Page 5 of Mated By the Alphas
CHAPTER 3
Ansley
I start my second day at York Financial preparing a detailed report for Ms. Frost about Blithe Holdings.
Then I continue working on my orientation. I finish that by the end of my second day and spend most of the third day waiting for a meeting with Mr. Fleming so I can find out what’s next. I get a load of assignments to keep me busy for the rest of the week. I barely have time for lunch.
On Friday night, I consider canceling my plans at least a dozen times before getting dressed to go out. I’m a little nervous. I haven’t dated much. I’m definitely outside of my comfort zone. I feel even more outside of it when I step into Fletcher’s Bar and see that’s it’s packed. It takes several attempts to flag Daisy down.
“Wow, you weren’t kidding about it being packed tonight,” I say, having to raise my voice over the music.
“Told you! Just sit here and look pretty. Nice dress, by the way,” she says with a grin. “I’ll make sure you don’t have to pay for a drink all night.”
And so, it begins. The epic night, as Daisy put it. I sit at the end of the counter and wait patiently. I’m not sure I look pretty, but this is the best dress in my closet. I actually look a little overdressed, now that I’m looking around.
Just when I’m considering how to make my escape, I see Daisy pointing me out to a tall guy in a cowboy hat. You don’t see many cowboy hats in Chicago. He flashes a grin, says something to Daisy and strolls my way like he’s about to lasso me.
“Hey there, pretty lady. I’m Rex, but most people just call me Tex because of my accent,” he says in a smooth twang. “What’cha drinking?”
“Um, nothing yet,” I turn to face him. “I guess… white wine.”
Rex or Tex, I’m not sure what to call him, leans against the counter and flags Daisy down. He’s not a bad looking guy. Tall, tanned, and they say guys with accents like his are supposed to be gentlemanly.
Is that what I want? I’m not really sure what I want.
“Wine for the pretty lady,” the cowboy drawls.
“Coming right up!” Daisy chimes, winking at me.
Daisy knows I like white wine, so it’s no surprise when that’s what she brings. Rex-or-Tex is drinking beer. He gives me his full attention, brown eyes studying me.
“Ansley, right? I really like that name. I went to school with an Ansley,” he says. “Her eyes weren’t as pretty as a Texas sunset, though.”
“Oh, um,” I stammer, blushing slightly. “Thank you.”
Rex-or-Tex seems to like giving compliments. Over the course of half a glass of wine, he complimentseverythingexcept what he shouldn’t. I struggle to find anything to compliment him on except his accent. But it doesn’t take me long to realize we have zero chemistry. One comment about what I do for work, and his eyes glaze over until he finds something else to compliment.
“It was very nice to meet you. Thank you for the wine,” I say kindly, noticing that Daisy is pointing me out to another customer. “But my friend wants me to treat this like speed-dating, and I think she’s got my next date lined up.”
“She mentioned that,” he chuckles. “Let me give you my number. I’d love to hear from you if someone else doesn’t sweep you off your feet tonight.”
He jots down his number and leaves. The next guy comes over. His name is Jake and he played football in college. He’s proud of it because that’s all he talks about for most of our so-called speed date. Still, I take his number to be polite and add it to the collection. Then it’s time for my next date.
“Uh, hi, the blonde behind the counter said I had to come meet you,” a guy says. He’s got a medium build, brown hair, and a light stubble on his face. “I’m Charles.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Ansley,” I say.
“Wine, right? Let me get you another glass,” Charles offers.
“Thank you,” I say, taking another drink to finish what’s left.
“I don’t date often,” Charles chuckles nervously. “Anyway, where are you from? Somewhere around here?”
“The suburbs,” I answer. “Grew up there, went away to college, and moved back to Chicago for work. I just got a job at York Financial.”
“No shit? They turned me down. I’m over at Pendleton,” he says.
“That was my number two,” I admit, reaching for the wine when Daisy brings it over. “I’ve heard it’s a good place to work.”
