Chapter 37 - The Dinner of Contention (2/2)

This piques Claire's interest. ”Really?”

”Yeah. I hear she's quite a stunner, too.”

”I'm sure no one can hold a light to Michelle Alcantara's beauty.”

”Maybe,” he says. ”But I hear Michelle's a tacky little blow-hard next to this new fiancée. And it's crazy because it has only been a couple of weeks, and already he has a new fiancée. Doesn't that sound too fishy, too contrived for you?”

She shrugs. ”Maybe. Or maybe because there are so many women waiting for Gabriel's attention that all he needs to do is snap a finger.”

Jake stares at her, his eyes running down to her cleavage, which at the moment shows milky white and promising. Jake wets his lips unconsciously, seemingly unaware that she's seeing it all, this lecherous behavior. ”Oh, to be like Gabriel Tan and have a multitude of options,” he says. ”What I would give to be like him.”

”Come on,” she says. ”To each his own. You have your own charms. I hear you've had quite a string of conquests yourself.”

Jake's eyes go wide at that. ”How do you mean? Who said that?”

”A little birdie told me.”

”Come on, who said that?” Jake's half-smile belies his sudden paranoia. Who could be the office tattle-tale who threw dirt on him? ”Was it Agnes of HR? Or Mrs. Gomez the receptionist? Or…”

”It was no one,” she says. ”I passed by the water cooler and overheard your name mentioned in a context that—let's just say—may be a bit too revealing about your sėxuȧŀ behavior.”

”It's all bullshit,” Jake says. ”You know how it is in these places. You go on a date once with somebody, and that gets incredibly skewed. They begin painting you as this sėx-obsessed gigolo who's out for any pussƴ out there, pardon my language.”

Claire laughs. ”You're right.”

The food arrives and fills the air with savory fragrance. Upon seeing the steak on Jake's plate, juxtaposed with the salad for her, Claire secretly regrets her choice. Her first chance to eat at a good steakhouse, and this is what she gets.

Jake animatedly talks as he deftly cuts his steak into manageable bite-sized morsels. ”You can still order steak if you want.”

Claire stops and thinks about it. ”Nah, I'll stick with the salad.”

Jake couldn't stop telling his stories. Apparently, he's been with the company for five years now, and in the past three or so years have been the top sales manager.

”What about you?” Jake asks at length. ”How long have you been working? What else have you seen? Any dirty secret?” He snickers.

”I have nothing much to tell,” she says. For a second, Claire thinks about what to divulge to Jake; she decides to keep it simple and dismissive. ”First job. The offered pay was stellar. I was warned about the boss, but I looked at the pay and said, let's do this. So here I am.”

”Any boyfriend waiting for you at home?”

”Would I be here with you if I have one?”

Jake's eyes lit up. ”Unbelievable. Somebody as attractive as you, and nobody has captured you yet?”

”Maybe the world is looking for somebody else.” She smiles.

”I say bullshit to that. I think you have such a high standard. Or maybe somebody broke your heart years ago, and even now no one could match how that guy made you feel.”

”Or maybe,” Jake says, intrigued by her silence. ”You actually like other girls. Are you a lesbian?”

She has to laugh at that. ”Hell, no!”

”Well, I'm running out of speculations.”

”And I'm running out of bladder space,” she says, standing up. ”Excuse me, but I'll have to go to the ladies' room.”

After she left, Jake looks at her glass of wine. He looks around, and when he's certain that the coast is clear, he takes out a small glass vial filled with white powder. He uncaps it, and deftly pours all its contents into Claire's glass. The powder fizzles out and is completely undetectable in just a few seconds.

Jake breathes a sigh of relief. What he feels now is a heady mixture of anticipation and excitement. Their table is right next to the exit door; he could do what he has planned without causing much commotion.

Jake slices another morsel of meat and leisurely chews it; he feels all the juices and blood oozing in his mouth, indulging in the taste and texture of it. Fastidio's is such an expensive steak place, but if all goes as he has planned, then the investment is all worth it. Tonight, Bella Xavier will be squirming in his bed.