Emily should have contacted him by now, but so far, he had not heard from her. Her silence was eating at him, making him wonder what was going through her mind. Was she deliberately ignoring him? What about his efforts? Did she plan to back out on her words?
Raising his hand, Nolan called the bartender. "Another glass, make it a double." So far, not even his favorite liquor could calm him down.
Nolan had never been this frustrated in his life. He had negotiated multimillion-dollar deals. He had charmed even the most obstinate magnates in the industry. Why couldn't he make a starlet agree to a simple contract? What was he doing wrong?
"Easy, my friend." William tapped his friend on the shoulder before occupying the empty stool beside him. "What seems to be eating you up?" He didn't even bother to hide his amusement with his friend's odd situation.
William had never seen his friend behave like this before. Nolan, who had always been rational and in control, acted exasperated and agitated. His friend never usually allowed his emotions to get the best of him. But tonight, it was clear his friend wasn't thinking straight, drinking as if there was no tomorrow.
"Is there something wrong with me, William?" Nolan asked, acting quite insecure. "Is there something wrong with my face?" He glanced at the mirror by the bar, pinching his cheeks, checking his facial features. "Am I not attractive enough?" In that moment, his confidence seemed to abandon him as he questioned everything he knew about himself.
In truth, Emily's behavior just did not make sense. He had never encountered anyone like her before. And it was completely messing with his mind.
"Are you drunk, Nolan?" William could not believe what he was hearing. "What has gotten into you?" He stared at his friend as if he had grown two heads.
What had happened to his arrogant, self-assured friend? Nolan was definitely not acting like himself.
"Give me what he's having." William also ordered his favorite drink, thinking he might need something strong to deal with this, whatever was wrong with his friend. "Shouldn't you be with your wife? What are you doing here, drinking on your own?"
The last thing he heard, Nolan flew to an island to be with his wife. Therefore, he was shocked to find his friend in their favorite bar, intoxicated and blabbering some fucking nonsense.
"I did everything she asked. I gave her an offer that was more than generous. I even paid for her brother's surgery." Nolan slammed his empty glass on the counter. "What more does she want?" Clearly, puzzled by his wife's behavior.
Money? Fame? What else?
Women flocked to him like moths to a flame, willingly throwing themselves on his lap just for his attention. But not his wife, as she avoided her like he carried a plague.
"Who are you talking about?" William asked, confused by this entire scenario. "You're not making any sense." He stared at his friend as he tried to understand what was going on. From the way his friend was behaving, he could think of only one person who could be behind this.
"Emily, my wife. Who else?" Nolan raised his hand to the bartender, asking for another round. "She's so stubborn. She kept insisting on that fucking divorce."
Burying his head in his arms, he thought of the woman who had invaded his waking hours and appeared in all his dreams. Why couldn't he forget about her? Why was he so obsessed with her?
"Why? Am I not handsome enough? Famous? Wealthy?" Nolan ranted, grabbing the fresh glass of scotch and chugging it in one go. "Am I not enough?" Sounding desperate and defeated.
"How the mighty had fallen?" William could not help but comment, but he quickly shut his mouth before his friend realized what he said. But at that point, he doubted if his friend could even understand a word he was saying. It was clear his friend had already reached his limits.
"My friend, I just think you have finally met your match." William clapped his friend on his shoulder, sympathizing with his plight. But honestly, he never thought he would witness the day that his friend would fall to his knees just because of a woman.
Never in his wildest dream.
"What did you say?" Nolan asked as he lifted his head from the bar to look at his friend. Everything seemed to spin around him. He could barely even recognize his voice. It sounded broken.
"Come on." William just shook his head, still amused but a little bit concerned with how much this woman had affected his friend. "I think you're falling for her." He concluded.
As his friend, William had known Nolan since they were young. He believed that his friend once believed in love. When Nolan's mother died and his father remarried, his view of relationships had suddenly changed. Love had become a myth in his vocabulary.
How could he blame his friend when both of them knew that his father had married a real social climber, a bona fide opportunistic bitch? But, of course, his father was too blinded by love to see that.
Since then, his friend had avoided any relationship, especially commitment. Afraid that he might end up with a woman like his stepmother.
"But now?" William believed that his friend might have caught the love bug. The only question was whether Emily was worth it.
After his initial investigation, Emily definitely checked all the boxes of a gold digger. But astonishingly, his friend had overlooked his report and proceeded in pursuing this marriage.
William didn't understand what Nolan had seen with Emily. Why was he acting like a love-sick puppy over a woman he barely knew?
"Call my wife. Tell Emily that I need her to pick me up." Nolan ordered as he handed his phone to him.
In Nolan's mind, he believed it was his wife's responsibility to take care of him. But, of course, his judgment was already clouded by the alcohol in his system. Still, he didn't care. He just wanted to see her.
"As you wish..." William could only raise his hand in surrender, thinking his friend might have lost it. "Let me see what I can do." He grabbed the phone and searched for Emily's name. Of course, he could not promise anything.
Again, surprised!
Surprised!
Her name was at the top of the list.
"Hey, Emily, I'm sorry. I know it's late, but this is William, Nolan's friend." He quickly introduced himself before she hung up the call. "Would you mind picking him up in the bar since he is clearly drunk? Please, there's just no one else who could drive him home."
There was a long sigh, followed by a long silence on the other end.
William thought that she might have already ended the call, but after a few more seconds, she finally spoke up. "What's wrong with you? Why couldn't you bring him home? Why me?"
Why not her? William thought. She was Nolan's wife, even if that was just on paper. Besides, from what he heard from his friend, she owed him.
"Well, I don't think I'm also in any condition to drive myself or anyone, for that matter. But since you're the one in his immediate contact, I thought you could help him out. Please, I mean, as his wife." William was pulling all the stops, pleading to her humanity, if she even had one.
If his friend was losing his mind over this girl, his friend might have seen something special about her.
At the moment, William just wanted to see if Emily would take the bait.
"Anyway, I really need to leave. So, I hope you'll come." William told her the address before hanging up. He could sense her hesitation, but he didn't give her time to say no.
Now, William waited on the sideline, wondering if Nolan's wife would come, giving Emily half an hour to get there. He hid on the corner, watching his friend slumped on the counter, clearly completely wasted.
"Excuse me, but did Mr. Sawyer leave a car key with you?" William finally heard a female voice, asking the bartender about Nolan's car keys.
Then, he watched his friend wrap his arms around the petite figure's shoulder with a smile on his lips, looking quite satisfied.
"I guess my job is done." William felt pleased with himself as he watched his friend being driven away by his wife. "Now, it's all up to you, my friend."