Descendants.

“Hot damn, girl.” Georgia whistled, as I stepped out of my office. “You did not look like that during your meeting half an hour ago.”

I looked down at the dark eggplant colored dress that I had just changed into. The material clung to my body like a second skin. And I knew the color was one of my better ones. The higher neckline offset the low, open back beautifully, and I’d pulled my hair up into a classic pony tail to get it off my face. A quick touch-up of my makeup, and I’d felt like the girl who was about to go on a first date instead of the girl who’d spent the past ten hours holed up in her office.

“I should hope not.” I gave her a teasing glance. “That would have been rather inappropriate.”

“Your last client was a 22-year-old guy. I doubt you would have received any complaints.” She rolled her eyes, as she glanced down at the ringing phone line. Answering it with her usual professionalism, she transferred the call quickly. “You finally agreed to let the young rock star take you out in public, eh?”

“Not exactly.” I started. Hearing the very distinct sound of male footsteps coming down the hall behind me, I leaned over the reception desk and begged, “Please, Georgia. Don’t say anything to anyone about this yet.”

She opened her mouth, but before she had a chance to respond, Blake and two of the top selling sales executives were standing beside me. They were laughing about something someone had said in their conference call, when they shook hands with Blake, waved a goodbye to me and Georgia, and headed out towards the stairs.

“Georgia,” Blake greeted her, before turning towards me. His smile was genuine, reaching his eyes easily. “Blair, you look stunning. Let me go grab my jacket and shut off my computer and we’ll head out.” He squeezed the side of my arm lightly, the contact making my skin tingle. I nodded, wondering how I was going to be able to carry on a conversation with this man for the next few hours. He was too pretty. The second he disappeared out of sight, Georgia pinched me, breaking me out of my trance.

“Please, for the love of all things holy, tell me you are not about to go on a date with Blake Majors. Please, Blair. Tell me you are smarter than this.”

Of all the girls I’d become friends with at the office, Georgia was usually my favorite. Her lack of a filter made her especially handy when I needed someone to tell me the truth. She didn’t know how to sugar coat anything, and usually, I adored that about her.

“Oh, George.” I smiled. “I’ll be fine.”

“No, you won’t.” Except for when she was being judgey. I didn’t really care for her when she was being overly judgey. Like now. “That man is going to eat you up and spit you out and leave you scrambling to find the pieces. He’s really lovely to look at, but he is not right for you.”

“And Harry is?!” I snapped. All the girls had been on my case lately about giving Harry a chance, despite the fact that I kept telling them it wasn’t going to happen. I liked where we were just fine.

“At least you know what you’re getting with him!” She snapped back. “And what’s going to happen when he finds out that you’re dating Mr. Hot Shot and still sleeping with him? Because I’m assuming you’re going to play both of those cards until you’re forced to choose.”

I took a deep breath, trying not to let my anger flare up and ruin the rest of my evening.

“Don’t you dare make me sound like a whore.”

“Don’t act like a whore, and I won’t make you sound like one.”

We stood staring at each other, neither one willing to back down, when Blake reappeared. Shrugging his jacket over his shoulders, he held out his arm. I laced my arm through his, walking towards the elevators without another word to Georgia.

I was still fuming on the car ride to the restaurant, but I was trying to push it off and focus on the evening ahead. The restaurant was the nicest one I had ever stepped foot into, much less eaten at. Having grown up without much, excessive amounts of money always made me feel uncomfortable. And this place was the equivalent of throwing money into an open drain. It was beautiful, and the staff was extremely accommodating, but the food was weird and the portions were tiny.

“So,” Blake said, taking a sip of his wine. “Tell me a little about yourself. You’re obviously not from England. What brought you here?” Not the most original of first date topics, but not the worst.

“The condensed version? I grew up in foster care, finally found my birth family living in Wolverhampton, quit my job in America, moved here to be closer to them, and ended up settling in London. Close to my brother and my sisters, most of the time, and just a short distance from my parents.” I picked up a piece of bread from the bread basket in the middle of the table. “What about you? How’d you get to where you are at such a young age? I’m sure it’s an impressive story.”

“We have a few more things in common than I would have assumed, Miss Addison.” He smiled. “I grew up in foster care, too. Until I was 11 actually. I had an older brother and a younger sister, both in foster care with me. One day, a young couple came in and for one reason or another, they fell in love with my sister. When they told her they wanted to adopt her and give her a life with all these possibilities, we were so happy for her. But she surprised us. She told them she wouldn’t go without me and Luke. It was all of us, or none of us. I think the man who became our father liked her guts, even as an 8 year old. They said there was no decision for them to make, and we were home with them in a matter of a few months.” I sighed. I had always wanted a story like his, where the happy ending was because someone chose you, and not because you’d finally found the people who gave you away in the first place.

“I’m surprised you came from nothing.”

“Why?” He asked, honestly. “Because I wear expensive suits and eat at places like this? My adoptive parents were very wealthy. We never wanted for anything again, and I’ve learned to embrace this lifestyle instead of pushing it away. It gave me my education, my career, and my family.” He argued, as the waiter sat our meals on the table in front of us.

The rest of our dinner went by with lighter conversation and comfortable silence. I hadn’t checked the time once, and had no idea how late it was getting until I heard my phone vibrate in the clutch that I held in my lap.

“Excuse me.” I said as I pulled my phone out to make sure there wasn’t an emergency.

2 missed calls
from Georgia

I hit the ignore button and opened up the text message box at the bottom of the screen, where it showed three new messages were waiting for me.

Georgia 10:57pm
How was your date?
Don’t be mad at me, B.

Harry 11:09pm
Your brother is a wanker.

I laughed at Harry’s message and quickly typed a reply.

Blair 11:11pm
What did he do this time?

Sliding my phone back into my purse, I looked up to find Blake watching me.

“Are you ready to go?” He asked, quietly. “I should probably get you home.”

“That would be great. Thank you for a wonderful evening.” I said, standing up, as I felt my phone receive another text. Sneaking a peek inside, I saw the screen light up.

Harry 11:14pm
I’m coming over.

Notes

Chapter Title lyrics: "Not in That Way" by Sam Smith.
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I know the past few chapters haven't had a lot of Harry's presence in them. Thank you for sticking with it while Blair gets introduced to another man and his part in her life. I promise the next chapter has plenty of Blair/Harry interaction.