Jake Roberts took a sip of his whisky, swallowed and felt the familiar burn. He sighed and pushed the glass back along the hotel bar. It had been another long, busy working week, topped off by having to go to the annual industry awards that Friday night. He was a quiet type, serious and professional and he hated these events, full of arse kissers, rubber chicken and warm beer. However, his boss had been nominated for an award, so that meant getting into the penguin suit and going as his cheer squad. His boss had won, then decided to kick on with a bunch of his new mates as some club but Jake couldn't be bothered. He made the excuse of an early weekend start and took himself off to the hotel bar for a drink instead, a roadie before going home.
He loved the hotel bar, it was old school, dark leather seats, wooden panelling and bow tied wait staff. It was also a serene space, away from the frenetic movement in the lobby and the blaring music in the hotel ballroom where the award night had been held. So he sat at the bar, sipping his whisky and contemplating life. Just turned the wrong side of thirty, divorced, four years into a career in architecture that he absolutely loved. Physically, work meant he wasn't exercising as much as he would like, although he was still careful with his diet and happy with his physique. Average build, a full head of sandy brown hair and just the inkling of some love handles around his waist. Have to get out tomorrow for a run, he promised himself.
As he stared down at his glass, lost in thought, he sensed a commotion behind him. He turned towards the entrance to the bar and saw a woman nearly knocking over a man who was holding a camera. She was clearly angry, swearing as she made a bee line for the bar. By the time she reached the counter, she'd stopped swearing, but was still wound up. Her nostrils were flared, the tendons in her neck taught, her face bright red. Jake didn't know what had happened, but wasn't game to ask. The woman caught the bar staff's attention and ordered a whisky. Once it had been poured, she grabbed the glass and sat down on a stool a couple of seats away from Jake.
As the woman fiddled with her purse to pay the barman, she was clearly still flustered because she dropped a bunch of change all over the floor. She swore again, slapping her forehead in frustration. Taking a deep breath, Jake decided to help. He hopped off his stool and bent down to pick up the change. He slowly placed the coins on the top of the bar.
"There you go," he said. She turned to look at him and gave him a quick thin smile.
"Thanks," says she, clearly disinterested. He decided to chance his arm, not a usual course of action for him, but the boredom of the evening had given way to a much livelier feeling after her dramatic entrance.
"We're not all arseholes, you know," he said.
"What? Sorry, what?" she replied.
"Men. We're not all arseholes. Well, a large number really are, to be honest. Like your mate with the camera, you have him a good shove. Did he get what he deserved?"
She turned her head to look at him as if for the first time. And for the first time he looked into her eyes and something inside of him just twisted. The deepest, dreamiest dark brown eyes he had ever seen, that seemed to look right through him. He felt his balls shrink, a sudden thought crossed his mind that maybe he was about to get shoved out of the way too.
"I don't want to talk about it. Just, please, let me finish my drink and I'm on my way." She turned her head again and stared straight back at the bar.
"Sorry, didn't mean to intrude. Just you looked real cut up a few minutes back. Just want to make sure you're okay, as the saying goes."
The woman bowed her head and shook it slowly.
"Well, that's a new one. The well-mannered stranger with the heart of gold. Why would I fall for that? Sure you aren't the good cop to that jerk's bad cop?" she said fiercely, gesturing towards the entrance she had so recently barged through.
He thought about her response for a few seconds. "No, not at all, don't know him, don't know you either. I don't mean anything by it, just you were pretty angry. Just wanted to make sure you were feeling okay, that's all."
Again the woman shook her head slowly. "All right, then. Let's just say that I'm over being chased at by people with cameras all day. Just want to be off limits to those pricks."
Jake wasn't sure if he was slow on the uptake, but the thought crossed his mind that maybe he was supposed to know who she was. He looked at her again. He put her age as somewhat similar to his, maybe a little younger. She was dressed in an elegant, deep vermillion strapless gown, straight dark brown hair falling down her back. A number of regulation tattoos down her right arm, someone's name in copperplate, boyfriend, child maybe. Thick gold necklace around her neck that look great against her burnished skin. And she glowed health. She looked really fit, she looked like a gym bunny, maybe she did yoga or pilates. She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, but he didn't have a clue who she was.
"Sorry, but am I supposed to know who you are?" he asked, inquisitively.
The woman looked at him, her lips curving ever so slightly. At that moment he felt like she was a cat, toying with him, who in turn was like a little mouse. A manicured eyebrow arched its way up her forehead.
"Well, that's a new one on me as well. Pretending not to know me, hey?"
Now Jake was really confused. "But, I really don't know who you are. What are you, an actress? Play pro sport? News reader? Famous for just being famous? Definitely not a politician."
She looked me up and down for a few seconds. "For real? You don't have a clue who I am?"
He shook his head. "Nope, and you have no idea who I am, so at least we're even."
She smiled at that one. Stuck out her right hand to shake his. Her hand was soft, warm, dry. He looked into her eyes again and once more felt his balls contract. She was gorgeous and she knew it, and she looked like she was enjoying this, he could tell. The smile played at her lips as she looked back at Jake.
"Hi, my name is Valentina. Friends call me Tina. And you are...?"
"Umm, I'm Jake. Jake Roberts. And what do you do, Tina?"
"Nice to meet you Jake, I'll get to that. What are you doing here tonight?"
"An industry awards dinner. That's why the tux, don't normally go in for this sort of gear. Having a last drink before heading home when I saw you and your paparazzi mate. What about you, you're pretty well dressed up."
"I had an awards night too. Music industry. I'm...I'm a singer, Jake. Rock. In a band."
"Okay, good for you. Been doing it for long?" Again, she smiled quizzically at Jake, as though she was not sure whether to trust his apparent lack of knowledge of her body of work.
"Well, it's taken ten years to be an overnight success."
