Vivian's POV
Vivian's life really was something.
Not only had she walked in on her now ex-boyfriend, cheating on her that day.
She was currently in a bar with a billionaire who had made it very clear that he wanted to see if she was a freak in bed.
If he had not lied outright and called her 'gorgeous' and 'sweet thing' while propositioning her she might have actually considered it.
She was feeling reckless enough that night. But when he had called her by those endearing words that were very clearly not true,( her ex had made his mission to remind her that she was not pretty like other women).
Props to him though when she had expressed that she was not interested, he had immediately taken the hint. But rather than leaving he had instead switched topics.
Now they were keeping themselves occupied by talking about whatever one of them happened to bring up. So far they had discussed politics, they had talked about fashion and the sly man had even been able to get her to share that she was a preschool teacher. Unknowingly adding a point in his favor by not ridiculing her profession, all he'd had to say on the matter was that he appreciated her role in helping to model the future leaders of the country.
That one simple statement from him had made her so proud that she was no longer even bothered by the fact that his eyes kept straying to her boobs. The man staring particularly hard whenever she laughed.
Now though, their current topic of conversation was about pancakes of all things.
It would have been silly, except for the fact that it was very serious. Ryan Terrell, proving that money did not mean common sense was actually of the mind that pancakes without syrup were the best.
"Ryan, in our debates I have conceded many points to you. But on this I will not budge, pancakes were made to be paired with syrup. You can't just eat them as is, it is a crime,"
Finishing off his drink, the man licked his lips and gave her a heated look.
" I prefer my syrup to be used on other things,"
He was being so obvious with his flirting that Vivian could not help it. She found herself giggling, her entire frame shaking as she looked over at the tenacious man.
"For the last time, we are not doing that, you are like a dog with a bone," She tried to scold him. But there was no heat behind the words.
To be honest, even though she had come to the bar to forget about Bryce and all of his shenanigans, Vivian had not truly believed that it would work.
She had thought that she would spend the night thinking about her ex despite her best efforts.
But as she continued to talk to Ryan, she was pleasantly surprised to realize that thoughts of Bryce only came to her in passing and did not affect her mood at all.
Nothing able to penetrate the giddy mood that she found herself in.
How long the two of them talked Vivian had no idea.
She was just vaguely aware of one of the bartenders coming to refill their drinks, and then vanishing like they were never even there.
So immersed in the conversation, Vivian, who was normally very strict about how much alcohol she consumed found herself knocking back glass after glass until she was pleasantly tipsy.
Her body relaxed, with the world around her looking fluffy and soft in a way that it had
not been before.
Realizing that if she kept drinking anymore, she would not be able to string together a coherent sentence. She made the decision to switch to water. Smiling warmly when Ryan copied her.
" As much as I love a good drink, I love good conversation even more,"
He told her and she could not help but blush when he winked at the end of his statement.
He was such a flirt! More affected than she wanted to let on.
Vivian tried her best not to smile at the man, but she failed miserably, gave up and just beamed at him.
A little while later, they were in the middle of discussing breeds of dogs when Ryan's gaze suddenly shifted from her, looking at something behind her. That was all the warning that Vivian got before a weight settled around her shoulders, somebody leaning over the chair to hug her from behind.
A very familiar someone even if they now smelled like they had drunk an entire keg of alcohol.
"Viv! I missed you so much!" The enthusiastic shout made more than a few heads turn their way.
Cheeks burning, Vivian immediately caught Ryan's eye and gave him an apologetic look.
"I am so sorry. This is my best friend, Amy, and she is very drunk right now,"
" I am very drunk!" Fewer people turned around this time, but that did not lessen Vivian's embarrassment.
"That you are," Vivian agreed, lightly patting the drunk woman on the arm. Knowing that if she did not rescue her friend, Amy would be likely to make a fool of herself and ruin all of the hard work she had put in when it came to kissing up to her bosses. Vivian began to stand, doing so awkwardly, as Amy refused to let go.
Her awkward stance meaning she had to lean forward a whole lot.
Her breasts just dangling in front of Ryan's face.
But despite the difficulty she managed, Cheeks pink with embarrassment because she had literally just flashed the poor guy.
"We have to get going now Ryan Terrell, it has been unexpectedly fun to spend the evening chatting with you,"
The man, still seated, gave her a smile of his own, but it looked sad, as though he truly were disappointed to see her go.
"It has been nice talking to you as well, Vivian Rose,"
With her friend now leaning very heavily against her side, Vivian made to leave.
But Ryan was suddenly moving, the next thing she knew, he was standing right in front of them. Reaching out he grabbed her hand and gently brought it to his lips, kissing her knuckles and then letting it go.
When he looked at her, his blue eyes were intense.
"Make no mistake, sweet thing. I might have played nice today, but if I ever see you again, I am going to rock your world,"
The words sounded like a threat and a promise rolled into one, and they had absolutely no right to sound so hot.
Out of nowhere Vivian felt heat gather in her lower belly. Balling her hands into fists, the pain of her nails digging into the soft skin of her palms allowed her to center herself. Clearing her throat she nodded at the man.
"Bye Ryan," With that she turned and began dragging her friend along, trying not to let what she had just been told, go to her head.
***
It would have been best for her to call for a ride while still in the bar proper.
But instead of doing that and spending a few more minutes in Ryan Terrell's presence. His smoldering gaze on her Vivian had instead chosen to be standing out in the street, trying to hail a cab while a very drunk.
Amy was now convinced that she was back in the bar with her bosses daring hair to drink more.
"I can do two shots at once," Her friend said and Vivian sighed.
"Oh Amy, if they do not promote you, I do not know what they will be thinking."
Just as she said that, a taxi came to a stop right in front of them. The woman in the driver's seat watching with no small amount of amusement as Vivian wrestled her friend into the front of the car and got her buckled in.
With that done, it should have been easy for Vivian to get into the back and start giving directions.
But instead of doing that, she found herself hesitating, "Are you getting in or not?"
Eyes moving from the taxi to the entrance of the bar, Vivian suddenly found herself feeling indecisive.
Did she dare?