Page 63 of Blue Gold

Pathetic, isn’t it?

The balcony wasn’t empty when I first got out, but now, on my third cigarette, I was all alone.

Sitting on the marble railing, one leg up and the other hanging in the air, I looked at the city. The only time I found New York to be pretty was at night with all of the lights. It made it seem like she put on her pretty clothes and went out to dance. The cars in the streets, the lights, the buildings and billboards. They all spread for miles, making this city seem endless and reminding me, once again, how huge this world was. Being so far away from home only made it feel bigger. It was exciting, but also terrifying when you thought about it. What if something were to happen to me? Who would be here to rescue me? Robert, my agent? I huffed at the thought. That greedy asshole would probably be the first one to toss me aside, considering all he cared for was money.

I tapped my cigarette with my thumb before bringing it to my lips and taking a long drag while trying to make a list of the people I’d met over the past two years whom I might call in a time of need. After a long minute, I came up with not even a single name. Sad, wasn’t it? To be around people all day long and yet have nobody. Nobody at all. For a short while, there was someone. Someone I knew would pick up the phone even in the middle of the night, but would he still do it? If I were to call him right now, would he pick up?

Knowing the answer was a “no” turned my body colder. While I was here, thinking about him, like I always did, he was probably with his wife, eating dinner at some fancy restaurant and pretending to be happy. It angered me almost as much as it saddened me, because why on earth did he need to pretend? I knew why, yet I was still angry at it. At him, for being a coward who was afraid of living his own life.

Irritated, I took a deep inhale from my cigarette, which seemed to be my only friend at the moment. Savoring the smoke, I closed my eyes and tried blocking the music that was coming from inside. It almost worked until another person stepped out onto the balcony. I could tell because whenever someone came in or out, they opened the door, and the noise became louder. I didn’t care to look who it was and instead got back to my cigarette. But the unsettling feeling of being stared at annoyed me. I turned my head to glance at the pervert and ask them if they’d lost something, like a proper Frenchman would do, when I saw who it was.

In the blink of a second, the world that had thus far felt so big turned incredibly small, hardly holding enough space for him and me. Shocked, I stared at Daniel, who, without a shred of modesty, was standing only a few steps away.

21

ELLIOT

Daniel Williams was probably the most handsome man I’d ever met. That was my first impression of him, which, apparently, hadn’t changed. Because more than a year later, my heart still raced faster at the sight of him in a suit.

With his thick brown hair pushed back, chiseled jaw, and beautiful nose that perhaps was a bit big yet suited him perfectly, he truly was handsome. I hated that my first thought after seeing him was how good-looking the bastard was. After what he did to me, I shouldn’t compliment him, not even in my mind.

“Elliot,” he said in that deep, authoritative voice of his that made him sound both serious and sinfully sexy. “You look good,” he added, like he had any right to.

Taking another drag from my cigarette to calm down, I blew the smoke out.

“And you look old.”

His lips curled into a small smirk as he chuckled.

Merde. I loved that sound.

“Do not laugh.” I frowned. Feeling my cheeks heating up, I looked away from him. “I mean it.”

“I’m only thirty-four.”

“That is old.”

Once again, he chuckled.

“We can speak in French,” he said when I tsked.

“Not need. I now speak English.”

“I can hear that. You’ve definitely improved.”

I rolled my eyes because had he come here to talk about my English?

Bringing the smoke to my lips, I took another deep inhale, then another one.

“You’re still smoking?”

I blew the smoke out. “Obviously.”

He laughed, and annoyed, I stubbed out the cigarette on the marble rail before tossing the butt down to the street.

“Maybe you shouldn’t sit up there? It’s a bit dangerous.”

Annoyed with his fake concern, I shrugged. “I do what I want.”