Without a Net Chapter 2
I meant to post this yesterday, and I tried, but the internet in my building was terrible. No one was able to get on long enough to do anything. :| Was not pleased. Anywho, new chapter. I think my favorite one is chapter 4... I can't remember off the top of my head.
Hangovers and Coffee
Chapter Two
He wondered vaguely as he awoke, if calling in his butler to turn off the sun would be too much of an effort. He decided a moment later that it was, and attempted to bury his head further beneath his pillow. It did not help. He was awake and the birds were chirping so loudly he thought his ears might burst. His mouth tasted like something had died in it, and even his soft groans were making his head hurt.
It was turning out to be a lovely morning.
Darco groaned softly and cracked open his brown eyes. It seemed like they were stuck together. He wondered how much had had drank the night before to suffer such a fate. He couldn’t remember and that was troubling. He sat up slowly, pausing when the room began spinning. Since when did his bed rotate? He would have to talk to his decorators about that.
His eyes finally focused enough to land on his nightstand. On the table was a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin. He would have to thank Henry, his butler; the man was truly a godsend.
He took three of the little pills and downed the water. His mouth still tasted horrible and the room was still spinning, but he had a feeling he was already late for a meeting of some kind. With a groan and a queasy stomach, he hauled himself out of his bed. He was lucky that the pillows had not smothered him in his sleep. He would have to talk to his maid about them.
He stumbled his way into the adjoining bathroom. It looked lovely when he wasn’t feeling like being sick everywhere. The entire thing was done up in black and white. It was classic and simple, unlike the rest of the house.
He quickly turned on the shower and wished desperately not to lose whatever contents were in his stomach. The offending organ wobbled at the thought.
He took a long shower, until the water cooled and was nearly unbearable. He climbed out feeling a bit more refreshed. His headache had abated a bit, but he was going to need his sunglasses if he was going out in public. Even the bathroom lights were hurting his eyes.
He dried off quickly and walked into his room nude. His servants knew by now not to walk into his room while the door was closed before knocking. The last maid he’d had had gotten and eyeful before she was fired. She had been bad at her job anyways.
The closet was in proportion with the rest of his new home. It was huge. The cleaning woman, Morgan he thought her name was, had organized his suits by brand and then color, going so far as to match up the ties for him. She was going to get a bonus if she kept doing things like that.
He grabbed his favorite gray Armani suit. It had two buttons on the coat and seemed almost silver. Morgan had said it brought out his eyes. He doubted her, but compliments were nice and it was better than wearing his black suits all of the time.
The tie she had picked out to go with it was gray as well; it matched the jacket and slacks perfectly. The only thing she had not matched up was his socks, shoes, and his boxers. It filled him with a sense of relief to know that she hadn’t been nosing around his underwear drawer. He settled on black briefs.
When he finally glanced at the time, he realized that it was two o’clock. It took him a moment to remember that it was Sunday and that he had no pressing engagements to attend. Well, none other than visiting Anna, and perhaps Dianna. However, if he knew Dianna, she was suffering from a worse hangover than he was. He would call her when it wouldn’t be detrimental to his health. He had never been one for doing stupid things just because.
It was two thirty by the time he made it to the kitchen. His butler shot him an amused glance before setting a mug of coffee in front of him and a plate of toast.
“Paper?”
The paper was set down next to his plate. Henry really was a good butler. Darco wondered why the man put up with him. He shoved it aside and took a drink of the coffee. It was heavenly, and black. Later he would drink it with cream and too much sugar, but for now, black was perfect.
“Do I have any messages?”
“None, sir. How is your head?”
Darco shot him a glance. The elder man seemed amused. His blue eyes were suspiciously light and there was something about his manner that told Darco that the old man found Darco’s state of headache utterly amusing. It wasn’t. It was a shame and the more he thought about it the more he was tempted to call Dianna. She needed to suffer with him.
He took a bite of his toast and looked at the paper. Another death, more robberies, a bank closed down, and the schools weren’t getting enough money. He wondered why they called it news if nothing they reported was ever new. Oh wait; there was an article about his party on page twelve. How delightful.
