One Night in New York

Chapter Two

My name is Liam Taylor. I was a bit of a big deal in New York. I owned my clothing line called, what else, but Liam Taylor, of course. I made millions. I mean millions upon millions yearly off  my high-end men's fashion suits. Was I bragging about it? I mean, of course, I was. Who wouldn't? I was twenty-eight years old and felt I sat on top of the world. I basked in all of the glory my wealth brought as I came from very little, growing up just outside of Gulfport Mississippi, in Ocean Springs, population seventeen thousand. It was a big difference from the almost nine million people living in New York City.

How did I start my business? I saved. Saving every penny I made since I was fourteen doing odd job landscaping gigs, but I did it. I took out a small business loan, developed a label, sank myself into debt, and never looked back. I found customers, made clothes, and built a reputation as a designer. I had a mother who taught me my craft, so I used it to my advantage. After all of my hard work over the years, I was able to sit back and let other people do the work for me while collecting the checks. It wasn't all fun and games, I still worked a little, but it became easier once making a name for myself.

So, what was left? I just needed to find the one. The one I could hopefully hook up with for the night. I know, I know, kind of a jerk thing to say, but I wasn't ready for Mrs. Right, just Miss right now.

Who would be the lucky lady that night? I surveyed the crowd as my driver let me out at the rooftop bar I would frequent. I started to walk in, and there she was. The one I wouldn't wake up to the next morning, but I would definitely take her home. She appeared clumsy in her heels, staggering as I overheard her arguing with who I assumed was her friend. Was she inebriated or just uncoordinated? I wasn't sure, but I'll be honest: it was kind of cute.

I overheard her arguing about getting into the club, so I went over to assist her, as well as myself. How would I persuade her to accompany me later if she left? There I was, putting my hand under her elbow, signaling to the bouncer that she was with me. As I spoke to the gentleman at the door, she quickly spun around at the sound of my voice.

Looking stunned, she seemed as if she didn't know what to say. I smirked and extended my hand towards her for an introduction, "Hi, I'm Liam."

"Yes, you are," she said, quickly shaking her head back to reality, "I'm sorry, I mean, I'm Natalie. Hey, thank you for this."

"No problem," I arrogantly stated as if I knew I saved her night.

He did save my night. I was about to make my way back home to my seemingly dull existence when he changed everything. Angie looked over and gave me a look as to say, "Go talk to him," but how could I? He was so gorgeous, and I stood merely intimidated. We all walked in together as I felt confused about where I should go. My wonderful best friend kept nudging me to stay by Liam, but I was nervous. He seemed like he had it all together, and I could barely walk in my heels.

No sooner than I turned to stumble towards Angie did he grab my arm once more. "Would you like a drink?" he asked.

How could I say no? His voice alone was enough to get me hot and bothered, and that didn't happen all too often; actually, it's only happened once. He was eighteen, acne-covered, and drooled when we kissed, but I slept with him, not wanting to go off to college as a virgin. Well, that was it, nothing since him.

Of course, I said yes to Liam. I glanced back at Angie as he led me to the bar, placing his hand on the small of my back. She had a grin from ear to ear as she mouthed the word, "Go" to me. So I went. I wasn't a big drinker, so I ordered a kamikaze to start. Liam shook his head and chuckled as I ordered, what he called, a girly drink.

He raised his arm to get the bartender's attention back to us. "Scratch her order, please, and can we get two Tanqueray and tonic," Liam looked over at me and smirked, "Please don't ever order what you tried to order again."