Mr. Charles spares another concerned glance at the unusually quiet Byron from his spot next to the driver. The older had chosen to sit in front today to give him some kind of privacy since it looked like Byron had a lot in his mind, he wasn't acting like he usually would, instead he looked buried in thoughts as his head laid limply against the seat, eyes closed.
Byron suddenly sits up and heaves a sigh, but instead of speaking up like Charles had hoped, he just goes back to staring out of the window silently.
Deciding he'd had enough, the assistant finally speaks, "Is anything the problem?" Mr Charles asks, trying to conceal the worry in his voice.
Byron looks at him at that, a small, obviously forced smile makes it's way unto his face. "Nah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" He replies.
Mr Charles blinks back at him, unimpressed, "Because you don't look fine?"
"I don't?" Bryon chuckles, shaking his head, "Well then how do I Iook?"
"You look ......disturbed?" Mr Charles noted, Byron smiles breathily at that, opting to stay silent, but the older continues, "You know you can always talk to me if something is bothering you, right? Whatever it might be. You've been brooding all day, even during the meetings, your disconnected stares and remarks had nothing to do with the usual excuse of boredom, are you really okay?"
At the end of his words, Mr Charles smiles softly at the younger, but Byron had long stopped listening, the image of Gina and Roman from two days ago at the boutique, playing behind his closed lids again.
Byron keeps his eyes shut, recalling that one night they had shared and how so much had changed since then, atleast for him.
Suddenly, his eyes snap open and he taps at the driver's seat, "Stop the car. I'll drive." He says, his words left no room for argument and even Mr Charles is at a loss for words as the driver spares him a confused glance before pulling over.
"Wait, what?" Mr. Charles finally blurts, surprised by the out-of-the-blue request.
Byron gets out of the vehicle, unfastening the top button of his suit, then pulls the driver seat open. The uniformed man immediately scrambles out and bows at Byron who turns to look at Mr. Charles, whose face wore a worried expression.
"You said you were fine, but now, you want to go to the club?" Mr. Charles had a slight frown on his face, very aware of what the sudden turn of events implied.
"I'm fine. I just need to clear my head." Byron sigh, running a hand through his hair, ruffling the gelled strands out of place. "Have you called for another car from the house?" The question was addressed to the driver still standing close to the car.
"Yes, I have" The man promptly replies, dropping a phone from his ear.
"Mr. Charles, the car will be here in a couple of minutes, you should go with him."
"No! I'm going with you." The reply is fast and mirrored the determination of the assistant.
Byron furrows his brows at his response. "I am going to the club." He repeats.
"I know, and I'm coming with you." Mr Charles replies, not backing down.
Byron flashes the older an unamused look, lips pulling into a thin line.
"Harry, wait for the car. I'll go with him," Mr. Charles instructs the driver who just bows in response and still unimpressed, Byron starts the engine and speeds off.
.
Mr. Charles remains in the car alone, working on his laptop. The booming music and the sounds from people remains a distraction but he plugs in some airpods and gets back to work with gentle music reaching his ears instead.
.
Inside the club, Byron and his buddy, Henry, are sat at their usual VIP table. While Henry converses with a giggling woman next to him, Byron downs glass after glass of booze. Henry takes notice of this but is more weirded out by Byron's decision to not get girls around himself.
Shortly after, Tiffany arrives at their table. She now had long blonde hair that is illuminated by the glimmering lights of the room, her white crop top was as skimpy as they came and she pairs it with a green floral summer skirt. A purse was draped on her left shoulder and a gold bracelet on her right wrist.
Henry welcomes her as she takes a seat next to Byron who doesn't spare her a glance, the contents of another glass pouring down his throat. Her eyes softens at the sight and as she drops her purse on the table filled with all sorts of alcohol, she lays a hand on his shoulder. On getting no reaction from him, she leans in and kisses him square on the lips, tasting the bitterness of the alcohol as she did. She tries to deepen the kiss but the man remains stoic as a clay moulded statue. Dissatisfied, she pulls away, frowning.
"You ask me here and now you're just going to ignore me? What's going on Byron?" The man lets out something that sounded like a tired groan before pouring himself another glass. Tiffany looks at Henry for an answer, he shrugs.
"Don't look at me, we're seeing the same thing. All night he's been refusing advances from all of the girls and when I kept pestering him, I think he thought of you to get me off his back and how he's like this again!" Henry turns to Byron this time, pointing at him with a bottle in his own hand, "Bro, what's the matter with you? If you had something going on, you could've just asked to talk, getting shitfaced won't solve anything!" Although his tone was a little harsh, it was evident that Henry was concerned too, but Byron wasn't listening.
Deciding that he'd had enough of their nagging, he slams his cup against the table and gets up from his seat. Sparing them one last glance, he staggers off and out of the club, almost falling on his face a number of times.
"D- Did he just walk out on me?" Tiffany thinks out loud, Henry mirrors her surprise.
.
Gina's car beeps twice as she locks it, and sparing it one last glance, she starts to make her way into her apartment. She startles when another car suddenly speeds into the compound, stopping right next to her own white sports car.
"Byron?"
She calls out in shock when the passenger side of the car pushes open loudly and said man staggers out. He begins to take step after step toward her with Gina still blinking in confusion, before another person from the driver's side makes himself seen.
The man gives her a guilty smile as he bows, "Hello, and good evening. First, I want to apologize for intruding so rudely without so much as a notice. I'm Charles, by the way, his-"
"Oh!" Gina exclaims loudly as Byron suddenly collapses against her, almost knocking her back onto the floor with his weight.
YOU ARE READING
THE SMITHS
Romance"What about me? Our family has never been one centered on love, Dad. We've always had to be faced with countless difficulties in this house, and now it's going to be my choice of a partner? Even my brothers never had this issue even though they pick...
