Chapter 14 Barroom Blow Off
Quentin stormed off, boiling with rage the more he thought about it. That damned woman Lauren had a knack for making him fly off the handle every single time.
His black Ferrari tore down Suburban Highway, leaving nothing but a sleek silhouette in its wake. The man behind the wheel operated the steering with one hand and held a cigarette in the other. His face was set in a cold, hard expression that seemed to lower the temperature around him.
"Meet me at Eclipse Bar," Quentin said concisely into his phone before hanging up.
The fury in his heart was far from quenched; he needed to find a better way to cool off.
Quentin sped to Eclipse Bar and took a seat directly at the bar.
Soon after, a man hurried in and made his way to Quentin, slapping him on the shoulder. "Hey, what time do you call this? Skipping work to hit the bar already? It's not because of my politics lecture at noon that you've seen the light and decided to make up to me, is it?"
The newcomer was Noah. Receiving Quentin's call, he immediately dropped everything to come. But to his surprise, the person who urgently summoned him seemed quite relaxed, drinking leisurely.
"Waiter, a bottle of whiskey," Noah requested from the staff.
Quentin and Noah were regulars at Eclipse Bar. Over the years, they had come here whenever they faced problems at work or just wanted to unwind.
Seeing that Quentin was silently nursing his drink with a frosty demeanor, Noah grew impatient.
"Come on, what's going on? Why did you call me here if you're not going to talk?" Noah couldn't help but ask.
Quentin set down his glass. "Do I need to give a heads-up every time I want to see you?"
"Heh, no, you don't. But come on, if you've got something on your mind, spit it out. You're creeping me out being all silent," Noah responded with a chuckle.
"It's nothing, just thought that thing you said at noon made sense."
Noah looked at Quentin in disbelief. "Really? That's it?"
Quentin snorted coldly as an acknowledgment and then signaled to the waiter to bring another bottle of booze, continuing his heavy drinking.
"Drink up, no stopping until we're wasted."
He downed the drink in his glass, his behavior today striking Noah as exceptionally odd. The usually confident ladies’ man quickly picked up on Quentin's sour mood over a woman. If there was one woman who could affect Quentin's mood, Noah seriously thought, it could only be Lauren.
"So, Quentin, you're not down in the dumps because of Lauren, are you?" teased Noah, eager to peer into Quentin's very soul.
"Lauren?" Quentin muttered with a chuckle, "How could it be because of her!?"
As he spoke, an image of Lauren frowning flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but grip his glass tighter, as if it were someone’s neck.
"Ha, still not admitting it, are you? Look at your face, it says it all. Quentin, you may be a genius in the business world, but when it comes to love, you're an absolute fool..."
When Noah hit the word "fool," Quentin gave him such a fierce glare that Noah almost choked.
"Cough, don't look at me like that. I'm just telling it like it is. You asked me over to lift your spirits, didn't you? Instead of sitting around bored, why not let me, the love guru, help sort out your issues?"
Quentin's rigid face began to soften as he considered Noah's point.
"Let's see if you can actually say something wise."
Quentin was all ears for Noah’s advice; however, he was not prepared for Noah's next bombshell.
"Quentin, I bet you're falling for Lauren."
"Achoo!"—Lauren sneezed suddenly.
"No way, did Quentin hit the nail on the head, and I caught a cold again?"
Lauren was filled with regret, cursing her own carelessness for dozing off at the desk earlier in the day and not expecting to catch a chill.
"Baby, I'm sorry, Mom hasn't been good. This cold of mine affects you too, I'll be more careful from now on,” Lauren gently caressed her belly, speaking tenderly to her unborn child.
The villa’s staff had changed, but Lauren's loneliness persisted, as she lacked a close confidant to share her thoughts. Thus, she opened up to the baby, pouring out all her feelings, finding solace for herself, and showering her baby with love.
Lauren was perplexed as she recalled the day's events. She couldn't understand why Quentin had suddenly become so angry. He had left in such a huff that it seemed unlikely he'd ever come back...
Feeling a deep sense of loss, her spirits plummeted, and no matter what she tried, she couldn't shake the gloom. "Lauren, you're such a hypocrite," she said to herself sarcastically. "You claim not to care about him, yet you’re still fantasizing about his love, aren't you?" Then shaking her head, Lauren questioned what right she had to even think about love at this point. Her top priority was to ensure the safety of her baby and secure a stable future for them.
In a moment of self-chastisement for her unrealistic daydreams, Lauren pinched herself hard.
On the other side, Quentin nearly choked on his drink, startled by Noah's words.
"What the hell are you joking about!" Quentin's face was stern, but his heart inexplicably began to race.
Seeing Quentin's flustered reaction, Noah instantly knew his guess had been spot on. "If you're denying it, then why the blush?"
Caught off guard by the comment, Quentin touched his face, finding it surprisingly hot. "This booze is hitting me hard," he claimed, avoiding Noah's gaze as if dodging something. Indeed, his excuse sounded far-fetched—everyone in the business world knew Quentin could hold his liquor like no other.
"Ha, Quentin, is it really so hard to admit you like Lauren?" Noah prodded him lightly.
"That woman! That sly, deceitful woman. How could I ever like her? I won't fall in love with another woman ever again in my life!" Quentin declared with a determined look in his eyes.
Noah was taken aback by the conviction in Quentin's words, realizing he was serious; he had even brought up a past incident—one that Quentin could never forget.
"Alright, just take what I said as a joke then. 'No stopping until we're wasted.', huh? We haven't gotten together much lately, so let's make a night of it!" Noah suggested, his voice returning to its usual carefree tone.
Quentin downed another drink, pondering Noah's recent words. Had he really fallen for that fickle woman? How could he possibly like someone like Lauren? She wasn't fit for him—he knew he still had someone else in his heart, someone he would never forget in this lifetime. No, he simply couldn't fall for Lauren.