He read through the article quickly. He was amused when he had finished. They had managed to call him a gracious host while also calling him an asshole and a coldhearted bastard. He wondered if they knew that his parents had been married before his conception.
There had been mention about Dianna too, though they only managed to call her a whore. She would shrug it off with a smile and manage to get herself photographed doing something vulgar. He hoped the papers would make that article much more interesting than this one. As it was, it was hardly worth the paper it was printed on.
He took a bite of toast with a scowl.
A phone rang somewhere in his house. From the ring tone, it was his cell phone. He didn’t remember the last place he had seen it and he was in no fit state to be looking for it.
“It is for you, Master Davis.”
Henry held out the phone to him. He didn’t want to speak with anyone right now, but he took the phone and made an effort to make his voice sound pleasant. He was certain that dying birds sounded happier.
“Hello, this is Darco Davis.”
“Ah, Mr. Davis, this is Artemis Shaw. I’ve got some good news.”
Artemis Shaw was the fisherman he had hired to find his creature. The man was on the chubby side and a bit slimy, but Darco had needed someone slimy and the man proved he was as good as his word.
“You found it?”
“Yes, sir. It took us awhile, and hauling the beastie on deck was not easy. We’ve got it in a tank and we should be at the dock tomorrow for you to pick it up.”
“Excellent. Call me when you get here.”
“Will do.”
He hung up the phone and smiled. His day was starting to look up. He looked down at his cell phone and frowned. Maybe he would go see Anna after all.
***
“You look rather dashing, Darco.”
Anna was lying. He still had circles under his eyes and his hair wasn’t as slicked back as he would have liked, but he’d had no patience for it. Her house was smaller than his own was, but it was very nice. It was older, from the Victorian period if he recalled correctly. The mansion had been in their family for generations.
Anna was a little blonde thing, and pregnancy was looking rather lovely on her. It seemed that her morning sickness was gone for now and she was positively glowing.
“Lying to me, my dear Anna, will not endear you to me.”
“Mother told me about your housewarming. She said you had a horrible time of it. How much did you drink?”
He looked away from her and cleared his throat. “Aren’t you going to let me in?”
“Oh!” She flushed. “Forgive me.”
He already had. She had always been a bit of a scatterbrain. She led him into her little sitting room where she liked to have tea. Her favorite was Earl Gray; he thought it tasted like fruit loops and was not inclined to drink it. She always had nice strong coffee for him.
This time it seemed the blend was French vanilla. She spoiled him.
He drank the coffee gratefully.
“You never answered my question.”
He sighed and set down his cup. “I drank eight glasses of champagne, I believe, and at least two tumblers full of whisky, but my count might be off. You see, the point of drinking is to forget.”
“I thought the point of drinking was to have fun.”
“Ah, the fiancé.” He stood and greeted Hector. They had a decent friendship, he supposed.
“Her rude friend, how nice to see you.”
Darco smiled. “Actually, drinking has several benefits.”
Anna reached over and swatted Darco on the arm when he sat down. “Stop teasing Hector, you know he cannot resist a good argument.”
Hector looked ready to protest, but she silenced him with a look. It was a very unusual but necessary talent to have if she planned on marrying him and winning arguments. She was very good at silencing people with looks.
“My aunt dropped by this morning. She told me that you might be dropping by, I didn’t think you would show up so soon.” Her fiancé was sitting down next to her. He, like Darco, did not care much for tea. He was drinking a cup of the fantastic coffee.
“I didn’t expect to drop by today either, but I received some good news and it brightened my afternoon.” He took a sip of his coffee then. He let the flavors roll around in his mouth. The bitterness of the coffee and the sweetness of the cream and sugar were divine. He would have to mention it to his butler later.
Anna’s eyes widened. She tucked a stand of blonde hair behind her ears. “Oh? What news?”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “Just news on a pet project of mine. Nothing special, it’s boring I assure you.”
Anna narrowed her eyes but conceded.
Hector’s phone rang. “Excuse me for a moment.” He stood and answered it before leaving the room.
