Secret Desire ✓ | #2 |

Chapter fourteen

I stepped out of the elevator, leading to my apartment and the moment I did so, my phone buzzed in my pocket. As I made a turn towards the kitchen, I took out my phone and answered the call.

"Yes?" I asked in Italian

"Nicolas, I was wondering if you'd like to... meet me at a bar later," I frowned and stopped in my tracks once I realised it was Giovanni who was speaking to me.

"Gio, what are you talking about?"

"You know, we're mates. Mates go out and talk and stuff," he said, making me question this conversation.

One thing I knew for certain: he was no ordinary friend who would simply call me up and mimic the best buddies we see in movies. Our interactions, although frequent, lacked the spontaneity one would associate with close friendships. Our time spent together was either unplanned or a result of necessary business meetings. We didn't consciously plan these hangouts. They were a luxury we couldn't afford in the world we lived in.

"Are you sure about this? I thought you had to leave for Sydney later today," I said, making up a complete lie which Gio would catch up on. I knew for a fact something was up, I just had to figure out what.

"Yes, I'm sure. The flight got cancelled, that's why I'm calling you," he responded before I ran up the stairs towards my small office. I moved my workspace here a lot depending on my current mood and last time, I'd taken my stuff to a room adjacent to mine. It was convenient if I didn't need to leave the apartment for the day. I saved energy without having to walk all the way downstairs dozens of times.

It was a lazy move to do but I easily got bored in my space. I tended to crave change.

Once I entered the room, I continued to converse with Gio, so I didn't look all that suspicious.

"And you want to see me where?" I asked as I opened my laptop and waited patiently for it to load.

"How about El Astro?" I frowned as my fingers typed in my password and then quickly wired my phone to the computer. I was attempting to track the man down, so I could find wherever he was at this moment, but the mention of the club made me pause for a split second.

"Why?"

"I haven't been there yet and I heard the women there are divine," I rolled my eyes at his attempt to sound natural.

Sure, he was a womanizer and loved the attention he got from women. But he never spent time in bars to find a potential hook-up. He knew where to get what he wanted and it certainly wasn't just plain nightclubs.

"Oh, well, whatever you want then. I have a few errands to run today so how about five?" I asked as I did my best to trace his IP address and track him down.

"Seven. The good ones don't appear so early," I rolled my eyes but did salute him for trying to appear his natural self.

"Fine. Meet me there?" I looked at the screen as the IP address appeared and after I copied and pasted it into my search engine, a red dot appeared a dozen kilometres away from my apartment.