But he went to another club with Vance that night. The entourage had grown to include about ten guys from Holbrook Enterprises. Carter paid, as he usually did, but he didn't really gain much from the money he spent at the high-end clubs. His thoughts always drifted to Allie.
He was tired of the fawning models, the free-flowing alcohol, and the fake people that surrounded him, always careful to tell him what they thought he wanted to hear.
He remembered how irreverent Allie was. She didn't care about his money or his name. It was as if she looked through all the layers of lies he wrapped around himself and laid bare his insecurities. His history and his money burned away in her gaze, and she saw him as he really was. And he thought, hehoped, that maybe she might even like what she saw.
Of course, it could only be his imagination playing tricks on him, but didn't he owe it to himself to find out? Despite his alcohol-saturated mind, it seemed crystal clear to him what he had to do.
He brushed off the pretty wannabe-model who was stroking his biceps.
"Where are you going?" she asked, batting her eyelashes. "Don't you want me to do naughty things to you, soldier?"
"Marine," he said automatically.
"What?"
"I’m not a soldier. Soldier is army."
"Same difference," she said in annoyance.
"You don't want to bag her?" Vance asked, blocking his path.
"Not really," Carter said, pushing past him.
"Man, Carter, picky, picky."
"I'm out of here," Carter said and strode off into the cold winter night.
27
Allie
Allie was slowly acclimating to her internship. The work was similar to what she had studied in school, and she quickly took charge of several accounts.
Work was the only thing that was going well, however. She still had her horrible living situation to contend with. Then there was the problem of Carter. He didn't know anything and couldn't do any work, and though he promised to study the literature she had sent him, he would still arrive in the office hungover or tired from his nights on the town.
Allie and Liz had started on the safety project, but the three of them were supposed to be working on it together.
"Let's meet this weekend and work," Allie said near the end of one day. "We need to start making some serious progress."
"I have a bachelorette party," Liz said, looking up from her computer screen.
"That's fine. I know you'll work on your part. Carter is the one I'm concerned about."
"Hey! I can do stuff," Carter said
"All you do is party," Liz countered.
"I haven't been out since last Saturday," Carter said.
"Sure."
That weekend, it was cold and damp outside. Allie looked out the window. It was sleeting. She and Carter were two of the few people in the tower, and their floor was completely empty.
Carter was slouched at his computer, flipping through some documents. Allie sent a pdf to the printer and went to the print room to retrieve it.
Carter came in the room behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed the tattoos on her neck.
"I want to redeem myself," he said.
