An Intangible Pattern - Fate Bound.

A little fun

“What can I get for you, sir?” said the bar man.
“Talisker, on the rocks, thank you.” Answered Noah, wearily leaning against the bar. He glanced around the lounge in the hotel, it was quiet, with only a few groups of people scattered here and there.  Tall windows overlooked the Thames as it snaked through the glittering London vista.
“Here we are sir,” said the server, setting a glass down in front of him.
Expressing his gratitude, Noah retrieved his drink and wandered through the lounge, settling down in a quiet corner with a view of tower bridge.
He sipped slowly as he processed the events of the day, a dizzying reel of flashing lights, heaving crowds and a cacophony of questions. He leaned back in his chair and breathed a sigh of relief.
As he stared out into the night, his mind wandered home; it was too late in the evening to check in with Ben, he had to trust he would reach out if a crisis emerged. However, the nagging worry in the pit of his stomach refused to ease, regardless of the fiery liquid he sank to chase it. He resolved to call him in the morning before rushing off to the next TV interview.
As he sat contemplating his next step he caught sight of Jess entering the lounge, looking elegant in a shimmering white satin shift. Her braids were pulled back off her face and she gave him a winsome smile as their eyes met.
She ordered a mojito at the bar and glided over to where he sat.
“Can't sleep either?” she smiled.
“Apparently not.”
“Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all.” He politely indicated the chair facing him.
She sat down gracefully and happily sipped her drink.
“What a day! It went so well,” she practically squealed.
He nodded in agreement, “There did seem to a lot of enthusiasm.”
“I'm still buzzing. I don't think I could possibly sleep.”
“Try your best, it's going to be another long day tomorrow.”
“Says you?” She glanced at the drink in his hand.
“Just a nightcap, I'm accustomed to late nights. Just the one though, I want to be sharp tomorrow. TV interviews can be tricky and they'll look for something to gossip about, so be careful what you say.”
“Spoken like an expert?” she raised an eyebrow dubiously.
He shrugged, “Just thinking ahead.”
She tutted irritably, “Dr Courentin, do you ever just live in the moment? You're always scanning ahead for the worst possible outcome. For god's sake man, we did a great job today, let's just celebrate and worry about tomorrow when it comes.”
He raised his brows at her in surprise, “Apologies. I didn't mean to downplay what we achieved, I'm just concerned about drawing negative press and spoiling the launch.”
“And worrying about it will help how?” She scoffed, “Life is short, stop wasting time looking for disaster. If it happens, it happens and we’ll deal with it! All you're doing is wasting energy. You're in a nice bar, with a great view and in exceptional company, if I do say so myself. Make the most of it.”
“Alright,” He gave her a mollifying smile and raised his drink. She clinked her glass against his and flashed him a dazzling smile.
“That's better! So... you're a bit of an enigma, aren't you?” she teased.
“Am I?”
“Yes! I hardly know anything about you. What do you do for fun?”
He looked lost, as though the concept was alien to him.
“You do have fun right?”
“I work a lot?”
“Good god, I know that. What do you do when you aren't working?”
“Sleep?”
“Come on, there must be something?”
“I play cards with Ben.”
“For money?”
“No, just to kill time.”
She stared at him, then threw her head back and laughed, “There's no way… You can't honestly be that boring.”
“Err…what?”
“I'm sorry. It's just the mysterious boy genius, the elusive de facto owner of Courentin and Stone, plays cards in his spare time. I don't believe it!”
Though his ego was a little bruised, he gave a self deprecating smile and asked, “Alright then, what do you do for fun, maybe you'll inspire me.”
“I drive too fast, dance too late, travel as much as possible, watch shit TV, meet friends, work out and date interesting men, who I wouldn't take home to meet my parents.”
“And you're choosing to spend your evening with a dull man like me?”
“It's alright, I'll just ditch you when someone more interesting comes along.” She grinned cheekily at him. He chuckled, amused by her frankness and took a sip of his whiskey.
“But you can't always have been a workaholic, what did you do when you were a kid?”
He thought about it, “I used to explore the woods a lot and I had friends in school, but when I hit puberty it all sort of stopped.”
She laughed wickedly, “I'm sure you had far more interesting pursuits.”
He blushed and shook his head, “No, I kept away from people. There was a real possibility I might hurt someone.”
She looked shocked at his candor, “Oh!”
She scanned him up and down, taking in his strong but lean figure, subconsciously searching for danger in his demeanor. As she met his eyes, she was taken aback by their sad, comprehending look.
