Unconditionally (Operation FALLS Trilogy - Book 1)

Chapter 9

Ty hadn't felt much like himself since his conversation with Henry. He had kept his head down the last couple of days, only leaving his apartment to go to work. Even at work, the mood was off, with him on edge all his staff slowly followed suit. More glasses and arguments had occurred over the last few days than they had in a very long time. So much so that his assistant manager begged him to not come in this weekend.

At first, Ty had been offended by the request, but his assistant manager had never done anything like it before. Feeling like an absolute disappointment, Ty had agreed.

The only problem was that Henry had gotten word of the night off. How? Ty wasn't sure, but he would start looking for the mole as soon as he was back to work on Monday. Though, if he knew Henry, they were all moles.

All of which somehow meant Ty was going on a date...

Sure, he knew that he was the one to set this ball into motion. Hell, he was the one that texted Henry about it early this week and he had told Mariana several times that he would at least try. He just didn't want to because his dream man already existed. He knew the man's address and how he took his coffee in the morning. Wasn't it cruel to himself to keep looking when he already found it? And so, what if it was platonic? He could survive with that. It wasn't ideal...

After hours of convincing himself, Ty concluded that one blind date wouldn't kill him. Especially, since Henry had set it up as a lunch date.

Which was how he found himself sitting across the table from some doctor, Henry knew, in some fancy little lunch-only café that Ty hated immediately. The man was well put together, in a nice pair of slacks and a dress shirt, both in colors that blended into the background. He had a watch with a small diamond at each of the twelve numbers and he gestured with it at every opportunity. His date's hair was styled to perfection, held in place with more gel than Ty thought a person was supposed to use. Overall, the man was handsome. Maybe, a bit more into splurging on clothing and accessories than Ty, but then again, most people were.

The dealbreaker for Ty was the attitude.

"Remind me again what it is you do?" The man asked with what he assumed was supposed to be a charming smile.

"I own a bar." Ty gave the same short reply he had when the man first asked him the question about twenty minutes ago.

"Right! Well, at least you don't have to work anymore. Must be nice to just sit back and watch the money roll in. That's something that those in my field just will never get," The man laughed easily as he sipped on the glass of what Ty assumed was a very expensive wine.

"I still work," Ty defended, though he knew it was a losing battle.

"Of course, of course," his date nodded as he sat his glass down on the table. "Sorority girls can't make their own fruity drinks."

As the man threw his head back and laughed at his joke, Ty's lips curled. His shoulders tensed and he forced himself to take a deep breath. He couldn't make a scene.

Henry would be so disappointed in him if he made a scene.

"I own-" Ty tried again to be nice but was quickly interrupted.

"You know, I have a great realtor I can get you in touch with." The man cut him off, pulling out his wallet to search for a business card. "I'm sure you'd get enough of a nest egg to pivot into an actual career. Until then, though we'll have to communicate mainly in the digital sphere."

"Excuse me?" Ty asked, his jaw slightly slacked from what he was hearing. "Actually, no. I think it's time for me to go."

His date looked up at him with wide eyes, his mouth dropping open a fraction. "But we haven't even ordered! It's been what fifteen minutes?!"