Hunter dropped into his seat with a scowl, grabbing a fresh drink. "She's playing hard to get. Doesn't mean anything."
Derek snorted. "She's not playing anything, man. She's just not interested. Happens to the best of us."
"Not to me," Hunter snapped, his eyes flicking toward Ivy again. She was sitting as stiffly as before, her focus pointedl elsewhere.
"Looks like it just did," Derek said with a smirk.
Hunter leaned forward, lowering his voice. "Watch and see. She's not just some exception. Every woman's my type. The only difference is, I decide if they're worth it."
Derek raised an eyebrow. "Sure doesn't look like you're the one deciding tonight," Derek said, causing Hunter to scowl.
This girl, whoever she was, he would get her and humiliate her just as she did him. He thought, his eyes hardening in determination.
Hunter smirked, his confidence sharpening into something harder, more determined. "Bet you everything I own; I'll get her by the end of two weeks," he said, and Derek shook his head.
"Everything? You're crazy. How about just one Bitcoin? Don't want to leave you homeless when she shuts you down again and you can make it three months. I don't want you to feel as though I was heartless."
"Deal," Hunter said without hesitation, his gaze locked on Ivy. "One Bitcoin. Just watch. I'll get her, then you'll know I make the choice and not some woman."
Derek leaned back, shaking his head with a grin. "Alright, man. This is gonna be fun to watch."
Hunter took a long sip of his drink, his eyes never leaving Ivy's table as his mind swirled with thoughts of how to get this girl who had injured his ego so badly.
After being approached by the two guys, Ivy's level of irritation had increased, "It wasn't enough that Selena had kept me here this long, these fools think I'm like every other girl," Ivy thought to herself, her anger increasing as the thoughts kept coming to her mind.
Though she was single and needed a man, none of those men were worth her time. Merely judging from the silly grin on their faces, she knew they didn't approach her because they thought she was pretty or a good woman but because they were just probably horny and needed to take a girl home.
She checked the time and when she saw it was barely thirty minutes since she arrived, she decided to wait a little bit longer.
Deciding to call Selena, Ivy dialed her line and when Selena didn't pick up, she decided to order for some drinks at least.
An hour later, Ivy glanced at her phone screen for what felt like the hundredth time, the glowing numbers glaring back at her: 08:47 PM. She had been sitting in the same chair at Club 02 for over an hour, nursing her irritation along with a half-empty glass of whiskey.
Her patience, which wasn't abundant to begin with, had thinned to its breaking point.
The two men who had approached her earlier hadn't helped her mood. Their arrogance still lingered in her mind like a bad smell.
The more she sat there waiting the more their thoughts filled her head making it even more irritating.
What did they think? Did they really think she'd fall for their clumsy attempts at charm?
The noise of the club grated on her nerves. The pulsing music, the occasional bursts of laughter, the swirl of strangers—it all felt unbearable now.
Ivy huffed and grabbed her phone, scrolling to the last dialed number. She tapped the call button and waited as it rang.
A frustrated sigh escaped her lips when Selena didn't answer again.
"Of course," Ivy muttered under her breath, shaking her head in disbelief. She tried again, and again this time, but it went straight to voicemail.
That was it. She had had enough. She thought as she snatched her bag off the table, stood and made her way to the exit, her heels clicking against the polished floor.
The cool night air greeted her as she stepped outside, and she attempted putting her phone in her purse, determined put the entire evening behind her and just go home and sleep.
Before she could lock the bag or get into her car, her phone buzzed and she took it out, a scowl already on her face as she could already guess who it was.
She sighed when she saw that it was indeed, Selena's name flashing on the screen.
Ivy sighed heavily before answering. "Hello, Selena. You just kept me waiting here. I'm already stressed out."
"Ma'am, I'm so sorry!" Selena's voice was breathless, as though she'd just finished running a marathon. "Where are you?"
Ivy's brows furrowed. "What do you mean where am I? I'm at Club 02. You said the party was here. Why didn't you tell me you canceled and just let me stay here all evening calling. You didn't even take my calls."
"Oh no!" Selena gasped. "It's Club Z, ma'am. I must've misspoken earlier. I'm so sorry!"
She had wanted the celebration to be at Club 02 but because she had gone there and they had told her it was fully booked, she had decided to go to Club Z and because she had not thought Ivy would make it, she hadn't bothered to call her or inform her of the recent development. There was no way she was going to tell her boss the reason she hadn't called. Selena mused, hoping Ivy wouldn't hold this one against her.
For a moment, Ivy just stared at her phone, dumbfounded. How could she have made such a mistake? Going to the wrong club?
"I'm so sorry ma'am," Selena's voice came through apologetic.
Ivy shook her head, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose to calm her head down.
"Fine," she said flatly, Selena's apologies doing little to nothing to calm her.
"I'm going home. Will give you your gift on Monday," Ivy said and ended the call without another word and dropped her phone into her purse.
There was no way she was dragging herself to another club tonight, not after everything. She was done and she was going home to sleep off this bad night.