“Ah I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply…”
“No, I understand. I know what I am.”
“I'm used to being around omegas... So, I've never actually considered it from an alphas perspective. I guess I never thought it could be hard for you.”
“Well… sometimes being dull is preferable to being too interesting.”
“There's such a thing as a balance though.” she snorted to dispel the tension.
“You’re right. I shall endeavor to fix that particular flaw in my character, if only to please you,” he replied archly, downing his drink.
“Oh come on, I'm only teasing you.”
“Another one of those things you do for fun?”
“Teasing attractive men is one of my favorite pastimes.”
“Flattered, I'm sure,” he mumbled, feeling cornered.
“You don't spend a lot of time socializing with women do you, Dr. Courentin?” she giggled.
He laughed, “I thought we established that I don't spend a lot of time socializing, full stop.”
He thought about it, when did he socialize with women outside of work?
Alex sprung to mind, he pictured her languishing in Jess’s place, flirtatious and easy in his company, tongue set loose under the narcotic charms of alcohol.
The thought was dispelled immediately by the realization that, if Alex were sitting across from him, he'd be fucking her on the coffee table by now, raving mad and oblivious to the stares of other patrons.
Still, Jess's observations had needled him.
“Fine, let's live in the moment. Would you like another drink?” he offered.
She grinned, “That's more like it. Another mojito, please.”
He waited at the bar while the barman served another guest. An elegant looking man, dressed in smart casual attire, approached Jess and struck up conversation. He took the seat on her other side and they engaged in a lively chat.
Noah ordered their drinks and returned to the table. As he handed a glass to Jess, a brief flash of irritation flitted over her new companion's face.
“Thanks,” she smiled warmly. “John, this is my work colleague, Noah.” She waved a hand delicately to introduce him. “Noah, meet John Deere. He happens to own this hotel.”
Looking closer at the man, Noah could see he was older than them both, probably approaching his fifties. There was something about him, some haughtiness in demeanor or maybe it was just something Noah could smell, that immediately denounced this man as an alpha.
“Ah, your work colleague? Well, what interesting company, Dr Courentin, yes?” he oozed, reaching out a hand in greeting.
Noah shook his hand and noted that John had certainly subscribed to the idea, that one's character may be judged by the firmness of his handshake.
“Well, I'm not sure about ‘interesting’.” rebuffed Noah, shooting an ironic glance at Jess, “but yes, I'm Dr Courentin.”
“Yes, I was very interested to hear about your new service, your idea I presume.” he inquired with a calculating smile.
“I can't claim credit for it, no. Jess is the mastermind behind this project.”
Jess beamed brightly at John. He gave her a charming smile, like a snake eyeing up a small animal, wondering whether to swallow her whole, or savor her morsel by morsel.
“I see, well I'd certainly be interested in learning more about it.”
“I’d be delighted to tell you more over drinks, and actually it might be tremendous luck that you came and introduced yourself tonight.” she effused.
“Is that so?” he replied, looking entertained.
“Yes, as it happens we've been looking for romantic getaways to partner with, and I think your establishment would be perfect.”
John chuckled at her proposal and sipped his drink, “You are an interesting woman, Miss Sekani.” He leaned back in his chair, “Yes, I think I'd like to hear you out, perhaps I could show you more of what I have to offer…in this establishment.”
She batted her eyelashes, “I'd like that very much.”
Noah looked between them: he wasn't sure who was spinning a web for whom, but he had no desire to get caught in it. However, something kept him rooted in his seat, some instinct that this man could not be trusted.
“Could you excuse me, one moment. I need to powder my nose.” Jess smirked, confident she'd captured his interest. If she was all grace before, she practically floated across the lounge now.
“Not bad… for a Beta.” murmured John lazily, staring at her backside as she left.
“Excuse me?” growled Noah .
“Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize she was yours.”
“She's not mine, she's hers, but that doesn't mean I'm going to tolerate any disrespect towards her.”
The other man laughed, using a cocktail stick to pick his teeth.
“Ah yes, Dr Noah Courentin. You're exactly what I expected.”
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning that you're as much of a bleeding heart as I thought. An arrogant and righteous man who thinks he can outsmart god.” he smirked, sipping his drink and watching Noah's reaction with the anticipation of a lion poised to spring on a young buck.
“You would sooner chemically castrate yourself than accept your nature. I can't quite make up my mind whether you are a coward, or just frigid. Take my advice, spend less time researching pointless ’cures’ and go and spend some time with the opposite sex. The rest of us have a perfectly good solution to scratch that particular itch. You should try it.”