“Business?”
Anna shrugged delicately. It wasn’t an act with her. “I’m not sure. He will tell me later. My aunt told me that you used me for a cover story? We are seeing each other now?”
Darco grinned at her. It was one of his better smiles. She wasn’t affected. Hector had stolen her heart long ago. “Yes, but it was only to get Edgars off my back.”
She grinned cheekily.
He winced. “Not like that. Honestly, you are positively vulgar.”
She shrugged daintily again. “You are the one that figured out what I was thinking.”
He had to give her that one. Her fiancé walked back into the room then. He was frowning. It made his dark blonde brows draw together. He and Anna made quite the picture, both blonde and blue eyed. Their children would look the same, he imagined. It would be a house full of bubbling blondes in no time. He didn’t know if that thought was pleasant or not.
“What’s wrong, honey?” Anna asked him and tugged him to sit down next to her.
“My mother called.”
Anna winced. Darco silently agreed. Hector’s mother was less than pleasant. In fact, the woman was an awful wench. She had never approved of Anna. He couldn’t imagine how someone could not like the bubbly young woman, but Hector’s mother did not.
“What did she say?” Darco knew that Anna wouldn’t have asked.
Hector looked over at him and he looked vaguely sick. “She’s threatening to give the house to my cousin Abel if I marry Anna.” He shrugged and looked away. That was not so bad. Anna had a lovely house and while it was not Hector’s astral home, it would be fine for raising their child.
“Your mother has always been a bit…”
“Yes.”
Darco shrugged. The phone in his pocket went off. He frowned and picked it up. His dark brows rose, it was Dianna. He hadn’t thought that she would get out of bed before five. It was a quarter to four.
“Forgive me, I must take this.” He stood and answered his phone. “Dianna?”
A hiccupped sob was his reply. His brows rose. What would make the ice queen cry? He made his way out of hearing range.
“Dianna? What’s wrong?”
“He left me!”
“What?”
“He left me for some stupid blonde bint!”
She was hysterical and he could hardly understand what she was saying. “Who left you?”
“Michel!”
Michel. He ran the name through his memory. His eyes widened. Her new beau had left her? How on earth had that happened? No wonder she was hysterical. “How did this happen?”
She sniffled. God, he hated it when people cried. He was no good at emotions. When people cried he generally ignored them, but he couldn’t do that to Dianna. He was cursing his twisted sense of honor.
“H-he was ch-eating on me!”
Darco blinked. He hadn’t been series when he had casually mentioned it. Good god, that was the ultimate betrayal to her. “Dianna, love, you’ve got to calm down.”
She let out another sob. He did not understand women. She hadn’t truly cared for the man, he’d been nothing more than a toy and now she was broken hearted because he had broken it off with her. Save him from ever trying to have an heir.
“Dianna?”
A sniffle. “I’m fine. How was your day?”
“A great sight better than yours it seems. I received news on my pet project.”
He could almost sense her still on the other end of the phone. Her dark eyes were probably red rimmed and narrowed. “Oh?” The tone in her voice was cautious.
“Yes. They found one.”
Her eyebrows were probably rising right now and a look of disbelief was splashing across her face. “They did?”
“Yes, I should be getting it tomorrow. Would you like to come with?”
“Yes, I think so.” She was probably gnawing on her lip.
“Good. Now are you ok?”
She cleared her through. “Yes. I’m fine. I’ll let you go. You better call me tomorrow Darco Davis or I will have your balls and give them to Edgars.”
He shuddered. She probably would. “Of course, love. Now go back to sleep, I can feel your hangover through the phone.”
She let out a broken laugh and hung up. He slid the phone back into his pocket and sat back down on the chair that he liked to think of as his. It was a warm leather and ridiculously comfortable.
“Problems?” Anna asked as she took a sip of her tea.
He shot her a smile and shook his head. “No, well yes. Dianna.”
