Chapter 126

KATE

I followed Mary inside the bar. There weren't many people. Perhaps because it was Monday and still early. I noticed two men sitting in a corner with jackets on the table, and a girl sitting alone at the bar, possibly waiting for someone.

We sat in a corner at the back. A waitress came to attend to us shortly after. She was blonde and had a flashy tattoo on her neck.

Mary just waited for her to finish saying 'good evening' and ordered a bottle of whiskey. That meant she was willing to drink for real. Then the girl looked at me, waiting. I didn't think much about it. I ordered a beer and thanked her before she left.

"Beer? Sometimes I forget how Texan you are."

I shrugged. I noticed a group entering the bar, three women and two men. They laughed loudly before settling at a table.

"So?" Mary caught my attention.

"What?"

"How are you feeling now?"

"About?"

"Ryan."

"I don't think I want to talk about him right now."

"But that's why we're here."

"To talk about Ryan?"

"To talk about our problems, which includes talking badly about men."

"You're going to say I'm being dramatic, no, thanks."

"I didn't mean to judge you, Kate! I just wanted you to understand his side more. Or at least try."

"Okay, okay. It's better if we talk about you."

"Look who's here!" She said.
We watched Lisa walk toward us. Elegant as always, she was wearing a long, tight cream dress, and her hair was loose.

"Hello, my girls!" She leaned in to hug and kiss me.

"Hi! Missed you, how are you?"

"Trying not to go crazy with work," she said, then hugged and kissed Mary before sitting on my right side.

"What did I miss?"

"Just Kate trying to avoid a problem."

"Let me guess? Jerk? Blonde? Ryan?"

"Go ahead, you can laugh, I'm used to it."

They looked at each other and laughed, and I was forced to join them.

"I knew it was a bad idea to bring you two together. You met not long ago, and you're already driving me crazy. Not that you couldn't do it separately."

They laughed even louder. The tattooed girl returned with my beer and the bottle of whiskey Mary had ordered.

"Seriously? What were you exactly talking about before I arrived?"

"We were talking about me telling Kate that she should try to understand Nathan more."

"You've been drinking so much, Mary? What the hell did he do this time, Kate?" Lisa looked at me seriously.

"You forgot that you're not his biggest fan," Mary said before helping herself and then filling Lisa's glass halfway.

"I've always tried to warn Kate that that man was dangerous."

"I know, I saw the danger on her birthday night. And I almost saw more than that in my own living room," Mary laughed.

"I'm not talking about that. I mean, how he treats Kate..."

"Are you going to keep talking about my life as if I'm not here?" I took a sip of the beer. It was so cold that it made my body relax as it went down my throat.

"Then tell us what he did this time. But let me remind you that, regardless of the problem, I want to point out that the lady here was the biggest accomplice of the jerk."

"I just did what I thought was best," Mary shrugged.

"She's not to blame at all. You know we've always been complicated, Lisa."

"You say that now, but before you were crazy because you were fucking your own boss."

"This must be so exciting. I'll want all the details later, Kate. Actually, it doesn't seem like something you would do."

"Mary? Can you please focus?" Lisa asked.

"Okay, okay."

"Oh my God, you guys are driving me crazy."

"I'm waiting for you to tell me what happened this time."

"It's nothing major, I actually agree a bit with Mary. She said I might be overreacting."

"Okay. Just tell me."

"Well, Nathan traveled. Right after my birthday. Apparently, there was a problem in Tokyo, a fire at a factory from what I understood. And that made me feel unimportant to him since we spent a long time apart, I thought..."

"What a bastard!" She interrupted me.

"You didn't tell her you're upset because you wanted to spend a week locked in a room with him," Mary pointed out.

"Right, thanks, Mary. There's that part, too." I rolled my eyes at her.

"So, you're frustrated and insecure about his feelings?" Lisa deduced.

"She doesn't need to be insecure. I know a man in love when I see one. And Nathan was desperate when he came to ask for my help."

"And you helped him." Lisa closed her eyes and took a breath, shaking her head.

"Why wouldn't I? Kate likes him, and he likes her, and he's the best sex she's ever had, and he's also handsome, hot, and last but not least, a billionaire. What more could a friend want?"

"He's also an unbearable jerk."

"Why does she hate him so much?" Mary asked, staring at me.

"Lisa thought Nathan only wanted to fuck me and discard me when I worked for him. Well, I even thought that too."

"But that assumption needs to be forgotten, Dickens. We already know that's not true because he came back, even after all this time. And I can say he didn't seem like just a man looking for a fuck."

"Well, maybe this hatred is because they're alike and can't stand each other. Two control freaks." I suggested.

"Similar to Ryan? Me? You must be kidding." She said indignantly.

"Okay, but I need you to accept that I want to be with him and that he makes me happy most of the time. I want you to try to accept that, even if it's just for me, try to tolerate him. And yes, I know how difficult that can be."

"Feels like I'm in a Ryan fan club." She sighed. "Okay, I'll try, but only for you."

"Great, now we just need to solve the problem of Kate going crazy to put an end to this."

"I don't think I want to talk about my sex life right now," I said.

"I think some vibrators can solve that problem," Lisa suggested.

"Not a bad idea," Mary agreed.

"Oh, God!"

"Don't worry, Kate. Mary and I will solve this for you."

"I don't need a vibrator. And I don't know if Nathan would find that funny or if it would piss him off. Believe me, you don't want to piss him off."

"Screw it, who cares what he thinks, Kate."

"In this Lisa is right. I think we all agree that Ryan deserves some punishment for leaving you like this."

"What do you suggest?"

They exchanged glances.

"I'll leave that to you, Mary. Ryan already has enough reasons to hate me," Lisa said.

"Okay. I think giving him the cold shoulder until he can't take it anymore would be the most appropriate."

"Denying him sex? You have no idea what he's capable of when he doesn't get what he wants. And believe me, I don't know if I could stay away from him."

"Don't worry about yourself; you'll eventually discover that a vibrator can be a woman's best friend."

Mary was already on her third drink, and my beer was almost finished.

"You guys don't understand..."

"She's trying to tell us that the damn guy has an irresistible cock?" Lisa asked, staring at Mary.

"I think I know that very well, but at least try, Kate, because the bastard really deserves some punishment," Mary said.

"Okay, can we stop talking about me now?"

"Sure, we just need one more bottle," Lisa said and got up, heading to the bar.

Shortly after, she returned with another bottle of whiskey. They were already more than drunk. Damn. How was I going to safely take them home? And why the hell was I the one who had to worry about it?

This time, I wouldn't be responsible. I grabbed a glass and poured myself a drink. The whiskey went down my throat, warming me and somehow washing my soul.

"Now, Mary is going to tell us about the best fuck of her life, Lisa," I said.

"Oh, really? Let me guess, it's that Bennett guy?"

"That's right," she laughed. "I think that man is going to be the death of me. I think I'm falling in love after all this time."

Mary was really drunk because she wouldn't admit that so easily even in a million years.

"What you don't know, Lisa is that he's Ryan's best friend," I said, laughing.

"Are you kidding? Best friend?" Her jaw dropped.

"But he's not an asshole," Mary intervened.

"Come on, Mary? Don't defend him." I looked back at Lisa. "I told her he probably fucked half the city."

"Screw it! Your man isn't any different," Mary retorted.

"Seems like I'm the only one here without a man," Lisa said, playing the drama.

"You didn't like Stephan?" I asked, holding back my laughter. Knowing that after she found out he was Ryan's brother, she decided to keep her distance.

"I don't want any more damn Ryan in my life," she said.

We laughed out loud. I was already losing control of my laughter.