Castle in the City

30

Damien's POV
I exited the building with Jenny, another intern, trailing behind me. Ever since I got to the company and met Jenny, she tried to make it her personal mission to get close to me. I could tell that she had a crush on me, and even though she was very pretty, I only had eyes for Sagacity. For that reason, I constantly tried to avoid Jenny as much as possible, but she was as persistent in being all up in my face as I was persistent in avoiding her.

"Hey, Damien, wait up," she called from behind me. We were both alone in the parking lot.

I let out a low sigh before turning around and asking, "What's up?"

"Well, it's a lovely day out, and I was just wondering if you'd maybe...like to go-" she got out before I cut her off.

"Jenny, you're a very kind and pretty girl, but I'm not interested in you," I tried to say as nicely as possible. "I only have eyes for my girlfriend."

Jenny's eyebrows raised in surprise as she awkwardly replied, "Oh, sorry. I didn't know you had a girlfriend...well of course you do. It only makes sense. Um...forget I said anything..."

"Okay," I nodded before offering a polite smile. "Good night."

"Good night," she politely smiled before walking to her car. I then sighed as I walked over to my own car. Since a teen, I was used to girls chasing me down. I was blessed with pretty good genes, but those genes sometimes ruined some of my relationships. Some of my exes thought that I'd be tempted into cheating and wouldn't trust me. Others only wanted to be with me because I looked good and was great in bed. Some even dated me because they felt I had a lot of money. It was a gift and a curse!

I took my car keys out my pocket and unlocked my door, and once I was inside the car, I noticed a piece of paper in one of my windshields. While frowning, I left the car and grabbed the piece of paper. It was a sticky note with a number written on it. I immediately began wondering if it was my mother trying to reach out to me, but I didn't know if I should call the number as yet. I didn't know what I would say to her or how I would react to hearing her voice after such a long time.

I exhaled a quick breath as I stuffed the sticky note into my pocket and entered the car.

Two and a half hours later, Sagacity's POV
I stared at the cold food on the table and sighed as I checked the time on my phone. Damien usually would be here at least forty minutes ago, so I was beginning to get worried. Even Nico, who usually came in later than Damien, had already come home.

As I unlocked my phone to call him, I heard a door opening. "Damien?" I called out.

"Yeah," he answered as he came into the dining room. He then glanced over at the table I had set up and apologized, "I'm sorry if I kept you waiting. Thanks for cooking dinner, but I'm not really hungry right now."

I nodded before asking, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Um...I'm just gonna be in my room.

I teased, "Trying to finish what we started last night? Nico left to buy groceries about ten minutes ago."

He shook his head, "Nah, I'm not in the mood right now. Maybe tomorrow."

With that said, he walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts. As minutes passed, I tried to think of all the possible reasons why he was being so dry today but only one thought was in my head. He was having second thoughts about what almost happened last night and was probably gonna push me away so that we could slow down, as he would probably phrase it.

Finally deciding to ball up the courage to speak to him, I walked to his room and prepared to knock on the door. When my fist was midway in the air, I halted in my tracks because I heard Damien talking aloud. I carefully pressed my ear to the door to hear what he was saying.

"Hey, Jenny. Yeah, I'm fine....How are you?...Yeah, I'm sure. Just a little surprised. I honestly didn't know what to expect by calling this number....Yeah, exactly," he said before chuckling. Who the fuck is Jenny? "Are you sure you're okay though? What happened in the parking lot....okay, good.....yes, we should start over fresh since we're partners now. Wear something nice tomorrow and we'll get started immediately....okay, great. See you tomorrow."

What the hell was all of that about?

I knocked on his door, and he invited me in. I exhaled a short breath before opening the door and stepping inside his room.

"Everything alright?" he asked as he unbuttoned his shirt.

I shrugged, "I don't know. You tell me."

Damien frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you come here in some sort of weird mood and don't wanna talk or eat and then I come to check on you only to hear you talking to another girl on the phone. Now you're in a much better mood, it seems," I answered while crossing my arms. "Something I should know?" Damien sighed and took off his shirt, ignoring my question. "Am I talking to myself?"

"No, but I don't like your tone," he answered as he took his shoes and pants off as well. He then took his socks off and walked over to his dresser, where he took out clothes that he would change in after showering.

"Well, maybe if you weren't being so weird my tone would've been nicer," I shrugged. "Now can you please explain to me what's going on?"

Damien answered, "Nothing's going on, Sagacity. I don't know why you're trynna accuse me of-"

"I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm asking you questions that you aren't answering, so if I do start assuming shit, I'd say that's your fault," I said as I searched his face for a respond.

"I did answer. I said nothing's going on. I'm not cheating on you," he sighed as he walked over to me.

I replied, "Never said you were."

"No, but you're implying that," he argued back. He cupped my left cheek, and I brushed his hand away from my face, causing him to sigh.

"What happened in the parking lot?"