She nodded in understanding. She didn’t get along with the other woman, but she knew that Dianna was one of Darco’s dearest friends. He knew she thought Dianna a busybody but there was nothing that could be done about that. Most people in their circle thought little of the woman. Most didn’t care to understand the kind of person she was.
“Was she alright?”
He looked at her sharply. How crappy must he look for her asking that? “She will be fine with some bed rest, I think.”
Anna nodded and grabbed one of the little cookies. He watched her eat it without interest. Cookies were a favorite of hers. He did not care much for them himself.
His phone rang again, distracting him from his lovely coffee. He frowned at the caller ID. It wasn’t any number that he knew. Probably some charity or something similar. The phone calls always gave him a headache.
The phone went back into his pocket and he took sip of his coffee.
“Who did you just ignore?”
Darco shrugged. “I do not know, nor do I care to fine out.”
Anna made a little humming noise and leaned back into Hector’s arms. They really were happy. Disgustingly so.
Darco had never thought much about finding what they had. He didn’t need it, but it was nice to see that other people still craved love. He was fine with random one-offs in club, but most people were not him.
He finished his cup of coffee with a sigh and looked at the time. He scowled at his watch. “I’m terribly sorry, but I’m afraid I’ve got other appointments to attend to.”
Anna shot him an amused look and Hector glanced at his own watch. “Don’t worry about it Darco. I will see you soon I’m sure. Tell Henry that I said hello.”
Darco stood and she and Hector followed suit. “I will.”
They said their goodbyes quickly. Darco left her manor feeling both better and worse than he had before. He was tired and there was nothing to be done for it. Dianna was having a breakdown and was going with him to the docks in the morning. He wasn’t looking forward to that. She poked around enough in his business as it was, and he had practically invited her into it this time. He shook his head and walked down the drive to his car.
He had a motorcycle as well, but it was hardly something he wanted to drive while wearing his favorite suit. He smoothed out invisible wrinkles and opened the door of his black Lamborghini.
His drive home was uneventful and when he got there, he went directly to sleep.
Also: I am ridiculously pleased right now because I am crap at history and I scored a strong B on my Asian Arts History exam. Full marks on the actual part about the art, but the history part knocked me down a bit. I think my professor, who is hungarian mind, is a soft grader. For which I am pleased.
Hangovers and Coffee
Chapter Two
He wondered vaguely as he awoke, if calling in his butler to turn off the sun would be too much of an effort. He decided a moment later that it was, and attempted to bury his head further beneath his pillow. It did not help. He was awake and the birds were chirping so loudly he thought his ears might burst. His mouth tasted like something had died in it, and even his soft groans were making his head hurt.
It was turning out to be a lovely morning.
Darco groaned softly and cracked open his brown eyes. It seemed like they were stuck together. He wondered how much had had drank the night before to suffer such a fate. He couldn’t remember and that was troubling. He sat up slowly, pausing when the room began spinning. Since when did his bed rotate? He would have to talk to his decorators about that.
His eyes finally focused enough to land on his nightstand. On the table was a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin. He would have to thank Henry, his butler; the man was truly a godsend.
He took three of the little pills and downed the water. His mouth still tasted horrible and the room was still spinning, but he had a feeling he was already late for a meeting of some kind. With a groan and a queasy stomach, he hauled himself out of his bed. He was lucky that the pillows had not smothered him in his sleep. He would have to talk to his maid about them.
He stumbled his way into the adjoining bathroom. It looked lovely when he wasn’t feeling like being sick everywhere. The entire thing was done up in black and white. It was classic and simple, unlike the rest of the house.
He quickly turned on the shower and wished desperately not to lose whatever contents were in his stomach. The offending organ wobbled at the thought.
He took a long shower, until the water cooled and was nearly unbearable. He climbed out feeling a bit more refreshed. His headache had abated a bit, but he was going to need his sunglasses if he was going out in public. Even the bathroom lights were hurting his eyes.
He dried off quickly and walked into his room nude. His servants knew by now not to walk into his room while the door was closed before knocking. The last maid he’d had had gotten and eyeful before she was fired. She had been bad at her job anyways.
