Rick knew he was staring, but first, Jimothy looked edible, and second, he was treating Rick like his long-lost brother when he hadn’t answered a single call or text since the previous afternoon.
Jimothy swooped in for a cheek kiss, and Rick about passed out. But when he got in close, Jimothy whispered, “Please help me. It’s a blind date. The dude’s all over me like glitter on a drag queen, and he’s boring me to distraction.” He planted his warm lips against Rick’s cheek, which reminded him that during all that wonderful blow job, they’d never once kissed.
Alice arrived with the recalcitrant glitterati, and Jimothy said, “Rick, Hank, this is Otto Hardesty, a new acquaintance. Otto’s a”—he waved an idle hand as if he were about to say unemployed—"fund manager.” He flopped down in the chair closest to Rick, scooted in toward the table while also moving himself closer to Rick and clearly away from the handsy one.
The waiter rushed over. “Mr. Castlemane, if you and your guest would like to order, we can slow Mr. Ronconi’s party’s orders just a bit and bring everything out together.”
Jimothy waved that hand again. “La, darling, perfect.” He turned to Rick. “What are you having, dear?”
“Uh, we’re all having the plank salmon.”
“Perfect, I’ll have the same. What about you, Otto?”
The man stared at his menu. “Well, I—”
Jimothy grabbed his menu and handed it to the waiter. “He’ll have the same.” He fluttered a hand at Otto’s shoulder. “You’ll love it. Their salmon’s divine.” Rick had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing. Jimothy was always outrageous, but this was over a brand-new top.
Alice gave Otto a compassionate if very amused look and said in a mock-whisper, “I hope you’re not allergic to salmon.”
Otto glanced back, showing too much white around his pupils. “Uh, no. No, I’m not.”
Jimothy picked up his glass that the waiter had brought from their table, started to sip, and then looked at Rick’s drink. He grinned conspiratorially. “Great minds.” He held out his dry vermouth on the rocks.
Rick grinned with a slight blush and clinked his glass against Jimothy’s.
Alice rocked back in her seat. “Aha. I knew he must have gotten that idea from somebody with very refined tastes.”
Jimothy looked in his glass and said softly, “Rick has very refined taste.” Alice’s eyebrows rose a little, but then Jimothy leaned his chin on his hand, gazed at Alice, made a sweeping gesture, and said, “Tell me everything about the hair.”
Alice frowned. “Well, sadly I’d booked a wedding stylist before I heard about you. So, she’s saying she’ll cut my hair right before she styles it on my wedding day and—”
Jimothy held up a hand. “Wait, wait, wait, wait. Cutting your hair on your wedding day isn’t a great idea. You need to spend time thinking about a haircut, and you don’t have time on such a busy day and—”
“Ex-friggin-zactly!” Alice pumped her arm in the air. She gave him a big smile and fluttered her lashes ridiculously. “That’s why I need to come to see you, Jimothy. Pleeeease, please, please.”
He fluttered right back at her. “Little old moi?” He laughed. “Of course, you can even if we have to work after hours. But hopefully, I’m not fully booked between now and the rehearsal on Thursday.”
Alice cocked her head. “Oh, how did you know that?”
For an instant, Jimothy looked taken aback, but then said smoothly, “Rick must have mentioned it when he was getting his hair cut.”
“Oh boy, oh boy!” Alice bounced up and down on the banquette, clapping her hands. Maybe that’s why Rick felt so comfortable with Jimothy. He reminded Rick of Alice. She grabbed Hank. “Isn’t that great, honey?”
“I always think your hair looks wonderful.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.” She patted him. “But I pay as much attention to my hair as I do to my clothes, which isn’t a lot. I really need Jimothy’s help.”
Jimothy said, “We’ll cut some layers to give you more fullness and make it completely easy to wash and go.”
She sighed loudly. “Music to my ears.”
The conversation moved on to Alice and Hank’s versions of science, both of which Jimothy seemed fascinated by, but Otto looked restless—until Hank mentioned that his last name was Martinsburg.
Otto burst into the middle of the conversation, “Martinsburg Enterprises?”
Hank nodded. “That’s my father’s company, yes.” He kept talking to Jimothy, but Otto had a definite light in his eyes.
Then Alice made the mistake of saying, “So, you’re a hedge fund manager, Otto?”
Otto pounced. Taking a deep breath, he regaled them with the extraordinary value of his funds and how he balanced his upside investments with options that protected his investors. All of this poured out as he stared straight at Hank. Otto went on to why a company like Martinsburg Enterprises needed to increase risk moderately in order to assure the optimum return on their capital.
Hank held up a hand. “Sorry, Otto, but I know nothing about the company’s investments and, frankly, couldn’t care less.”
“But maybe you could introduce me—ow!” Otto grabbed for his leg, and Jimothy smiled benignly and turned away from Otto.
“Rick, how’s business?”
Since Rick had to take a drink to keep from laughing, it was good that the food arrived at that moment.
Jimothy spoke quietly with the extra waiter, and a couple minutes later, he came back with a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket. Rick took a long, slow breath since he intended to pay for dinner, but Jimothy said, “My contribution to the launch of your brilliant marriage.”
As they ate, talked, and sipped, Otto stayed quiet and a bit grumpy, but he certainly drank more than his share of the bubbly and then, when the champagne ran out, returned to scotch. Jimothy kept giving him uneasy glances.
Rick said, “I hear they have great dessert here. Who wants some?”
Otto looked at Rick with slightly unfocused eyes. “I want one of those great coffee drinks.”
Jimothy reared back in his chair. “Oh hell no. There’s so much booze in the drink you can’t find the coffee.”
“Isht what I want,” Otto slurred.
Alice gave Otto a glance through narrowed, conniving eyes. “Jimothy, did you drive?”
“Yes.” He didn’t say fortunately, although his side-eye at Otto made the point.
“Would you do us a huge favor?”
“Sure, darling, what?”
“Rick rode with us, and I’ve just discovered”—she waggled her phone as if she’d received a text—“that my mother-in-law needs us at home for some kind of consultation.”
Hank looked surprised. “At ten at night? I—” He got an elbow in the ribs, though Otto couldn’t have seen it. “—right! I remember. That consultation.”
Jimothy smiled, and there was relief in it. “I’d be happy to take Rick home. No worries.”
Rick’s heart slammed against his ribs.
Rick grabbed the check, although Jimothy insisted on picking up the tab for the champagne and paying for his and Otto’s dinners. They all walked out of the restaurant with Jimothy holding on to Otto’s arm to keep the dude from banging into tables.