Ana's POV
I drove away from my home in shock and disbelief. I knew that me and Cole were having issues, but never in my wildest dreams did I think he would cheat. My concentration was broken by the sound of my phone ringing. I pulled over and stared at my call display...
Incoming call from Cole.
I had no idea what I should do. I haven't had a chance to process the events and speaking to him in this state of mind would be a stupid mistake. I let the call go to voicemail and sighed. I put on my hazard lights and took a moment to calm myself. I could be stressing myself out for nothing as I didn't know if he figured out I was there.
I held on to my Phone and stared at it as it rang again and again. Taking in a deep breath I decided to bite the bullet and pick it up. I figured I would play dumb and see where it goes.
"Hello" I answered, breathing heavier than I intended to.
"Ana, where are you?" I could hear that Cole sounded stressed and took the win. It wasn't much but it made me feel better.
"Just about to go into a meeting, listen Cole, I gotta go" I replied, and hung up. I could only control my emotions for a brief moment. I hoped that it was enough to calm him, but I wondered if I made the situation worse by picking up.
I placed my phone down and sobbed into the steering wheel as I cursed myself for coming home early. Less than 30 min ago, I was blindly happy.
Once I composed myself, I pulled up the GPS on my phone and searched for any bars that were close in vicinity. If I remembered correctly, there was a place called Browns somewhere near here. I had no idea where I would be spending the night, but I needed something to numb the pain.
I drove to the upscale chain restaurant bar and parked my SUV. I knew I looked like I was crying but I couldn't care less about my appearance. My eyes were puffy and I was so stuffed up that I couldn't blow my nose for the life of me. I checked myself over in the mirror and tried to clean the streaks of mascara off my cheeks. I looked like a mess, but at this moment, I really couldn't be bothered.
I entered the bar and was greeted by a beautiful young hostess. With one glance, she grabbed a menu and ushered me into a booth near the back. She gave me a half smile and stated she'd return with a water. I saw the hostess walk up to the bar and could feel the bartender and her staring in my direction. A minute later the bartender dropped off the water, grabbed my order and left me alone to my thoughts.
I remembered the first time I met Cole, years ago, at a charity event for my hospital. I was in my first year of residency and my attending was stuck in an emergency surgery. Not wanting to waste her tickets, she offered them to me and encouraged me to go have fun.
I had no friends and just moved to the city after being accepted into the program. I decided I would step out of my comfort zone and go out for the night. I put on the only nice item of clothing I owned, a simple black dress from H&M, and left.
I was the definition of a starving student and thought, if anything, I could just feast on the appetizers and enjoy a few free drinks.
When I arrived at the event I immediately felt out of place. The women and men held back no expense on their appearance and it was clear to see that I was the only one wearing something off a rack.
Embarrassed and too sober, I approached the bar and waited patiently to be served. As I scanned the room and admired the 1%, the most beautiful man I've ever seen came and stood to my right. He gave me a goofy smile and I immediately felt at ease.
The man, who I learned was named Cole Andrews, towered over my 5'7 height and stood at about 6'4' . He had an athletic body and, even in a suit jacket, I could see his well-defined muscles. He had jet-black hair that was cut short and styled to the side, and his face had a hint of stubble. But the thing that drew me in the most was his boyish smile. Later that week, when I repeated the story to my best friend, I swore up and down that it was love at first sight.
Cole introduced himself and we spent the whole night talking to only each other. I found out he was the top pharmaceutical salesman, in the country, and travelled the world on the company's dollar. He knew all the important people, the best restaurants, and all the important events. He was cool without trying to be cool and would control the room by simply entering it.
We started dating right away and, after 6 months, he asked me to move In together. I refused initially but agreed once we found the perfect house. I didn't want to be supported financially so I insisted on working myself to death to put in my share of the down payment.
I didn't have the kind of money Cole did, but we settled on a fixer-upper in an up-and-coming neighbourhood and Shortly after moving in, we settled into cohabitating bliss.
I remembered feeling like I won the lottery. How stupid I was to believe that anything could be that good.
After my 5th drink, I finally snapped out of my daze and realized I would need to find a place to sleep for the night. I had enough cash to cover the bill but didn't want to use my cards at a hotel. As far as Cole knew, I was still in Toronto for a work conference.
I sat there and pondered my options and realized I didn't have any. I haven't made too many friends since moving to San Francisco so my options were limited to two. One was my "best friend" Elise, who entered the residency program at the same time, and the other, was Marcus Ross, the CEO of Avi pharmaceuticals and Cole's boss.
With no other choice, I convinced myself that it would be ok. Marcus had always been pleasant and made an effort to talk and catch up at every event. He often had us over for dinners and drinks and offered a helping hand if I ever needed one.
I pulled up his number and decided to take him up on that offer. The worst he could do is say no. And/or maybe call Cole. No going back now...
I clicked on his info and sent a quick "Can I come over?"
I decided to get Straight to the point!
No need to fill the conversation with small talk and pleasantries. I needed to get his attention as It was just after midnight and the room was beginning to spin.
I noticed my phone light up and I opened his message.
C: Ana?
A: yes
C: what can I do for you Ana? Is Cole with you?
A: obviously not.
C: well then, wouldn't it be a little weird if you came over, alone, at this hour?
A: Maybe. But I just found out Coles has been cheating on me and I really have no idea who to text or where to go.
I pressed send and waited for a response.
Before I could put my phone down Marcus responded "send me your location, I'll come and get you"
I sent him the name and address of the bar and decided to order another drink while I waited. 20 minutes later Marcus entered and approached the pretty hostess. Even from where I was sitting I could see the desire on the hostess's face. Marcus was 6'3, lean and absolutely Stunning. His brown hair was slicked back and he was dressed casually in a black hoodie and grey sweatpants. Seeing him like this was way hotter than all the other times I saw him dressed in his suits.
He shared a quick exchange with the hostess, to her displeasure, and was directed to my table. As he approached I couldn't help but to glance at his package. It was evident he was very well endowed and I thanked god for the inventor of sweatpants.
I was sure he caught me looking and My face turned bright red. He sat down and gave me a devilish smirk and, for some reason, my heart sped up and I had trouble catching my breath.
His bright blue eyes stared into mine, for what seemed like an eternity before he finally spoke.
"So you going to tell me What happened"