Noah raised his brows and laughed derisively, “Who are ‘the rest of us’? We sell millions of suppressants, globally, every day. I don't think you'll find yourself among the majority.”
“Ah yes, sales 101. First you invent the problem, then you sell the solution.”
“So sexual violence against omegas isn't a problem?”
John spread his hands out in a gesture of acceptance.
“We're simply following our instincts. Just as an omega is following theirs. They want it, in fact they like it, it's what they're designed to do and if they don't, well, there's the sanatorium for the weird ones.”  He sipped from his glass. “Do you believe in God, Dr Courentin?”
“I think it's well documented that I do not.” vexed Noah.
“Yes… only an atheist would be so ungrateful as to reject his gifts.” He crossed his legs and leaned his head on his hand nonchalantly. “How can you deny his existence when he made you a king among men? You were born into an influential family, with abilities that set you apart, so why deny it? We Alphas are entrusted with such power because we are chosen to lead. As a reward we’re granted the perfect partners to continue our line. Why fight fate?”
“No, you're wrong. It's not fate, it's propaganda. Noone is designed to do anything and if tomorrow the public perception of us shifted from gods to demons, we'd lose it all. We weren't chosen to lead, we just told that story ad nauseam until everyone else believed it. Our position in society is derived from the towers our ancestors built and one day, they will crash down on top of us.” Noah spat, increasingly disgusted by the arrogance the man exuded.
“...You call me a coward - weak and frigid, and maybe you're right; but if you can't control yourself, how can you consider yourself capable of ruling anyone else?  Rather than accepting it as a weakness in your own character, you'd rather disguise violence as dominance; desire as divine right. You would rather shift the blame to your victim than admit you’re a parasite, feeding on other people, keeping them downtrodden and docile, to serve as easy prey for your ego. Go on, tell yourself they want it, that it's their lot in life, their function to be nothing but playthings for us. Tell yourself you're something special, that God made you this way and gave you dominion, as though you're too ignorant to acknowledge that we invented him, solely to justify our own vanity.”
Noah drained his glass, "...If ‘God’ is real and he made us this way, then he also gave us reason enough to know it's wrong, and intelligence enough to change it.”
"The knowledge of good and evil was Eve's original sin, not God's will."
"Don't give me some shit about a snake. Don't you lot keep telling us all God has a plan? According to you everything is God's will."
The mocking look intensified in John's smile, “Clearly, I've hit a nerve. You can't fight your own nature, Dr Courentin. We are wolves, therefore we must hunt.”
Noah set his glass down on the table with a heavy click and leaned forward. With unblinking intensity, he locked eyes with John Deere. Softly, menacingly, he said, “And where are all the wolves?”
John's smile remained fixed, but he did not answer. He finished his drink and stood up.
“Enjoy your evening, Dr Courentin. I hope you have a pleasant stay here.”
He made his way to the exit, stopping only to intercept Jess as she returned from the bathroom. He handed her a card and kissed her hand before leaving.
Jess looked disappointed for a moment, then shot Noah a murderous look. Collecting her composure, she strode over, her heels clicking on the marble floor, and threw herself into the chair next to him.
“What did you do?” She fumed.
“He started it.” he muttered.
“And you bloody finished it? Do you know what a great opportunity you've just blown? He's a major player in a hotel franchise that spans thirty countries!”
“Trust me, you don't want to do business with that creep.”
“Yes, I bloody well do! You and your... bloody principles. Must you die on every bloody, conceivable hill?” she ranted, waving her arms in frustration, “...You're lucky he's still interested in me.”
“What do you mean?”
She looked smug, “He just invited me to his room for drinks, I might still be able to smooth things out.”
“Don't go.”
She lowered her lashes at him “Why not? Were you going to make me a better offer?”
“What? No! Just take my advice, don't go near him.” he warned.
“Thanks, but I didn't ask for your advice.” She snapped sarcastically, “I'm a big girl, Dr Courentin, I can look after myself.”
“I'm not saying you can't. I'm just saying that you don't want to get involved with that guy.”
“It's just drinks, Noah.” She raised a brow skeptically at him, “...And even if I do choose to spend the night, it's not that deep. There's nothing wrong with having a little fun.”
“Do as you want then, but if you're not at breakfast tomorrow, I'm calling the police.”
She scoffed and stood up again, “Don't be so ridiculous!”
“I mean it!” He called after her as she stormed off. Other patrons shot curious glances at the sound of his raised voice. Someone giggled. He sighed and stared at his empty glass, then decided to go to bed.