Of Kings and Aces

54| Deal or No Deal

After that encounter, I was having second thoughts about whether I wanted to see Jacob again. But until I was ready, I had to be more discreet about my presence in the lectures and made myself scarce in the other lounges. It seemed he did not want to see me, too. Otherwise, he would have already found me, despite my best efforts to hide. Or maybe I was getting better at hiding?

"Are you sure you don't want to go out? Tonight's the last night. Fedor invited us – you specifically. It's your chance to talk to your idol, man," Jaxx persuaded as he dried his hair with a towel. He just came out of the shower, and it was a good thing he was already wearing his pants. I looked at him, not answering.

"Offer going once, twice, going –"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming," I groaned and begrudgingly dragged myself out of bed, which I made my home for the past couple of hours.

"Don't worry, if you don't find it enjoyable, we could always skip. Grace is walking tonight at the Covent Garden, and there's an after-party somewhere," he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Grace. Get over her, man," I said tiredly.

"I am. I told you, I'm done with her," he chuckled as he checked his phone.

"Then why are you still meeting up with her?"

"I didn't say I was. I said she had a walk and if you like, we can go to the after-party. Which part of it said I was meeting with her?" he was now tousling his hair, though his eyebrows still slightly bunched in the middle of his forehead.

"It's implied, of course. Who else are you going to the party with?" I leaned over the bathroom jamb, arms across my chest.

"Uh, other women? What do you take me for, a nobody?" he cocked his brow and paused his movements as he threw me an incredulous look through the mirror.

"Not at all. Just an egotistical dick," I chuckled before heading inside for my shower.

"Okay, let me rephrase that for your stickler ass. There is this fashion show going on tonight. We could go to the after-party, if you're interested," he shouted so I could hear him behind the closed door. "Happy?"

"Yeah, whatever."

My pulse was racing while I showered as my thoughts drifted to the huge possibility of seeing Jacob again. He was working for the Fedor Pancecoff, so it would not be a surprise if he were there. But then, one does not usually bring their staff around during these conventions unless he was more than just an employee.

London evenings were fairly cold during this time of the year, so I made sure to pick light but warmer clothes. I did not want to regret being ill-prepared if Jaxx decided to take another "walk around the block" to sober up because we might end up walking around half London again. So, I took my trusty gaiter and shoved a pair of gloves in my coat pocket as well.

Dinner went well. We hung out with the other guys from the convention, including Fedor, who brought some of his crew with him. Apparently, they were London-based, and they were part of the team that organized the entire meeting. However, Jacob did not join them. Fedor told Jaxx he was busy with some things at the office, but he gave me a sidelong glance as he spoke.

Jaxx had discreetly left us by the time we entered one of the Irish pubs. He sent me a message saying he's out to meet a 'friend.' That would probably mean he was already out partying with Grace and the other women. It was already close to midnight anyway. Perhaps their party was already in full swing somewhere in London.