C4 She’s The One I Want

~Max~

As I enter the bar, the smell of alcohol mixed with the scents of different perfumes filled my nostrils. Lounge music playing in the background. Strangers all over the place. I saunter straight to the bar. Sit on one of the barstools. Amber lights directly above me. I place my hand on top of the bar counter made of goldish granite. Bottles of alcoholic beverages, all sorts of it placed delicately in a huge rack behind the very formal-looking bartender who approached me. He’s wearing a white tuxedo with a black bowtie, hair is perfectly combed back.

“One New York sour, please,” I ordered to the bartender.

“Coming right up Sir,” He replied.

A few minutes later, my ordered drink is in front of me.

“Thanks!” I told the bartender. I sip on my glass. Then suddenly someone sits on the barstool beside me. I didn’t care at all—until…

“You alone, pretty boy?” said the one beside me. So it’s a woman. I didn’t notice that earlier. I didn’t answer her. My attention is trained on my drink.

“Oh, I got a silent, brooding guy in here,” she blurted out. Her voice is quite flirtatious.

“Isn’t it rude for a man to ignore a woman seeking his attention?” She continues talking. I’m still not entertaining her.

I couldn’t care less.

“Sorry lady, But I’m afraid this man is already taken. So would you mind?” I heard Alex speak, so he’s here already, huh? I look at Alex and see him gestures a hand signal that means get out and faking a smile at the woman who’s already gone now.

“One martini please,” Alex orders the bartender.

“What gives? Why are we here?” He asks.

“I just want to unwind. My mind is in chaos.” I told him. Eyes on my drink.

“Care to tell me exactly what’s inside this?” He asked, pointing a finger to my right temple.

“A lot, bro. There are so many of them. Can’t tell them all in one blow,” I answered him.

“Perhaps the answer to your chaotic mind is a woman. Getting laid even just for a night. What do you think?” He told me. I give him the warning look.

“Oh, come on, don’t give me that look. It was just a suggestion,” He chuckled. I gave him a fake smile.

I refocused my attention on my drink. Both of us stay silent for a moment. Until I broke the ice.

“It’s exactly seven years since the day I met her,” I told him out of the blue.

“I know. And it’s also your seventh year of celebrating the pain. Aren’t you tired of waiting?” He uttered.

“Don’t know, bro. Sometimes I’m asking myself the same question. And every time I do, the answer I got was always the same.” I told him.

“And?” He asked, and sip on his drink

“That I love her and I will never get tired of looking for her,” I answered him and look at him dead serious.

“Never did it occur to you that maybe it’s already time for you to move on? You know. Because that feeling of yours that you held for so long doesn’t help you at all. It’s been so long, bro. You have your own life, she has her own. What if one day you stumbled upon each other and then you learn that she didn’t harbor the same feelings as you do? What’s it gonna be, then?” He’s talking to me, while giving me the worried look.

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll cross the bridge when I get there. I need to see her again first, and I’ll let fate dictates what will happen next,” I remarked.

“Tsss. That is not you, bro. Letting fate dictate your destiny—is so not you. Why don’t you try looking for someone new? You know. There are so many interesting women out there, Max. You just have to open your eyes and give them a chance,” he told me, as if it’s just that easy.

“Easy for you to say because you’re not in my shoes,” I told him, emotionless.

“I was just being objective here, bro,” He told me, then orders another martini.

“I know, but sorry, I can’t. It’s a betrayal of myself if I jumped into someone else’s arms, knowing full well who my heart truly desires. I really wish it’s just that easy. But hell, it’s not. My heart wants her and only her, or else it does not care. Not an ounce. You should know better, bro.” I told Alex, while I busied myself spinning back and forth the remaining drink in my glass. I hadn’t finished it just yet. I don’t really feel like drinking at all.

Then, I look at Alex and found him looking into space. He looks like he’s in deep thought. So just I leave him be. I let the both of us succumbed to our own silence.

“You are so right about that. I really should know better. I, myself, am having a hard time forgetting Charlotte. After she left me, it’s so hard to even look at any other woman besides her. Though there’s a lot of pretty and willing woman who’s practically throwing themselves at me, I still can’t. She’s what I want. And that’s that,” Alex said after maybe realization hits him.

“Crap! Forget that. You know what? Until now, I still couldn’t believe that once upon a time, you and I were both notorious womanizers, especially you,” he added, reminiscing the old times. Our college life.

“Yeah. Me either. But I’m a changed man now, and so do you,” I muttered.

“Yeah, yeah. And you changed because of her, right? Sometimes I’m wondering how does this girl looks like, and what is her personality be like, that made you head over heels in love with her. I’m just curious, you know,” He voices out, then downed his martini, and order round.

“I don’t know either why I’m feeling this way for her. We just met out of the blue. If she didn’t come to my parents’ place back then, or I didn’t visit them, then we wouldn’t have met each other in the first place. Perhaps we are destined to meet right at that very moment, I guess. She’s an eye-catcher, but she doesn’t know that. She’s so innocent and pure. And the more time I spend talking with her that day, the deeper I fell for her, and the next thing I know, I can’t get out of the deep pit I fell into.” I’m speaking my heart out.

