#he'd never

The businessman sat at a table in the corner, welcoming those who approached, but making no moves to approach anyone else. He’d been invited as one of the sponsors of this year’s entertainment awards; duty got him through the door, but little more than that. If the girl had been there he might have actually managed to enjoy himself. However, she currently stood behind a camera in Bali. Without him. 

“Have fun, okay? Maybe not as much fun as you had last time I told you to have fun, but I don’t want you to just sit in the corner and pout the entire party. Goldman swore to me he’d get you home safely.” 

His sweetheart’s words echoed through his mind and Victor began to chuckle. She sure did know him, didn’t she? He stood and forced himself to approach the center of the room where most of the party was occurring. A waiter wandered past with a tray of scotch, which Victor happily reached out and obtained. The fiery liquid rolled down his tongue into his belly where it warmed him from the inside out. 

“You’re Mr. Li of LFG, aren’t you?” an unfamiliar voice called out. Victor looked up from his drink and found the voice attached to Ms. Elnora Vaughn, one of the most highly acclaimed actresses of the year. He nodded and her face lit up. “I thought so! My, you are even more handsome in person, I must say.”

Victor lifted his cup to hide the eye roll. He recognized blatant attempts at flirtation when he saw them and had no intent to give anyone the wrong idea. “I’m in a permanent relationship. But thank you for the compliment.” He finished his drink and placed the empty cup on a passing tray, then disappeared into the crowd. 

The first drink had him feeling quite pleasant and Victor soon reached for another. And another. He had a high tolerance, after all. And a few drinks definitely made a room full of high-and-mighties much easier to bear. There was no way he would over drink. 

Such were the thoughts of someone more concerned with avoiding a certain Ms. Vaughn than with keeping track of how much alcohol he had consumed. Each went down easier than the last until he had to sit to avoid becoming better acquainted with the floor. 

This had the unfortunate consequence of making him a sitting duck. 

Within minutes, Ms. Vaughn seated herself in a chair only inches away from Victor. “Mr. Li, you are a hard man to keep track of! Glad to see you’re finally stationary for a moment. I wanted to get to know you a little better!” She scooted her chair a little closer to Victor as if testing his limits. 

He scooted his chair a little farther away. 

“Why don’t you tell me a little more about yourself, Mr. Li? It’s so rare that you’re available for conversation! What kinds of things do you like?” 

Victor turned his head a little slowly, feeling like his brain was sloshing around in his skull. It probably was, honestly. “I like my girlfriend. She’s the most beautiful woman on the face of the planet.” His words held just the slightest fuzzy edge, but really didn’t reveal the extent of his drunkenness. “I love my girlfriend. She should be here, not in Bali. She should be here with me where she belongs.” 

A slight sigh of frustration slipped from Elnora’s lips and she seemingly felt the need to try another tactic. She scooted closer to the table and hiked up her chest just enough to ensure her assets were displayed to their full size. She then leaned over toward Victor and looked up at him through her lashes; he didn’t even glance at her display. “I hear you’re quite the romantic. That girlfriend of yours better appreciate you! You’re the entire package, you know.” Elnora fluttered her lashes and smiled, though her eyebrows narrowed when this still seemed to have no effect. 

A vacant smile spread across Victor’s face and he closed his eyes, picturing the girl behind his eyelids. “She deserves the entire world. And I’ll give her the entire world. She’s the only person in the world.” 

“Isn’t she just some producer or something? You deserve more than that, Mr. Li. You could have any woman in the world. Why settle for some…nobody?” She reached out and placed a hand on Victor’s arm, which he whipped away with a scowl on his face.