Guilty

Ch-7

UNKNOWN: HAVE DINNER WITH ME TONIGHT.

ME: I DON'T GO OUT TO DINNER WITH STRANGERS.

I technically did know he was, or I suspected it but I still wanted to fuck with him.

UNKNOWN: I AM SOMEONE YOU USED TO CALL 'SIR' VERY SWEETLY BEFORE YOU CAME.

ME: ...

UNKNOWN: I APOLOGIZE. I SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID THAT! LET'S JUST TALK OVER SOME DINNER.

ME: I HAVE ALREADY HAD DINNER. WE CAN TALK IN THE OFFICE TOMORROW.

UNKNOWN: NO DINNER THEN, DESSERT... MAYBE. THIS IS NOT GOING TO WORK IF WE CAN'T TALK TO EACH OTHER.

ME: WE USUALLY DON'T TALK, WE FIGHT. I SAY SHIT, YOU SAY SHIT AND IT'S OVER.

UNKNOWN: THEN LET'S FIGHT. BURY THE HATCHET FOR ONCE AND FOR ALL.

I didn't respond knowing he would try to persuade me again. He wrote again after a few minutes.

UNKNOWN: PHIRNI FOR DESSERT. RESTAURANT NIRVANA. IN 10 MINUTES. PLEASE.

It was the 'please' that gave me pause. He never begged anyone for anything. He just wasn't the kind of guy who had had to ask for anything twice and the fact that he had kind of hit the jackpot on figuring out my favourite Indian restaurant wasn't too bad either. I would finally get to hear Nate's version of events and that would help me proceed.

Before I could think of anything else, my fingers flew over the keypad.

ME: MAKE IT 15 MINUTES.

UNKNOWN: DONE.

Bastard! He had known I would agree to it. I grabbed my blazer and left the office.

Nirvana was a cozy Indian restaurant situated between two big buildings. The place was really charming with its 80's and 90's old school Bollywood vibe and dimly illuminated private booths. Romantic Hindi music played in the background adding to the ambience of the place. The booths had red curtains and added the perfect amount of privacy for their clientele.

Not to mention that they only catered to the most VIP clientele. The last time I had been here, I had needed a recommendation from one of my clients and still had to wait on a guest list for five months to get approved. How Nate had managed to snag a spot in 15 minutes was beyond my comprehension. But then, Nate could be very persuasive when he needed to be. Being Vince's godson probably sweetened the deal. I mean who wouldn't want to get on Vince's good side?

A staff member took my blazer and a waitress led me to the booth where Nate was already waiting. He looked up from the wineglass he had been carefully observing and gave me a tiny tilt of his lips to acknowledge me.

I sat on the other side of the table trying not to notice our legs that were almost tangled together below because of the dearth of leg space. For some couples this might have been romantic but for exes trying to kill each other this was a real hazard!

I shifted until I was comfortably at a distance from him and prayed that he wouldn't move his leg.

"Wine?", he asked while I was procrastinating in my head.

"No, thanks.", I replied not willing to touch alcohol. I needed to keep my head in the game and my wits about me if I dealing with the Professor.

"It's vintage. From Tuscany. It's lovely."

"I will take a lime soda if they have it.", I said instead of arguing with him. He smiled a little and gave the order for the drinks. As he flipped over the menu, I chanced a proper look at him. He was still wearing his suit from today morning without the tie. A lone diamond stud winked from his ear reminding me of the rebel he had been. The fairy light shone on one half of face while the rest was drenched in darkness giving him a mysterious quality. He concentrated hard, frowning at the menu and I got a glimpse of the old Professor Greyson I had lusted after. On a normal night out, he would be just the kind of guy that would have attracted my attention, sexy with a little bit of a dark edge but now I knew better.

Bad boys were not called 'bad' without reason. We always thought that we would be the one to tame them but we would get burned in the process instead. I had been there and done that. Even now my brain misfired in his presence sometimes. The taboo aspect of the relationship might have attracted me to him or maybe it had been the power dynamic or the age gap. But in truth I knew it was none of these. The initial attraction might have resulted from it but not the relationship after. That had been one feeling. One which shall not be named.

"You look tired.", he commented casually taking a sip of his wine.

"Thanks for the compliment and that is a very good way of saying you look like shit.", I told him nonchalantly.

"Stop twisting my words.", he said.

"I am a lawyer. That's what I do for a living.", I quipped back.

The waitress gave me the lime soda.

"Look...", he began exasperatedly. "I am trying to avoid a fight so can we please act civil."

"Fine! Civil it is. Tell me what happened that night."

"I assumed you knew it already since you so clearly blame me for the event.", he said somewhat bitterly.

"I know. I want your version of events. What happened that night specifically? Don't miss any detail. Everything is important to the case right now."

He sighed.

"Let's order some food first. I generally lose my appetite when I start recounting this particular story.", he smiled wryly.