“Stupid love, it is. You fall in love with one particular person, but for no apparent reason at all. As stupid as it could be, let’s cheers to that, bro,” He said then offers a toast to me and we both drink our drinks. I order another round of New York sour.

“Until now, the image of her, even after all these years, is still fresh in my mind. How can I ever forget her? There’s no one besides her is worth thinking anymore, bro,” I’m telling Alex more than I should.

“Is that the only reason why we’re here?” Alex asked, changing the subject. I secretly thanked him for doing so.

“Yeah. Right. There’s more pressing matter than that. I asked you to meet me here because you left early from the office today and I want to tell you personally what I’m about to say.” I was about to continue with what I’m saying when he cuts me off.

“Yeah sorry about that, bro, just had emergency meetings this afternoon, anyway I wanna tell you something as well. But after you, of course. So you go ahead, sorry for my interruption.” He told me, now I’m curious what he wants to say after.

“I will be leaving for a business trip. I’ll have Angie and Attorney Gonzalez to go with me. And, while I’m away, I want to leave you in charge of the company. I asked Angie to hand some documents to Marco. He should have them when you go to work tomorrow.” I stated.

“Is your business trip about our European Partners? And how long will you guys be away?” He asked me, concerned.

“Yes, it’s about them, and it will take us three weeks, more or less.” I simply replied.

“Oh, I see! Well, I wish you the best of luck, bro,” He muttered.

“Thank you, bro! How about you? What’s it that you want to tell me?” I asked him.

“Ah, Yes. Uhm. How do I say this? Okay. This afternoon, I learned that our account manager who handles all our shipments in the logistics company has resigned. Since when? I don’t know. Hence, I went to their main office, then I decided to call off our exclusive contracts with them,” He said, but I cut him off.

“What? Why? Alex, you know we are in a difficult situation now. Why would you do that?” I interjected, sounding quite pissed.

“Please let me finish first. Yes, I called off the exclusive contracts. However, I retain the non-exclusive contracts per se. I removed all the Europe shipments from them because I can’t let another mismanagement of our shipments happens again, and I asked another logistics company to take over the account. I met with L&J Freight and Global Logistics this afternoon. I asked to have an exclusive contract with them for our Europe shipments. We should have the formal proposal and contract signing by tomorrow. I’m sorry I did all this without notifying you beforehand, because an idea popped into my head. And if my guess is right, we should be hitting two birds with one stone with this idea of mine. Just please trust me on this. I got this bro. I will never do anything that will harm the company. Ever,” He explained to me.

Maybe he has something on his mind. I give him that.

“So the new logistics company will be the one handling the next European shipments, right?” I asked. I need to clarify something.

“Yes bro, that’s right.” He answered.

“How sure are you that the delivery of shipments to our partners won’t be delayed this time?” I need to know what he’s getting himself into. It’s our business who’s at stake here. And it’s not just a simple thing.

“A hundred and one percent, bro. Trust me, I’ll bet my name on it,” He answers firmly.

“That was quite a remark, Alex. Anyway, if you think that replacing our logistics service provider will bring positive results to the company, then I trust your judgment on that. But please don’t mess up. This will be our last chance of regaining the trust of our partners in our partnerships. And, I’m sorry, I can’t be with you at the contract signing tomorrow. I’ll leave everything to you. Tomorrow will be our flight to Europe. I will meet up first with Mimi Lorein’s CEO, Francois, at their main branch in France and the others after. Then we’ll fly to Italy to check and see what’s new in the textiles industry there. I don’t want San Diego International to be left behind. We should always be up to date with what’s going in the business. And I want to know everything first hand.” I told him, then downed the last New York sour in my glass.

“Alright, bro. Don’t you worry one bit. I’ll take care of the company while you’re away. Will you guys be back before the Company’s Gala Dinner?” He asked,

“Of course. Can’t have that missed, because mom and dad will be there. They will be joining us this year,” I replied to him and wrapped up our conversation.

We parted ways after. I was about to hop in, in my black Bentley Bentayga, when I sensed someone following me. Before I open the driver’s door, I turn around, then I see a woman leaning on the wall not far from my car. When she sees me looking at her, she saunters her way to me.

“Leaving without saying goodbye, pretty boy?” asks the woman. Maybe she was the one who sat beside me inside the bar. I couldn’t remember her face.

“Leave me alone please,” I told her. But she’s persistent.

“I can give you company. I can warm your bed tonight if you like,” she said, which annoys me.

“Too bad. My woman is already waiting for me to be home. Why don’t you just go away and find someone to shag your ass tonight, will you?” I lied to the woman who’s now in front of me. I quickly get inside the car and start the engine. And quickly took off.

“The only one who’s allowed to warm my bed is none other than Krizza herself. And it’s non-negotiable.” I exclaimed, talking to myself as I’m on the road going home.