The closet was in proportion with the rest of his new home. It was huge. The cleaning woman, Morgan he thought her name was, had organized his suits by brand and then color, going so far as to match up the ties for him. She was going to get a bonus if she kept doing things like that.
He grabbed his favorite gray Armani suit. It had two buttons on the coat and seemed almost silver. Morgan had said it brought out his eyes. He doubted her, but compliments were nice and it was better than wearing his black suits all of the time.
The tie she had picked out to go with it was gray as well; it matched the jacket and slacks perfectly. The only thing she had not matched up was his socks, shoes, and his boxers. It filled him with a sense of relief to know that she hadn’t been nosing around his underwear drawer. He settled on black briefs.
When he finally glanced at the time, he realized that it was two o’clock. It took him a moment to remember that it was Sunday and that he had no pressing engagements to attend. Well, none other than visiting Anna, and perhaps Dianna. However, if he knew Dianna, she was suffering from a worse hangover than he was. He would call her when it wouldn’t be detrimental to his health. He had never been one for doing stupid things just because.
It was two thirty by the time he made it to the kitchen. His butler shot him an amused glance before setting a mug of coffee in front of him and a plate of toast.
“Paper?”
The paper was set down next to his plate. Henry really was a good butler. Darco wondered why the man put up with him. He shoved it aside and took a drink of the coffee. It was heavenly, and black. Later he would drink it with cream and too much sugar, but for now, black was perfect.
“Do I have any messages?”
“None, sir. How is your head?”
Darco shot him a glance. The elder man seemed amused. His blue eyes were suspiciously light and there was something about his manner that told Darco that the old man found Darco’s state of headache utterly amusing. It wasn’t. It was a shame and the more he thought about it the more he was tempted to call Dianna. She needed to suffer with him.
He took a bite of his toast and looked at the paper. Another death, more robberies, a bank closed down, and the schools weren’t getting enough money. He wondered why they called it news if nothing they reported was ever new. Oh wait; there was an article about his party on page twelve. How delightful.
He read through the article quickly. He was amused when he had finished. They had managed to call him a gracious host while also calling him an asshole and a coldhearted bastard. He wondered if they knew that his parents had been married before his conception.
There had been mention about Dianna too, though they only managed to call her a whore. She would shrug it off with a smile and manage to get herself photographed doing something vulgar. He hoped the papers would make that article much more interesting than this one. As it was, it was hardly worth the paper it was printed on.
He took a bite of toast with a scowl.
A phone rang somewhere in his house. From the ring tone, it was his cell phone. He didn’t remember the last place he had seen it and he was in no fit state to be looking for it.
“It is for you, Master Davis.”
Henry held out the phone to him. He didn’t want to speak with anyone right now, but he took the phone and made an effort to make his voice sound pleasant. He was certain that dying birds sounded happier.
“Hello, this is Darco Davis.”
“Ah, Mr. Davis, this is Artemis Shaw. I’ve got some good news.”
Artemis Shaw was the fisherman he had hired to find his creature. The man was on the chubby side and a bit slimy, but Darco had needed someone slimy and the man proved he was as good as his word.
“You found it?”
“Yes, sir. It took us awhile, and hauling the beastie on deck was not easy. We’ve got it in a tank and we should be at the dock tomorrow for you to pick it up.”
“Excellent. Call me when you get here.”
“Will do.”
He hung up the phone and smiled. His day was starting to look up. He looked down at his cell phone and frowned. Maybe he would go see Anna after all.
***
“You look rather dashing, Darco.”
Anna was lying. He still had circles under his eyes and his hair wasn’t as slicked back as he would have liked, but he’d had no patience for it. Her house was smaller than his own was, but it was very nice. It was older, from the Victorian period if he recalled correctly. The mansion had been in their family for generations.
Anna was a little blonde thing, and pregnancy was looking rather lovely on her. It seemed that her morning sickness was gone for now and she was positively glowing.
“Lying to me, my dear Anna, will not endear you to me.”
“Mother told me about your housewarming. She said you had a horrible time of it. How much did you drink?”
