A Curve Ball Called Love

“I should also be going,” she said as he walked to the bar.

“Seriously? I do exactly what I’m supposed to and you won’t even join me for a nightcap?” he asked as he poured two glasses of wine.

“I had my fair share of drinks at the party.”

Douglas had a smile on his face as he shook his head.

“No, you didn’t. You had one glass of chardonnay and then made an order for vitamin water served in a whisky glass with some food coloring.”

Tiffany raised an eyebrow. That was exactly what she’d done. It was important to her to stay sober in case Douglas messed up. The truth was that she hadn’t even drank the full glass of wine. She’d discreetly poured it into a potted plant after holding it for a while just for show.

“You saw that?” she asked, her cheeks getting a little flushed.

“I like the fact that the world sees me as the embodiment of Tony Stark but even he was a tech genius behind the scenes and no one ever expected him to pull off something so grand as a robotic suit.”

Tiffany shook her head as he walked over to where she was.

“What’s that short speech supposed to mean?” she asked.

Douglas handed her a glass and raised his.

“I’m not as dumb as people make me out to be.”

“I never thought that you were dumb. Careless maybe, but never dumb,” Tiffany pointed out before she took a sip of her wine.

“I should probably commend you on your choice of wine.” He raised his glass to the light. “This is absolutely miraculous.”

Tiffany nodded.

“Twenty-five is a good age.” She took a sip and looked at Douglas. She wasn’t just looking at his face. She was looking right into his eyes. “The things you were saying today. About reparations, gun control… basically things that apply to people of color.”

Douglas nodded.

“Uh-huh.”

“Did you really mean that? Or was it just for show? To make you look good in front of the shareholders?” she asked. That question had been bothering her since she’d watched him work his magic with words earlier that evening.

“There was no show about that. That’s what I believe and I know it may sound ridiculous but let’s face it, at some point, we’ll need to be more than just people who notice stuff.”

Tiffany downed the rest of her wine and held the neck of the glass as she looked at him.

“What?” he asked.

She shrugged.

“Nothing. It’s just that you’re a very hard guy to figure out. That’s all.”

“So, that’s what’s been happening for the last few days?” Douglas was moving closer and closer to her. “You’ve been trying to figure me out?”

She took a long deep breath and bit her lower lip. She had the answer on the tip of her tongue but for some reason, she just couldn’t bring herself to say it. The air was suddenly a little warmer than it had been seconds earlier and for the life of her, she didn’t know when he got so close to her. It seemed like she just blinked and he was standing right in front of her.

“You know, when you put that public relations hat down, there’s something about you.” He took yet another step and raised his hand to gently brush a lock of hair back from her face. “You’re just this person I feel I can talk to.”

“Yeah… you too,” she whispered.

His hand stroked her cheek before he slipped his hand to hold the back of her neck. She in turn grabbed his tie and just as he lowered his head to meet her lips, she tugged at his tie. His lips felt soft and warm against hers. It wasn’t a familiar feeling for her. Men were usually scared around her but not this particular man. Their kiss grew deeper and more passionate as his tongue sought hers.

“No, you don’t,” Douglas said as he stroked her hair.

“No, I really do.”

He stepped back and got his pants back on as she walked to the door.

“Wait, I’ll walk you out—” he started before opened the door.

“I’m okay.”

She never looked back. She just got out of there as fast as she possibly could.