Three: Stood Up

Malea's POV

"This is so surreal." Ales blew out a breath and collapsed on the couch.

She just finished talking to Lucian and freaked out afterward. "I'm going to bed, Ales." I rubbed my eyes and left her to her own thoughts.

I have thoughts of my own.

..........(Saturday) Lucian

I straightened my tie and shrugged on my suit jacket. Glancing at the Salvatore Ferragamo watch on my wrist, I already knew I was late.

"Mr. King. Miss Alesandra Rodriguez has been waiting outside in the limousine for 30 minutes now. She asked me to ask whether she should just go home." My maid scurried in and curtsied low.

With a flick of my wrist, I pushed past her. "She should be waiting for me. Not vice versa, so she could wait a while more." I grabbed my wallet and placed it in my jacket pocket.

Um...what else? I know I'm missing something...

Oh, my phone!

Quickly, I hurried to my room and shuffled through my dresser in order to locate my personal iPhone. All the others were for work.

Picking it up as I left my penthouse building with strict orders, I glanced at the messages.

Alesandra: Hey Lucian. I just got here. (6:04 pm)

Alesandra: Um..Are you coming out? Or... (6:10 pm)

Alesandra: Seriously, Lucian. I hate to rush you, but I called off work for this. (6:15 pm)

Alesandra: How much longer will I have to wait here? Please answer. (6:20 pm)

Alesandra: Come on! (6:25 pm)

Alessandra: Honestly this is the last time Malea's going to set me up on some "blind" date. 
(6:30 pm)

Alesandra: Ok. Let me just tell you this as it is. I'm sorry for wasting your time, but if you knew you wanted to do this, you wouldn't have stood me up. it's not very hard to get dressed but in your case, it may be. I already asked your driver to just take me home. I've already got to my apartment so basically, this whole night was a flop and a waste of MY time. (6:46 pm)

Crap.

...................... Lucian

I hadn't expected to have to drive myself to Alesandra's apartment building, but yet again I had expected it.

Pulling the car to a stop in the parking lot, I got out and started off to her unit.

Hesitantly, I pressed the bell and stood back.

One person I hadn't expected to see, came out the door. She had on an oversized sweatshirt that came to her thighs and baggy sweatpants. Her hair was in a mess and she looked as if she just woke up.

"Hey. What do you want?" She asked.

"Hi, Malea. I need to see Alesandra right now." I glanced at my watch. "Our reservation won't hold forever."

I tried to brush past her and into the apartment but she side-swept me. "Do you really think you're going to see her after what you've done?"

I hadn't thought about that. "At least ask Alesandra out here so I can talk to her."

Malea stepped forward and I suddenly noticed our height difference. She was probably at least 8 inches shorter than me but she made herself look taller and more intimidating by her posture.

"Remember that night at the bar? When I told you that one of the major rules was that you wouldn't even dare do anything to Alesandra?" She asked, her eyes hard.

"Listen, we need to get going. I have no time for this." I absently tapped my left foot impatiently.

She glared at me. Then caved. "She'll be out in a second." Then she closed the door and it opened only after a minute.

I sucked in a breath once I saw her for the first time in person. She was in a body-hugging black dress that swept the floor. She was without a doubt gorgeous.  Her hair had been curled and fanned around her shoulders delicately but it was her bold red lips that drew me in. 

"I was waiting for about an hour, Lucian," Alesandra stated. 

I shook my head. "I know that." I held out my arm. "Are you coming or what?"

She just stared at me. "I hate being pushed around but since this is our first date, I'll come with you." Then she glanced at my arm and back to my face. With a sigh, she hooked her arm in mine and walked off with me to my car.

I didn't doubt for a moment that she would come with me.

........... Lucian's POV
She threw her head back and laughed, her dark curls following the motion of her head. "That's hilarious. So basically when you told her to wash the dusty wine bottle and instead she dumped out the wine and then washed the bottle?"

I grinned at her. She had a lovely sense of humor and had this gleam in her full brown eyes whenever she laughed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. "Mhm. And then she said 'You asked me to wash the bottle!'"

I motioned the waiter over while Alesandra sipped her Chardonnay.

"Thank you so much for your company, Mr. King. We love having you!" He glanced between myself and Alesandra. "What would you like tonight?"

"I'll have the roasted duck with raspberry glaze and a side of caramelized peaches." I nodded towards Alesandra to order.

She looked uncomfortable as she flipped through the menu. "What the hell is Cuisses de Grenouille?" She muttered under her breath. Giving up, she slammed the menu shut.  "You know, I'll just have chicken tenders and fries." She smiled close-lipped.

The waiter noted it down with a scoff and bowed before leaving.

"So tell me a bit about yourself," I asked, trying to spark a conversation where there was none.

Alesandra nodded and smiled. "Ah well. I moved from Texas to Manhattan for college when I was 18 and just out of high school. My parents didn't want me to move out of Texas and wasn't willing to pay for the out of state tuition, so I basically had to work 3 jobs alongside high school in order to move out here. My parents and I aren't very close anymore." She fiddled with the black napkin embroidered with a gold M.

"So when I began school at NYU, I met Malea--she was 17 at the time. She was my dorm mate and she seemed to always want to be alone, but I started talking to her and we hit it off. Now 4 years later, we rented an apartment together and she's like the sister I've never had." She sighed as she finished spilling her life story.

"Now, tell me something about you." She asked, a mysterious edge to her words.

I cleared my throat and racked my brain. "Um, well. My grandfather was born into a middle-class home in France. He finished high school and got married soon after. Then he moved to Manhattan for a fresh start to his life. He worked day and night, trying to get into the business industry, and finally found his ticket to success; marketing and advertising.

"He began building King Enterprises slowly from scratch and finally, it was well known enough to strike its first contract with China. China began to buy well-known inventions from King Enterprises and-"

Alesandra held up a hand. "Okay, I didn't ask to hear the history of King Enterprises. I want to know about you."

I shifted in my seat. "Well, my grandmother went to France again to give birth to my father and then flew back to Manhatten. I  was born in France as well and brought to Manhattan. That's it."

Alesandra stared at me and reached over the table suddenly, and grasped my hands. "I want to know about you. Lucian King. I want to know what makes you, you."

I looked down at our hands. I've never felt so vulnerable and at that moment I wanted to tell Alesandra everything I've kept bottled up for so long. I wanted to tell her how much I missed my mother, how often I lay in bed wondering why I wasn't good enough for her, beating myself down thinking I was the reason she left.

Too bad that's not the person I am. I peeled my hand back as the waiter returned with dinner.

She looked hurt. She probably thought it unfair how she spilled her whole life story to me and I couldn't even say a word about myself.

I didn't care. No one knows about my mother. No one knows who I really am on the inside. How I really feel. It's better if no one knew.

And I intended to keep it that way.