Meeting Mr. Mogul(41)

"Thank you for thinking of me as your valued friend. I'm very  flattered," he said as he flirtatiously batted his eyelashes at me.

I laughed at his words, happy to see the old Terry back. "I'm so sorry  for the deep topic. I just need some …  you know …  I never had a girlfriend  to confide in," I disclosed with a coy smile.   





 

"I'm glad that I'm gay enough for the part," he agreed with a smirk and a wink.

His statement pulled me out of my gloomy state, making me laugh hard at  his words as he chuckled beside me. I'll never admit it out loud, but  part of me was glad all of this was happening. I would've never met  someone as amazing as Terry.

For another half an hour, we talked about that morning when I stayed in  William's apartment. The one thing I thought I wouldn't share to the  world. Terry was grinning while I narrated everything to him. His smile  got even bigger when I told him in detail about the kiss but he pursed  his lips when I told him of the things I said to William that morning.

"Andy, you need to straighten this out and apologize. Tell the man why  you don't want things to be romantic, because I don't doubt that you  want to sleep with him." Terry stared at me knowingly as he raised his  eyebrow at the last words.

I flushed at his words and shook my head at his forward comment. "I  don't know how I can face him again. I think I made it clear after I  asked him to get out," I argued back with a sigh.

"Then, you have to man up  –  or in your case, you have to woman up. It's  your turn to lower your pride and say that you are freaking sorry,"  Terry countered with a suggestive smile.

"I think I need a drink before that happens," I stated with a laugh.

"Andy Peterson. I'd never thought this day would come," Terry jeered in  shock. I rolled my eyes playfully as I pushed him out of his seat before  I stood up.

I wrapped my arms around him in a surprise hug while I smiled gleefully.  He was startled by the action but returned the gesture. After a short  chat, we decided to go back to the hospital so that I can apologize to  my father. Terry came with me for moral support, which made me love him  even more.

After my very short apology, which consisted of me fumbling with words,  my father had warmed up. He wasn't a man who held grudges that long,  unlike me. We avoided talking about what had happened and settled on a  light topic. Terry had graciously offered a topic as he talked about his  work and the many douchebags he had encountered after I quit.

Terry and I said our goodbyes to my dad then we made our way to the  nearest bar since the club won't be open until later. Terry was shocked  that I drank beer. In reply, I sarcastically pointed out the two men in  my life. Terry knew Billy loved to drink alcoholic beverages. And my dad  had his fair share of drinks before he was diagnosed.

I was glad Terry had taken a day off today of all days when I needed  him. We were about to take it up a notch and order another round of  drinks when I saw Terry tense up as his eyes zoned in to someone behind  me.

"If I tell you something important, would you promise me that you  wouldn't react badly?" he asked softly after a second of recovery, his  eyes fell on my confused expression.

"That depends … " I trailed off as I raised my eyebrow at him in question.  "What is it?" I asked as I slowly turned to look for whatever was  bothering him.

Before I could completely turn, Terry stopped me midway and spun me back  to him. "Don't," he mumbled in warning as his eyes slightly hardened.

Before I replied, I looked at Terry's eyes following his gaze until it  landed on someone beside me. The first thing I noticed was his familiar  cologne. Then, as I glanced sideways, I met his familiar blue eyes that  were already on me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in surprise.

William turned towards the bar as he held out his hand to get the  bartender's attention. When the bartender saw him, he walked up towards  us. "I'll have a scotch on the rocks, please," he called out with his  deep, business-like manner.

The sound of his voice sent tingles down my back that made me shiver.  Why am I reacting to his voice now? I've heard it all the time at work.  Is it because I finally admitted about my feelings for him?

"Are you going to ignore me?" I asked in annoyance, getting out of my trance as I continued to stare at him.

"Andy …  Maybe we should … " Terry interrupted as his voice held some  warning. He held my shoulder and gave it a little squeeze like he was  telling me to keep my cool.   





 

I turned towards Terry and gave him a small reassuring smile, which he  replied with a tight lip one. I ignored his reaction and turned my  attention to William, who was now taking his drink from the bartender.  He took a small sip of his drink before turning his gaze on me.

"I thought you're not talking to me," he finally replied, his tone dead.

I eyed him for a second before letting out a defeated sigh. "I've got to admit. I overreacted a few hours ago."

"Overreacted is an understatement," he snorted and took another sip on his drink.

Before I could say another word, I turned back to Terry who had  tightened his grip on my shoulder again. I grabbed his wrist and pulled  it away as I returned it on his side with a small apologetic smile.

"Can you leave us for a moment?" I asked softly.

"Okay," he replied with a brief nod after assessing my expression.

I watched Terry walk towards an empty booth on the far side corner of  the room. When I was confident enough that he wouldn't come back, I  turned back to William. I took another deep breath before I started my  apology.

"Okay. First thing, I'm sorry," my voice quivered anxiously. "It was  very childish of me to react that way. You had caught me off guard. I  told you to leave me alone for a while. And then, you had to sneak up on  me and … " I continued, my voice slowly rising in anger.

"I thought you're apologizing," he insinuated, stopping me mid-rant.

"I'm so sorry."

There was a short pause before he started laughing. I looked at him with confusion at his sudden amusement.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked earnestly.

"I never thought that you would lower yourself. You're too full of  surprises sometimes, Andy. That's why I can't help but like you more,"  he avowed as the corner of his lips tugged upward.

"Did you forget what I just did? You should be fuming right now or  telling me that you're going to fire my ass or something … " I stated in  disbelief as I continued to watch him in confusion.

"Well, it gets tiresome to be high and mighty all the time," he replied with a grin before he took another sip of his whiskey.

I eyed his drink and then back to him. "How many glasses did you already  drink?" I asked sternly, willing him to take the situation seriously.

"That really depends. And don't forget that I'm not feeling all that  well, too … " he emphasized as he took another sip like he was taunting  me.

I grabbed the glass of whiskey before he could drink and placed it  further away from him. I put one hand on his forehead and the other on  his neck to check his temperature. I let out a hiss when my hand came in  contact with his heated skin.

"Goodness, William! You're still sick." I directly stood up from my  stool and wrapped my hand around his waist as he slightly staggered  towards me.

"I'm fine. I'm glad that I saw you here. I thought you'd never talk to  me again after that … " he raved as he weakly tried to get out of my hold.

"Terry!" I called aloud as I scanned my eyes towards the booth where I last saw him.

Within seconds, Terry got up and jogged towards me. "What's wrong?" he  asked as he studied William and me. "Is he alright?" he asked as his  gaze landed on William worriedly.

"No. This idiot is drinking when he still has a freaking fever," I replied in annoyance as I tried to tighten my hold on him.

"I'm fine. Damn it. Don't talk like I'm not here," William interjected intently as he tried to push me away again.

"Do you see any guys in black suit around here?" I asked Terry while I scanned the bar for any signs of his driver, Mark.

"No. I don't think so … " Terry replied with uncertainty as he kept his eyes on William.

"Please check outside!" I instructed aloud, making a few people turn and look at us.

I scanned the slightly empty bar, feeling relieved that no one had  noticed the man beside me. I studied William's current condition and  grimaced at his lack of response. He looked like he was struggling. His  breathing was slightly ragged, but he was able to stand straight without  swaying.   





 

"How long have you been drinking, William?" I asked, grabbing his attention again.

He looked down at me with a small frown before he replied. "I think it  was after you asked me to get out of the hospital. If you're looking for  Mark, he is not here. I drove myself today," he replied dully, his eyes  slightly squinting.