Never An Angel

First

     She was late. Again.

     The entire night had slipped from her thanks to work, and she groaned when her cell vibrated incessantly, messages bombarding the device so frequently that she refused to turn on the sound. She slipped smoothly into her car and buckled up, moving quickly but surely. She threw her cell into a cup holder and raised an eyebrow when it went still.

     That was bad. Good, in her opinion, but probably bad for the rest of the night.

     She managed not to roll her eyes as she sped out of the driveway. It would have been easier to simply dismiss the messages but she was already on thin ice and was far too loyal to turn her back on something she previously said she'd do. Besides that, she had other investments that she wasn't willing to burn.

     It took her over fifteen minutes to get to her destination, and her phone had only buzzed once in all that time. It was a stern warning that she scoffed at. No one, absolutely no one, struck fear into her. But she did admit that she was slightly unnerved. If this certain situation imploded, she'd have to search for another method of distraction. That was something she didn't have the time for.

     She stepped out of her car and did a check of herself in the window. Fix collar, flatten out wrinkles, stroke hair. She frowned when she started to roll up her sleeves charmingly only to see dark crust on forearm. She scratched at it angrily then spit to make sure it was fully gone. But the seed was planted and she was concerned. She rolled her sleeves back down just in case.

     After checking that her clothes weren't stained, she tucked her shirt into her pants and made her way to the restaurant. She had no idea how she had forgotten about the date- she was the one who made the reservation. But there she was, late as sin and trying to come up with a decent enough excuse to get her off the hook. She had used far too many in the past and needed something creative now.

     She talked smoothly to the hostess when she was inside and scanned the building for a familiar face. Every table she saw was taken, but there was one with a cold, empty space, and an extremely upset woman sitting opposite. Sliding her hands down her front, she informed the hostess she had found her date then begun the short way to the hostile table. The mood in the restaurant was romantic but she felt as though she were coming upon a war zone. Her approach was noticed when she was halfway there, and sharp, clear eyes locked onto her. She kept her cool despite the glare. When she was near enough to the table she put on a dazzling smile, faux apologetic. It did absolutely nothing. She stood awkwardly by the table, uninvited to sit just yet. It was a full minute before a cheek was begrudgingly offered. Kiss me, then, it seemed to say. Go on, show me you're sorry. Behave.

     She kissed it without rolling her eyes.

     "You're late," drawled Petra, hitting the T hard. She sucked her teeth, her annoyance alarmingly obvious. "You're late, Magdalen. Did you forget we had a date?" Her stare was that of a predator as Magdalen took a seat. She curled her fingers around a half full glass of wine, that much alone costing hundreds of dollars. She had made sure of it. "Again," she hissed. She watched Magdalen for a moment, but then rolled her eyes shut and sighed in exasperation. "The sad part is I knew this was going to happen. I haven't ordered yet."

     Magdalen forced herself to appear disturbed. "I'm sorry, Petra, my-"

     "Don't. I don't want to hear it or any of your pet names. It's not going to work. This is the fifth time you've practically stood me up. You couldn't even shoot me a text?" Petra shook her head slowly. "I've been waiting over an hour for you to show." She sounded less angry and more hurt, now. "I almost left with some loser who tried to take advantage of my situation and pick me up. That's how upset you make me."