giving me her number?' That was unexpected, but not detrimental. [Your dream man come to invite you for a night out.] He also added a grinning smiley for the fun of it.
There was no reply for a time, and he instead looked around at the private room in which he was sitting. It was ten minutes after the agreed meeting time, and he was still alone. A quick call to one of his people revealed that his guest hadn't even left home.
'Chickened out? Or want to make me wait?' He didn't waste time to find out. Raising from his chair, he left the establishment while making a call to yet another person. If they thought they could lead him around by the nose just because his image was that of a brainless playboy, they had another thing coming.
The fact that Dioscuri was in trouble didn't mean he was powerless. He called in a few favors, preparing a gift for the person who stood him up. This would teach him and the others not to waste his time.
As he finished up with that, there was another message from Elise. [Gale?]
Feeling too lazy to write back, he just called her. "Who else could it be?" he asked once she picked up.
"Some random stalker? I had already blocked your number for ten minutes by the time I remembered you."
"I'm deeply hurt," Gale said while walking to his car. "So are you free today?"
Elise hesitated, clearly not comfortable with such a straightforward question from him, a stranger in most regards. Usually, he would coat his invites in honey and sweet nothings, but he didn't bother for something which was a transaction more than anything else. He was selling his reputation for her brother's promise of alliance.
"Is there really something on Monday?" she asked in the end, her voice a little softer than before. It was more than obvious that she was reluctant.
"Just come for a few hours and we'll be done with this farce once and for all. I promise to be the perfect gentleman in the evening."
"Like right now?" Her voice held the right amount of disbelief mixed with evident mockery, which he appreciated.
Chuckling, he said, "No. Now I'm dealing with business."
After a moment, she gave up on her resistance. "Fine. When do you want to meet?"
They agreed that he'll come to pick her up at six, then he'd bring her to a birthday party of his friend. Calling Veronica a friend was more than she deserved, since he'd only heard her name being mentioned once, but it didn't matter. As long as he brought Elise to some kind of social gathering, his part of the bargain would be finished.
For the rest of the day, he finished up with a few other people that chose to ignore him, then returned home to take a shower and change. It was time to exchange his current mask for the one of the mindless playboy that everyone loved to admire and mock behind the back.
When he went to pick Elise up, she came out in a short dark blue dress which accentuated all the right places. Her face was almost free of make-up, only lipstick and eye-shadow, but she didn't need more. It reminded him why he'd become infatuated with her when he was a child.
They talked little in the car before arriving at the manor where Veronica was holding her party. Elise was about to step out herself, but Gale put his hand on hers. "Wait a moment."
He stepped out and walked around the car to open the door for her. She smiled in surprise, then nodded, realizing that he was beginning his act. He interlinked his arm with hers before leading her toward the manor.
Their entrance didn't go unnoticed. Many people turned their heads, starting to whisper among themselves. Used to it, Gale first waved over a server for two glasses of wine, one of which he presented to Elise, then spoke about some people he knew there.
In no more than a heartbeat, a number of men and women approached them. Half of them were already semi-drunk, but that was little surprise. He joked with them, laughing at their tale of how Veronica had started a catfight with Rose when the latter came dressed in a similar manner.
It was as usual, and Gale was about to fall into the familiar rhythm of interacting with everyone and leading the celebration when he noticed Elise by his side. She was smiling like before, but it was a strained expression. One didn't need to be good at reading others to know that she wasn't enjoying herself.
Frowning inside, Gale examined their conversation and realized that the others were excluding her purposefully. The moment she opened her mouth to say something, someone else would rush to speak to make sure she couldn't add a word. Annoyed, he tried to shift the flow of conversation to include her as well, but there was a great resistance from everyone around him.
'You bastards,' Gale cursed, realizing what was happening. He then extricated himself and pulled Elise away from that circle of idiots. She looked at him with confusion, but he didn't say anything.
As he led her to the table with snacks, he whispered to her some less than known secrets of the people with which they had interacted.
"You serious?" Elise asked wide-eyed. "She was found by her boyfriend with… with…"
Gale nodded and delighted her with even more scandalous tales. He usually collected them for blackmail material, but they could be used to amuse his companion as well.
In a few minutes, Elise's tense shoulders relaxed, and she laughed without restraint. Her charming smile was back on while her eyes sparkled with delight. There was no longer any sign of the dispirited woman from moments ago.
"Gale! You came!" a loud voice cut through their conversation.
He didn't recognize it, but this wasn't one of his usual gatherings, so he didn't pay much attention to it. Turning his head, he saw a woman in a miniskirt and bikini top approaching them. Upon stopping before him, she leaned over to present him with a better vantage point toward her chest that was falling out of her top.
"I've wanted to meet you for so long! Come with me, I've got something to show you!"
Her invitation couldn't get more blatant, but Gale refrained from rolling his eyes. It wouldn't be good for his image, even if he really, really wanted to do it. He smirked instead and pulled Elise to his side. "I've already found myself a girlfriend for tonight. Maybe next time."
The woman under his arm stiffened, so he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Play along. You've always wanted this, didn't you?"
Her face flushed with color, and he knew he'd hit the mark. His smile grew wider, the knowledge that even she had wanted to go out with him at least once not doing anything good for his ego.
But his good mood didn't last for long. The next moment, Veronica sneered at Elise. "This cow? You can't be serious."
There was one thing Gale couldn't stand, and it was for his judgment to be thrown to the dirt. His childhood dram girl was a cow? That bitch better look at herself.
As his expression darkened, a few other women came over. They smiled alluringly, batting their eyelashes at him without noticing anything wrong. One even grabbed his free hand to attach herself to his side.
"Leave that whiny harlot and come with me. I've got something really special prepared for you," she said in a bedroom voice, caressing his hand.
"Better me," another intercepted, putting her hand over her chest to attract his eyes.
A third one laughed, her mocking gaze aimed at Elise. "How much did she pay you? That had to have been some nice su—"
Uncaring of the code of conduct saying that men should not hit women, Gale slapped the speaker without holding back. She fell like a sack of potatoes, just one that screamed loudly. He looked at his hand, then called over a waiter to clean it off on a towel.
No words were necessary after that show. He took Elise's hand and marched toward the door. "Let's leave this pit of snakes. I know a better place we can go."