He looked away from her and cleared his throat. “Aren’t you going to let me in?”
“Oh!” She flushed. “Forgive me.”
He already had. She had always been a bit of a scatterbrain. She led him into her little sitting room where she liked to have tea. Her favorite was Earl Gray; he thought it tasted like fruit loops and was not inclined to drink it. She always had nice strong coffee for him.
This time it seemed the blend was French vanilla. She spoiled him.
He drank the coffee gratefully.
“You never answered my question.”
He sighed and set down his cup. “I drank eight glasses of champagne, I believe, and at least two tumblers full of whisky, but my count might be off. You see, the point of drinking is to forget.”
“I thought the point of drinking was to have fun.”
“Ah, the fiancé.” He stood and greeted Hector. They had a decent friendship, he supposed.
“Her rude friend, how nice to see you.”
Darco smiled. “Actually, drinking has several benefits.”
Anna reached over and swatted Darco on the arm when he sat down. “Stop teasing Hector, you know he cannot resist a good argument.”
Hector looked ready to protest, but she silenced him with a look. It was a very unusual but necessary talent to have if she planned on marrying him and winning arguments. She was very good at silencing people with looks.
“My aunt dropped by this morning. She told me that you might be dropping by, I didn’t think you would show up so soon.” Her fiancé was sitting down next to her. He, like Darco, did not care much for tea. He was drinking a cup of the fantastic coffee.
“I didn’t expect to drop by today either, but I received some good news and it brightened my afternoon.” He took a sip of his coffee then. He let the flavors roll around in his mouth. The bitterness of the coffee and the sweetness of the cream and sugar were divine. He would have to mention it to his butler later.
Anna’s eyes widened. She tucked a stand of blonde hair behind her ears. “Oh? What news?”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “Just news on a pet project of mine. Nothing special, it’s boring I assure you.”
Anna narrowed her eyes but conceded.
Hector’s phone rang. “Excuse me for a moment.” He stood and answered it before leaving the room.
“Business?”
Anna shrugged delicately. It wasn’t an act with her. “I’m not sure. He will tell me later. My aunt told me that you used me for a cover story? We are seeing each other now?”
Darco grinned at her. It was one of his better smiles. She wasn’t affected. Hector had stolen her heart long ago. “Yes, but it was only to get Edgars off my back.”
She grinned cheekily.
He winced. “Not like that. Honestly, you are positively vulgar.”
She shrugged daintily again. “You are the one that figured out what I was thinking.”
He had to give her that one. Her fiancé walked back into the room then. He was frowning. It made his dark blonde brows draw together. He and Anna made quite the picture, both blonde and blue eyed. Their children would look the same, he imagined. It would be a house full of bubbling blondes in no time. He didn’t know if that thought was pleasant or not.
“What’s wrong, honey?” Anna asked him and tugged him to sit down next to her.
“My mother called.”
Anna winced. Darco silently agreed. Hector’s mother was less than pleasant. In fact, the woman was an awful wench. She had never approved of Anna. He couldn’t imagine how someone could not like the bubbly young woman, but Hector’s mother did not.
“What did she say?” Darco knew that Anna wouldn’t have asked.
Hector looked over at him and he looked vaguely sick. “She’s threatening to give the house to my cousin Abel if I marry Anna.” He shrugged and looked away. That was not so bad. Anna had a lovely house and while it was not Hector’s astral home, it would be fine for raising their child.
“Your mother has always been a bit…”
“Yes.”
Darco shrugged. The phone in his pocket went off. He frowned and picked it up. His dark brows rose, it was Dianna. He hadn’t thought that she would get out of bed before five. It was a quarter to four.
“Forgive me, I must take this.” He stood and answered his phone. “Dianna?”
A hiccupped sob was his reply. His brows rose. What would make the ice queen cry? He made his way out of hearing range.
“Dianna? What’s wrong?”
“He left me!”
“What?”
“He left me for some stupid blonde bint!”
She was hysterical and he could hardly understand what she was saying. “Who left you?”
“Michel!”
