One Day

I sighed and rubbed my neck, wondering why the heck I had agreed to meet Zachary Baker tonight.

Of course this was completely crazy and against my better judgement, not to mention the fact that if my boss found out I would be a dead women. Oh yeah Robert I forgot to tell you the reason why Mr Baker’s wife is acting psycho is because he agrees to meet random ladies in bars late at night…

Including me.

My phone buzzed against the dashboard. Zack texted, telling me to meet him inside as he was already there. Taking a deep breath, I smoothed out my checkered shirt and locked up my car. The walk into the bar was long and I considered turning back and going home, like a smart person but my feet seemed to betray me.

Dixy’s Bar was dead, only a few hardened drinkers remained. It didn’t take long for me to spot the dark haired man, bottle in his hand. The bags under his eyes seemed to age him by at least ten years, in short he looked terrible. I sat down opposite him and cleared my throat.

“Hi Mr Baker, nice to see you.” his sea green eyes finally made their way to mine and he shot me a smile as he took a large gulp of his beer.

“It’s nice to see you too,” he looked me up and down. “Thanks for coming tonight you really didn’t need to.”

I couldn’t help but feel confused at his reply, thinking that maybe I’d jumped the gun in branding him a sleaze. Just maybe he wanted someone to talk to, after all he didn’t exactly look like he was trying to seduce me. His black hair was messy and his eyes held a certain sadness to them. He looked lost.

I took his large hand in mine, feeling extremely sorry for him in that moment. “You can talk to me, after all you guys are paying for it.”

“Please don't mention her, I don’t have the energy.” he replied bitterly, gulping down the rest of his beer. “It wasn’t always like this, you know. We were happy at one point in our lives but lately it’s just been getting harder and harder to reason with her, it’s like she’s a completely different person nowadays.”

He clearly did love his wife from the way he spoke about her. Men who generally held a hatred or even dislike for their other half tended only to see the bad side of the person. However, Zachary Baker was an interesting case, I could only put their unhappiness down to his lifestyle. They were both very busy people, both taking a large interest in their careers.

“Look, I might not have much experience with relationships, but sometimes it just takes that extra push to rekindle something magic.” I smiled at him and he gave me a half smile in reply. “I know you and your wife are busy so I would put it down to that, I’ve certainly been through that myself before.”

He looked up into my eyes, searching to see if I were telling the truth. “and what happened in the end? you know, with you and your fella..”

“It didn’t work it,” I shook my head. “But we didn’t have any other ties. Don’t get me wrong we did try but it seemed like we weren't at the same stage in life. I wanted more than he was prepared to give me and I couldn't forgive him.”

His eyes widened at my reply. “So what was the score in the end? Why did he hurt you so much?”

I’d never discussed my ex boyfriend with many people before, it felt alien. Almost like I shouldn’t have taken his name in vain. The hurt I’d felt for all those years came rushing back and I had to fight to hold my tears back, I was supposed to be the professional here.

“He was my first love,” I muttered, clearing my throat. “We only split up last year after I thought he was going to propose but in the end he panicked. He blamed me, saying that I was deliberately trying to put him in a position and he told me that he wasn’t prepared to be tied down to one woman. A couple of weeks later, I found him in our bed with a girl we both went to school with.”

Zack frowned, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. The fresh beer he’d ordered not long ago, completely forgotten.

“I’m sorry.”

I was shocked at his remark, he had nothing to be sorry for. My problems were my problems and I didn’t particularly enjoy people thinking I was weak, especially when those people were supposed to be my clients. I had to get out of here, I felt like I was suffocating in the hot atmosphere. I couldn’t let him believe I was weak. He’d make sure my ass was off their case straight away and then Robert would never give me another shot.

And at that, I stood up, pulling my hands from Zack. “I have to go sorry.”

Little did the pair know, they were both more alike than they’d care to admit. Zack Baker sat there for a few moments as the woman stormed out, he felt like a small weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He realised that he wasn’t the only one hurting… He also realised that this woman intrigued him and that could prove very dangerous indeed.

What to do….