Chapter 5 5

Celestia sat on her couch looking at the tall, elegant goblet of red wine she had poured for herself. It was from a case that she and her ex-boyfriend Conor had ordered when they were on a wine tour of Napa Valley. The relationship had ended on that holiday. She hadn't wanted to go because she hated leaving Lisa alone in New York City and because she couldn't bear the thought of spending all that money when she needed cash so badly for medical bills, but Conor had insisted that they needed a holiday.

Buying the expensive wine had been the last straw and now she had a case of the damn stuff in her apartment that he refused to come an collect but also refused to say was hers either.

She had been looking at the glass for forty-five minutes straight but after her initial sip drinking, it was the last thing on her mind. She knew her intolerance to alcohol would leave her senseless if she went too far, but a couple of mouthfuls would leave her mercifully at ease after the weird, uncomfortable day she had just had.

Blushing in front of her client. Her client trying to bribe her.

The date for her hearing so soon next week.

Blushing in front of her supervisor and then her supervisor's weird and inappropriate behavior.

And then, of course, there were the usual problems that never seemed to go away; her sister's illness, the medical bills, and even the damn rent on her apartment.

She took another small sip of wine from the glass and set it down on the coffee table.

There had to be a way to make all these problems go away somehow.

Sex with Aiden Hermanes.

The thought was fleeting but intense.

What the hell?

Her mind for years had been as predictable and well ordered as her pristine office space but since her client's meltdown from her simple act of human comfort, it seemed no longer to be under her control.

She snatched up the wine glass again and took a large swig that spilled half of it onto the white rug on her living-room floor.

She had imagined that she and Conor would have a lot of fun on that rug but he had never shown any inclination. He had liked bedroom sex only. Plain vanilla flavored. Nothing else.

Not like Aiden. She thought and then instantly remonstrated with herself. Oh for Christ's sake, Celestia. Please. You don't know that.

She took another gulp of her red wine, ignoring the fact that she had already passed her limit.

Red wine would help her relax, wouldn't it?

She took yet another sip of wine.

Another big one and then looked down at the stain on the rug. The fact that she didn't care about it was a sure sign that she had already had way too much. The rational part of her mind knew that she was doing everything wrong to deal with her problems, but the neglected emotional part sent her into the kitchen to find the open bottle of the expensive Napa red and top up her glass. She knew how annoying it would be to her ex when he finally came to pick it up and found a bottle or two missing.

She returned to the sofa with a filled glass and a tub of ice-cream from the freezer to keep her company. Flicking through the menu on her smart TV she looked for something brain dead to keep her entertained until the wine would make her pass out. It probably wouldn't be very long. She stopped at something called LiveWildCelebs that claimed to track celebrities in real-time on live TV. The goal seemed to be catching them in meltdown mode and the theme seemed appropriate for how she was feeling tonight.

"They're only human too, " she slurred to herself.

It was like listening to another person to speak. She had no interest in the rich or famous and barely knew what people were talking about when they dropped their names into the conversation, but on her glass of wine she was feeling an absurd empathy for all human suffering, even the superficial glitzy kind of the rich and famous.

The skinny presenter with the big mouth was practically shouting into the screen.

"We're here live outside of one of New York's most happening downtown clubs where the Hermanes brothers are holding an all-star bash for the launch of their new billion-dollar software program, " she sat up straight.

Hermanes?

"I know what you're thinking, "

The presenter continued.

"Software--who gives a damn, right? Old tycoons, geeky programmers, who cares? But that was before older brother, just 29 years old by the way, Aiden Hermanes began hitting the coolest nightspots in town every night of the week and leaving with one beauty after another, night after night as though the man is single-handedly trying to satisfy all the beautiful women in New York City."

Celestia was bolt up right now and the recognition of her client's name had cleared her head like a patrol car pulling her over on the highway.