Michel. He ran the name through his memory. His eyes widened. Her new beau had left her? How on earth had that happened? No wonder she was hysterical. “How did this happen?”
She sniffled. God, he hated it when people cried. He was no good at emotions. When people cried he generally ignored them, but he couldn’t do that to Dianna. He was cursing his twisted sense of honor.
“H-he was ch-eating on me!”
Darco blinked. He hadn’t been series when he had casually mentioned it. Good god, that was the ultimate betrayal to her. “Dianna, love, you’ve got to calm down.”
She let out another sob. He did not understand women. She hadn’t truly cared for the man, he’d been nothing more than a toy and now she was broken hearted because he had broken it off with her. Save him from ever trying to have an heir.
“Dianna?”
A sniffle. “I’m fine. How was your day?”
“A great sight better than yours it seems. I received news on my pet project.”
He could almost sense her still on the other end of the phone. Her dark eyes were probably red rimmed and narrowed. “Oh?” The tone in her voice was cautious.
“Yes. They found one.”
Her eyebrows were probably rising right now and a look of disbelief was splashing across her face. “They did?”
“Yes, I should be getting it tomorrow. Would you like to come with?”
“Yes, I think so.” She was probably gnawing on her lip.
“Good. Now are you ok?”
She cleared her through. “Yes. I’m fine. I’ll let you go. You better call me tomorrow Darco Davis or I will have your balls and give them to Edgars.”
He shuddered. She probably would. “Of course, love. Now go back to sleep, I can feel your hangover through the phone.”
She let out a broken laugh and hung up. He slid the phone back into his pocket and sat back down on the chair that he liked to think of as his. It was a warm leather and ridiculously comfortable.
“Problems?” Anna asked as she took a sip of her tea.
He shot her a smile and shook his head. “No, well yes. Dianna.”
She nodded in understanding. She didn’t get along with the other woman, but she knew that Dianna was one of Darco’s dearest friends. He knew she thought Dianna a busybody but there was nothing that could be done about that. Most people in their circle thought little of the woman. Most didn’t care to understand the kind of person she was.
“Was she alright?”
He looked at her sharply. How crappy must he look for her asking that? “She will be fine with some bed rest, I think.”
Anna nodded and grabbed one of the little cookies. He watched her eat it without interest. Cookies were a favorite of hers. He did not care much for them himself.
His phone rang again, distracting him from his lovely coffee. He frowned at the caller ID. It wasn’t any number that he knew. Probably some charity or something similar. The phone calls always gave him a headache.
The phone went back into his pocket and he took sip of his coffee.
“Who did you just ignore?”
Darco shrugged. “I do not know, nor do I care to fine out.”
Anna made a little humming noise and leaned back into Hector’s arms. They really were happy. Disgustingly so.
Darco had never thought much about finding what they had. He didn’t need it, but it was nice to see that other people still craved love. He was fine with random one-offs in club, but most people were not him.
He finished his cup of coffee with a sigh and looked at the time. He scowled at his watch. “I’m terribly sorry, but I’m afraid I’ve got other appointments to attend to.”
Anna shot him an amused look and Hector glanced at his own watch. “Don’t worry about it Darco. I will see you soon I’m sure. Tell Henry that I said hello.”
Darco stood and she and Hector followed suit. “I will.”
They said their goodbyes quickly. Darco left her manor feeling both better and worse than he had before. He was tired and there was nothing to be done for it. Dianna was having a breakdown and was going with him to the docks in the morning. He wasn’t looking forward to that. She poked around enough in his business as it was, and he had practically invited her into it this time. He shook his head and walked down the drive to his car.
He had a motorcycle as well, but it was hardly something he wanted to drive while wearing his favorite suit. He smoothed out invisible wrinkles and opened the door of his black Lamborghini.
His drive home was uneventful and when he got there, he went directly to sleep.
Also: I am ridiculously pleased right now because I am crap at history and I scored a strong B on my Asian Arts History exam. Full marks on the actual part about the art, but the history part knocked me down a bit. I think my professor, who is hungarian mind, is a soft grader. For which I am pleased.