"Ugh, Hunter is here?" Stacey watched the man two tables away from them in the loud bar.
The music was blaring so loudly that he was sure that the people four blocks over and down the street had throbbing eardrums. And yet, when those words had left his lips, he instantly knew it was a mistake. Hunter's head swiveled over, completely ignoring the men and women lounging around him and hanging off his every word—or, in one girl's case, recoiling from the massive boa constrictor lazily coiled across his lap like a jewel-toned sash of danger.
The snake's head lifted briefly, tongue flicking in the direction of Stacey, completely ignoring the girl, but for a blink, even though she had jumped back when she realized it was real, and it had moved.
The snake blinked slowly, as if it understood the music, the attention, the eyes of the room. Its tongue flicked once more—and Stacey swore, just for a breath, it was staring at him only.
Not just his general direction.
Instead, his eyes searched until they landed on Stacey, locking in with that unnerving gaze.
Oh, shit,
He heard me. But he can't have… It's too loud in here. Stacey thought
"He is staring at us," Stacey commented. His friend Kaylen sipped on his drink, then scoffed and put it back on the large table in front of them. The table sat covered in many drinks and empty glasses filled with the remnants of someone else's liquor. They were the last couple of people left over from their work event; everyone else bailed to go off and do something else. To head home, to vomit in the streets. Go on crazy sexcapades. Literally, everyone was gone, just the two of them left from the entire thing. But the table still showed all the signs of the damage and excitement that had been going on a little over an hour before.
"Not us, you. He is staring at you." Kaylen corrected.
Well, everyone but Hunter.
Stacey watched Hunter meticulously, but was unable to argue with Kaylen's statement. Hunter grinned deviously at him and raised a singular eyebrow, casually stroking the smooth scales of the snake now draped across his shoulders, as if daring Stacey to flinch.
A flick of its tongue caught the light. Stacey felt a full-body shiver crawl up his spine. Of course, Hunter would bring a snake to a company party. Of course, no one would stop him.
Stacey's stomach rolled forward with a satisfying lurching jump that had nothing to do with the snake and everything to do with the man it was wrapped around. It was so forceful he couldn't quite understand where that lurch was coming from; he had seen Hunter every day for one year, there was nothing new about the man, yet the shiver that encapsulated his body was brand new.
Maybe it was because those eyes were finally focused on him, not past him, not nearby him. They were solely honed in on him.
"Honestly, what is wrong with guys like that? They pull the attention of everyone in the room, but couldn't give a rat's ass if the room was empty and there is no one there but themselves." Stacey snapped, aggravation pulling at the edges of his temper.
But why he was aggravated, he couldn't say.
"That's exactly it; you summed it up right there. They," Kaylen stated, pointing at Hunter and his table full of big shots. The huge names, with their loaded cards, everything about them dripping money, the kinda guys who worked with numbers so big it would make your head spin to think about earning that in five years, let alone a year, a month, or a week. He pointed at all of those goody two-shoes. Making sure his gesture encompassed all of them.
"Theyyyyy, well, they don't care one iota about anything. None of them. Especially Hunter. I mean, who the hell brings a six-foot boa to a networking event? That man lives for the drama."
"You have been working at Pennington Pharmaceuticals for what? Five years now? You work in the Kaylen office as him, and have your lunch like thirty feet away, with only a glass wall between you guys. Yet, the dude has never even been able to remember your name.
"He can't remember you either. Kay." Stacey pointed out flatly.
"That's because the only face and name someone like Hunter remembers is himself. Or some huge clientele. There is over thirty million dollars in revenue being made in a single fiscal year. He doesn't have time to remember the person who works on the floor below in research and development or the guy sitting across from him. Even if you do share the Kaylen coffee and lounge room with him."
Stacey nodded, still stirring uneasily in his chair. Hunter had begun talking to someone beside him, but Stacey could see he wasn't even pretending to keep up decorum and was eagle-eyed, his peripheral vision glued to Stacey instead.
"True. Very true," He said slowly, sipping his drink.
"Still, it's odd he came to one of these again. He normally only comes to the Christmas event and that disgusting Valentine's Party."
"Actually, right now, it's not that odd. See the girl next to him, that's Hailey Lane,"
"The daughter of Blaire Lane?" Stacey's eyebrows shot up, interest piqued.
"Yes, the heiress herself is here to cement Daddy dearest's possible investment. And I am sure Hunter thought that would mean partying and clubbing would be enough. He is probably not wrong. They don't even need to court them at all. Everyone already knows they are a shoo-in for twenty percent equity. The niceties are just that. Heck, this is probably just a way for Hunter to get into the girl's pants. Or maybe that's what showing someone a good time means nowadays. Honestly, the Lanes aren't doing this for capital, anyway. They don't need stakes in the company. You think the Lanes give a damn about a proper merger? Please. The whole point of dragging Hailey out here was to give Hunter something shiny to coil himself around—and him bringing that snake tonight? That was a power play. All those guys at his table looked terrified. And you know Hunter. He lives for that kind of reaction. Everyone knows the way to Hunter is through his visceral urges. No doubt, this is a ploy at an acquisition of a different sort. One that ends in either a Hunter hunting or a Hunter being tied up… In holy matrimony. And Hunter knows it, and brought that… thing to keep the distance between them."
"You sure know how to put things, Kay. Your assessment is almost too honest."
"It's high stakes, and it's not dog-eat-dog; it's a serial killer who kills the dog and shows off the carcass as the prize world."
Stacey grimaced. "Is Hunter so twisted? I mean, why steal someone else's cake if you already have a perfectly good one in front of you?"
"Because you don't say no to a man like Hunter… So if he wants his cake, your cake, and everyone else's cake, you damn well better give it to him and watch as he eats it."
Stacey nodded, realizing he had no other choice but to agree with Kaylen's assessment.
Kaylen took one last look at Hunter, who was now feeding a chunk of ice to the snake, delighting in the way a girl two seats over yelped and leapt into her boyfriend's lap.
"Yup. Definitely a psychopath. Don't fall in love, Stacey. He'll charm you, then let his snake eat your heart."
"Let me go grab some more drinks. Be right back, okay." Kaylen said, standing up, then pushed off into the crowd before he could give him any sort of response to his statement.
Stacey nodded offhandedly but continued to watch Hunter.
Watch the way Hunter's hand moved, the way his fingers slid across the glass, lithe and chic even in the small movement. The snake had draped itself over his arm like an accessory designed by some unhinged fashion god. Its thick body glinted an opal rainbow hue on its white scales in the club lighting, and Hunter stroked its spine absentmindedly while smirking across the room, like a devil in Prada with a pet demon. Watching as Hunter threw his long, dark locks back, shaking his head before uncrossing his legs and raising an eyebrow. He leaned forward for a second, and Stacey's stomach lurched as he followed the movement carefully, caught in the way his arms moved.
There is a sort of silent beauty about him, a strong, majestic feeling. Stacey groaned as he caught himself, his eyes flicked to the snake and back to Hunter.
Even from here, he could see Hunter had chuckled.
He shot back his drink quickly, the hot liquid burning down his throat.
"He shot back his drink, the heat burning all the way down.
Those dark brown locks—so soft, so silky—
Wait.
How do I know they're silky?
It's the lighting.
Yeah. Definitely the lighting."
What am I even thinking about right now? Stacey wondered, rubbing the palms of his hands on his pants before looking away.
God, how can I not stare when I can sense he is looking at me? But heck, when did I even start staring back?